February 13, 1885. 



SCIENCE. 



137 



sidered ; as, for example, how and where to cut 

 to make out the anatomy of the special parts, 

 and their relations to one another. The di- 

 rections are clear and concise, and the student 

 will have no trouble either in dissecting or 

 identifying the various parts. We think the 

 introduction of clear woodcuts an important 

 and legitimate aid to the student, and a great 

 improvement thereby over Huxley and Martin's 



1 Biology. 



The book, in short, is admirably adapted for 

 laboratory work, and furnishes to the student 

 who will take specimens in hand, and dissect 

 with care, a sufficient guide in making out the 

 essential points in vertebrate anatom}'. 



RECENT PHYSIOLOGICAL TEXT-BOOKS. 



Hutchison's physiology has been before the 

 public for some time, and apparently has met 

 with considerable success as a school text-book. 

 The revised edition that is now offered has but 

 few changes. The book as a whole is com- 

 mendable as a collection of facts, physiologi- 

 cal, anatomical, and hygienic, a knowledge of 

 which will be useful to people of all callings 

 in life. But it is questionable whether it is a 

 book that a thoughtful physiologist would like 

 to see generally introduced into schools as a 

 text-book. No chemist at the present time 

 would wish to have an elemental text-book 

 of chemistry merely a collection of facts or 

 receipts, however interesting and useful such 

 facts might be. The demand is being made 

 in that branch of science for text-books of a 

 higher order, which shall make the facts pre- 

 sented, as far as possible, illustrations of the 

 more important general laws of chemical action. 

 Some such reform should be attempted in 

 elementary text-books of plrysiology. Physi- 

 ology is worthy of being taught, in part at 

 least, as a branch of human knowledge, or for 

 the sake of mental training, and not simply 

 for the purpose of preserving health, or en- 

 abling a person to conduct himself properly in 

 case of an accident. 



The remarks upon personal rrygiene in the 

 book are in the main well chosen and to the 

 point ; but, in regard to the action of alcohol, 

 the author's prejudices, or desire to do good, 

 have evidently biassed his statement of facts. 

 The book contains a number of errors which 

 should be corrected ; such as, " sugar changes 



A treatise on physiology and hygiene. By Joseph C. 

 Hutchison, M.D., LL.D. New York, Clark & Maynard, 1884. 

 Illustr. 8°. 



The essentials of anatomy, 'physiology, and hygiene. By 

 Roger S. Tracy, M.D. New York, Appleton, 1884. Illustr. 8°. 



to fat in the body," " the acidity of the gas- 

 tric juice is due to lactic acid," and the rather 

 incomprehensible statement that albumen gives 

 ' smoothness and swift motion ' to the plasma 

 of the blood. Another error common to both 

 books under review is, that the proteids of 

 the blood are spoken of as albumen and fibrine. 

 There is no such thing as fibrine in circulating 

 blood ; and, if it is necessary to mention at all 

 the chemical constituents of the plasma, some- 

 thing a little more in accord with what is actu- 

 ally known might be given. 



Tracy's book aims to be a more scientific 

 presentation of the facts of prysiolog}' and 

 hygiene than is usually met with in elemen- 

 tary text-books ; but whether the result has 

 fulfilled the author's expectations is one of the 

 things that might be doubted. It is scarcely 

 scientific, for instance, to speak of alcohol as 

 a ' rank poison,' without an}^ qualification 

 whatever. While such language is expected 

 from a temperance orator, it is somewhat out 

 of place in an elementary book supposed to 

 give generally accepted facts. Quite enough 

 can be said truthfully against the use of alco- 

 hol without making statements which are not 

 borne out b}^ the facts of physiology. 



The book has some serious defects, such as 

 the failure to say any thing at all of the func- 

 tion or structure of the kidne}'s, except in a 

 purely incidental way. It contains also nu- 

 merous errors or badly emphasized statements ; 

 such as the origin of lymph (p. 88), the action 

 of the sympathetic nerves (p. 175) , the mechan- 

 ism of the reflex secretion of saliva (p. 178), 

 the statement that all bones are at one time 

 cartilaginous, etc. Some of the chapters — 

 that on respiration, for instance — are well 

 written, in clear and accurate language ; and 

 the remarks on hygiene form, probably, the 

 best part of the book. But, as far as its plrysi- 

 ology is concerned, the book bears evidence 

 of having been written by one not thoroughly 

 conversant with the subject. 



A TEXT-BOOK OF PHYSICAL GEOLOGY. 



The author of this small volume has made a 

 step in the right direction, for the plan of his 

 book involves the wise omission of historic 

 geology and paleontology, — subjects into whose 

 full meaning the beginner makes but little real 

 progress. The book would have been further 

 improved by the omission of much of the sec- 



The student's handbook of physical geology. By A. J. 

 Jukes-Browne. New York, Scribner <&■ Wel/ord, 18S4. 12 + 

 514 p., illustr. 8°. 



