NATURE 



[July 8, 1909 



having a lot of corn is told what proportion of alfalfa, 

 or roots, ought to be fed along with corn to attain the 

 best economic results. This part of jMr. Coburn's 

 book is valuable. 



In the earlier chapters Mr. Coburn deals with the 

 various races and breeds of swine in the States, and 

 also with the principles of breeding; but, as may be 

 inferred from the following quotation, although he 

 writes at some length, he does not get much beyond 

 the current nebulous ideas held by stock-breeders on 

 these subjects : — 



" There exists in some sections of Old Mexico a type 

 of ' hog ' which is the product of crossing a ram and 

 a sow, and the term ' Cuino ' has been applied to this 

 rather violent combination. The ram used as a sire 

 to produce the Cuino is kept with the hogs from the 

 time he is weaned. . . . The Cuino reproduces itself 

 and is often crossed a second and third time with a 

 ram." 



A number of the illustrations are not accurate 

 representations of the breeds they refer to, but are 

 rather artist's ideals. 



Oim BOOK SHELF. 

 A Text-hook of General Pathology for the Use of 



Students and Practitioners. By Prof. J. M. Seattle 



and W. E. Carnegie Dickson. Pp. xvi + 475. 



(London : Rcbman, Limited, 1908.) Price i;^. 6d. 



net. 

 In the preface the authors state that this volume is 

 based on the teaching of the Edinburgh school of 

 pathology, where the first chair of pathology in the 

 United Kingdom was founded, and as such we wel- 

 come its appearance. .At the same time, we do not 

 note any features particularly novel, either in the 

 subject-matter or in its arrangement, and in some 

 respects the book seems to be lacking as a text-book 

 of general pathology. Thus the important factor of 

 heredity in disease, and shock and collapse, are not 

 even mentioned, and we do not understand why a 

 discussion of the nature of gout and the chemistry of 

 uric-acid metabolism " do not come within the scope 

 of the present volume." 



The opening chapter deals all too brieflv with the 

 cell in health and disease. An e.\cellent summary of 

 modern views on cell-structure and cell-division is 

 presented 'to the reader, but the section on the chem- 

 istry of the cell is mainly occupied with the recom- 

 mendations of the Chemical and Physiological Societies 

 on protein nomenclature. 



The chapters which follow deal respectively with 

 general^ retrogressive processes, disturbances of the 

 circulation, inflammation and repair, progressive tissue 

 changes, animal parasites, and immunity. 



An excellent account is given of fatty' change, and 

 modern views respecting it are succinctlv stated. Lar- 

 daceous disease is similarly well treated, but we do not 

 understand why authors will persist in emploving the 

 terms " waxy " and " amyloid " to designate it, for 

 '' lardaceous " has the claim of priority ; it is official 

 in the " Nomenclature of Diseases "' of the Royal 

 College of Physicians, and the material present' is 

 universally known as lardacein. 



The_ chapter on inflammation and repair gives all 

 essential details on this important subject. The classi- 

 fication of tumours, admittedly a difficult subject, 

 adopted by the authors is that 'advocated bv Adami. 

 This seems to us unnecessarily complex for the medical 

 student and practitioner. The structure of tumours 

 is given at some length, and the chief views on the 

 NO. 2071, VOL. 81] 



causation of tumours are summarised. As regards the 

 latter, one or two points brought out by recent re- 

 search have been omitted. For example, the occur- 

 rence of heterotype mitosis in malignant growths isi 

 referred to, but Bashford and Murray's criticism oi. 

 Farmer, Moore, and Walker's work in this connection 

 does not appear, and in discussing the supposed sarco-j 

 matous metamorphosis of carcinoma no mention is 

 made of the fact, which now seems certain, that it is 

 the connective tissue stroma of the carcinoma which 

 is thus transformed, and ultimately overgrows the car-i 

 cinomatous elements. The vegetable parasites are 

 omitted, as these are dealt with in text-books of bac- 

 teriology, but an excellent and fairly full account is 

 given of the animal parasites, protozoan and meta- 

 zoan. Immunity is discussed in twenty-five pages, 

 and the essentials of the subject are conveyed to the 

 reader. ■ 



On the whole, the book may be regarded as a verjiM 

 useful text-book of general pathologv. It is excellently" 

 got up, and a word of praise must be bestowed on the 

 illustrations, 162 in number (also four coloured plates), 

 the majority of which are the work of Mr. Richard 

 Muir, and as a rule depict very clearly the subjects 

 they represent, though it may be questioned whether 

 so many are really necessary, as they tend to distract 

 the student from an examination of the actual 

 specimens themselves. 



(i) Dcr Bail des Weltalls. By Prof. Dr. J. Scheiner. 



Dritte, verbesserte Auflage. Pp. 132. (Leipzig : 



B. G. Teubner, 1909.) 

 (2) Die Plancten. By Dr. Bruno Peter. Pp. 131. 



(Same publishers, igog.) Price 1.25 marks each. 

 (i) The series " Aus Natur und Geisteswelt " is well 

 known. It consists of a number of little treatises, in 

 which men of science occupying prominent positions 

 have attempted to explain in an accurate and com- 

 prehensive manner the results of past inquiries, and 

 the position to which our knowledge has extended in 

 various directions. In the former of the two specimens 

 before us. Dr. Scheiner gives the substance of six 

 popular lectures delivered in Berlin to a number of 

 high-school teachers in the course of which he 

 attempted to describe so much of the universe as comes 

 within the range of our telescopes. He endeavoured 

 to bring home to his audience the magnificent scheme 

 of distances on which the planetary and stellar sys- 

 tems are planned ; he traced the detection of proper 

 motion of the fixed stars, and showed how the sun's 

 movement in direction and amount can be determined. 

 The phenomena of the sun are explained in some 

 detail, preparatory to the examination of the spectra 

 of stars, a subject which is discussed somewhat fullv, 

 as might be expected from a member of the staff of 

 the Potsdam Observatory. Herein, as the author 

 points out, he is on the sure ground of observation. 

 But in his last chapter he approaches the more specu- 

 lative subject of the origin and constitution of the 

 universe. The subject is handled with skill, and, not- 

 withstanding the limited space to which the author 

 is restricted, he has succeeded in making his subject 

 both clear and interesting. We do not wonder that 

 the little work has passed through three editions, for, 

 apart from that longing to satisfy an intelligent 

 curiosity which appeals to so many, the material is 

 put in a very attractive form, which should appeal to 

 many readers. 



(2) Dr. Peter has a simpler subject, in which the 

 facts have been manv times detailed, and he has little 

 scope for either originality of treatment or lucidity of 

 arrangement. As the planets extend in order from the 

 sun, so he must follow them from Mercurv to Neptune. 

 A Vulcan is hinted at within Mercurv's orbit, but the 



