October 4, 1906] 



NA TURE 



561 



second is the main ecological chapter, and involves 

 the use of many anatomical expressions that a young 

 student will not understand until later. The mode of 

 protrusion of the tongue by lymph pressure; the 

 changes in the liver, fat-body, and gonads; the form- 

 ation of new blood corpuscles and other difiicult 

 topics, are referred to before so much as a brief refer- 

 ence to the chief features of the frog itself. 



The succeeding chapters are arranged on the stereo- 

 typed anatomical plan. In reference to the external 

 features, no remark is made of the prevalence or 

 significance of the dark upper sides and light under 

 sides of animals, or of the meaning of gradational 

 shading. A green pigment is attributed to the frog 

 at the close of the third chapter and denied on p. 192. 

 Descriptions of the internal organs, of development, 

 and of the histology of the different organic systems 

 occupy the rest of the book. We have, however, 

 admirable summaries of physiological action under 

 each histological section, and for these teachers will 

 be thankful. The treatment of the skin and of the 

 blood, of digestion and respiration calls for praise. 

 The seasonal metabolic changes in the tissues of the 

 frog are well described under the various organs that 

 are affected, and the references will enable one to find 

 the original papers with ease. 



The book is one that will prove useful to every 

 teacher of elementary biology, and its usefulness 

 would have been enhanced by a thorough-going bio- 

 logical treatment and simplification of the anatomical 

 details. Few biological writers realise what a 

 stimulus to teachers and to taught lies in a new 

 mode of presentation of a well-worn subject. In the 

 writing of a biology of the frog a superb opportunity 

 has presented itself of boldly embarking on the 

 physiological method and of subordinating anatomy 

 to the working out of function and response. More- 

 over, the biology of the frog is not well worn. It is, 

 in contrast with anatomical knowledge, inaccessible 

 .ind scattered, and with much labour it has been 

 brought together for the first time. \\'ith so much 

 novelty at his disposal one cannot help regretting 

 that the author has adopted an arrangement for his 

 work that puts biology into a subordinate place, with 

 ihe result that he has made a useful but not an 

 illuminating work. 



It is in no carping spirit that we point out a few- 

 suggestions and corrections for a second edition. 

 Chiefly we should advise the deletion of the experi- 

 ments and experimental results dealing with severe 

 lesions. The chapter on the ner\-ous system is one 

 that no sensitive student could read without shudder- 

 ing, and a recapitulation of the revolting experi- 

 ments made by certain writers was wholly unneces- 

 sary in such a work as this. It is with regret that 

 we notice this serious drawback. 



The description of the tadpole, and, indeed, of the 

 life-history generally, while fairly careful in cellular 

 detail, is lacking in any broad suggestiveness that 

 will remain after the anatomical detail has faded from 

 Ihe mind. The mode of hatching, the meaning of 

 food-yolk, the fish-like character of the larva are not 

 touched upon, nor is there given in this or anv other 

 NO. 1927, VOL. 74] 



chapter of the book an idea of the process of evolu- 

 tion. 



Few misprints occur, but " Wiederschcim " for the 

 distinguished anatomist of Freiburg is of irritating 

 frequency. F- ^^ ■ G. 



OVR BOOK SHELF. 

 Morphologic iind Biologic der Mgcn. By Dr. F^-ied- 



rich Oltinanns. Zweiter Band, Allgemeiner Theil. 



Pp. vi4-443. (Jena: Gust;iv Fischer, 1905.) Price 



12 marks. 

 Ij- is difficult to sav of this much-wished-for and long- 

 expected fruit of Dr. Oltmanns's industry more than 

 that it meets all these wishes and hopes. There is 

 one respect in which a fault may be found, the last 

 to be thought of, viz. the arrangement, but it is 

 cured by the provision of an excellent index. Detailed 

 criticisrn of a work of this size in the pages of N.-vture 

 is out of the question, and the present writer con- 

 fesses that he has attempted such a task several 

 times, but always with the result that his effort not 

 only left no satisfaction to himself, but kept a fear 

 bafore him that his judgment might easily be mis- 

 understood. 



In a word, the book is invaluable to all workers 

 at this subject, and well worthy of the great reputa- 

 tion of Dr. Oltmanns as a researcher and teacher. 

 If any faults were to be found in a detailed criticism 

 they would b?, not with Dr. Oltmanns, but with the 

 fate that has prevented his access to our great collec- 

 tions. This short notice of so great a work must 

 not, from its brevity, seem to lack in the heartmess 

 the reviewer wishes' to express in his welcome to it. 

 The volume has been long needed by those who are 

 earnestly at work, and no one values it more than 

 the writer of this brief note of thanks for it, and for 

 the industry of the author of it. 



George Murr.w. 



Af/as colorU ik hi Flore alpine. By J. Beauverie and 

 L. Faucheron. Pp. 98. (Paris : J. B. Bailliere and 

 Son, 1906.) Price 7.50 francs. 

 The recollections of botanising expeditions in the 

 High Alps must ever remain a source of pleasure to 

 those who have had such enjoyable experiences. Not 

 only the botanist, but anyone endowed with a spark 

 of latent appreciation for the beauties of nature can- 

 not fail to be aroused to enthusiasm when for the first 

 time he has the good fortune to behold patches of 

 Anemone vemalis in the spring, or to discover clumps 

 of RaniiHculus glacialis on the snow-line. It is 

 natural, therefore, that there should be a demand for 

 floras of the Alpine regions adapted to amateurs, and 

 also worthv of professed botanists. Such is_ the 

 nature of this volume, which contains excellent illus- 

 trations combined with simple descriptions of the 

 flowers and references to localities where they may 

 be found. To confine the book to reasonable com- 

 pass, only fairlv cotnmon .Alpine plants are included, 

 and preference is given to the denizens of the higher 

 Alps. So far as the selection is concerned, there is 

 little to note except that the orchids have received 

 rather scant measure, and the thistles are entirely 

 omitted. Some of the plants, e.g. Douglasia 

 vitaliana and .Indrosace villosa, are interesting for 

 their association with the French .Alps, while, on the 

 other hand, several species are included that are 

 absent from French territory. The compilation _ re- 

 flects credit on the authors for their clear and pithy 

 descriptions, and on the publishers for the manner 

 in which the plates are produced. 



