June 5, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



831 



THREE TEXT-BOOKS IN BIOLOGY 



The Principles of Biology. By J. I. Hamaker. 



Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's Son & Co. 



1913. 8vo. Pp. s+459. 267 illustrations. 



Within the brief space of 438 pages, the 

 author of this little volume has condensed a 

 large amount of accurate information. As is 

 stated in the preface, the book has been pre- 

 pared as a substitute for the lecture notes of 

 the ordinary pupil and of its superiority over 

 such sources of information, or misinforma- 

 tion, there can be no doubt. After a very brief 

 introduction, there follows over a hundred 

 pages on plant biology and over three hundred 

 on animals. Brief laboratory directions are 

 included and a great variety of subjects are 

 dealt with. A general review of plant physiol- 

 ogy is followed by an account of the classes of 

 plants and a consideration of their ecology. In 

 a similar way the general physiology and 

 morphology of animals is followed by a de- 

 scription of the classes of the animal kingdom. 

 The whole account is concluded by an inter- 

 esting section on general principles such as the 

 structure of the cell, embryology, origin of 

 si)ecies, adaptations, etc. In fact the list of 

 headings at once indicates the scope and short- 

 comings of the book, for with so much to be 

 covered and with so little space in which to do 

 it, much of the treatment is necessarily 

 abridged and inadequate. Tet as a condensa- 

 tion the volume has many points in its favor. 

 The illustrations are often very good, partic- 

 ularly some of those taken from photographs 

 of the original objects. 



Elementary Biology. Plant, Animal, Human. 

 By J. E. Peabody and A. E. Hunt. New 

 York, The Macmillan Company, 1913. 8vo. 

 Pp. xxi + 170 -f 194 + 209. Over 300 illus- 

 trations. 



This volume is avowedly intended for, high 

 schools and covers those parts of botany, zool- 

 ogy and a study of the human being that are 

 most worthy of emphasis. The general struc- 

 ture and physiology of plants is first dealt 

 with, then their relation to human weKare, 

 and finally their classification. Under animal 

 biology chapters are devoted to insects, birds, 

 frogs, fishes, crayfishes and their allies, and the 



one-celled animalcules. The remaining groups 

 of the animal kingdom are briefly considered 

 in a final chapter. The section on man is mostly 

 concerned with his physiology. The chapter 

 on stimulants and narcotics is particularly to 

 be recommended in contrast to similar chap- 

 ters in the older school physiologies. There is 

 an appendix that contains many useful sug- 

 gestions to the teacher and the volume is con- 

 cluded by a good index. Most of the illustra- 

 tions are excellent, but in Fig. 26 the size of 

 the head in comparison with that of the vis- 

 cera is quite misleading and Pig. 99 is un- 

 necessarily crude. It is to be regretted that 

 the three sections of which the book is com- 

 posed should have been separately paged and 

 their figures separately numbered. It is diffi- 

 cult to see how this can be anything but an 

 inconvenience unless it is intended to allow 

 the publisher to divide the book easily into 

 its three separate parts. 



An Introduction to Zoology. By E. Lulham. 



London, Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1913. 



Svo. Pp. 457. 328 illustrations. 



This volume is on most conservative lines 

 even to the classical quotation preceding the 

 introduction. It takes up in methodical fash- 

 ion group after group of the invertebrates and 

 thus includes an account of all the chief 

 divisions of the lower animals. The author 

 believes there is place for such a compact 

 volume as this and that it should be read by 

 those pupils who spend much of their time in 

 the laboratory. The book is like so many that 

 have been published in the last decade that it 

 carries scarcely the air of novelty. In a read- 

 ing text such as this it is unfortunate that so 

 interesting and important a group as the 

 chordates should have been intentionally 

 omitted. For originality of treatment and an 

 air of modernity this volume is much behind 

 the other two already noticed. 



G. H. Parker 



TEE ATOMIC WEIGHT OF LEAD OF RADIO- 

 ACTIVE OBIGIN 



The atomic weight of lead obtained from 

 radioactive minerals has recently been studied 



