8) 
MALARIA AND PARASITOLOGY. 
(1) Malaria, Cause and Control. By Prof. W. B. 
Herms. Pp. xi+163. (New York: The Mac- 
millan Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 
1913.) Price 6s. 6d. net. 
(2) A Laboratory Guide to the Study of Parasit- 
ology. By Prof. W. B. Herms. Pp. xv+72. 
(New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: 
Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1913.) Price 3s. 6d. 
net. 
(1) HE volume on malaria is written in a 
popular style, and is intended to edu- 
cate the intelligent public as well as the expert on 
the methods of controlling this disease. It con- 
tains much valuable information, and should be 
read by all those who live in malarious districts. 
The contents of the book are based mainly on the 
author’s four years’ experience in the State of 
California. This State is noted for its healthful 
climate, yet in many localities malaria is a scourge. 
Malaria is the principal cause of absences from 
the rural public schools in the infested districts, 
and three-fourths of the malaria in California is 
found in nine out of twenty-four malarial counties. 
The Board of Health there estimates that the 
annual loss from this disease amounts to 
2,820,400 dollars. 
A short and popular account is given of the 
various stages of development of the malarial 
germ, in the human body and in the mosquito, in 
order that the reader may obtain a more intelli- 
gent grasp of the methods of prevention. The 
germ is transmitted by the bite of certain species 
of anopheline mosquitoes. A lucid and well-illus- 
trated description is given of the anopheles and 
other mosquitoes in general in order to teach the 
reader how to detect easily the dangerous varie- 
ties which transmit the disease. 
The breeding places, development, and habits of 
these insects are thoroughly described. This in- 
formation is necessary, since the methods of 
controlling and eradicating the disease are based 
upon this scientific knowledge. Prevention con- 
sists mainly in a systematic and determined 
crusade against mosquitoes. These can be best 
attacked at their source of production, or, in other 
words, their breeding grounds must be destroyed 
or rendered unsuitable for their development. 
This is done by draining or filling in the swampy 
lands near habitations and by spraying oil or 
poisons on stagnant pools of water. It is also 
important to destroy as much as possible by 
fumigation the adult mosquitoes in dwellings; 
these should be screened in order to prevent the 
mosquitoes from gaining an entrance. Probably 
the most important part, however, of an anti- 
2298, VOL. 92| 
NATURE 
} minerals—their crystalline form, physical proper= 
may be obtained. A considerable portion of 
book deals with this important subject. Among 
other methods, the public is best educated by 
aid of the local Press and by popular lectures. Th 
book is excellently illustrated throughout, and 
nothing has been omitted in the endeavour to 
make ie subject clear and intelligible to the 
ordinary reader. 
(2) The work on parasitology is intended to 
give students a wide practicil view of the subject 
in its application to the health and well-being of 
man and beast. It is arranged so as to provide 
sufficient matter for a full laboratory session on 
human and veterinary parasitology. It is divided 
into exercises, each of which is sufficient to 
occupy the student in the laboratory for two and 
a-half to three hours. The various orders of 
disease transmitting insects are dealt with, includ- 
ing bed-bugs, mosquitoes, gnats, horse flies, 
house flies, stable flies, bot flies, lice, ticks, and 
mites. Parasiticides and their method of use are 
given. Amcebe, trypanosomes, and malarial 
parasites have each one exercise devoted to them 
Under the heading of helminthology come — the 
round worms, hook worms, lung worms, whip 
worms, trichina, filaria, leeches, flukes, tape 
worms, &c. A special exercise is devoted 
helminth ova and another to the various anthel- 
minthics. Finally, exercises are given on the life- 
histories of the common house fly, the mosquito, 
and the flea. is 
This book must necessarily be of great value 
to the student and to the teacher. There are no 
illustrations, but it is intended for use in 
laboratory with a lecturer and material at ha 
and also as a practical supplement to a genera 
course of lectures on the subject. 
A POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
The Mineral Kingdom. By Dr. Reinhard Brauns 
Translated, with additions, by L. J. Spencer, 
eats 1-25. Pp. 432+91 plates. Esslingen- 
a-N.: J. F. Schreiber; London: Williams and 
orate, 1912.)\ Price’si; oss net 
N the preface to the original German edition 
Prof. Brauns states that the book was written 
for the admirers and collectors of minerals, and 
aimed at increasing the number of those inter- 
ested in such things. Since its appeal is to the 
layman rather than to the student or the expert 
the arrangement of the book is somewhat different 
from that usual in text-books on the subject. — 
general part deals briefly—perhaps too briefly for 
satisfactory exposition—with the characters of 
