i88 



NA TURE 



[December 17, 1908 



The British Journal Pliotographic Almanac, 1909- 

 Edited by George E. Brown. Pp. 133b. (London : 

 Henrv Greenwood and Co., 1908.) Price is. net. ; 

 cloth is. 6d. 

 As each year begins to draw to an end, so this very 

 excellent friend of the photographer makes its appear- 

 ance. While the style of the volume remains the same, 

 the text, sandwiched in between a mass of advertise- 

 ments, will be found most useful material for the 

 worker. Among some of the numerous subjects 

 dealt with may be mentioned the epitome of progress 

 since the last issue, while the recent novelties in 

 apparatus are full of interest. The usual tables, both 

 chemical and optical, together with the numerous for- 

 mulae for the principal processes, foim, as usual, an 

 important part of this publication, not forgetting the 

 calendar, directory of photographic societies, and par- 

 ticulars of the chief photographic associations which 

 are not included in the above directory. 



The frontispiece is a coloured portrait of the late Mr. 

 Thomas R. Dallmeyer, from a painting by Sandys, 

 the three colour blocks having been made and printed 

 by Messrs. Hood and Co., Ltd., Middlesbrough. 



The great number of advertisements is quite a 

 unique feature of this publication, and the capital 

 indices render them easy to refer to. The volume 

 should naturally find a place in every studio or 

 laboratory where photography is practised. 

 The American Annual of Photography, igog. Vol. 

 xxiii. Edited by John A. Tennant. Pp. xliv-t-328. 

 (New York: Tennant and Ward; London: Daw- 

 barn and Ward, Ltd., 1908.) Price 55. 

 The twenty-third issue of this annual is a volume 

 which will be welcomed by all photographers. It is 

 bristling with a great number of original articles on 

 many subjects, most of which are admirably illus- 

 trated. These are for the most part written in a very 

 clear manner, and summarise in a small space the par- 

 ticular speciality of the individual writers. Thus, Mr. 

 A. Radclvlfe Dugmore leads off with " Camera Hunt- 

 ing for Big Game," while Mrs. H. C. .Sutherland 

 writes about " Animal Photography." "The Photo- 

 graphy of Lightning " is dealt with by Mr. Howden 

 Wilkie, with some interesting photographs, and Mr. 

 W. J. Farthing treats of " The Camera in Natural 

 History Research." 



In addition to the many articles mentioned above, 

 the volume includes some excellent reproductions of 

 photographs taken by well-known workers. 



At the end are gathered together a typical collection 

 of formute and tables, the former being selected from 

 the methods of practical photographers. The strong 

 binding and general character of the book reflect 

 great credit on the editor and his co-workers, and the 

 volume should find a home in every photographic 

 studio. 



Bcitrdge cur Katurdcnkmalpflcge. Heft i. and ii. 

 Edited bv Prof. H. Conwentz. (Berlin : Gebriider 

 Borntraeger, 1907-8.) 

 1 ]■ will be remembered that Prof. H. Conwentz, 

 editor of the above publication and Prussian Com- 

 missioner for " Naturdenkmalpflege," delivered an ad- 

 dress on " The Preservation of Natural Monuments " 

 (Nature, vol. Ixxvi., p. 556) before a joint 

 meeting of Sections K, C, D, and E at 

 the Leicester meeting of the British .-\ssocialion. 

 In this address Prof. Conwentz explained what was 

 meant by " Naturdenkmiiler," and also the aims and 

 objects of the Prussian State Department for their 

 preservation. The above periodical is the official 

 organ of the department for Naturdenkmalpflege. The 

 first Heft is subdivided into two main parts. The 

 first part deals with the administration of the de- 



NO. 2042. VOL. 79] 



partment. The second part shows the progress which 

 has been made in the care and preservation of natural 

 monuments. 



The main object of the department seems to be 

 directed towards getting the public and private landed 

 proprietors interested in the preservation of all things 

 of natural interest which are in any way threatened 

 with extinction or obliteration. Prof. Conwentz, the 

 head of the department, has travelled over the greater 

 part of the State, and held personal interviews with 

 local authorities, heads of departments of public and 

 other bodies, societies and individuals who are at all 

 likely to be interested in the movement, and, further, a 

 great many lectures have been given all over Germany, 

 and, indeed, in several other countries, in order to stir 

 up public interest in the care and preservation of 

 natural monuments, which is probably the most potent 

 factor of all. 



An appendix at the end of the Heft contains much 

 useful information in a very concise form, showing 

 the constitution and function of the State Department 

 for Naturdenkmalpflege. This first number covers the 

 year from April i, 1906, to March 31, IQ07. The 

 demand for copies was so great that a new impression 

 was necessary. 



Heft ii. of the Beitrjige covers the period from 

 April I, 1907, to March 31, 1908. ,It is arranged on 

 the same lines as the previous number, but show's by 

 its size and the amount of new matter it contains 

 that great progress has been made. Many Natur- 

 denkmiiler have been catalogued, mapped out, and 

 placed under proper care and supervision. Details of 

 these are given, but care is taken that localities or 

 stations where very rare plants or animals occur are 

 not made public, as it would no doubt defeat the 

 object of the department to let collectors and dealers 

 know of such places. The appendix shows what recent 

 legislation has taken place, and gives other useful 

 information, which appears desirable or necessary for 

 everv co-worker. 



The Beitriige will appear from time to time, but 

 not at definitely stated intervals, and the size and 

 price mav also varv with each new issue. 



A. W. B. 



Die periphere Lincrvation ; Ktirzc iibcrsichtlichc 

 Darstelliing des Ursprungs, Verlatifs iind der Aus- 

 breitung dcr Hirr- xmd Riickcninarksnerven. By 

 Dr. Emil Villiger. Pp. no. (Leipzig : W. Engel- 

 mann, 1908.) Price 6 marks. 

 The manifestations of disease are made so frequently 

 through the nervous system that there can be no 

 doubt of the utility of such a book as this, which 

 seeks to give the clinician a brief and clear descrip- 

 tion of the anatomy and physiology of nerve paths as 

 a solid basis for diagnostic purposes. It is an elemen- 

 tary book representing well-known facts to serve the 

 purpose of the medical man, its main interest to British 

 neurologists lying in the fact that it represents the 

 modern teaching of German and Swiss medical 

 schools. From a medical point of v-iew the 

 most important part of the nervous system is 

 the sympathetic, by which the viscera are brought 

 into close touch with the central and peri- 

 pheral nervous system, and by which visceral disease 

 is so frequently reflected, but the sympathetic system 

 is altogether excluded from Dr. Villiger's book. The 

 sensory nerve supply of the body wall, of the pleura 

 and peritoneum is also omitted. Th-e levator palata 

 is still described as receiving its nerve supply from the 

 facial nerve. On the other hand, the segmental nerve 

 supi)ly of the muscles of the bodv and the muscular 

 incoordinations and disturbances w-hich follow lesions 

 of the central nervous svstem are well described. 



