488 



NATURE 



[January 2, 19 13 



and villages a(; intervals of a few miles all round the 

 coast. As these gentlemen are strangers to us, I 

 should be very glad to hear from any persons living 

 near the coast who would be willing to receive from 

 us a copy of the schedule and a statement of our 

 preliminary needs. The services which we ask of 

 observers round the coast do not involve any serious 

 trouble, and, of course, no expenses will fall upon 

 those who are willing to assist us. 



Edward Heron-Allen. 

 33 Hamilton Terrace, London, N.W. 



POPULAR NATURAL HISTORYJ 



(i) \/lR- SWANTON'S work on plant galls 



iVl will be welcomed by a wide circle of 



readers, since it appeals to both the botanist and 



entomologist. In it the former will find a ready 



cover the whole ground the author has included 

 growths which can scarcely be regarded as galls 

 in the accepted sense. Thus the " Reed Mace '" 

 fungus (Epichloe iyphina) is a mere mass of 

 mycelium outside the plant, there being no hyper- 

 trophy of the tissues. It should also be noted 

 that the galls on alder roots are caused, not by 

 FrcDikielta aini, but, as Miss Pratt has shown, 

 by the bacterium Pseudomonas radicicola, though 

 the growths may afterwards become infested by 

 the hyphomycete. Bottomlev has shown that the 

 similar "galls" on the roots of bog myrtle are 

 produced by the same bacterium. 



The work is illustrated by thirty-two plates, of 

 which sixteen are reproductions of excellent 

 colour drawings by Miss M. K. Spittal, and there 

 are also more than thirtv text figures. 



A m.-.le spider nci.t 



means of identifying the gall-producers which 

 claim his attention, whilst the latter will value the 

 interesting details of insect life-histories. De- 

 scriptions are arranged under the headings of gall- 

 producing insects, and chapters are also devoted 

 to growths produced by mites, nematodes, and 

 fungi. The remaining half of the work is occupied 

 by a very complete catalogue of British plant 

 galls, botanically arranged. In the endea\our lo 



' (■) " British Plant-galls." A Classified Text-book of CecidoloKy. By 

 E. W. Swanton. With Introduction bv Sir Jonathan Hutchinson. F.R.S., 

 and sixteen coloured plates by Mary K. Spittal. Pp. xv-i-287. (London : 

 Methuen and Co., Ltd., n.d.l Price 71. &/. net. 



(s) "Spiderland." By R. A. Ellis. With Photographs and Drawines by 

 the Author. Pp. xxii + iQS. (London : Cassell and Co., Ltd., 1912.) Price 

 3.f. 6//. net. 



(3) " Elementary Entomology." By E. Dwight Sanderson and Prof. C. F. 

 Jackson. Pp. vii-f37s. (Boston and London : Ginn and Co., n.d.) Price 



(4> "Butterflies .ind Moths at Home and Abroad." By H. Rowland- 

 Brown. Pp. 27,-1-2, full.p.ge plwcs. (London: T. Fisher Unwin, ,9,2 ) 



NO. 2253, VOL. 90] 



■ ' . I iM.m "Spiderland." 



The author is to be congratulated on a work 

 of great utility and general excellence. 



(2) To the majority of the human race spiders 

 are repulsive creatures. They are for the most 

 part devoid of that beauty of form and colour 

 which often ensures a favourable reception to 

 other members of the so-called lower creation. 

 He would, however, be a soulless person who, 

 after reading Mr. Ellis's work, did not regard 

 spiders with respect if not w-ith admiration. As 

 shedding an interesting light on the struggle for 

 existence it is worthy of note that some spiders 

 which resemble ants lay but three or four eggs, 

 whilst less defended orb w-eavers may lay twelve 

 hundred. 



We hesitate to cast a doubt on the wonderful 

 reasoning powers, and especially on the great 

 maternal aftcction, whicli the author sees so con- 



