44 



NATURE 



[July 3, 19 13 



; ■ 1 hers. Animals are discussed in order to throw 

 light on the biology of human life, in order to 

 help towards healthy living. Everyday functions 

 get a prominent place; bees, mosquitoes, and flies 

 come to the front ; the discussion of birds and 

 fishes leads on to the question of their conserva- 

 (ion; the Protozoa are used to illumine man's 

 cellular processes; bacteria receive much atten- 

 tion. Precise practical work is, of course, in- 

 sisted on as a discipline, and many ol the con- 

 ventional tasks are included. But there are as 

 many which have a fresh practical turn. 



The lessons on everyday hygiene, cm foods, and 

 on the use of alcohol and tobacco seem to us 

 very sound, and, in short, what we like about the 

 whole book is its persistent endeavour to bring' 

 the biological instruction into direct touch with 

 human life. There is no risk that the study of 

 pure science will be in this way endangered, 

 and there is every likelihood that the education of 

 the voting citizen will be immensely improved. 

 The book is generously provided with interesting 

 illustrations, many of them photographs. 



For future editions we would make the sugges- 

 tion that the authors do not attempt to cover quite 

 so much ground. Thus the paragraph on the 

 relatives of the earthworm would be much better 

 deleted unless more can be said, and there are 

 many other cases where this book would be im- 

 proved by recognising the necessity for others. 

 We should like to express our appreciation of the 

 wholesome view that " no study of human biology 

 should be allowed to leave in the mind of the 

 student the idea that he is merely a chemical 

 engine adapted only for the generation of a certain 

 amount of physical energy." 



(2) Miss Lulham is to be congratulated on the 

 success of her "Introduction to Zoology," which 

 fills a distinct gap. It introduces the student to 

 the study of living creatures (Invertebrates only) 

 with habits and habitats and interrelations, and 

 it has been written from experience. It abounds 

 in valuable practical hints. There is a convincing 

 realitv about the book, and a real feeling of the 

 open air, two qualities which are enhanced by the 

 unusually skilful and spirited figures which have 

 been prepared by Miss Violet Sheffield. This 

 introduction should be of great value to teachers 

 of nature-study, to students working alone, and 

 to those who wish to supplement their more 

 analytic and anatomical work by some sound 

 ^ecology. 



Miss Lulham deals excellently with earthworm 

 and starfish, pond-snail and prawn, but she is at 

 her best when she comes to spiders and insects — 

 to which much more than half the book is de- 

 voted. It will be a good thing for the study of 

 NO. 2279. VOL. 91^ 



natural history if this exceedingly educative "In- 

 troduction to Zoology " comes into widespread 

 use, as it certainly ought to do. For it is un- 

 usually true to its excellent motto : — 



'Y,v nam yap tois ajvatKoh (vetTTi ti 8avp.ao~ruv. 



(3) Prof. Bigelow's manual is really a sort oi 

 teacher's appendix to accompanv "Applied Bio- 

 logy" and "Introduction to Biology," by Anna 

 N. Bioelow and himself. He gives useful hints 

 as to the best way of using the "Applied Biology " 

 (without which this manual is of relatively little 

 use), and advice in regard to material for practical 

 work, methods, equipment, and literature. The 

 orientation of the biological studies in relation to 

 human life is a prominent feature in Prof. 

 Bigelow's plan of instruction, and he is emphatic 

 in regard to the indispensableness of the biological 

 foundation. In regard to sex-hytriene, for in- 

 stance, he says: "The most practicable step now 

 possible in the world-wide movement for sex-educa- 

 tion is the development of the full possibilities of 

 the biological studies that touch the problems of 

 reproduction." 



(4) Prof. R. Hertwig's "Zoology" has passed 

 through nine German editions and continues to 

 be a favourite manual. It gives a general intro- 

 duction to morphology and physiology and a 

 systematic treatment of the various phyla, with 

 special attention to particular types. Its virtues 

 are general trustworthiness, clearness, and a judi- 

 cious selection of essentials. Its deliberate defects 

 are that it is too much pemmican and not very in- 

 teresting, and that it says very little about the life 

 of animals. Prof. Kingsley has prepared a revised 

 American edition, especially adapted for American 

 needs. It is to a considerable extent a new book, 

 and it is a competent piece of work sure to be of 

 great utility. It has been very carefully edited, 

 and it includes not a few original figures. We 

 cannot profess, however, to have any belief in the 

 usefulness of the summaries of important facts 

 given at the end of each phylum ; many of the 

 propositions are too terse to be true, and altogether 

 they smack of the cram-book. J. A. T. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 

 I 'cber einfache Pflanzenbasen und Hire Beziehungen 



cum Aufbatt der Eiweissstoffe und Lecithine. 



By Dr. G. Trier. Pp. iv+117. (Berlin: 



Gebri'ider Borntraeger, 1912.) Price 5'bo 



marks. 

 This work is a valuable contribution to plant 

 chemistry by a well-known worker who, by his 

 own researches, has considerably enlarged our 

 knowledge in this special domain. He has found 

 it possible to give a summary of recent work and 

 theoretical views of a complex character which 

 is extremely interesting but might easily have 



