272 
name Cephalopoda indicates. On page 191 it 
is stated that “nearly all the Chordata are 
marked by the presence, either in embryonic 
or larval stages only, or else persisting 
throughout life, of a number of slits or clefts 
in the walls of the pharynx which serve for 
breathing, and which are called gill-slits.” 
Do not all Chordata have gill-clefts at some 
stage of their life history? Again, on page 
201 one reads the too inclusive statement that 
“all batrachians breathe by means of gills 
for a longer or shorter time after birth.” On 
page 256, hyenas are classified as Felide. On 
page 337 we are informed that muscles are the 
active organs of motion and locomotion in all 
animals. 
In the physiological section there is an obvi- 
ous attempt to “write down” to the audience 
and the result is frequently anything but 
happy. For instance one meets not infre- 
quently with such apparently significant 
though actually meaningless statements as 
(p. 291) “the most necessary element in all 
the world is oxygen.” On page 294 one en- 
counters the rather astonishing bit of infor- 
mation that “muscle is largely a compound 
of sulphur and other elements.” On page 316 
we read that “it is the function of hzemo- 
globin to carry oxygen to the tissues and car- 
bon dioxide from the tissues,” a statement 
which, to say the least, is misleading, in that 
as regards carbon dioxide, the carrying power 
of hemoglobin is at most of minor import- 
ance. On page 340 heart muscle is classified 
as non-striated. On page 291 we encounter 
the obscure and in part erroneous statement 
that “carbohydrates contain carbon, hydro- 
gen and oxygen, the former predominating. 
Fats contain also chiefly oxygen, carbon and 
hydrogen, the latter predominating.” On 
page 296 under “ Tests for Proteids ” what is 
probably the most universal and certain test 
of all, the biuret reaction, is omitted. On 
page 801 referring to alcohol we find this re- 
markable piece of information—remarkable 
both in point of fact and of rhetorical climax 
—‘ unlike other poisons its use establishes a 
craving or appetite for it which eventually 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. Vou. XXXV. No. 894 
weakens the will and is apt to lead to intoxi- 
cation.” How unlike cocaine, opium, mor- 
phine, ete., is it in this cumulative effect? 
On page 311 we learn that “the mesentery 
is fastened at the back to the spinal column.” 
On page 363 instead of using axon and axis 
cylinder as synonymous terms the axis cyl- 
inder is spoken of as a central fiber of the 
axon. On page 317 the term fibrin is mis- 
used. 
A careful reading of the text discloses a 
considerable number of little imaccuracies, 
mainly in the way of too inclusive statements, 
but space will not permit of specific citation. 
Some of these may perhaps be excusable on 
the basis of being well-nigh unavoidable in 
an elementary book where confusion of ideas 
must be avoided, but in not a few instances 
a single qualifying word would have set the 
matter right. 
While the reviewer has found it necessary 
to devote most of his space to pointing out 
errors, he does not wish to leave the impres- 
sion that the book is without merit. On the 
contrary, it has many excellencies. The sub- 
ject-matter is well chosen, the general descrip- 
tive treatment is for the most part excellent 
and interestingly written and the text covers 
a wide range of timely topics in addition to 
the more formal zoological work. 
M. F. Guyer 
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
A FEW BOOKS ON AERONAUTICS 
A NEW science and a new industry, a new 
sport and a new mode of warfare have come 
upon us with such startling suddenness that 
many are clamoring to know how it all came 
about; while authors are tumbling over each 
other—many over the facts and even over 
their English too—in a mad rush to tell the 
story, the story of aeronautics that only a 
master can tell. 
The following are a few of the 1911 ver- 
sions of this story. 
Aerial Locomotion. By E. H. Harper and 
ALLEN Ferrcuson. Cambridge University 
Press, XII., 164, price 1 shilling. 
This little book is so clearly written that it 
