June 28, 1918] 



SCIENCE 



641 



excited the curiosity of the members of a 

 large boarding house in Morgantown, W. Va., 

 it was suggested that a collection be taken 

 among those interested to buy a couple of 

 small alligators and have them cooked, to see 

 if the flesh really was as agreeable as was 

 claimed in the article in question. The writer 

 agreed to buy the animals and prepare the 

 flesh for cooking. 



Sufficient funds were collected to buy, of 

 the Arkansas Alligator Farm, two alligators, 

 each about three feet in length. These were 

 killed by cutting the cord at the base of the 

 skull, and the flesh of the entire body was cut 

 into pieces of suitable size for cooking. 



The meat was first parboiled (though the 

 necessity for this was doubtful) and was then 

 fried in egg and cracker crumbs, very much 

 after the manner of a breaded veal cutlet. 



About thirty people, consisting of both men 

 and women, mostly school teachers, members 

 of the university faculty, and college students, 

 partook of the repast, and all declared the 

 meat to be " delicious." 



There was considerable difference of opinion 

 as to what the meat resembled: some thought 

 it tasted like pork; some thought it like fish; 

 one person said it suggested lobster; but all 

 declared it to be most agreeable. 



Of course, at the prices charged by supply 

 firms the cost of live alligators would be 

 prohibitive, but in the tropics, where croc- 

 odilia are often extremely abundant, the flesh 

 could be had at a very low cost. 



The writer has seen alligator hunters, in 

 our Southern states, throw hundreds of pounds 

 of alligator meat to the carrion crows and 

 buzzards, after removing the hides. 



Whether the Central and South American 

 crocodiles would be as pleasant for food as 

 the Florida alligator the writer can not say. 

 Albert M. Eeese 



West Virginia Univeesity 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



Genetics in Relation to Agriculture. By E. 

 B. Babcock and R. E. Clausen. New York, 

 McGraw-Hill Book Co. 1918. Pp. xx + 

 675, 4 plates. 



Professors Babcock and Clausen have given 

 us a valuable new book on the subject of 

 genetics. As the title suggests, the book is 

 intended primarily as a text-book for students 

 of agricultural genetics. It will, however, be 

 of great value also to those whose interest in 

 genetics is not primarily in its agricultural 

 bearings. This is true partly because of the 

 very fact that the authors have brought to- 

 gether a large amoimt of data from the agri- 

 cultural publications that is not ordinarily 

 familiar to the geneticist who is working along 

 other lines. 



The book is divided into three parts, entitled 

 Fundamentals, Plant Breeding and Animal 

 Breeding. All three contain much material 

 that will be interesting to all students of the 

 subject. 



In part 1 the advanced student will find little 

 that is new to him; but he will find a clear 

 and well-written account of the important 

 principles of genetics. The material drawn on 

 for purposes of illustration is well selected, 

 and is up to date — a very important point in a 

 subject developing as rapidly as genetics. In 

 the case of matters still under debate, such as 

 multiple allelomorphism and selection, the au- 

 thors have presented both sides of the question 

 impartially, and have then weighed the evi- 

 dence and drawn their own conclusions as to 

 probable correctness. The chromosome h.y- 

 pothesis is adopted, and is used throughout the 

 book in interpreting examples. The work on 

 Drosophila is given a prominent place, and the 

 results obtained with that fly bearing on the 

 questions of linkage, crossing over, non-dis- 

 junction, mutation, multiple allelomorphs, etc., 

 are carefully and simply presented. The ques- 

 tion of pure lines and selection is discussed at 

 some length, and the conclusion is reached 

 that multiple factors offer the most plausible 

 explanation of the phenomena. 



Tlie chapters on species hybridization and 

 on the statistical study of variation should 

 both be useful, as they present material that 

 is not adequately discussed in other standard 

 text-books on genetics in English. In the 

 latter chapter the standard deviation and 

 average product-moment are referred to as 



