July 5, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



17 



of view, very satisfactory, and the writer's 

 inclination to the classification of Wachs- 

 muth and Springer for the fossil forms will 

 be generally approved in America. The closing 

 chapter, dealing with the development and 

 phylogeny of the Echinoderms, is very inter- 

 esting and is almost wholly free from the self- 

 confident assertiveness which mars some of 

 the preceding pages. While the conclusions 

 which are reached as to the steps in the evolu- 

 tion of the type, and as to the interrelation- 

 ships of the classes, need not always he ap- 

 proved in detail, it must be admitted that the 

 author has made out a good case. The rela- 

 tionship of the Echini and Holothurians is 

 well emphasized, as is the more obvious one 

 between Asteroids and Ophiurans, but the evi- 

 dence supporting the derivation of Echini 

 from Asteroids is weak and it is diflicult to 

 believe that we are at this point on the true 

 line of descent. It seems clear that MacBride 

 has been somewhat unduly influenced by his 

 familiarity with the development of Asierina 

 gibbosa, and it is quite probable that his con- 

 tinued researches into the development of 

 species of the other classes will ultimately 

 lead him to somewhat different views from 

 those he now holds. A word as to the illustra- 

 tions is in order. About one third are 

 original, the remainder being taken from such 

 reliable authorities as Ludwig, Loven, Sladen, 

 Wyville-Thomson, et al. Scarcely one is 

 from a photograph, even such forms as As- 

 tericbs and Astropecten being represented by 

 dravsdngs. While the diagrammatic sketches 

 showing structure are always clear, and the 

 original ones are particularly good, photo- 

 graphs of Asterias, Ophiothrix, Echinus, Echi- 

 naraclinius, Holothuria, etc., would have been 

 a great improvement on the rather crude 

 sketches given. There are one or two mis- 

 takes made in identifications : thus the 

 " Schizaster " figured on page 556 is certainly 

 not Schizaster, but appears to be Brissopsis, 

 while the Salenia figured on page 638 is not 

 varispina, but hastigera, though this latter 

 mistake is Wyville-Thomson's and not Mac- 

 Bride's. In conclvision, this review may be 

 summed up as follows : the morphological, 

 physiological and embryologieal portions of 



the test are excellent, though occasionally 

 marred by an unnecessary dogmatism ; the geo- 

 logical references are somewhat less satis- 

 factory; while the ecological and systematic 

 portions, and nearly all the illustrations of 

 entire animals, range from mediocre to poor. 

 Hubert Lyman Clark 



The Principles and Practice of Surveying. 



By Breed and Hosmer. New York, Wiley 



and Son. 



Of all the subjects taught in engineering 

 schools, surveying, so-called, is one of the 

 least satisfactory, both to the professor re- 

 sponsible for the instruction, and to the out- 

 side engineers who later test the value of 

 the instruction in the light of the practical 

 ability realized by those taught. This is 

 doubtless due to two causes; first, on account 

 of the large number of students and the small 

 amount of time given to the subject, there is 

 opportunity for giving to the individual little 

 more than a bare insight into the methods 

 of handling transit and level ; and second, the 

 use of those instruments in construction work 

 involves very little of the time-honored 

 methods indicated in the text-books for survey- 

 ing farm areas and making differential 

 profiles. 



That the present methods are unsatis- 

 factory is indicated in no clearer way than 

 by the number of text-books on the subject, 

 each school trying apparently to solve the 

 problem of securing better results by the use 

 of a new text-book which varies from that of 

 some other school in the details of descrip- 

 tion of instruments or directions for field 

 work. 



The volume under review is the result of 

 the experience of two instructors in the 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and 

 embodies their ideas of what should be pre- 

 sented to the student who is taking up the 

 subject of surveying for the first time. It 

 is carefully and logically arranged for this 

 purpose, giving descriptions in detail, em- 

 phasizing directions of what is, and what is 

 not, proper procedure, and listing' under each 

 instrument and method, " common sources of 

 error " and " common mistakes." 



The book itself of 433 pages is divided into 



