No. 378.] REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE. 45I 
Whatever may be thought of the generally involved style of Pfeffer’s 
exposition — and this has been complained of for years by his own 
remarks. He goes directly to the point, and states it clearly. 
Regarding the exposition, I believe that it, too, is clearer and simpler 
than in the first edition and than in many of Pfeffer’s papers ; but 
it can never be “easy reading” for any foreigner because of the 
detail of fact and theory into which Pfeffer goes in his treatment of 
every topic. 
What DeBary’s Comparative Anatomy of the Vegetative Organs of 
the Phanerogams and Ferns was intended to be and what it has been 
for plant anatomy, Pfeffer’s Handbuch was in the first edition, and 
cannot fail to continue to be in the second, for plant physiology. 
In the survey of what has been discovered are pointed out many of 
the problems which remain to be solved.. Thus knowledge is broad- 
ened and zeal for research is kindled and directed. 
The first volume is devoted to the consideration of the subject 
announced by the title, namely, “ Stoffwechsel,” or metabolism in the 
broad sense. Before treating of this, however, the author presents 
three chapters covering nearly seventy-five pages. The first is an 
introductory one broadly stating the object of physiology, — “to study 
the manifestations of life as such, to trace these back to their nearer 
and further causes, and to become acquainted with these in their 
significance for the organism”; the second is devoted to a discussion 
of the cell from the morphological-physiological standpoint; the 
third deals with the phenomena of swelling as indicating molecular 
structure. The remaining five hundred and fifty pages in this volume 
are occupied with the subject of nutrition, — respiration (and the 
fermentations dependent upon the respiration of certain organisms) 
being considered as a part of the destruction processes concerned in 
the nutrition of the organism. 
Within the limits of a review, any adequate treatment in detail of 
the contents of this volume is impossible. The student of physi- 
ology, whether he use animals or plants as the subjects of his obser- 
vation, will find the book rich in facts, broadening in its masterly 
treatment of the conceptions to be built upon these facts, and 
inspiring in the high, enthusiastic, yet controlled devotion of the 
author to the subject to which he has so fruitfully devoted his life, 
and in which, as teacher and writer, he has led so many others. 
GEORGE J. PEIRCE. 
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