522 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 720 



with references to the principal literature. 

 No general bibliography is given, on the 

 ground that it would necessarily discourage 

 rather than stimulate the student, but the 

 writer has found in reading the book that a 

 larger number of references to special papers 

 and to general works would have been helpful 

 and desirable. The references given are not 

 always definite nor exact. 



Now and again throughout the book a kind 

 of teleology appears, which in the present 

 state of biological science it is best to avoid, 

 although it is often difficult to do so ; e. g., on 

 page 102, it is said that " muscle must be de- 

 veloped wherever needed," again, on page 142, 

 " heat production is stimulated by its need," 

 etc. 



The terms employed are sometimes open to 

 criticism; thus on page 11 i "perception" is 

 .given as a function of the nerve cell where 

 only irritability or sensitivity is meant; 

 sometimes the style and grammar used are 

 not above suspicion, and in places the malev- 

 olence of the printer's " devil " is manifest, 

 as on page 233, where a discovery of the 

 brothers Sarasin is attributed to the Saracens. 



However, in view of the many excellences 

 of the work it seems almost ungenerous to 

 call attention to these minor defects ; they are 

 slips which we may expect to see corrected in 

 future editions of the book. 



When one considers the narrow, technical 

 training which students in histology usually 

 receive, whether they be medical students or 

 not, one can not but wish that a course similar 

 to that outlined in this book might be given in 

 every college and university. 



E. G. OONKLIN 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE AMERI- 

 CAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 

 FOR 1907-1908 



The anthropological publications of the 

 American Museum of Natural History, dur- 

 ing 190Y and 1908, comprise Volume I., and 

 Part I. of Volume II., beginning a new series 

 entitled Anthropological Papers of the Ameri- 

 can Museum of Natural History; the closing 

 sections of Volumes XV., XVin. and XV 111. 

 of the Museum Bulletin; and the last part of 



Volume III. of the Museum Memoirs: eleven 

 papers with an aggregate of 1,099 pages, 82 

 plates and 373 text figures. Formerly minor 

 anthropological papers were published in the 

 annual Bulletin, primarily designed for bio- 

 logical publications. By the segregation of 

 these papers and their issue under a distinct 

 title the Museum has made a change for the 

 better. 



Volume I. of the Anthropological Papers 

 opens with Mr. Charles W. Mead's " Tech- 

 nique of some South American Feather- 

 work" (pp. 1-18, pis. I.-IV., 14 figs.). In two 

 distinct sections, the author describes the 

 feather-technique of the ancient Peruvians 

 and of the modern natives of South America. 

 The most striking difference between the two 

 is found in the mode of attaching feathers : 

 the Peruvians employing knots while the 

 modern Indians substitute a loop or simple 

 turn about the shaft. 



In Part H. (pp. 19-54, pis. V.-VH., 26 figs.) 

 Dr. Clark Wissler discusses, " Some Pro- 

 tective Designs of the Dakota." The shields 

 or shield-covers of the Dakota were formerly 

 painted with designs, derived from super- 

 natural experiences which imparted to them 

 supernatural efficacy. On modem shields, the 

 thunder, lightning and spider symbols play 

 an important part; but there is evidence for 

 the greater prominence in the old days of 

 simple circular designs representing the 

 heavenly bodies. The designs on supposedly 

 bullet-proof shirts, worn in the ghost-dance, 

 are characterized by a tendency to represent 

 animals, such as turtles, believed to be proof 

 against missiles. While the use of these gar- 

 ments is modern, the author insists on the 

 aboriginal character of protective desigite, 

 long antedating, as they do, the outbreak of 

 1890. In his conclusion the author explains 

 the animistic basis on which interpretations 

 of designs rest, notes the psychologically in- 

 teresting predominance of animal motives, and 

 mentions the coalescence of apparently in- 

 congruous power-symbols as representations 

 of the same natural forces. 



Parts in. (pp. 55-139) and IV. (pp. 141- 

 282, pis. VIII.-XIII., 44 figs.) embody Dr. A. 

 L. Kroeber's fairly representative collection 



