October 31, 1902.J 



SCIENCE. 



703 



But the especial inconsistency is this : if Dr. 

 Hay wishes to use Linne's Pisces so as to ex- 

 clude the sharks, why has he the right to put 

 back into this term of Linne such forms as 

 sturgeons, anglers, sea-porcupines, pipe- 

 fishes and the like, which Linne himself cast 

 out with the sharks ? If this can be done, evi- 

 dently the sharks also can be restored, and 

 Pisces reacquires its normal use. 



The present volume touches upon a number 

 of points in which judgments may differ — 

 when one author treads perilously near an- 

 other's vagaries. Thus I note that Dr. Hay 

 has no scruples in associating such obscure 

 forms as Coccosteans and Pteraspids with true 

 fishes (while ejecting sharks!). Also that the 

 Arthrodiran Placoderms are still grouped with 

 the lung-fishes, as also for the first time are 

 Pterichthyids — and for the latter annexation 

 no reasons are given. These forms are alto- 

 gether grouped as Azygostei, a new subclass, 

 equivalent to Teleostomi, based doubtless on 

 the presence of a median row of cranial bones ; 

 in this event it is evidently a nomen delendum, 

 for a similar row of bones occurs admirably 

 in Teleostomes, Acipenser, for example. 

 Within the latter subclass the use of Ehipi- 

 distia, p. 357, as a superorder equivalent to 

 Crossopterj'gii, is evidently an oversight. 



On all scores, though, returning to our 

 original text. Dr. Hay's volume is a mine of 

 gold to the paleontologist, and the officials of 

 the Geological Survey are to be congratulated 

 on having secured it and given it publication. 

 Such works cannot be too plentiful or too 

 welcome. In another case, however, the pub- 

 lishing authorities would add a helpful favor 

 to specialists if they gave the book a wider 

 margin — say, of two inches at the bottom of 

 the page — so as to facilitate the insertion of 

 addenda and corrigenda. 



Bashford Dean. 



Neurological Technique. By Irving Har- 



DESTY, Ph.D. University of Chicago Press, 



1902. Pp. 185 ; 4 figures. 



Professor Henry H. Donaldson, in his short 



introduction to this little volume, states that 



its object is to serve as an introduction and 



laboratory guide to the study of the architec- 



ture of the nervous system. The material 

 considered falls into three divisions : (1) Lab- 

 oratory methods; (2) an outline for the exam- 

 ination of the central nervous system; (3) a , 

 classified list of the neurological nomenclature 

 (B N A) accepted by the German Anatomical 

 Society. 



Excellent judgment has been shown in the 

 selection of the laboratory methods, and care 

 has been exercised to bring to the notice of the 

 student only such methods as may be employed 

 with some assurance of obtaining satisfactory 

 results. In case a number of methods are at 

 hand, which bring out, diiierentially stained, 

 certain elementary constituents of the central 

 nervous system, only the most important are 

 considered or several methods are combined 

 into one workable method, thus avoiding con- 

 fusion and, at the same time, enabling a stu- 

 dent to employ his time most economically. 

 The methods selected are given in full. The 

 descriptive account of each method is prefaced 

 by a statement in which are enumerated the 

 reagents which will be required in each step 

 of the method and in the descriptive account 

 each reagent used and the time during which 

 it should act are printed in heavy type. The 

 student may thus at a glance ascertain the 

 steps of a method. This portion of the vol- 

 ume, while compiled primarily for the begin- 

 ner, will prove of service to the investigator 

 and teacher as presenting in compact form the 

 essentials of neurological technique. 



In the outline for the dissection of the cen- 

 tral nervous system, the (B N A) nomencla- 

 ture is used almost exclusively. This outline 

 is based on the human central nervous system 

 and consideration is given only to the macro- 

 scopic anatomy of the organ; with the excep- 

 tion of certain external features, it may, how- 

 ever, be used for the study of the nervous 

 system of the larger mammals. The outline 

 presupposes that the brain and cord used have 

 been fixed in formalin, and that only one speci- 

 men is at the disposal of the student. Atten- 

 tion is drawn to the external features of each 

 region, after which the student is directed to 

 make sections along certain planes located by 

 surface markings, each section thus obtained 

 being considered seriatim. A number of fig- 



