May 31, 1906] 



NA TURE 



lOI 



that the Ngeumba tribe is divided into " castes " and 

 " bloods " as well as kins and phratries. The 

 Ngeumba, whom another writer seems to have 

 termed Nyamba, are near neighbours of the Euahlayi 

 on the Narran River, and the names for the " blood " 

 divisions in the Ngeumba tribe are virtually identical 

 with those given as phratry names by Mrs. Langloh 

 Parker for the Euahlayi. That being so, we have 

 the choice of three theories: — (i) that both authors 

 are correct; (2) that Mr. Mathews has confused two 

 Irilies; or (3) that Mrs. Parker's information is in- 

 complete. In view of the fact that she resided twenty 

 viars .imong them and gained the full confidence of 

 the I'^uahlayi, the latter seems improbable; we are 

 therefore left to choose between a superposition of 

 organisations or a confusion created by Mr. Mathews. 

 He docs not work out how the " blood " organisation 

 affects the ordinary social organisation. 



The " castes " are stated to have reference to the 

 manner of camping and to denote the shade of various 

 parts of a tree ; our confidence in this explanation is 

 not increased by the discovery that one of the words, 

 nnrai, is the ordinary name for the black snake 

 totem in two or three adjoining tribes. It is to be 

 hoped that some anthropologist of reputation will 

 turn his attention to the tribe. If Mr. Mathews's 

 information turns out to be correct, he will have done 

 something towards establishing his reputation. 



N. W. T. 



THE BREEDING INDUSTRY. 



The Breeding Industry. By Walter Heape, F.R.S. 

 Pp. xii+154. (Cambridge: University Press, 

 1906.) Price 25. 6rf. net. 



I "HE author of the present volume has long been 

 -L distinguished for his investigations in verte- 

 brate embryology and the physiology of vertebrate 

 reproduction. He has also paid considerable atten- 

 tion to the practical aspects of the subject, in so far as 

 they concern the methods adopted by the animal 

 breeder and the needs of the breeding industry. In 

 the light of the special knowledsre and experience 

 which he has thus gained, Mr. Heape has become 

 firmly convinced that the breeder will derive " in- 

 estimable advantage from the right application of 

 science to the industry with which he is concerned," 

 while it is no less his strong belief " that the field 

 of scientific biology will be broadened, the number 

 of workers therein increased, and the means avail- 

 able for their work augmented, as the result of 

 .... more intimate relations between scientific and 

 practical biologists." Those who read this volume, 

 and all others who are familiar with the nature of 

 tlie questions discussed therein, can have little diffi- 

 cultv in realising that Mr. Heape is right. 



The first chapter, which is introductory in char- 

 acter, deals with the present position of the breeding 

 industry in our own country. The scientific man 

 and the breeder are too frequently antagonistic, and 

 tend to distrust one another. This antagonism, which 

 NO. 1909, VOL. 74] 



is quite unnecessary, is as much the fault of the man 

 of science as of the practical man, and it is to be 

 partly ascribed to the unsympathetic attitude of the 

 former towards many of the facts and problems of 

 practical breeding, as well as to the general neglect 

 by professed biologists of that wide field of investiga- 

 tion comprised within the physiology of reproduction. 

 All this is pointed out in somewhat different language 

 by the author, who lays great stress on the enormous 

 advantages to be gained by the introduction of scien- 

 tific method into the industry of breeding, just as it 

 has proved invaluable to other industries. 



The second chapter consists of a concise, clear, and 

 eminently business-like calculation of the value of the 

 breeding industry to the country. As a result of 

 this calculation Mr. Heape arrives at the truly re- 

 markable conclusion that the total sum invested in 

 live-stock in the British Islands is scarcely less than 

 450,000,000?. — an estimate which does not appear to 

 err on the side of excess. .Added to this the capital 

 invested in various accessories — vehicles, machinerv, 

 housing, &c. — the total becomes still more gigantic. 

 And yet, in the words quoted from Mr. Bateson, 

 the breeding industry is one " to which science has 

 never yet been applied." 



In a further chapter the author deals with the 

 nature of the work required for the advancement of 

 the breeding industry. This is comprised under three 

 heads — (i) the keeping of records, (2) the carrying on 

 of research, and (3) the work of administration — all 

 of which are shown to be of the utmost importance. 

 Under the heading of research the author alludes 

 to the special nature of certain of the problems which 

 require elucidation, and particularly those relating to 

 the physiology of the generative system. He might 

 have added that proper facilities for carrying out this 

 kind of research are at present practically non-ex- 

 istent. Such as do exist are due almost entirely to 

 private enterprise and generosity. In order to con- 

 duct on any considerable scale investigations upon 

 questions involving the maintenance of animals under 

 reasonably natural conditions and for prolonged 

 periods of time, as well as for the study of the 

 phenomena of inheritance and variation, the creation 

 of some sort of experiment station or biological 

 farm has become a matter of urgent necessity. For 

 carrying on the work of administration Mr. Heape 

 advocates the institution of a State department of 

 animal industry, which would form a section of a 

 new Board of Agriculture. 



In the final chapter the management and work of 

 the present Board of Agriculture are discussed, and 

 it is pointed out that there is a want of confidence 

 in its methods and an inadequacy about its organisa- 

 tion which compare unfavourably with those of the 

 corresponding .American department. 



Mr. Heape's book is well calculated to arouse 

 public interest, for the problem with which it deals 

 is the concern, not only of the man of science, but of 

 all who have regard for the welfare of one of the: 

 greatest industries of the nation. 



Francis H. .\. Marshall. 



