76 



NA TURE 



[November 28, 1907 



OVR BOOK SHELF. 



Vergleichende .Morpli<>l<ii;ic dcr Pj]an:^en. 1. Theil, mit 



200 i.d. Text gedr. Abbild. u. zwei lith. Doppel- 



tafeln. By Dr. Jos. VelenovskV?. Pp. 277 + plates. 



(Prag : Fr. RivnAc, 1905.) 

 Dr. Velenovsky has written the earlier portion of a 

 work which will be found of no small interest to 

 botanists, not only because the author has brought 

 together a number of new observations of his own, 

 but because he deals with the whole mass of facts 

 from a definite point of view. Probably, as he him- 

 self hints in the preface, his views may not command 

 general acceptance, and we confess to experiencing a 

 certain sense of disappointment after reading the book. 

 The point of view which the author adopts is, it seems 

 to us, too rigid and formal. Morphology has really 

 outgrown the stage of pure formalism. We have come 

 to recognise that the task of trying to understand 

 why and how development has followed on the lines 

 one can actually trace, is overshadowing the purely 

 formal abstractions which used to constitute mor- 

 phology. 



Twenty years ago it was the fashion to divorce 

 physiological notions from morphological concepts. 

 At the present time, probably most botanists have an 

 inkling, if not a conviction, that morphological 

 " laws " really do resemble those of the Medes and 

 Persians. The " laws " in both cases last Just so 

 long as they can continue to be tolerated. With in- 

 creased knowledge the bonds of the old laws are 

 loosened, and fresh working theories become needed 

 to comprehend the increased range of intellectual 

 vision. 



But it must not be thought that the foregoing 

 remarks are intended to depreciate the value of the 

 book before us, for it appears to us to be one that 

 can be read with considerable interest and profit. 

 Much of the author's railing against certain practices 

 which are not uncommon at the present time is justifi- 

 able, although he is apt perhaps to overstate the case. 



" In modern times hardly anything but a mono- 

 graph is appreciated ; each author is acquainted with 

 his own particular genus, or it may be, family, and he 

 cares for nothing else. ..." 



But when Dr. Velenovskv leaves generalities and 

 comes to closer quarters with his subject-matter, he 

 is on ground where he will meet with less opposition, 

 albeit his methods may awaken some surprise. In 

 these days l.Tborious description of anatomical detail 

 too often replaces an attempt to give a comprehensive 

 account of the plants themselves. The author, how- 

 ever, scarcely devotes any space at all to internal 

 structure, and finds room therebv to give a more 

 complete account of the range of external variation 

 within the cryptogamic groups to which this volume 

 is devoted ; and it is not impossible that some of his 

 readers may experience a kind of mild shock at find- 

 ing many unfamiliar forms included in a group which 

 they have hitherto only known through one or two 

 laboratory "types." 



The book contains many new illustrations, and it 

 is not unlikely to meet with a better reception than its 

 author seems to think it will obtain. J. B. F. 



Dc Vormen der Aardkorst : Inlcidiug tot dc Stiidic 

 der Physiographic. Bv J. van Baren. Pp. viii + 

 232. (Groningen : J. B. Wolters, 1907.) 

 This little book attempts, in the course of 207 pages, 

 to cover the whole ground of physical geology, and to 

 give an account of the most important observations 

 and discoveries made in this branch of science up to 

 the year 1905. It is necessarily, therefore, somewhat 

 sketchy, but ainple compensation for this will be found 

 in the freshness of its information, whether conveyed 

 by illustrations or letterpress. The illustrations are 



NO. 1987, VOL. yy] 



particularly good, and the only one which strikes us 

 ;is distinctly old-fashioned fs the diagram showing the 

 distribution of seismic areas. 



In the opening pages the student is introduced to 

 the meaning of elementary technical terms, with their 

 equivalents given in English, French, and German. 

 These would be more useful if they were more exact; 

 the English for " Strcichen " is not " direction," but 

 " strike," and an " overthrust " is not identical with 

 either an inclined or a recumbent fold. It is singular 

 that many Continental geologists, notwithstanding 

 their apparent familiarity with the structure of north- 

 western Sutherland, should still seem to find a diffi- 

 culty in grasping the real significance of our " over- 

 thrust." 



The author does not attempt to found any system 

 of his own, and in disputed questions generally con- 

 tents himself with summarising the opinions of others; 

 hence, in treating of the internal state of the earth, 

 the important bearing of recent seismological observ- 

 ations is overlooked, for if distortional waves do really 

 traverse the whole mass of the planet, we need 

 no longer give serious attention to theories which 

 involve a gaseous interior. 



The origin of coral atolls is briefly discussed, and 

 the boring in Funafuti is referred to as furnishing 

 a proof that in certain cases Darwin's theory holds 

 good; on the other hand, it is asserted that this theory 

 will not apply to the atoll-like reefs of the \\"est Indies. 

 This latter statement would seem to show that the 

 author cannot have read Darwin's " Coral Reefs " with 

 sufficient care, for Darwin himself expressly excluded 

 these reefs from his explanation. In this oversight, 

 however, the author by no means stands alone. 



To the general reader, whose interest is restricted to 

 results, this work will provide a useful epitome, nor is 

 it without a claim upon the advanced student; it 

 brings together many new facts hitherto scattered and 

 disconnected, and builds them into the edifice of his 

 science. 



Nests and Eggs of Birds found Breeding in Australia 

 and Tasmania. By A. J. North. Vol. ii., part ii. 

 (Australian Museum, 1907.) 

 This part of the second volume of the new edition of 

 Mr. North's excellent work on the nests and eggs of 

 the birds found breeding in Australia and Tasmania 

 describes the greater portion of the large and impor- 

 tant family Meliphagidae, commenced towards the 

 latter end of the preceding part, and the families 

 Nectariniidae, Zosteropidae, Dicced^, and Pardalo- 

 tidae. The figures of the eggs, which are of the 

 natural size, were reproduced by heliolype process at 

 the Government Printing Ofiice from photographs of 

 specimens. The letterpress contains descriptions of 

 the birds, their nests and eggs, and a general 

 account of their life-history. The excellent detailed 

 description of the birds, the copious field notes, and 

 the beauty of the illustrations all call for notice. This 

 important and most interesting work is a publication 

 of the Australian museum, beautifully produced, and 

 at a very low price. In the present part we have 

 138 pages of letterpress (large 4to), three plates (one 

 showing the nest of Lewin's honey eater !ii situ, and 

 the other two comprising sixty-six figures of eggs), 

 besides illustrations in the text of birds, nests, and 

 breeding haunts, for ys. 6d. 



Grundziige der Tierkunde fiir hohere Leiiranstalten. 



By Prof. Karl Smalian. Pp. 304; illustrated. 



(Leipzig: G. Freytag; Vienna: E. Tempsky, 



1907.) Price 4 marks. 

 Tins work, which is intended as a companion to the 

 author's " Grundziigen der Pflanzenkunde," is more 

 attractive than the generality of school text-books on 



