1890.] Recent Literature. 257 
to be? Any attempt, like the present, to bring about this change is 
to be welcomed and commended. 
The book begins with a discussion of questions of general biology, 
such as the cell, yeast, protococcus, amceba, fungi, bacteria, vorticella, 
hydra, classification of animals, and theory of evolution. Starting then 
om the ovum and spermatozoon, reproduction is fully treated; a 
short discussion of the prominent theories of heredity completing the 
subject. A chapter on the chemical constitution of the animal body, 
and one on physiological research and physiological reasoning, are fol- 
lowed by a full and orderly treatment of each of the systems of organs 
found in the body.” 
Facts are intentionally stated with not too great, sometimes with 
insufficient, detail, and are discussed impartially, intelligently, and 
roadly. Occasional want of clearness and disregard of the rules of 
rhetoric may be remedied in a second edition. Caution is constantly 
expressed against the acceptance of purely physical, mechanical, and 
also simple explanations of vital processes, as witness: ‘‘ The com- 
plexity of vital processes is great beyond our comprehension.” “‘ 
laws of physiology cannot be laid down in the rigid way that has pre- 
vailed to so large an extent up to the present time.” ‘And if in 
this, the best-studied case [secretion in the salivary glands], mechanical 
theories of vital processes utterly fail, why attempt to fasten them upon 
other glands, as the kidneys or the lungs, or, indeed, apply such crude 
conceptions to the subtle processes of living protoplasm anywhere or 
in any form?’’ The author’s doubts are suggestive. One cannot re- 
press the thought, however, that much of the discussions is written for 
and is more fitting for the professional physiologist than the inexpe- 
rienced student. The latter is everywhere made ‘‘ expectant of pro- 
gress.” Self-observation, testing of facts wherever possible on one’s 
own body, is constantly urged, as well as the comparative study of 
animal mechanisms. The illustrations are abundant, generally well- 
chosen, and excellently reproduced. The original diagrams are valu- 
able. The causation of the heart-beat—a field in which the author 
himself has worked—is well summed up. Gaskell’s idea of the car- 
diac vagus and sympathetic, as respectively anabolic and katabolic, is 
practically accepted ; and the same physiologist’s views as to the na- 
ture and relations of the cranial, spinal, and sympathetic nerves are 
given and commended. The discussion of the influence of the ner- 
vous system on metabolism is original and interesting. Throughout 
the book the author has thought his own way. His doubts and his 
frequent lack of acceptance of conventional ideas will call forth oppo- 
sition, but his work ‘is suggestive and stimulating. 
