October 28, 1922] 



NA TURE 



57i 



A Laboratory Manual for Comparative Vertebrate 



Anatomy. By Libbie H. Hyman. Pp. xv + 380. 



(Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1922.) 



2.50 dollars net. 

 This work is the outcome of a particular course of 

 practical lessons conducted by its author. The dis- 

 ability which such an origin fastens upon a book is well 

 known to every teacher of zoology, and Mr. Hyman's 

 book is no exception to the rule. It suffers from the 

 conditions of its birth — not that these, though American, 

 were insalubrious, but that they were so highly special- 

 ised as to limit greatly the adaptability of the offspring. 

 Nevertheless the care that has obviously been taken by 

 the author, and his ability in presentation, should make 

 his book useful even in our small cis-Atlantic schools of 

 zoology, where a somewhat more elastic course of 

 instruction is possible than that provided at Chicago. 



Mr. Hyman rebels against the tyranny of the type 

 system, and uses the comparative method of study in 

 his laboratory. His chapters describe in succession 

 the systems of organs of the Vertebrata as exemplified 

 by Elasmobranchs (Mustelus, Acanthias, Raja), Uro- 

 deles (Necturus), a Chelonian, the pigeon, the cat, and 

 the rabbit. The instructions for dissection are clear 

 and sufficient ; and an attempt is made to bridge the 

 gulf which commonly yawns between the principles of 

 the lecture room and the observations of the laboratory, 

 by supplying an accompaniment of morphological 

 comment in the form of introductions and summaries to 

 the chapters. This device and the general nature of the 

 first four chapters disguise — but do not dispose of — the 

 evils of the type system, which are perpetuated in spite 

 of the author's dismemberment of his types and the 

 wide dispersal of their remains throughout the book. 



Only one notable omission has been detected : 

 Mr. Hyman's classification of the Chordates — two pages 

 in length — ignores the Dipnoan fishes, nor in the whole 

 of his book do they once appear, though the thesis often 

 plainly demands them. 



A pronouncing glossary forms a valuable appendix, 

 though we fear its phonetics will not be acceptable to 

 English ears. H. G. N. 



Studies in the Theory of Human Society. By Prof. F. 

 H. Giddings. Pp. vii + 308. (New York: The 

 Macmillan Co. ; London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 

 1922.) 14s. net. 

 Prof. Giddings points out that in science this century 

 has been a time of rectification rather than of great 

 discoveries. This applies particularly to the funda- 

 mental conceptions of sociology. These " Studies," 

 which are always suggestive, frequently provocative, 

 and in more than one instance illuminating, are a 

 contribution to the revision of the theory of human 

 society necessitated by the increased clarity and pre- 

 cision in scientific vision which has come about in the 

 last twenty years. Their somewhat discursive char- 

 acter makes it difficult to give a concise account of the 

 author's achievement in this direction ; but, in brief, 

 it may be said to lie in the application of a psychological 

 interpretation to the conclusions of writers such as 

 Darwin, Spencer, Bagehot, and Kidd, to name the more 

 important, thereby accounting for social origins and 

 the stages in the evolution of society in terms of the 

 struggle for existence. Prof. Giddings's theory of human 



NO. 2675, VOL. I io] 



society is that social phenomena are a product of stimulus 

 reacted to by " pluralistic " behaviour, giving rise to 

 consciousness of kind — the " herd instinct " of other 

 writers — from which are derived discriminating associa- 

 tion, the ethical code, co-operation and division of 

 labour, and, in the long run, selection and perpetuation 

 of the adequate — the " fit " of an older terminology. 



The Chemical Examination of Water, Sewage, Foods, 

 and other Substances. By J. E. Purvis and T. R. 

 Hodgson. (Cambridge Public Health Series.) 

 Second and enlarged edition. Pp. viii + 346. (Cam- 

 bridge : At the University Press, 1922.) 205. net. 

 In this edition the authors have expanded the chapters 

 on water and milk, given more details on the analysis 

 of foods and beverages, and added " an outline of 

 elementary toxicological analysis." A very good 

 feature is the inclusion of plenty of typical analyses. 

 The book will be found very valuable to students 

 preparing for the examination of the Institute of 

 Chemistry, and can be recommended as a useful intro- 

 ductory treatise. Although the quoted results of water 

 analyses are given with the acids and bases combined, 

 there is no indication as to how the necessary calcula- 

 tions are to be made, and some of the sections are 

 so condensed that it is doubtful if they are of value. 

 A great drawback to the utility of the book is its 

 high price. 



Modern Chemical Lecture Diagrams, with Uses and 

 Applications fully described. By Dr. G. Martin, 

 assisted by J. M. Dickson and Maj. J. W. Christelow. 

 Pp. 88. (London : Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 

 Ltd., n.d.) $s. 6d. net. 

 The purpose of this book is not clear. The illustrations 

 are found in most text-books with adequate descrip- 

 tions — those supplied in the present work are often too 

 brief to be of any service, as " Fig. 5 shows how these 

 tubes were experimented with by Andrews and Tait." 

 Many of the diagrams represent apparatus far from 

 " modern." The only calorimeters illustrated are those 

 of Favre and Silbermann ; chromium is prepared by 

 Fremy's method ; sulphuric acid is concentrated in 

 glass retorts, etc. In some cases the descriptions are 

 faulty : Bunsen's eudiometer is ascribed to Cavendish ; 

 the Almaden process for the manufacture of mercury 

 is called " Distillation of mercury," etc. As a work of 

 three authors a more modern result might have been 

 expected. 



Forensic Medicine and Toxicology. By Dr. J. Dixon 

 Mann. Sixth edition, revised throughout. By Dr. 

 W. A. Brend. Pp. xi + 573. (London: C. Griffin 

 and Co., Ltd., 1922.) 305-. 

 The sixth edition of Dixon Mann's " Forensic Medicine 

 and Toxicology," which ranks among the foremost 

 English text-books on the subject, is the second to be 

 edited by Dr. William Brend. It has undergone a 

 revision which brings it completely up-to-date ; a 

 larger page is used than in previous editions, and the 

 number of pages is reduced. The section on insanity 

 has been rewritten on the basis of modern psychiatrical 

 views ; and that on toxicology gives additional in- 

 formation on poisoning by salvarsan, tetrachlorethane, 

 T.N.T., and the gases of warfare, and on the infections 

 formerly ascribed to ptomaine poisoning. 



