308 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVII. No. 



eludes the descriptive part of the book. In 

 this as in other chapters extensive use is made 

 of the classic work of Haberlandt. 



The remaining 125 pages are devoted to the 

 subject of technique and the micro-chemistry 

 of plant products, added to which is an intro- 

 duction to the study of adulterations in foods 

 and drugs. The section on technique con- 

 tains concise and clear directions for fixing, 

 imbedding and staining, but unfortunately 

 can not be regarded as up to date in all re- 

 spects. Celloidin is undoubtedly the best 

 imbedding material for the very tissues 

 studied in this book, yet the author says " cel- 

 loidin is to be looked upon as a last resort in 

 a difficult situation." He says, moreover, " It 

 is difficult to get sections as thin as ten 

 mikrons." These statements can be easily 

 accounted for by the celloidin method which 

 he advocates and which has been greatly im- 

 proved by Jeffrey. The method of applying 

 the , hematoxylin-saf ranin stain described on 

 page 235 would be made more manageable by 

 using the hematoxylin first, and improved by 

 substituting Ehrlich's for Delafield's hema- 

 toxylin. 



The chapter on reagents contains some use- 

 ful recipes, and the directions are concise and 

 to the point. A few inaccuracies occur, e. g., 

 on page 257 " vapor of sulphuric acid " evi- 

 dently means sulphur dioxide. Further, it is 

 not necessary to ripen aqueous solution of 

 hematoxylin for two months, as stated on 

 page 233. 



In a general way the book has much to 

 commend it. The freedom from typograph- 

 ical errors is agreeable ("gram" is printed 

 "grain" on page 227), the typography is 

 excellent, and the large number of new figures 

 is refreshing. In this connection it is unfor- 

 tunate that Vines's poor figure of a root 

 should have been copied for Fig. 26. Eefer- 

 ence has already been made to the diagrams, 

 which are a distinct feature of the book. An 

 index is provided, but the only hint of a bibli- 

 ography is in the preface. A few terms of 

 doubtful utility have been introduced, e. g., 

 the borrowing of the German word " Borke," 

 and the use of " fixative " for filing fluid. 



To those who consider anatomy as an ad- 



junct of physiology rather than the handmaid 

 of phylogeny the book will form a valuable 

 text for class use, and to all working botanists 

 the book may well find a place on the labora- 

 tory shelf. 



M. A. Chrysler 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES 

 The American Naturalist for December 

 contains " Preliminary Notes on Some Amer- 

 ican Chalicotheres," by 0. A. Peterson, based 

 on some fine specimens of Moropus elatus in 

 the Carnegie Museum. The author concludes 

 that Moropus is essentially a perissodactyl, 

 save in its ung-uiculate feet, and that the 

 evidence points to an European ancestry. 

 Charles E. Stockhard presents some " Obser- 

 vations on the Natural History of Polyodon 

 spathula." The fish has become of consider- 

 able importance for food and will probably 

 soon be greatly reduced in numbers. It is 

 fished for with seines running up to one and 

 two miles in length, and on one occasion more 

 than 150 barrels were taken at a single haul. 

 C H. Eigenmann reviews " Fowler's ' Heter- 

 ognathous Fishes ' with a Note on the Stetha- 

 prioninEe," noting that while certain genera 

 and species have been well established new 

 names have been added that in many in- 

 stances are synonyms. William M. Wteeler 

 discusses " Pink Insect Mutants," considering 

 that they, as well as many brown individuals, 

 are simply sports and belong in the same 

 category as albinos. 



Bird Lore for January-February contains 

 articles on the " American Dipper in Colo- 

 rado," by Junius Henderson; the Canada jay, 

 "The Bird that Nests in the Snow," S. S. 

 Stansell ; " Redpoll Linnets," by Lottie A. 

 Lacey ; the second paper on " The Migration 

 of Flycatchers," by W. W. Cooke, accom- 

 panied by a fine colored plate. There is a list 

 of the members of " Bird Lore's Advisory 

 Council," and "The Eighth Christmas Bird 

 Census," representing the work of a large 

 number of observers from Maine to Oregon, 

 though mainly in the eastern states. In gen- 

 eral birds are reported as scarce. The Audu- 

 bon leaflet is devoted to the snowflake and it 



