558 



NATURE. 



[November 28, 1912 



point of view, but also from the more important 

 one of the requirements of different markets. Two 

 chapters are devoted to diseases and pests affect- 

 ing' the plant, and the appropriate preventive or 

 remedial treatment for each is indicated. Tlie 

 \'olume is the second in the series of " Imperial 

 Institute Handbooks," prepared with special refer- 

 ence to the requirements of British West Africa. 

 It should prove especially useful in the Gold Coast, 

 where cocoa is now the principal article of export. 



(4) Dr. Tibbles's book is divided into five 

 sections. The first deals with the nature, 

 characters, and classification of the constituents 

 of foods, and, though much condensed, serves to 

 sjive a clear idea of the remarkable complexity of 

 food, when considered in terms of the chemical 

 compounds forming it. The second section covers 

 foodstuffs of animal origin, meat and meat pre- 

 parations, game, fish, cheese, butter, and other 

 materials of this class being considered in turn. 

 The commercial sources of each product, its manu- 

 facture and composition, and the characters which 

 distinguish sound from unsound material are dis- 

 cussed, and notes are added regarding the advan- 

 tages or disadvantages of each product as a food. 

 The third section deals in like manner with foods 

 obtained from plants. In the last two sections 

 spices and condiments and beverages are discussed, 

 the latter including tea, coffee and cocoa, as well 

 as malt liquors and spirits. 



The chemist who uses this book will find some 

 of the data which especially concern him rather 

 antiquated, and some of the statements so con- 

 densed as to be not strictly accurate. These and 

 other defects of the same kind are, however, 

 relatively unimportant in a book like this, which 

 brings together for the first time a mass of care- 

 fully selected and classified information concern- 

 ing foodstuffs. Dr. Tibbies is to be congratulated 

 both on the courage which led him to undertake 

 this task and the success with which he has 

 achieved it. 



TECHNICAL, POPULAR AND ECONOMIC 

 ZOOLOGY. 



(1) Lc Zcbre. .Studio Zoologico Popolare. By 

 Dr. .^chille Griffini. Pp. xxviii + 298; illus- 

 trated. (Milano : Ulrico Hoepli, 1913.) Price 

 4 lire. 



(2) La Pcche au Bord de la Mer. ByLucien 

 Jouenne et J.-H. Perreau. Pp. 311. (Paris: 

 J.-B. Baillifere et Fils, 1912.) Price 4 francs. 



(3) Bees shown to the Children. By Ellison 

 Hawks. Pp. xii+120; illustrated. (London 

 and Edinburgh: T. C. and E. C. Jack.) Price 

 2.'!. 6d. net. (The " .Shown to the Children " 

 Series.) 



NO. 2248, VOL. 90] 



(4) A Hand-list of British Birds. With an account 

 of the distribution of each species in the British 

 Isles and abroad. By Ernst Hartert, F. C. R. 

 Jourdain, N. F. Ticehurst and H. F. Witherby. 

 Pp. xii + 237. (London: Witherby and Co.,. 

 1912.) Price 7s. 6d. net. 



(5) Liverpool Marine Biology Committee . - 

 L.M.B.C. Memoirs on Typical British Marine- 

 Plants and .Animals. Edited by Dr. W. A. 

 Herdman, F.R.S. XX. Buccinum (the 

 Whelk.) By Dr. Wm. J. Dakin. Pp. viii + 

 115 + 8 plates. (London: Williams and Nor- 

 gate, 1912.) Price 45. 6d. 



(6) Das Tierreich. 31 Lieferung : Ostracoda. By- 

 G. W. Mijller. Pp. xxxiii + 434. (Berlin: R. 

 Friedljinder und Sohn, 1912.) Price 32 marks. 



THOSE interested in zebras and quaggas will 

 find an excellent account of these animals 

 in Dr. Griffini 's little book (i), which is one of 

 the series of useful manuals edited and issued by 

 Ulrico Hoepli, of Milan. That he has thoroughly 

 grasped the conclusions of the most trustworthy^ 

 recent authorities is shown by his discussion and 

 rejection of the claim that the existing striped 

 Equidae can be logically entitled Hippotigris, by 

 his adoption of the view that four, and only four, 

 species, namely, Equiis grevyi, E. sebra, E. foai 

 and E. qtiagga, the latter including as subspecies, 

 all the so-called hurchelU forms, can be admitted, by- 

 his summary of the evidence supporting the cela- 

 tive significance of the coloration, and of the 

 evidence favouring the view that the pale, and not 

 the dark, bands are in reality the "stripes." 

 Writing as an expounder rather than as an- 

 original researcher, Dr. GriflRni is, of course, aware 

 that his classification and synonymy of the local 

 races of E. quagga must be regarded as tentative 

 instead of final ; but, considering the difficulties, 

 of the question, his attempts at its settlement, 

 although not above criticism, do credit to his- 

 perspicacity. We have only one serious fault to 

 find with the book. It has no index. In the 

 place where the index should be is a complete list 

 of the author's contributions to zoology, whicb 

 show that his time has been mainly devoted to the 

 study of systematic entomology. Perhaps it is to 

 the training thus acquired that is to be attributecf 

 his masterly handling of the subject-matter of this 

 volume. 



Shore-fishing in all its branches, from the find- 

 ing of cockles in the mud, the extraction of congers 

 and crabs from rock-clefts, and the capture of 

 mackerel witii spinner or net, to the more refinecf 

 art of flj'-fisjiing, is fully dealt with in " La Peche 

 au Bord de la Mer " (2), one of the volumes con- 

 stituting the " Bibliothfeque des connaissances 

 utiles." If translated into English, the book 



