THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1912. 
NATURAL HISTORY AND TRAVEL. 
(1) The Horse and its Relatives. By R. Lydekker, 
F.R.S. Pp. xii+286. (London: George Allen 
and €o., Ltd., 1912.) Price ros. 6d. net. 
(2) Das Tierreich. Im Auftrage der 
Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu 
Berlin. |Herausgegeben von F. E. Schulze. 
28 Lieferung. Hymenoptera. Apide I[.; 
Megachiline. Bearbeitet von Dr. H. Friese. 
Pp. xxvi+440. Price 32 marks. 30 Lieferung. 
Hymenoptera. Ichneumonidea: — Evaniidae. 
Bearbeitet von Prof. J. J. Kieffer. Pp. xix+ 
KGnig1. 
431. Price 31 marks. 32 Lieferung. Tunicata. 
Salpae I.: Desmomyaria. Bearbeitet von Dr. 
J..E. W. Ihle.. Pp. xi+67. Price 6 marks. 
(Berlin: R. Friedlander & Sohn, rg1r and 1912.) 
(3) dus Indiens Dschungeln. Erlebnisse und 
Forschungen von Oscar Kauffmann. Vol. i. 
Pp. v+192+plates + map. Vol. ii. Pp. 
192—352+plates+map. Leipzig: MKlinkhardt 
and Biermann, 1911.) Price 20 marks two vols. 
(4) Zoology. By Prof. J. Graham Kerr, F.R.S. 
(Dent’s Scientific Primers.) Pp. vii+99. (Lon- 
don: J. M. Dent and Sons, Ltd., n.d.) Price 
Is. net. 
(5) A Catalogue of the Vertebrate Fauna of Dum- 
friesshire. By Hugh S. Gladstone. Pp. xiv+ 
80+ map. (Dumfries: J. Maxwell and Son, 
1912.) 
(6) A Revision of the Ichnewmonidae. Based on 
the Collection in the British Museum (Natural 
History). With descriptions of New Genera 
and Species. Part i. Tribes Ophionides and 
Metopiides. By Claude Morley. Pp. xi+88+ 
map. (London: Printed by order of the Trustees 
of the British Museum, and sold by Longmans 
and Co., B. Quaritch, Dulau and Co., Ltd., 
and at the British Museum (Natural History), 
Cromwell Road, S.W., 1912.) Price 4s. 
(1) O many years have elapsed since the 
J) publication of the late Sir William 
Flower’s little work on the horse that the public 
will welcome Mr. Lydekker’s new book on’ the 
same subject. There is no other animal which 
has within the past few years attracted more 
attention and been the subject of more study, and 
Mr. Lydekker’s book, being not only a- popular 
but a scientifically accurate account of the natural 
history of the more important representatives of 
the horse family, ought to fulfil its author’s 
expectation that it will appeal to a large circle of 
readers. Only the natural aspect of the subject 
is dealt with, such side issues as the legendary 
history of the horse, horse-sacrifice, the acquisition 
and development of the arts of riding and driving, 
NO. 2234, VoL. 89| 
NATURE 
| aoe , 
and the training and management of horses, being 
left untouched. Two interesting conclusions of the 
author are that the much-discussed ‘chestnuts ” 
of the legs of the Equide are decadent glandular 
structures, and that the wild Mongolian horse may 
safely be regarded as the ancestor of many of the 
domesticated European breeds, though probably 
not of the Arab. We have not space to follow 
the author further, but commend his book to the 
student of a fascinating subject. It is well printed, 
easy to read, free from misprints (note, however, 
“haunted ” for “hunted” on p. 73), and very use- 
fully illustrated by twenty-four plates and eleven 
text figures. 
(2) The two parts of “Das Tierreich”’ devoted 
to sections of the Hymenoptera and one to the 
Tunicata are admittedly for the use of specialists 
and of little interest to the general public. In 
No. 28 Dr. H. Friese treats of the Apidz, the 
whole volume being devoted to the sub-family 
Megachiline. No. 30 is from the pen of Prof. 
J. J. Kieffer, and deals with a single family of 
Hymenopterous insects, the Evaniide. In No. 32 
Dr. J. E. W. Ihle treats of the Desmomyaria, a 
section of the Tunicates. The plan of all three is 
similar, and the work equally well done, so that 
they may fitly receive a similar commendation. 
(3) In two volumes of, in all, 352 pages, Herr 
Oscar Kauffmann treats of his experiences during 
a decade spent in India, including Kashmir, 
Cochin, and Burmah. The volumes are richly 
illustrated with a number of excellent photographs. 
But the fact that they are written in the German 
language is likely to militate against their popu- 
larity in Britain, while the absence of an index 
must act as a strong deterrent to the serious 
| student who approaches them with a desire for 
information. 
(4) In 99 pages, including the index, Prof. 
Graham Kerr has managed to give a very clear 
account of the science of zoology. His method 
is to take three types, Amoeba, Hydra, and the 
Earthworm, and, after devoting a chapter to each, 
he passes to consider briefly the main groups of 
animals, from Protozoa to Vertebrates, the “Fact 
of Evolution ” and the ‘‘ Method of Evolution,” to 
each of which headings he devotes a further chap- 
ter, concluding with the mechanism of “ Heredity 
and Variation.” The articles on the three types 
are clear and concise, and in each of them the 
author contrives to introduce his readers to certain 
conceptions or attributes of animals. Amoeba, for 
instance, suggests the conception of the cell and 
| of metabolism; the Hydra symbiosis and para- 
sitism. There are thirteen diagrams and figures, 
a large proportion of which are used in illustrating 
the account of the earthworm. 
Cac 
