Mabch 3, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



329 



soil. The former explains the method of hand- 

 ling home-made manure, while the latter has to 

 do with commercial fertilizers only. Fig. 31 

 shows a ' common type of barnyard,' in which 

 home-made fertilizers are allowed to go to waste, 

 while in Fig. 30 is shown a model method of 

 protecting them ; yet the position of the water- 

 ing trough is not an ideal one, looking at it from 

 a sanitary point of view. Fig. 32 shows a 

 'handy and economical stable,' which, in reality, 

 is anything but desirable. It might do for a 

 makeshift while refitting an old barn, but it 

 cannot be recommended to anyone who is plan- 

 ning to erect a new set of buildings. 



Other chapters deal with plants, their propa- 

 gation and subsequent care. It is misleading to 

 say that germs or bacteria may cause constitu- 

 tional troubles in the plant, as is done on page 

 167 and again on page 170, where we read that 

 constitutional diseases are usually treated by 

 burning the affected parts, which implies that 

 such a plant may spread the disease if not 

 destroyed. It is hard to see how a disease in- 

 herent in a plant (constitutional) can spread the 

 disease to other plants, unless the affected parts 

 of the diseased plant are used for propagation. 

 Bacterial diseases may affect the internal struc- 

 ture of the host, although ' the cause of it is 

 not apparent on the exterior,' yet such diseases 

 are not constitutional any more than the dis- 

 eases caused by the PeronosporiaceiB. Some 

 biologists deny that there are any true consti- 

 tutional diseases, while here we have consti- 

 tutional diseases treated as something different 

 from contagious diseases, but what that some- 

 thing is is not very clear. 



The life- history of one parasitic fungus given 

 in detail would have been a valuable addition, 

 for it would have helped much to explain why 

 it is that one plant can cause sickness in another, 

 a fact which is hard for any person to under- 

 stand who has not viewed microscopic prepara- 

 tions of fungi. In doing this the author would 

 have followed out the aim ' to seek why before 

 seek how,' as stated on page 15. 



Contact insecticides is a better term than 

 'caustic insecticides,' for in many cases the in- 

 secticide clogs the breathing pores and causes 

 •death by suffiocation rather than by caustic ac- 

 tion on the tissues. Figs. 70 and 71 pretend to 



show sucking and biting insects respectively, 

 but the reader will not be able to see the dis- 

 tinction from the illustrations. 



Many farmers would think twice before fol- 

 lowing the advice on page 187 : "If the meadow 

 fails to return two tons of field-dried hay to the 

 acre, plow it up," for there are local conditions 

 where less than two tons per acre may be a 

 justifiable crop. 



Chapter XIV. , 'How the Animal Lives,' by 

 Professor Law, and Chapter XV., ' The Feed- 

 ing of Animals,' by Professor Wing, give sum- 

 maries of our present knowledge of subjects of 

 which our farmers, as a rule, do not know 

 nearly so much as they should. 



The last chapter, on the ' Management of 

 Stock,' is by Professor Roberts. On page 266 

 he says that there are two theories respecting 

 the number of animals to be kept on a farm. 

 The fact is we are beyond the theory stage 

 in this matter, and it can be said curtly that 

 there are two methods, the practice of either 

 one of which must depend upon local condi- 

 tions. 



The severest criticism to be made of the book 

 is that nearly every subject discussed in it is 

 treated in too brief a manner, a result inevitable 

 in trying to expound the principles of agriculture 

 in one book of only 300 small pages, printed in 

 large type. This defect has been partially reme- 

 died liy references to other literature for further 

 study, although it is to be regretted that these 

 references are confined mainly to the work of 

 the editor's immediate associates. The arrange- 

 ment of the contents is excellent, and on the 

 whole the book is superior to any of its kind. 



In closing, we quote again from the preface : 

 " Agriculture is a business, not a science. * * * 

 Business cannot be taught in a book like this ; 

 but some of the laws of science as applied to 

 farm management can be taught." 



Elisha Wilson Morse. 



Elementary Zoology. By FRANK E. Beddard. 



New York, Longmans, Green & Company. 



1898. 12mo. Pp. vi + 208. 93 illustrations. 



Every teacher examines with interest any 

 new text-book dealing with the subject in 

 which he gives instruction, and his interest is 

 all the greater if the book is written by a recog- 



