1034 Recent Literature. [ December, 
and almost entirely ignore the physiological aspect of animals 
and plants. A student has gained a valuable fact when he has 
learned the name and structure of any organ, but until he knows 
its function and the method in which it is performed his knowl- 
edge regarding it is incomplete. The present hand-book aims to 
teach the physiological as well as the morphological side, and 
thus fills a place which no other work in the English language 
does. It is, we understand, but a portion of what is intended, and 
this fact should be borne in mind in the following account. Still 
in its present condifion it is admirably adapted for grounding. 
students in biology. There are numerous exercises for the labo- 
ratory, and the directions for these are excellent; they tell the 
student what to do, but leave him to describe the results, thus 
giving the instructor a test of the student’s progress. 
The first three chapters are devoted to the phenomena of life 
and the study of organic matter, then follows a chapter on the 
cell, after which comes the study of special forms. Of these 
there are two, the fern—Pteris, and the earth-worm ; and we 
agree with the authors in regarding these two forms as well 
adapted for study by the beginner as any. The book is well 
illustrated, most of the cuts being original, and though made 
by photo process they are usually clear and free from broken 
lines. A rather careful examination of the book reveals but little 
which calls for adverse criticism. On p. 123 it is stated that “all 
the organs of the body are originally developed from the walls 
of” the ccelom of the earth-worm, which is not true in the sense 
in which it will ordinarily be understood. Again one might 
criticise the use of “ ectoblast ” and “entoblast” (p. 178) for the 
inner and outer germ layers. Several other terms have priority, 
and it seems needless to multiply terms for each stage in the de- 
velopment of the organism. To be consistent the authors should 
replace the the term archenteron on p. 149 (not on 148) by me- 
senteron. The proof-reading has been very well done, and the 
graphical errors rare. The printer is, however, to be criti- 
cised, as he has used a badly worn font of type, and broken and 
battered letters are much too common. With the exception of 
these few points and a few of like character we have nothing but 
praise for the book. . 
WHITPIELD’s BRACHIOPODA AND LAMELLIBRANCHIATA OF reer 
Jersey. —This quarto volume is occupied with the Brachiopo 
: and Lamellibranchiata of the Raritan clays and greensand marls. 
Only three genera of Brachiopoda, Terebratula, Terebratulina and 
Terebratella, occur in New Jersey, and only two species, T z 
_bratula harlani and Terebratella plicata, are at all abundant. T E 
plastic clays, some of the layers of which yield large numbers 9 
3 Whitfield’ s rf 7 7 the Raritan clays and green- 
sond mare of News J BY Re. Waira T. L: Murphy Sate printing 
