484 



NATURE 



[March 26, 1908 



ties, even the characters of families and genera, are 

 almost entirely omitted, but the amount of practical 

 information is nearly as great as that to be found in 

 the more bulky work of jMr. Barrett, who dealt with 

 about 100 species in each volume. No popular book, 

 of course, can compete with the huge encyclopaedic 

 work of Mr. Tutt ; but then he often devotes 40 

 or 50 pages of very closelv printed but large Svo. 

 pages to a single species, and his work is only slightly 

 illustrated. Mr. .South, however, gives us a profusion 

 of admirable illustrations, and much bulk is saved by 

 an arrangement by which the plates (except the frontis- 

 piece) are on opposite sides of the same leaf, in most 

 cases coloured figures of moths occupying one side 

 and plain figures of transformations the other. The 

 introduction is good, and includes useful figures of 

 antenna and wing-markings, cVc, and also remarks 

 on collecting. 



The general arrangement followed is that of 

 Staudinger's catalogue of 1901. One point of 

 interest in successive works on British Lepidoptera 

 is the shifting of localities for species, combined with 

 the actual extinction of some, and the discovery or 

 naturalisation of others. The comparison of a series 

 of successive works like those of Petiver, Haworth, 

 Stephens, Westwood and Humphrevs, Stainton, and 

 Barrett would bring this out verv strongly. Most of 

 the best localities of the older London entomologists 

 has been built over or otherwise destroyed ; the best 

 locality _ for " blues," &c., near Brighton, is now 

 turned into allotments; and several species of but- 

 terflies and moths common in many parts of England 

 only fifty years ago are now on the verge of extinction 

 as British species. 



We must not omit to mention that Mr. South does 

 not share Stainton 's prejudice against English 

 names. In Stainton "s time it might have been neces- 

 sary to discourage their use as against that of Latin 

 names ; but at present the latter are so familiar that 

 it is no longer necessary. One suggestion we should 

 like to make. The index is good, but we think a 

 table of contents would also be useful ; and if restricted 

 to headings and families, it need not occupy more 

 than a single page. W. F. K. 



Physiologic und Anatomie des Menschen mit aushlickcu 

 auf^ den ganzen Kreis der Wirheltiere. By Dr. 

 Felix Kienitz-Gerloff. Pp. vi-l-i^io. (Leipzig: 

 B. G. Teubncr, 1907.) Price 3 marks. 

 This is a small elementary text-book with a 

 scope similar to that of Huxley's " Elementary 

 Lessons in Physiology." It presents clearlv and 

 accurately the main facts of physiology and anatomy 

 from a general educational point of view. While the 

 skeleton, muscles and joints are dismissed with appro- 

 priate brevity, the central nervous system, sense 

 organs, excretory organs, and the alimentary, 

 respiratory, and circulatory systems are treated in 

 some detail. As opportunity, offers, matters pertain- 

 ing to general health find suitable mention. The text 

 is lightened by frequent and interesting references 

 to comparative anatomy. The illustrations are taken 

 from standard text-books of anatomy, and are both 

 numerous and well chosen. Although the book is 

 primarily intended for students in a school of agri- 

 culture, it ought to have a wide and general circula- 

 tion. VV. W. 

 Tlie Elements of Geography. By J. H. N. Stephen- 

 son. Part i.. General Geography. Pp. xiii-l-160; 

 with illustrations and maps. (London : Edward 

 Stanford, 1908.) Price 35. 6d. 

 What Mr. Stephenson describes as "general" is 

 more _ commonly known among teachers as 

 ' physical " geography ; but since an understanding 



NO. 2004, VOL. yyl 



oi the broad principles with which he deals in this 

 attractive book must precede a study of the geography 

 of special areas, his title sufficiently describes the 

 character of his chapters. The section styled 

 "organic" geography will prove especially useful to 

 teachers as indicating the way in which man's 

 development has been modified by his surroundings, 

 and the manner in which man in his turn has in- 

 fluenced the character and distribution of life on the 

 globe. The book is exceptionally rich in well- 

 executed maps which will increase greatly its useful- 

 ness as a class-manual. The volume may be recom- 

 mended to the careful attention of teachers of 

 geography. 



Lehrbiicli der Chcniic laid Mineralogie fiir die vierle 

 Klasse der Realsclnile)i. By Franz von Hemmel- 

 mayr and Dr. Karl Brunner (the Mineralogical Por- 

 tion by Heinrich Leitenberger). Third edition. 

 Pp. 180; with two coloured plates. (N'ienna : F. 

 Tempsky, igo6.) Price 2kr. lohel. 

 This is an elementary class-book for use in the fourth 

 class in the Austrian .State schools, that is, for boys 

 oi about twelve or thirteen years of age. It covers 

 much the same ground as the usual elementary class- 

 books on chemistry. In the longest portion of the 

 book, that on inorganic chemistry, however, there are 

 added brief descriptions of the more important 

 minerals which yield the elements under discussion ; 

 the pupil is thus at the same time told how chemical 

 compounds and elements occur in nature. Figures 

 are given of crystals of these minerals, but several of 

 them have been placed upside down in the text. 

 There is a short section on organic chemistry, in 

 which prominence is given to compounds of everyday 

 use. The book is ver}' well and clearly printed on 

 good paper. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



\The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions 

 expressed hy his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 

 to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected 

 manuscripts intended for this or any other part of Nature. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] 



The Cotton Plant. 



The full acknowledgment Sir George Watt has given to 

 the slight assistance which I was able to afford him — in 

 those portions of his book which deal with Egyptian 

 cotton — renders criticism difficult, but there are a few 

 points arising from Lieut. -Colonel Prain's recent letter 

 (February 6, p. 318) which seem to call for comment. 



While not possessing any general knowledge of the 

 genus Gossypium, I have had occasion during the last 

 three years to grow, and to examine in some detail, a 

 number of pedigree cultures of Egyptian cotton — as well 

 as of LTplands and others — in researches on Mendel's law. 

 One result of this work is that I can fully endorse your 

 reviewer's argument that the cotton plant can be studied 

 successfully for systematic purposes in living material only. 

 The herbarium method has many limitations, the most 

 conspicuous of which is perhaps the tendency to take the 

 extreme form of some character which has a large range 

 of fluctuation as the differentiating mark of a variety or 

 species. 



Colonel Prain affirms that the ideas of your reviewer as 

 to the meaning of the terms " species " and " variety " 

 do not accord with accepted usage. My general position 

 is the reverse of Colonel Prain's, in that I am un.able to 

 obtain any idea as to the nature of species in the genus 

 Gossypium by studying the names accorded by Watt to 

 certain plants with which I am acquainted. .\ particular 

 case is that of the Sudanese tree cottons from Senaar, 

 referred to in the " Wild and Cultivated Cottons of the 

 World " by my numbers 213-1 and 213-2 (pp. 113 and 

 13S). These were supplied to me by Mr. .\. G. Braun, 

 of the Woods and Forests Department, Khartoum, in a 



