66 



NA TURE 



[November 19, 1908 



afterwards the special crops of tfie south are de- 

 scribed. Succeeding chapters deal with plant diseases 

 and insects; these, however, are written bv specialists, 

 as one man could not hope to write a useful book 

 which would cover the whole range of the subject. 

 Altogether the book appears to be admirably suited 

 to the purpose for which it is intended, and it can 

 be cordially recommended as a clear statement of 

 the principles of the subject. E. J. R. 



Vitality, Fasting, and ^■utriiion. By Hereward Car- 



rington. With an introduction by Dr. A. Rabagliati. 



Pp. .xH-648. (London : Rebman, Ltd., n.d.) Price 



21.S. net. 

 The use of food of different kinds in disease, and the 

 need of prohibition of food either in part or in toto, 

 is a necessary part of the knowledge of every medical 

 practitioner. The author of the above work seeks to 

 magnify the importance of fasting over prolonged 

 periods as the sole means of curing all the ills of 

 human flesh. Some years ago another American 

 writer wrote a book entitled the " No Breakfast 

 Cure," in which the omission of this very pleasant 

 meal was lauded as the universal panacea for all 

 illness. Mr. Carrington has, however, " gone one 

 better," and advises the discontinuance of all meals. 

 His book is a strange medley, and hardly merits 

 serious consideration in a scientific journal. Among 

 its many assertions which are unsupported throughout 

 by any experimental evidence are the following : — 

 AU medical science is wrong ab initio; diseased are 

 nature's mode of cure; the taking of the impurities 

 called foods is the source of all evil ; the germ theory 

 of disease is a myth ; the law of conservation of 

 energy is a fiction ; food is not a source of energy 

 or strength, but of weakness; the energy of the body 

 is derived from an internal source, a kind of vital 

 spirit in one's interior which can only be cleansed 

 and rendered pure by the agency of starvation. 



Happily for the sake of the too easily gulled public, 

 he relates some cases illustrative of his method of 

 cure. The perusal of these will be quite sufficient 

 to prevent his therapeutic methods from obtaining a 

 wide vogue. Some of these describe the ordinary 

 symptoms of starvation somewhat graphically, but 

 death when it occurred as the inevitable result is 

 attributed to something else. Photographs are given 

 of one patient reduced to the condition of a skeleton, 

 but purified from the dross of food with the vital 

 flame burning without hindrance. As a proof of this 

 patient's vigour after a fast of forty-one days, the 

 author naivelv remarks : — " I helped him to undress 

 and dress, though he could easilv have done this 

 himself." 



The book is only remarkable as an instance of the 

 lengths to which a fad can be carried. 



\V. D. H. 



Die Cestoden dcr Voi^cL By Dr. O. Fuhrmann. 



Zool. Jahrb., Suppl. lo, part i. Pp. 1-232. (Jena : 



Gustav Fischer, 1908.) 

 In no group of vertebrates are cestode worms so 

 numerous and of such varied types as among birds, 

 and as these have hitherto been but little studied. 

 Dr. Fuhrmann has for the last eleven vears devoted 

 a large portion of his time to their investigation, 

 directing special attention to the taeniid, or tape- 

 worm, group. The result is the present memoir, 

 which bears full witness to the arduous nature of 

 the author's labours. No fewer than sixty-four distinct 

 generic types (many of them with numerous species) 

 of these parasites are recognised as infesting birds, 

 ;ind the author has taken soecial pains to ascertain 

 HO far as possible the particular groups of birds to 

 NO. 2038, VOL. 79] 



which these various genera respectively devote their 

 attentions. This renders the work of value and in- 

 terest to the ornithologist as well as to the students of 

 parasitology, since the results have a distinct bearing 

 on the mutual relations of different bird-groups. He 

 shows, for instance, that the plover group (Limicolae) 

 has no parasites common to the gulls (Gavis), which 

 may tend to show that these groups are less inti- 

 mately related than is generally considered to be the 

 case, although, before coming to a definite conclusion, 

 the difference in their habitats must be borne in mind. 

 Similarly, it is found that the parasitic worms of the 

 diurnal birds of prey (Accipitres) are totally distinct 

 from those of the owls (Striges), despite the fact that 

 tlie food of many members of the two groups is 

 identical. In this case we have confirmation of the 

 modern view as to the wide sundering of the .\ccipitres 

 and the .Striges. To follow the author further is, 

 within the limitations of our space, impossible, and 

 we may therefore conclude by commending his worlv 

 to the best attention of both ornithologists and hel- 

 minthologists. R. L. 



Thoughts on Natural Philosophy, with a New Read- 

 ing of Newton's First Law. By A. Biddlecombe. 

 Pp. 24. (London : Whittaker and Co., n.d.) 

 Many and various are the subjects that may be in- 

 cluded under the term "natural philosophy." The 

 author, in a brochure of the modest length of twenty- 

 four pages, refers to all the recent physical discoveries, 

 over which he is enthusiastic. Radium and the theory 

 of atomic disintegration, he says, " enabled him to 

 jump to the apprehension of the speed theory of 

 material combination which has formed the germ 

 from which this sketch of a true natural philosophy 

 has developed." 



His main point seems to be that energy (or natural 

 motion) — and the sther is considered to be material 

 — is the original thing, and that rest is a secondary 

 effect. He thus arrives — by "natural philosophy," 

 shall we say? — at a point not very distant from the 

 modern doctrine of energy, although he himself ap- 

 pears to consider that this point of view is unorthodox. 

 The " speed theory " is best described in the author's 

 own words : — 



" This is the great truth, and appears to be the key 

 to the Riddle of the Universe — viz., that the speed ' 

 and weight of granules, corpuscles, atoms, and mole- 

 cules, and the peculiarities of movement resulting 

 from that speed and weight, give to substances their 

 distinguishing characteristics, and account for all 

 natural phenomena." 



With this as a possible point of view, none, probably, 

 will be disposed to quarrel. Though it may be new 

 to the philosopher, it will sound not altogether un- 

 familiar to the man of science. 



The Ruskin Nature Reader. Being a Collection of 

 Literary Extracts to Accompany a Course of Nature 

 Study. Selected and edited bv G. R. Bennett. 

 Pp. ix+236. (London : J. M. Dent and Co., n.d.) 

 Price IS. gd. 

 The judicious selection of literary extracts which 

 Mr. Bennett has made shows convincingly wh.-it a 

 strong appeal to our great writers natural objects 

 and phenomena have always made. Though called 

 after him, the reading-book is by no means confined 

 to excerpts from Ruskin's work; indeed, there are 

 only five such extracts among forty-four. Gilbert 

 White, Tyndall, Izaak Walton, Darwin, and Richard 

 Jefferies are among the writers drawn upon. If the 

 book sends boys and girls out to observe for them- 

 selves, as Mr. Bennett hopes it will, it will have 

 served a reallv useful purpose. 



1 Speed and movement may take many forms. 



I 



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