NATURE 



97 



THURSDAY, DECEMBER 



.4 TEXT-BOOK OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY. 

 Lectures on Plant Physiology. By Prof. Ludwig 

 Jost. Authorised English translation by Prof. 

 Harvey Gibson. Pp. xiv + 564; illustrated. (Ox- 

 ford : Clarendon Press, 1907.) 'Price 21s. net. 

 PROF. JOST'S lectures appeared in German in 

 1904, and were soon appreciatively reviewed in 

 the columns of Nature. It was twenty years since 

 a book had appeared so admirably adapted for the use 

 of students of the physiology of plants, and an 

 English translation was eagerly awaited by teacliers 

 of the subject. Now that it is to hand we find that 

 it contains several hundred mistranslations; quota- 

 tion of a short series of these will show how greatly 

 the English rendering lacks accuracy. On p. 44. 

 and elsewhere, " succulent plants " become " oily 

 plants." On p. 114, by mistranslation, all Brown and 

 Morris's work on the carbohydrates of foliage leaves 

 is transferred to another investigator. 



On p. 128, the fact that in Engelmann's micro- 

 spectral investigations by the bacterial method the 

 assimilating cells are lighted from below is ignored, 

 and the significance of a table of data is destroyed in 

 translation by the illuminated side being styled the 

 tipper side. On p. 229, Pfliiger's hypothesis that 

 respiration always involves direct oxidation of the 

 actual substance of the protoplasm itself is stated in 

 one sentence, and yet the next says that if it could 

 be shown that nitro-bacteria only oxidise ammonia in 

 their respiration, this theory would be established. 

 The German says the exact opposite — that the theory 

 would thus be disproved. On p. 230 we find the 

 statement that small doses of sugar and organic food 

 accelerate the development of nitrifying organisms, 

 whereas the inhibiting action of such " nutriments " 

 upon these special organisms is one of the outstand- 

 ing wonders of protoplasmic mutability. On p. 265 

 it is stated that certain " cells exhibited growth at 

 their ends " instead of " the cell-growth came to an 

 end." 

 r On p. 278, dealing with the forms of the plant-body, 

 we read : — 



" There are quite a number of plants which 

 form only one axis, on which no lateral members 

 save leaves are produced. In a second series may be 

 placed the numerous coniferse which develop lateral 

 branches only. The majority of higher plants, how- 

 ever, form both lateral buds and leaves." 



Consultation of the German shows that the three con- 

 trasted series really are : — main axes bearing (i) leaves 

 only ; (2) leaves and occasional lateral branches ; and 

 J (3) leaves and as many lateral buds as there arc leaves. 

 On p. 334 the process of " budding " is described 

 under the title of "grafting," and that of "graft- 

 ing" under "budding." On p. 335 "leaf-trace" is 

 translated by "leaf-spur," while on p. 331 it appears 

 as "leaf-base." On p. 339, discussing the range of 

 adaptation to habitat, we read : — 



" Although amphibious plants can live in water 

 as well as on land, there is usually in the long run 

 a certain minimum and a certain maximum degree of 



NO. 1988, VOL. yy] 



dampness which may not be exceeded ; in other words, 

 amphibious plants cannot on the one hand become 

 aquatics nor on the other xerophytes." 



It is hard for the English student to divine 

 that what the author says is that amphibious 

 plants on land generally need a fair amount of 

 moisture ; they cannot range from an aquatic habit 

 all the way to a xerophytic habit. 



On p. 400 one sentence says that the raising of the 

 tempierature of the arum spadix above that of its en- 

 vironment by respiration is scarcely appreciable during 

 intra-molecular respiration, while the next says th;it 

 the organ is hotter in intra-molecular respiration than' 

 in normal respiration. On p. 407 we find that 

 Askenasy observed certain capillary phenomena ois 

 wetting "deposits on cover-glasses"; this should be 

 on wetting " a pile of cover-glasses " : on the same 

 page it is stated that the possibility of gelatine 

 having, in its substance, microscopically fine capillary 

 spaces containing air is disproved by its " imperme-, 

 ability to air"; the German says by its "trans- 

 parence." 



On p. 543 there occurs the following incompre- 

 hensibility as a rendering of the Weber-Fechneir law 

 as exemplified in human perception of differences of 

 weight : — 



" A weight of I mg. must be increased one-- 

 third, a weight of 10 mg. must be increased ten-' 

 thirds before we can appreciate a difference between 

 them." 



In some ten or more places the expression " pre- 

 sentation time," in reference to a stimulus, is ren- 

 dered by " latent period " to the complete confound- 

 ing of the sense. 



Finally, the headings of the chapters are not always 

 correctly rendered. Chapter xxxii. deals with move- 

 ments due to " Kohasion des Fullwassers," which 

 means the cohesion of the water-contents filling the 

 cells. Yet in the title and throughout the chapter 

 Fiillwasser is translated by " imbibition-water," which 

 is quite a different phenomenon. 



To these faults of commission are yet to be added 

 those of omission. In the bibliographies at the ends 

 of the chapters all the titles of English works still 

 remain in the German language. Is the student to 

 take no pride in his heritage in the work of Darwin, 

 Hales, Knight, and others? Further, all the many 

 works translated from the German by the Oxford 

 Press are quoted in German without reference to the 

 fact that there are English translations available for 

 students. Even the references to Pfefl'er's " Physi- 

 ology " are all to the pages and volumes of the 

 German edition. 



When provided with a list of essential corrections of 

 the text, this text-book will be a very valuable addi- 

 tion to the distinguished series of German hand- 

 books prepared for English students by the Clarendon 

 Press. 



In conclusion we may express our high esteem for 

 Prof. Jost's lectures. The exposition is extremely 

 lucid, and just what is needed for students taking up 

 the advanced study of physiology. The author pays. 

 well-merited tribute to Pfeffer's classical handbook. 



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