Geology and Natural History. 469 



an elaborate hypothesis with which to explain such a supposed 

 inheritance, and which will at the same time supply the inade- 

 quacy of the older theory of epigenesis. This hypothesis of cen- 

 troepigenesis, as it is called, supposes, briefly, (1) that ontogeny 

 is a recapitulation of phytogeny, with the immediate or indirect 

 results of all influences ; and (2) that each specific nervous 

 impulse sets aside (in the germ cells) a certain definite substance, 

 which is able exclusively to give rise again to the identical kind 

 of impulse which caused its formation. 



Another, purely speculative, hypothesis suggests that all vital 

 processes consist essentially of an intranuclear oscillating nervous 

 discharge or series of impulses. 



The need of such a speculative hypothesis regarding the inher- 

 itance of acquired characters in the higher animals will not be 

 felt by the great mass of biologists of the present day who find 

 no real evidence that such characters ever are inherited. 



The present book is a translation and revision of the original 

 French edition. w. r. c. 



lb. A Guide for Laboratory and Field Work in Zoology ; by 

 Henry R. Linville and Henry A. Kelly. Pp. 104. New 

 York and Boston, 1907 (Ginn & Company). — This excellent 

 little manual aims to direct young pupils in making intelligent 

 observations on the common representatives of each group of 

 animals. As is the case with the Text-book of Zoology by the 

 same authors, especial emphasis is laid on those features of the 

 subject which are naturally more interesting to the pupil or which 

 have a direct bearing on the important problems in biology. 



w. r. c. 



16. Les Debuts d r un Savant Naturaliste, le Prince de VEntomol- 

 ogie, Pierre- Andre Latreille, d Brive, de 1762 d 1798 ; par Louis 

 deNussac. Pp. 264. Paris, 1907 (G. Steinheil). — This work con- 

 sists of an interesting account of the first thiily-six years of the 

 life of the French naturalist, Latreille, together with extracts 

 from his correspondence and a discussion of his earlier ixiblished 

 investigations. w. r. c. 



17. Der JEinfluss des Klimas auf den Bau der Pflanzengewebe. 

 Anatomischphysiologische Untersuchungen in den Tropen; by 

 Dr. Carl Holtermann. Pp. 259, 16 pi. Leipzig, 1907 (W. Engel- 

 mann). — In this quarto volume the author describes a large num- 

 ber of observations which he has made on tropical plants. Much 

 of the work was done in the. botanical garden of Perideniya, 

 Ceylon, and the remainder on preserved material collected in the 

 vicinity of the garden. Although the majority of the observa- 

 tions are of an anatomical nature, the physiological point of view 

 is continually kept in mind. The work is divided into five sec- 

 tions. In the first, which deals with the transpiration of plants 

 in the tropics, the conclusion is reached that this process is on the 

 whole no less vigorous than in temperate regions, although it is 

 perhaps more subject to prolonged interruptions. The second 

 section describes a number of tropical vegetation zones, with 



