45 = 



NA TURE 



[June 17, 1909 



in experimental cinbryoIoKy have furnished llie solu- 

 tion of any important scientific problem. For more 

 reasons than one it has appeared desirable to taUe 

 into account in cmbryolofjical teachinjj recent experi- 

 mental researches, such as those described in this 

 book, which, therefore, may be welcomed as of great 

 value to the student and the teacher alike. It is well 

 illustrated, clearly written, and the material is treated 

 critically. .Author rmd publisliers may be C(>nj,'ratu- 

 lated u])on the pr<xluction of .1 work, which is every- 

 thing that a text-book should be, though its price 

 (i2s. 6rf. netj appears to be excessive. B. 



ELEMENTARY BOTANY, 

 (i) Plants and their Ways. An Introduction to the 



Study of Botany and Agricultural Science. By E. 



F.vans. Pp. viii + 171. (London: J. M. Dent and 



t'o., i()oS.) Price i.?. 4<i. 

 <(2) .Mikroskopischer und physiologischer I'raktikum 



der Botanik fiir Lehrer. By G. Miiller. Zweiter 



Teil. Kryptogamen. Pp. xii+165. (Leipzig and 



Berlin : B. G. Teubner, 1908.) Price 4 marks, 

 '(j) .1 First Book of Botany. By Elizabeth Healey. 



Pp. viii+142. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 



ii)0c).) Price zs. M. 

 (4) Familiar ."^wiss Flowers. Figured and described 



by F. E. Hulme. F'irst Series. Pp. 5(5; with 24 



coloured plates. (London : Cassell & Co., Ltd., 



1909.) Price IS. net. 

 (l) TT has always been recognised that with the 

 X extension of natural-history teaching to 

 schools under the designation of nature-studv there 

 was a danger lest the requirements of an exact science 

 should not be maintained. The first of these books 

 gives grounds for such apprehension, because, although 

 it contains much good matter and observational study 

 is made the keynote throughout, there is a lamentable 

 ■ amount of loose writing, some unsatisfactory deduc- 

 tions, several uncertain experiments, and a few mis- 

 takes. For instance, the definitions of bulb and 

 epiphytes require emendation; in section 31 it is not 

 shown why roots bend downwards; in section ^ 

 there will certainly be an error in the amount of 

 soil washed away; in section 105 flower buds are 

 required, and in section 107 the word " nearly " 

 vitiates the instructions. With regard to loose writing 

 the following are a few selected quotations : — " When 

 the pollen tube enters the ovule, the tip breaks off"; 

 " pollen grains are cells to the botanist and each is a 

 reproductive body"; "the reason why plants v.-iry is 

 not fully understood at present, but it may be largely 

 due to adaptation, to environment or surroundings " ; 

 " the plants which come between the .xerophytes and 

 hygrophytes are known as mesophytes." Neverthe- 

 less, as the general scheme of the course is well con- 

 ceived, it would seem worth while to correct the quoted 

 and similar passages, to revise or replace unsatisfac- 

 tory experiments, and amplify the information where 

 it is often insufTicient. 



(2) The first part of MUller's " Praktikum " dealing 

 with phanerog.-mis folUuved conventional routine, but 

 in the second part he has pursued a somewhat irregular 

 NO. 2068, VOL. 80] 



course The pleridophyta, i.e. lycopods and horsetails, 

 as well as ferns, are confined to a dozen exercises; 

 the thallus of March.anlia and the growing point of 

 .Metzgeria are the only features noted for liverworts, 

 but several sections are devoted to mosses; further, 

 in these groups the reprtxluctive organs are entirely 

 left out. .\mong the algae, diatoms receive very ample 

 consider.ilion, .illhough the red and brown seaweeds 

 are almost entirelv neglected. The fungi receive scant 

 treatment, while a full quarter of the lxM)k is devoted 

 to bacteria. Thus the book is exceedingly weak in 

 taxonomy ;md is not of much value to the embryo 

 teacher, although il contains a certain amount of in- 

 formation useful to the amateur botanist, especially if 

 he is interested in mosses or diatoms; also there is 

 that amount of information on bacteria which would 

 enable him to grasp their general import, make a few 

 personal experiments, and understand the general 

 methods of culture. There is little fault to find with 

 the actual information on individual points, as the 

 .author is exact and explicit. Excepting the experi- 

 ments with bacteria, it may be inferred that the 

 author bases his instructions on his own personal 

 experience. 



(3) The elementary b(Kik by Miss Healey provides a 

 Useful book for school teaching; it is well planned, is 

 not overloaded with information, and is written in 

 simple language. Each chapter contains a short 

 lesson, and is followed by instructions for practical 

 work in which due attention is paid to the necessity 

 for careful observation and drawing. The course is 

 arranged for niorpliology in the autumn, followed by 

 physiology, and the chapters on classification would be 

 reached in the spring. There are some doubtful points 

 in the chapter on the root, notably the statement 

 heading a paragraph that roots always grow down- 

 wards, but otherwise there are very few statements to 

 which one can take exception. 



(4) The volume on Swiss flowers forms part of the 

 book published last year and already noticed in 

 Nature; it is now being published in five series. The 

 illustrations are the chief feature, and, on account of 

 the magnificent beauty of .Mpine flowers, represent 

 some of the most charming illustrations executed by 

 the late Prof. Hulme. The absence of a systematic 

 arrangement and the grouping of plants bearing no 

 relationship to one another on the same plate are 

 defects in an otherwise pleasing work. 



AN ESSAY IN PALAEONTOLOGY. 

 The Transformations of the Animal World. By 

 Charles DeptVet. Pp. .\vi + 36o. (London: Kegan 

 Paul and Co., Ltd., 1909.) Price 55. 



THLS book, well known in its French original, 

 deals with the geological evolution of animals. 

 It contains discussions on the |)heiiomen;i of variation, 

 extinction .and migration, and is sufficiently modern 

 to include a brief notice of the discoveries of early 

 forms of elephants in the Fayum district. 



The first i).irt of the book, forming about one-third 

 of the whole, consists of summaries of the chief work 

 associ.ileil with n.nni-s f.unous in geological and 



