418 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVII. No. 1217 



very interesting results as a consequence of 

 the inTestigation of areas of audibility and 

 inaudibility surrounding great sources of 

 sound, such as the blasting for the Jung- 

 fraubahn, the bombardment of Antwerp, a 

 munition explosion in England, etc. It seems 

 natiu-al that the Halifax explosion, yiolent 

 enough to break glass many miles distant and 

 to be heard scores of miles away at sea, should 

 be investigated the same way; but I have read 

 and heard nothing of any such study. It is, 

 of course, a matter for the scientists of the 

 neighboring region, and i>erhaps they have 

 taken it up. Willaed J. Fisher 



PRIMITIVE KNOWLEDGE OF INOCULATION 



In an article on " The Origin of the Custom 

 of Tea Drinking in China," Science, March 

 15, E. A. Gortner remarks that " it is ex- 

 tremely improbable that it was recognized cen- 

 turies ago that typhoid fevers, etc., were dis- 

 seminated by pollution of the water supply, 

 especially inasmuch as there was no knowledge 

 of microorganisms or of the role which they 

 play in disease until the work of Pasteur 

 (1857—1863)." In adopting this conclusion as 

 a priori valid it seems to me that Gortner is 

 in danger of making tlie same error that was 

 made by Sir Eichard Burton in 1854. Burton 

 states (" First Footsteps in East Africa ") 

 that " The mosquito bites bring on, according 

 to the same authority (the Somal), deadly 

 fevers; the superstition probably arises from 

 the fact that mosquitoes and fevers become 

 formidable about the same time." This is not 

 the only case, we may be sure, in which causal 

 relations have been recognized long before the 

 causal mechanism was known. 



Knight Dunlap 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



The Anthocyanin Pigments of Plants. By 

 Muriel "Wheldale. Cambridge University 

 Press. 1916. Eoyal 8vo. Pp. xii + 318. 

 Price 15s net. 

 The science of chemistry has grown so 



rapidly during recent years that it is im- 



possible for an individual to acquire a thor- 

 ough knowledge of all of its branches, and 

 even to master a single phase of the science 

 often means laborious searchings through the 

 chemical literature. Fortunately there have 

 appeared during the last decade a number of 

 monographs, each written by an authority in 

 that particular field, which deal thoroughly 

 with a special topic and sum up all of the 

 available literature. Such a compilation is 

 the present volume. 



What causes the production of the colors in 

 a flower? Every one has asked himself the 

 question and numerous chemists have attacked 

 the problem, yet it is only within recent years 

 that any definite knowledge has been attained 

 and we still have a long way to progress before 

 we know the whole truth. It is fortunate, 

 however, that Miss Wheldale has accumulated 

 such evidence as is at present available. 



Her studies of anthocyanin began with a 

 study of the genetical behavior of these pig- 

 ments, but she soon ascertained that biological 

 phenomena have for their basis chemical re- 

 actions, with the result that she undertook to 

 analyze the chemical changes which were in- 

 volved in the hereditary behavior of flower 

 coloration. The present volume is divided 

 into two parts. Under Part I., " General Ac- 

 count of Anthocyanins," we have " Introduc- 

 tory," consisting mainly of the older literature 

 of the subject; "The Morphological Distribu- 

 tion of Anthocyanins " ; " The Histological 

 Distribution of Anthocyanins " ; " The Prop- 

 erties and Eeactions of Anthocyanins " ; " The 

 Isolation and Constitution of Anthocyanins " ; 

 " Physiological Conditions and Factors In- 

 fluencing the Formation of Anthocyanins " ; 

 " Eeactions Involved in the Formation of 

 Anthocyanins " ; and " The Significance oi 

 Anthocyanins," practically all of which are 

 taken up from the chemical viewi>oint. 



Under Part II., " Anthocyanin and Gene- 

 tics," we find " Classes of Variation " ; " De- 

 tails of Cases of Mendelian Inheritance in 

 Color Varieties " ; " Connection of Flower 

 Color with the Presence of Anthocyanin Vege- 

 tative Organs, Fruits and Seeds " ; " Heterozy- 

 gous Forms " ; " Color Factors in Eeduplication 



