December 22, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



893 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



A Text-booh of Biology for Students in Gen- 

 eral, Medical and Technical Courses. By 

 William Martin Smallwood, Professor of 

 Comparative Anatomy, Syracuse University. 

 Philadelphia, Lea and Febiger. 1916. 317 

 pages, 261 engravings and 10 plates. 

 If a healthy interest in the method of teach- 

 ing elementary zoology may be inferred from 

 the number and variety of text-books appear- 

 ing we may congratulate ourselves upon our 

 present state. It is clear, however, from the 

 varied character of the materials treated, that 

 there is as yet no agreement regarding the 

 matter which should enter into such a course. 

 Since almost every phase of the subject has 

 been presented, through methods of great di- 

 versity, it would seem possible that in time the 

 experience of many teachers in widely differ- 

 ent surroundings would point to the types of 

 books best suited for elementary instruction. 

 Judging by numbers, the present tendency 

 would seem to be toward some very general 

 treatment to which the term " biology " might 

 be given. Some of these books have been long 

 enough in service to have passed the first edi- 

 tion stage, and of these Smallwood's " Text- 

 book of Biology " is one. This now appears in 

 the " second edition, thoroughly revised and 

 enlarged." A change in the title may be sig- 

 nificant of an altered viewpoint of the author. 

 In the first edition it is stated that the book 

 is " for students in medical, technical and gen- 

 eral courses " but in the present edition the 

 last is made first and emphasis is placed on 

 " general courses " by their early mention. 

 Specific statement is also made of the impor- 

 tance of breadth of training in the preface, 

 and, although this occurs in a reference to the 

 purpose of the earlier edition, it is evident that 

 the author has come to place additional value 

 upon the underlying general principles of the 

 subject. While he doubtless felt like " leaving 

 their application to the teachers of advanced 

 zoological, botanical and professional courses " 

 at the time of writing the book, he is now 

 strongly enough of the opinion to say so. 



It is to be hoped that this is an indication of 

 a general change in attitude toward too much 



of the " applied " in elementary biological in- 

 struction. That the author should be encour- 

 aged to announce his position more definitely 

 on this point because of the formulated opin- 

 ion of teachers of anatomy is very encourag- 

 ing to all who believe in the value of thorough 

 preparation in general subjects and who 

 rightly feel they should have the support of 

 those who teach the more specific and applied 

 branches. 



Such a conception of the relation of general 

 to applied biology does not, however, signify 

 to the author of the text that his subject-mat- 

 ter must be remote from experience or removed 

 from practical interest, as is indicated by 

 Chapter XV., which deals with " some biolog- 

 ical factors in disease." Indeed, the length of 

 this chapter in comparison with others — it ex- 

 ceeds the one devoted to " The Plant King- 

 dom " — and the details of disease symptoms re- 

 corded might incline a captious critic to 

 question the emphasis claimed for broad prin- 

 ciples. In this attitude he would be strength- 

 ened by the criterion adopted for an inclusion 

 of a study of the Pelecypods in the book — this 

 being that " clams and oysters are so generally 

 used as food and so frequently cause disease" 

 (p. 157). But the temptation to popularize 

 our subjects is great, so it is not well, perhaps, 

 to blame the author overmuch for occasional 

 lapses toward the " practical." 



There is now little chance in general texts 

 to introduce anything new in the arrangement 

 of the subjects, but Smallwood endeavors to 

 add this touch by emphasizing the historical 

 development of biology in the sequence of 

 chapters. Since this represents the natural 

 approach to the subject and follows the course 

 of improvements in technique and instru- 

 ments, it can not be far wrong practically. 

 " The earlier chapters (I.-IX.) of this work, 

 accordingly, take him (the student) through a 

 consideration of the organism as a whole, the 

 structure and function of organs, the structure 

 and properties of tissues, and the parts of the 

 cell and their work. The chapter devoted to 

 the biology of cells furnishes the basis for the 

 modern point of view and acts as a background 

 for the remainder of the book." The topics of 



