1144 



REVIEW. 

 AN INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY FOR STUDENTS IN INDIA. 



BY 



R. E. Lloyd, Capt., i.m.s. 

 [Longmans Sr Co. Price lis. 4-] 



Teachers of Natural History all over India will cordially welcome this 

 work which, with the exception of a small book by Powell, is the first 

 attempt to adapt the teaching of Animal Biology to the local conditions 

 and needs of the Indian student. 



The first eight chapters are devoted to excellent descriptions of Indian 

 examples of most of the Invertebrate sub-kingdoms. These examples are 

 for the most part easily obtainable and have been selected with judgment. 

 No vertebrate or vegetable organism is described, nor do we think there 

 is any great necessity to describe the vertebrates, as so many English text- 

 books give satisfactory descriptions of types easily obtainable in India. 



The last four chapters are good but brief essays on the principles of 

 Biology, Evolution, Variation and Heredity, which are however mainly 

 illustrated by facts in vegetable and vertebrate organisms. 



There are few points in the book which call for further criticism than 

 warm praise. For instance, we are told that " Distoma is not common in 

 India." Ten years ago we never had any difficulty in finding it in 

 Calcutta. In Eastern Bengal this parasite has at times caused us 

 personally pecuniary loss, and seemed to us to be present in the majority 

 of apparently healthy sheep and goats. 



We are surprised to learn that Eugiena cannot be easily obtained in 

 Calcutta. The author's description of the Earthworm Pheretima (Peri- 

 chceta) posthuma differs in many particulars from the older account by 

 Powe]l ; thus the dorsal pores are said to occur between each segment ; the 

 vasa deferentia on each side are said not to unite, but run separately side 

 by side till they reach the '"prostatic" duct. We have examined six 

 specimens since reading Capt. Lloyd's book, and found the ducts unite in 

 all six cases in the 12th segment. Perhaps Capt. Lloyd's description was 

 taken from an aberrant specimen, or possibly the worm of Calcutta differs 

 from that of Bombay. Lloyd describes as the "crop" the thick walled 

 organ usually called the "gizzard." 



We do not quite appreciate what he describes as "the oesophageal 

 glands." The drawing shows these glands in the situation of what 

 Powell has described as "mop-shaped or compound nephridia." These 

 structures are undoubtedly nephridia. The name " oesophageal glands " 

 has already been given to well recognised structures of totally different 

 homology . 





