March i i, 1909] 



NATURE 



35 



arcund him, or of that physiology which does not 

 lead to healthy living. The book appears to be in- 

 tended for teachers rather than for students ; but it is 

 not very conveniently arranged. A certain amount of 

 information is given on each topic handled, but usually 

 not enough for a teacher who has not already consider- 

 able knowledge of the subject ; and a number of ques- 

 tions is asked, often in a style that is almost irritating : 

 e.g. "Which senses are very acute? Why? Dull? 

 Why?" 



But apart from matters of taste in style, it would 

 be better to separate the volleys of questions from the 

 descriptive text. The unfortunate teacher attempting 

 to get up his lesson has now to wade through dozens 

 of unanswered queries in order to pick out from them 

 a few morsels of information scattered here and there 

 over many pages of text. On the other hand, the 

 trained and experienced teacher will derive few, if any, 

 new ideas as to method, though he will probably wel- 

 come the excellent coloured diagrams. 



The plants and animals examined are for the most 

 part those which find place in the elementary courses 

 in vogue in this country; but there are, of course, 

 frequent allusions to American species. Of the three 

 parts contained in the volume we prefer that devoted 

 to human biology. In this part, information and ques- 

 tions are kept distinct, and the standard is just what 

 is wanted for instructing pupils in the healthy working 

 of the human body and for emphasising the import- 

 ance of cleanly and active habits. 



The pages are not entirely free from error. Ety- 

 mologists will be startled to learn from Mr. Bailey (p. 

 60, part i.) that " parenchyma = parent + chyma, or 

 tissue." We are tempted to inquire what derivation 

 he would invent for " prosenchyma," and would ven- 

 ture to recommend a study of the Greek prepositions. 

 Similarly, we question whether " batrachia " can be 

 rightly translated "twice breather"; certainly the 

 word is not synonymous with amphibia (p. 127, part ii.). 

 The statements on p. 172, part ii., concerning migra- 

 tion are inaccurate ; nor is it correct to state that the 

 ferments (or enzymes) present in the digestive juices 

 are " vegetable substances " (p. 100, part iii.). The 

 figure (219) on p. 116, part ii., is that of a lamprey, 

 nut of an eel as stated in the legend. 



O. H. L. 



OVR BOOK SHELF. 



Sclilich's Mauiial oj Forestry. Vol. V., Forest Utilisa- 

 tion. By W. R. Fisher. Pp. xii + 840. (London : 

 Bradbury, Agnew and Co., Ltd., 1908.) Price i2i. 

 net. 

 With the appearance of this edition the whole 

 subject of forest utilisation is brought thoroughly 

 up to date. Prof. Fisher has given to English 

 readers an admirable translation of what may be 

 recognised as the best work on the subject. The 

 German edition is itself based on Gayer's " Forst- 

 benutzung, " which was for many years the standard 

 work, but with the lapse of time a new up-to-date 

 edition became necessary to bring the book into touch 

 with modern experience and practice. The task of 

 writing a new edition was undertaken by Prof. H. 

 Ma\r, a former pupil of Gayer, and at present 



NO. 2054, "^'OL. So] 



his successor in the chair of forest utilisation in the 

 University of Munich. 



The volume is divided into four parts. Part i. 

 deals with the principal forest produce, wood, in re- 

 lation to its harvesting, conversion, and disposal. 

 Part ii. treats of minor forest produce, its properties, 

 utilisation, value, and disposal. In part iii. is con- 

 sidered the utilisation and disposal of the minor pro- 

 duce from the soil of the forest, while in part iv. 

 the utilisation of the components of the forest soil, 

 such as stone, gravel, &c., is given, and at the end 

 we have a very useful index. 



The whole work is profusely illustrated, and in 

 this edition the number of illustrations has been in- 

 creased by 73, making a grand total of 402, together 

 with 5 fuil-page plates. 



Of the several volumes which constitute .Schlich's 

 " Manual of Forestry," this one is probably the most 

 complete in the treatment of its subject. The various 

 parts are divided into chapters, and these, again, into 

 sections, each section containing a clear and concise 

 account of the subject or operation with which it 

 deals. The student as well as the practical forester 

 will find this volume a regular mine of information. 

 This work will be found equally useful in Britain, pur 

 colonies, and elsewhere, as it deals with forest utilisa- 

 tion in its broadest sense. In fact, the authors have 

 made use of all the available research of the nineteenth 

 century in bringing the work up to date. The 

 German work naturallv gives most prominence _ to 

 German matter, although at the same time taking 

 into consideration that of other countries. The trans- 

 lator has added to this, and based the work on a 

 still broader foundation, in order that it may be ap- 

 plicable wherever the English language is spoken. 



This volume is sure to be appreciated by a large 

 number of forest-owners and foresters all the world 

 over, and it can be confidently recommended as the 

 best and most exhaustive work dealing with the 

 important and world-wide industry of forest utilisa- 

 tion. 



Parallel Paths : a StiiJv in Biology, Ethics, and 

 Art. Bv T. W. Rolleston. Pp. xv + 29q. (London: 

 Duckworth and Co., 1908.) Price 5s. net. 

 The author contributes this thoughtful book towards 

 " the establishment of a spiritual view of the universe 

 on a natural basis." He believes that there is more 

 in life than chemical and physical forces. The 

 " living machine " that we hear so much about 

 " differs essentially from other machines in not being 

 a machine at all, or anvthing in the least like one." 

 In support of his vitalistic position, the author refers 

 in a lucid way to the difficulty of giving any chemico- 

 physical interpretations of development and adapt- 

 ability. "The master-word is nature's will to live." 

 He considers the Lamarckian position and abandons 

 it, noting, for instance, that if bodily characteristics 

 acquired by exercise were transmissible by inheritance, 

 the new-born child of right-handed ancestry oiight 

 to show some appreciable preponderance in weight 

 and size of the right over the left limb. But he 

 is not satisfied with Weismann's explanation either, 

 though he admires the brave attempt to steer between 

 the Scvlla of Lamarckism and the Charybdis of 

 "metaphysics." All evolution theories assume the 

 responsive powers of protoplasm. But what does it 

 respond to? If, as \A'eismann says, "the response 

 is only to differences in the amount of nutriment 

 obtainable bv the various determinants of the germ- 

 cell, and has onlv a fortuitous connection with the 

 results attained," then how can we interpret adapta- 

 tions such as that of the fish, Anableps, with its 

 bifocal eves? Thus the author "is led to "a directive 



