y24 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 128. 



the other three will consider their influence on 

 growth, cell-division and differentiation. 



If the first part is to be regarded as an 

 earnest of what is to come, all biologists will 

 look forward with interest to the completion of 

 the work. The present part gives in successive 

 chapters admirable and thorough accounts of 

 the various observations and experiments on 

 the action on living protoplasm of chemical 

 agents, moisture, density, molar agents, 

 gravity, electricity, light and heat, and con- 

 cludes with an all too brief chapter discussing 

 the light thrown by these observations on the 

 structure of protoplasm, the conditions which 

 limit metabolism, the dependence of proto- 

 plasmic movement on external stimuli and on 

 metabolism and on the determination of the di- 

 rection of locomotion. The action of each 

 force is considered under several headings ; 

 light, for example, being considered as to its 

 chemical action, its effect on the general func- 

 tions of the organism and its action in conti'ol- 

 ling the locomotion (phototaxis) ; and the text 

 is illustrated by numerous well-chosen figures 

 as well as by several tables of which there may 

 be especially mentioned No. XVIII., which 

 gives the nature of the response to light of the 

 various forms which have been exi^erimented 

 upon in this connection ; No. XIX. , which gives 

 the ultramaximum temperature for numerous or- 

 ganisms ; No. XX. , which similarly gives the ul- 

 traminimal temperatures, and No. XXI., which 

 is a list of species found in Hot Springs with 

 the conditions under which they occur. The 

 author's judgment in the treatment of his sub- 

 ject is excellent, as he has confined himself for 

 the most part to a judicious statement of facts 

 and phenomena, with here and there a sugges- 

 tive inference or an indication of lines for 

 further observation, wisely refraining from 

 what would have been more or less profitless 

 discussions, the times not yet being ripe for 

 broad generalizations on the subjects of which 

 he treats. The material which is discussed has 

 been well digested and is well arranged, and the 

 style, though retaining here and there some- 

 what of the flavor of the note-book, is on the 

 whole clear and concise. The book is a read- 

 able one, and the descriptions and criticisms of 

 methods employed in experimentation, and the 



bibliographical lists at the conclusion of each 

 chapter, contribute materially to the value the 

 book possesses for both the morphologist and 

 the physiologist. 



It is a question, however, if the title chosen 

 for the woi'k is applicable so far as the first part 

 is concerned. The action of poisons, heat, light 

 and electricity on protoplasm, chemotaxis, rhe- 

 otaxis, geotaxis and similar phenomena, as 

 well as those of acclimatization to various 

 chemical and physical forces, can hardly be con- 

 sidered as falling within the domain of mor- 

 phology. They are undoubtedly physiological 

 questions. Indeed, the ground which ' Dr. 

 Davenport here covers is discussed by Verworn, 

 in a somewhat more general manner, in the 

 fifth chapter of his Allgemeine Physiologie. 

 Nevertheless, the questions discussed are of the 

 highest intei'est to morphologists, and Dr. 

 Davenport has placed his confreres under great 

 obligations by placing in their hands so lucid an 

 exposition of that side of physiology which es- 

 pecially appeals to them. 



Owing to the careful thoroughness with which 

 Dr. Davenport has labored, the work is com- 

 paratively free from oversights. It is to be re- 

 gretted, however, that the author has seen fit 

 to confine his attention almost exclusively to 

 organisms as a whole, to the neglect of consider- 

 able valuable information to be derived from ob- 

 servations on vertebrate tissues. The action of 

 poisons, for example, on the peculiarly unstable 

 protoplasm of the vertebrate nervous system is 

 hardly treated with the fullness which its inter- 

 est and importance demand, and insufiicient at- 

 tention is given to the numerous results of gen- 

 eral significance which have been obtained by 

 the study of electrical stimulation of muscle and 

 nerve protoplasm. We miss, too, a discussion of 

 the effects of surface tension in producing 

 movements of protoplasm, a question which has 

 been considered by Byder in several publica- 

 tions. A few typographical errors are notice- 

 able, though none are serious, but a great de- 

 fect consists in the absence of an index, a de- 

 fect which may be remedied in the concluding 

 volume. A separate index for each part would, 

 however, be a great convenience. 



J. P. McMUREICH. 



University op Michigan, May 23, 1897. 



