Makrce# 1, 1901.] 
2° 8.). The expeditions to the Andes have 
not recorded it above altitudes of 1,500 
feet nor more than about a hundred miles 
back from the coast. On the east coast it 
is recorded as far south as the Sierras del 
Tandel, Argentina (88° S.) by Berg. It is 
found throughout Brazil and in eastern 
Ecuador well up towards the headwaters 
of the Amazon. 
It has been introduced into many of the 
Lesser Antilles to catch insects (Herrera). 
In 1844, according to Gosse, it was intro- 
duced into Jamaica from the Barbadoes, 
where it has been used to catch field rats. 
It had been brought from Martinique to 
Barbadoes, and had been carried to Martin- 
ique from Cayenne. It appears doubtful 
that it is indigenous to any of the islands 
with the possible exception of Trinidad, 
Faunal lists from Cuba, Porto Rico and the 
Bahamas do not include it. 
Bermuda is now its northern limit, both 
in latitude (33° N.) and in mean annual 
isotherm (70° F.), but this distance from 
the equator is exceeded on the east coast 
of South America both in latitude (38° 8.) 
and in mean annual isotherm (58° F.). It 
is essentially a tropical and subtropical form, 
and I do not find record of it in the region 
of frost in either latitude or altitude, ex- 
cept for a small area in Argentina. 
Bufo agua is known by various local 
names. The natives of parts of Brazil call 
it aguaquaquan, from which comes its 
specific name. In Jamaica it is known as 
a ‘bull-frog.’ The inhabitants are preju- 
diced against it throughout its range and 
it is killed at every opportunity. 
There is a general belief that itis venom- 
ous. One Brazilian writer (Filho) says 
that travelers report the use of its venom in 
place of curari by the natives of the upper 
Amazon region. 
Experiments show that the secretion of 
its cutaneous and parotoid glands, when in- 
jected into the circulation of dogs, fowls or 
SCIENCE. 
343 
frogs has poisonous effects, and in moder- 
ate doses causes convulsions, followed by 
death. There is no evidence that mere ex- 
ternal application causes more than a slight 
irritation unless it reaches mucous mem- 
brane, when ulceration follows, or the cor- 
nea, which is rendered temporarily opaque. 
There is not sufficient evidence to sub- 
stantiate the popular belief among the na- 
tives of Bermuda that the animal can eject 
its secretion to a distance. There is some 
evidence that the secretion when taken 
into the digestive tract—as in the case of a 
dog getting it into the mouth—will cause 
death in a few hours, but there are no care- 
ful records of the physiological effects of 
the secretion beyond the fact that subcuta- 
neous injections cause tetanic convulsions, 
followed by death in from one-half to two 
hours, according to dose. 
F. C. WAIrTE. 
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, NEw YorK CIty. 
SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. 
Le préhistorique, origine et antiquité de UV homme. 
Par GABRIEL et ADRIEN DE MORTILLET. 
121 figures dans le texte. 3e édition. Paris, 
Schleicher fréres, 1900. Pp. xxii-++ 709. Bib-_ 
liothéque des sciences contemporaines. 
The first edition of Le préhistorique dates from 
1888. A second edition appeared two years 
later and was exhausted at the end of ten years. 
The value of the work, as well as the rapid 
growth of the science, has made a third edition 
imperative. Gabriel de Mortillet devoted the 
closing year of his life to this task, which was 
destined to be completed by his son and collabo- 
rator, Adrien de Mortillet. 
The incorporation of an immense amount of 
new and valuable material, made possible by a 
recasting of the work, has of necessity limited 
its scope. The Neolithic period is left to be 
treated in a separate volume together with the 
Bronze age. 
The two main divisions of the present volume 
are devoted to the Tertiary and early Quater- 
nary, respectively. The authors are inclined 
to make the most of the evidence bearing on a 
