No. 389.] REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE: 433 
powers in making simple yet significant observations, experiments, 
and inferences which cannot fail to awaken a lively interest.. Certain 
of these exercises are intended to be performed by the pupil at home 
and reported on in class. Others involve a demonstration by the 
teacher before the class. Not the least valuable feature is a series 
of questions to be used in making a “Comparative Study of the 
Mammalian Skeleton,” as shown in such a collection as that of the 
American Museum of Natural History. This points the way to a 
wider educational use of museums in large cities. The book is full 
of helpful suggestions. 
The only passages noticed as oiii for amendment are the follow- 
ing: On p. 62 the pupil is directed to “ prepare a strong solution of 
quinine in water by dissolving sulphate of quinine in water by the aid 
of sulphuric acid.” This is hardly explicit enough for home use. 
Moreover, sulphuric acid in inexperienced hands seems unsafe. In 
the directions for applying “the nitric acid and ammonia test” 
(p. 22) the boiling necessary to secure the xantho-proteic reaction is 
not mentioned. FREDERICK LEROY SARGENT. 
Overton’s Physiology.’ — It is not often that we find so much 
nonsense compressed into a small volume as a casual glance reveals 
in this one. A few extracts will show the character of the whole 
volume. * In moist earth there lives a little animal called the ameba.” 
«All animals must have water to drink.” “ Ov/, or fat, is found in 
little pockets between the cells.” ‘The fat around the cells is like a 
cushion, which protects the cells and keeps them warm.” Starch 
grains “dissolve in water and form a paste.” “When the plant 
ripens, the starch changes to sugar.” ‘“ Most of the fat is oxidized in 
the lungs.” The mind “tells the liver cells to change the digested 
food to blood.” “The mind lives in a few cells and rules all the 
rest.” “From the cells [of bone] there go out fine strings of con- 
nective tissue. Lime is mixed among the strings like starch among 
the fibers of a linen collar.” Between the vertebre “are thick, 
strong -pads of tough flesh or gristle.” The scapula “is not joined 
to any bone.” ‘A muscle is large at one end and is fast to a bone.” 
“The power of a muscle comes from the heat of oxidized food.” — 
“ Cell, the smallest part of the body which can live when separated 
from the rest.” ‘The only cells of the body which can move about 
are the white blood cells. The rest are held in place by strings of 
1 Overton, Frank, A.M., M.D. Applied Physiology, including the Effects of 
Alcohol and Narcotics. New York, American Book Company, 1898. 
