December 23, 1909] 



NA 7 URE 



215 



versity of Padua — the university where Harvey was 

 taught the anatomy of the heart well-nigh on three 

 centuries ago — and note the manner in which he 

 applies his morphological doctrines to the treatment 

 of disease. He wishes "to establish whether the 

 heart is adequately proportionate to the body or not." 

 He applies the following law, which is given here in 

 italics, as in the original (p. 226) : — 



" // one measures the tliickness of the right fist 

 (in left-hand persons of the left), placing the tape- 

 measure on the extremities of the first phalanges of 

 the index and little fingers, which articulate with the 

 respective bones of the metacarpus, and fix the ends 

 of the measure surrounding the joints in such a way 

 that it includes their thickness, one will have the 

 measure of the base of the heart." 



Prof. De-Giovanni's law has several disadvantages; 

 in the first place, it cannot be applied until the patient 

 is dead, and, in the second, it does not hold true even 

 then. Those ijfho are unaware of Prof. De-Giovanni's 

 researches find, in the manner in which the heart 

 responds to its work, a safe indication of whether it 

 is ■' adequately proportionate to the body or not." 



The scientific value of this book may be judged 

 from the passages which have been cited. It is much 

 to be feared that its doctrines will meet, from English- 

 speaking medical men, the same reception as has been 

 accorded to them by Prof. De-Giovanni's Italian 

 "academicians." A. K. 



ELEMENTARY BOOKS ON BOTANY. 

 (i) Pronunciation of Plant Names. (Reprinted from 

 The Gardeners' Chronicle.) Pp. v + g4. (London : 

 The Gardeners' Chronicle, Ltd., igog.) Price is. 

 _net. 

 {2) Botany. By Prof. J. Reynolds Green, F.R.S. 

 Pp. 128. (Dent's Scientific Primers.) (London : 

 J. M. Dent and Co., n.d.) Price is. net. 

 (2) Essentials of Botany. By Joseph Y. Bergen. 

 Pp. ix + 380. (Boston, New York, Chicago, and 

 London : Ginn and Co., n.d.) Price 5s. 

 (l) 'T'""HIS is a distinctly useful little book, .\lthough 

 J- primarily intended to encourage uniformity 

 of pronunciation on the part of those engaged in horti- 

 culture, it will also, in these days of neglect of the 

 classics, repay perusal by the professional botanist. 

 Even the latter is occasionally guilty of a false quan- 

 tity. To take a single example, one frequently hears 

 Conium pronounced Co'-ni-um, though Co-ni'-um (cf. 

 the Greek kq>v(iop) is, of course, more correct. But 

 in some cases the compiler has wisely retained 

 Anglicised pronunciations, even though less strictly 

 correct, in deference to established usage. One is 

 tempted to express the wish that more uniformity 

 could be secured in the pronunciation, not only of 

 plant names, but also of botanical technical terms. 



(2) Prof. Green's book will probably prove helpful 

 to school teachers and students who have some pre- 

 vious knowledge of the subject. For such it may 

 tend to broaden their conceptions and offer a new 

 point of view. One of the best features of the book 

 is the rather striking and somewhat novel way in 

 i\hich the general adaptation of the plant-body to its 

 NO. 2095, VOL. 82] 



environment is constantly emphasised. For instance, 

 the author points out that the effect of the branching 

 of the plant-body (both shoot and root) is to bring the 

 plant 



" into relationship with as large a portion of the en- 

 vironment as possible. Here is clearly an indication 

 or suggestion of an interchange of material between 

 the two." 



But the book is rather seriously marred by a want 

 of accuracy, some carelessness of expression, and a 

 few antiquated views to be found in certain of its 

 portions, particularly those dealing with anatomy, 

 e.g. the descriptions of root-structure on pp. 35 et seq. 

 In fact, all through the treatment of the physiological 

 is much more satisfactory than that of the anatomical 

 portions. Some of the illustrations, too, leave much 

 to be desired; indeed, in a few cases the figures are 

 badly drawn and inaccurate. Perhaps the worst are 

 Figs. 20, 22, and 30. 



(3) Though not without blemishes, " Essentials of 

 Botany " may be characterised as an excellent ele- 

 mentary text-book. It is brightly written, and com- 

 bines in an attractive manner information with direc- 

 tions for laboratory work. The reading of the book 

 is obviously intended to be accompanied by actual 

 examination of specimens, and throughout the work 

 questions are constantly suggested which the student 

 is left to answer for himself by direct observation. 

 The illustrations are, for the most part, thoroughly 

 good, though in a few cases they are not above 

 criticism. For instance, in Fig. 20 centrosomes are 

 figured (though not named) in a cell from one of the 

 higher plants. Again, the flowers of the willow 

 (Fig. 100) would be improved by the addition of the 

 characteristic nectary. 



As many of the plants selected are North American 

 species, the book is naturally more suitable for use in 

 .American than in English schools. It may, how- 

 ever, be heartily recommended for use also on this 

 side of the Atlantic, though it is to be regretted that 

 the author did not supplement the use of American 

 plant names by the addition of the Latin names as 

 footnotes. This is only done in some cases (e.g. 

 p. 183, &c.). 



We thoroughly endorse Dr. Bergen's opinion that 

 ecology (except in the most elementary form), and also 

 the detailed discussion of evolution, are better omitted 

 from the average school curriculum. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 

 Geology in the Field. The Jubilee Volume of the 



Geologists' Association (iS5S-igo8). Edited by 



H. W. Monckton and R. S. Herries. Part i. Pp. 



iv + 2og. (London: Edward Stanford, igog.) Price 



5s. net. 

 In commemoration of their jubilee, w-hich took place 

 on December 17, 1908, the council of the Geologists' 

 .\ssociation decided to bring out a volume dealing with 

 the geology of those parts of England and Wales 

 which have been visited by the ."Vssociation during the 

 course of its excursions. The volume, which promises 

 to attain a much larger size than was expected, is 

 to be issued in four parts, the first of which is now 

 before us. It is a well-printed work of 209 pages, 

 with four plates and thirty-four text-illustrations ; and 



