472 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



weak whisky and water down its mouth, or swab the gills with 

 cotton-wool dipped in the same restorative." 



This book foreshadows a considerable advance in the study 

 of fresh-water and marine animals, and we may look forward 

 with every confidence to a new and popular use of the camera. 



Life in the Sea. By James Johnstone, B.Sc. Cambridge : 

 University Press. 



This small volume constitutes a pj^ecis of the knowledge 

 which we at present possess of some aspects of life found in 

 the vast marine area. Mr. Johnstone gives us some Dantesque 

 sketches of the vast oceanic depths : " We can easily imagine 

 the cold, and the darkness, and the great plains of semi-liquid 

 mud, but not the extreme pressure of the water." And, again, 

 referring to the abyssal animals of which the majority are 

 phosphorescent, he writes: "In the absolute darkness of the 

 abyss they would appear as ghostly silver-blue shapes glimmer- 

 ing like an electric lamp through dense fog on a dark moonless 

 night." It will be long before man learns the story of these 

 depths ; up to the present time our zoological anticipations have 

 not been justified, but still "one cannot say that there are no 

 monstrous or gigantic animals still living in the abysses, for no 

 form of fishing gear yet used would enable us to capture a very 

 large abyssal animal." Science has already enabled man to fly 

 and soar above the surface of the earth ; will it one day equip 

 him with the means of exploring these dismal oceanic depths ? 

 The first achievement, however, has a value in war and com- 

 merce as well as in adventure ; while the latter can be appraised 

 on the basis of science and adventure alone. 



Mr. Johnstone deals with the categories of life, rhythmic 

 change in the sea, the factors of distribution, modes of nutrition, 

 and the sources of food ; a necessarily short bibliography is also 

 appended. 



PRINTED BY WEST, NEWMAN AND CO., HATTON GARDEN, LONDON, E.C. 



