ign] 



NATURE 



43 



the artificial production of nitrogen compounds, are 

 described in an interesting manner, and in an easy 

 and popular style. The wisdom of the plan adopted in 

 dealing with theoretical points is more questionable. 

 The reader is presented, almost on every other page, 

 with numbers intended to impress by their vastness. 

 Such statements as that "in such an inconceivably 

 short interval of time as the millionth part of the 

 millionth part of a second there occur no less than 

 2, 81 111,000,000,000,000,000 collisions between the little 

 atomic worlds which make up a [candle] flame ! " 

 abound in every chapter, and the latest hypotheses 

 concerning electrons and the aether are utilised freely 

 to supply similar data. The exclamatory style of these 

 portions, and the excessive attention given to the 

 sensational and the marvellous, render much of the 

 book fatiguing to the reader, and injure its value as 

 a means of instruction, especially as no clear dis- 

 tinction is made between those wonders which are 

 facts of experience and the most hazardous guesses as 

 to the structure of the universe. 



Some of the most interesting sections deal with 

 natural marvels, such as the caverns of limestone 

 districts, the diamond mines of Kimberley, and the 

 sulphur deposits of Sicily and Japan, and the author's 

 reading lias enabled him to bring together a mass of 

 curious information in which most readers will find 

 something new or unfamiliar. 



In spite of the defects on the scientific side, to 

 which attention has been directed, it is evident that 

 the author has a real enthusiasm for his subject, much 

 poetic feeling, and considerable facility of expression, 

 and that his book represents a genuine effort to com- 

 municate his enthusiasm to others. 



Plant-Life on Land, considered in Some of its 

 Biological Aspects. By Prof. F. O. Bower, F.R.S. 

 Pp. ii+172. (Cambridge: University Press, 1911.) 

 is. net. 

 The first part of this book deals with the problem which 

 the author has expounded more fully in his large 

 work on the origin of a land flora. The life-histories 

 of L'lothrix and Pteris, the flower of Cycadeoidea, and 

 the motile sperms of Zamia are the central points in 

 the earlier chapters. Then after discussing the limi- 

 tations imposed upon plants by fixity of position, the 

 author turns towards the golf links, noting by the 

 way the incidents connected with plant increase and 

 the biological features of sand-dunes. The golf links 

 are introduced to serve as an object-lesson in plant 

 colonisation. Finally, it is explained in the conclud- 

 ing chapter how the various themes treated as separate 

 essays converge upon the all-important problem of 

 descent. The facts and opinions set forth can scarcely 

 fail to interest the general reader, who desires to become 

 acquainted with modern views regarding the origin 

 and development of the plant world, but he is likely 

 to find the information somewhat disjointed and 

 sketchv ; thus he would certainly desire to learn more, 

 if onlv hypothetical, of the transition from the 

 fern to the flowering plant, and also of the evolution 

 of the flower. Botanists are, of course, familiar with 

 the subjects discussed, but to some the tale of the 

 Culbin sands may be new, and all will appreciate 

 Prof. Bower's "dicta" on golf links. 



Butterflies and How to identify them. By the Rev. 



S. N. Sedgwick. Pp. 63. (London : Charles 



H. Kellv. n.d.). Price is. net. 

 This is an excellent little book for the beginner, and 

 contains a quantity of useful information, for which 

 we might often seek in vain in more pretentious works. 

 There is a coloured frontispiece, representing three 

 butterflies and two moths, and thirty-five photographic 

 NO. 2176, VOL. 87] 



illustrations (some of them including a whole page of 

 figures), representing scales, eggs, larvae, and pupae, 

 besides perfect insects. Some of the"se are natural 

 size, and others reduced or (occasionally) enlarged, 

 and those of perfect insects are generally good, but 

 the figures in some of the plates representing the 

 butterflies of each month are rather too small, and 

 have scarcely come out very recognisably. 



The first chapter deals with metamorphoses, col- 

 lecting, &c, and the second includes a complete list of 

 British butterflies, with Latin and English names, 

 and a sketch of the contents of the five families. In 

 chapter iii. we find a table giving the month of appear- 

 ance, food-plant, name, and locality, &c, of each 

 butterfly, then a series of plates, to which we have 

 already referred, showing the butterflies of each month 

 from April to September, then notes on typical larva; 

 and pupae, of which a representative series is figured, 

 and, lastlv, another table, giving name, brief descrip- 

 tions of image, larvae and pupae, food plants, and 

 locality ; and a few pages of ruled paper for notes. 



A few doubtful species are included, such as 

 Argynnis dia and Erebin ligca, but if this is an error, 

 it is an error on the right side. Altogether the book 

 should be specially useful to schoolboy entomologists. 



The Open Book of Nature: an Introduction to Nature- 

 Study. By the Rev. Chas. A. Hall. Pp. xi + 26S. 

 (London: A. and C. Black, 1911.) Price 3s. 6<i. 

 net. 

 Various allusions and the general tenor of the book 

 indicate that the author's early proclivities towards 

 natural history were developed at a time when there 

 were few inducements, either in the shape of popular 

 books or general appreciation, to take up the study 

 of the natural sciences. Having derived so much 

 pleasure from his studies he desires to arouse in others 

 the spirit of observation and a similar enthusiasm for 

 a knowledge of nature. 



The earlier geological chapters are devoted mainly 

 t.v diss, nations on rocks and fossils; identification of 

 flowers is the chief botanical feature, and zoology is 

 introduced with botany in the description of a ramble 

 which occupies a third part of the book. The final 

 chapter containing practical hints is by no means the 

 least useful, although the manipulation of microscope 

 and camera are better postponed to a more advanced 

 stage. The purpose of the author is best served in 

 those passages where he describes his own observa- 

 tions and experiences. There is overmuch introduc- 

 tion of information which, referring to natural objects 

 not easilv obtained, cannot be practically confirmed, 

 and it is certainly inexpedient to give a string of 

 morphological definitions (as on pp. 120 to 130), some 

 of which are admittedly incorrect; it would be wiser 

 in every respect to refer the student to a text-book for 

 such details. Undoubtedly the author would be a 

 delightful companion in the field, but conversations 

 that are instructive on a ramble appear fragmentary 

 when offered as a set piece. 



The Oxford Geographies. Edited _ by A. J. Herbert- 

 son. Junior Geography. Questions. Pp. 2S. By 

 F. M. Kirk. Statistical Appendix. Pp. 36. By 

 E. G. R. Taylor. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1911.) 

 Price is. 

 If these questions and summaries— prepared to accom- 

 panv Prof. Herbertson's "Junior Geography "—lead 

 teachers to make boys and girls themselves take an 

 active part in their geography lessons, and not merely 

 listen to what the teacher has to say, they will serve 

 a very useful purpose. The resourceful master should 

 find no difficulty in basing practical wo.k upon the 

 material here provided. 



