October 18, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



507 



summaries are given of the chief character- 

 istics of the labyrinth of animals of various 

 species and orders. References are made to 

 the more important papers dealing with the 

 comparative anatomy of the labyrinth. There 

 is no attempt at a prolonged treatment of the 

 speculative aspect of the subject, although 

 there is a short chapter in which there is dis- 

 cussed the value of the labyrinth in the de- 

 termination of phylogenetic problems. The 

 semicircular canals vary more from species to 

 species than the cochlea does. There are two 

 types of cochlea : sharp pointed, carnivora and 

 rodents; flat; cetacea, primates, ungulata, 

 cheiroptera, sirenia, and insectivora. The 

 edentata have an intermediate type. Both 

 types are found in the marsupalia. 



At the end of the volume there is given a 

 very important table of the chief measure- 

 ments of each of the labyrinths studied. 



Stereoscopic illustrations of organic struc- 

 tures are likely to be more and more utilized 

 as simpler methods of taking the photographs 

 and of studying them are devised. Dr. Gray 

 has been undoubtedly successful in both re- 

 spects. There are, however, some disad- 

 vantages in relying wholly upon this method 

 of illustration. Only one object can be 

 viewed at a time, so that quick comparison of 

 two or more objects is difficult. The value 

 of the book to one who has not a great deal 

 of time to devote to its perusal would be much 

 increased were diagrammatic outlines of the 

 objects studied arranged in groups. With the 

 more important similarities and differences 

 thus emphasized the details revealed by the 

 stereoscope could be followed with greater ease 

 and interest. 



The author has, however, furnished a rich 

 lot of material for the comparative anatomist, 

 and has made a distinct contribution to an- 

 atomical technique. C. E. Bardeen 



University of Wisconsin 



heepetology of japan and adjacent 

 territory 

 " Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Ter- 

 ritory " forms an important addition to sci- 

 entific literature and is the work of Dr. Leon- 



hard Stejneger, curator of the division of 

 reptiles and batrachians in the United States 

 National Museum. Even a superficial exam- 

 ination of this work shows Dr. Stejneger's 

 painstaking methods in handling his subject. 

 His manner of simplifying descriptions, in- 

 terspersing paragraphs helpful to the novice, 

 besides giving some attention to habits, pro- 

 duces a work of far broader use and interest 

 than a strictly technical compilation. The 

 author has taken uniform care to present a 

 resume under the head of each order, sub- 

 order, family and genus, this plan being very 

 satisfactory to the reader in bringing his in- 

 formation strictly up-to-date. The tendency 

 of boiling down descriptions of families and 

 genera to concise and pertinent paragraphs 

 shows considerable study. Strong character- 

 istics are brought to the front and the student 

 is saved wading through the mass of descrip- 

 tive matter favored by many scientific writers 

 — which matter is often remarkable for its 

 repetition. Throughout the work, there is an 

 effort, by means of foot-notes, to define the 

 meaning of the technical names — both gen- 

 eric and specific — a method we have noted in 

 previous work by Dr. Stejneger. An excel- 

 lent idea — applied to the treatment of the 

 serpents — is the presence of the popular Jap- 

 anese name over the description of each spe- 

 cies. This condition should make the work 

 very useful to the collector in Japanese ter- 

 ritory. 



The thirty-five plates show judicious selec- 

 tion. Regarding them the author explains: 



The plates are mostly reproductions of impor- 

 tant illustrations more or less inaccessible to 

 those for whom this work is chiefly intended. 

 Very often these illustrations represent type speci- 

 mens, and in nearly every instance are based on 

 specimens collected in the regions covered by this 

 work. The expensive Fauna Japonica is long 

 since out of print, and the reproduction of the 

 best figures from this classic will be welcome to 

 the majority of students of Japanese herpetology. 



In the text are numerous pen drawings by 

 Mr. R. G. Paine — to the number of over four 

 hundred. Altogether the work may be said 

 to be profusely illustrated and, with its nu- 



