364: 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
in the eggs of Metazoa. Thus the egg of Salamandra maculosa accumu- 
lates reserves for four years, and grows from 28 to 3500 /ul, and is, he says, 
in the same sort of state as the full-grown Gregarine. It may be that 
the rejection of used-up material is effected by the first polar body ; but 
apart from this it is noted that Haecker has described some possibly 
analogous process in JEquorea, and Wheeler in Myzostoma. The author 
ventures the suggestion that “l’epuration nucleaire” is of general 
occurrence. 
c. General. 
Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates.* — Prof. W. N. Parker has 
edited a second English edition of this well-known text-book by Prof. R. 
Wiedersheim. It has been almost entirely re-written, so as to incorporate 
the new material of the third German edition without too great increase 
of size. Continually, however, as the history of this book shows, the 
“ Grundriss” tends to grow into the “ Lehrbuch.” The excellencies of 
the book are well known ; it is enough to say that, good as it was before, 
it is better now. 
Anticipation of Modern Views on Evolution.! — Prof. E. B. Poulton 
calls attention to the importance of the evolutionary views of James 
Cowles Prichard, the anthropologist. In the second edition of his 
‘ Researches into the Physical History of Mankind ’ (1826), he argued 
forcibly in favour of organic evolution ; he recognised the operation of 
artificial and natural selection ; and he not only drew a clear distinc- 
tion between acquired and congenital characters, but sought to show that 
the former were not transmitted. He was not rigidly consistent, and in 
after years his convictions seemed to have weakened, but some of his 
sentences might have been written by Darwin and others by Weismann. 
We shall quote two: — “It appears to be a general fact, that all connate 
varieties of structure, or peculiarities which are congenital, or which 
form a part of the natural constitution impressed on an individual from 
his birth, or rather from the commencement of his organisation, whether 
they happen to descend to him from a long inheritance, or to spring up 
for the first time in his own person — for this is perhaps altogether in- 
different — are apt to reappear in his offspring.” ... “On the other 
hand, changes produced by external causes in the appearance or consti- 
tution of the individual are temporary, and, in general, acquired 
characters are transient ; they terminate with the individual, and have 
no influence on the progeny.” We may note that Prichard’s position on 
this question is referred to very explicitly by Lucas in his great work 
on Heredity (1847-50). 
So-called Accessory Parts of the Skeleton.! — Dr. G. Thilenius 
begins an interesting discussion by criticising Emery’s classification of 
“ accessory ” skeletal parts, i.e. novel additions to the primitive skeletal 
system. Emery’s first division includes parts which are only found in 
‘ Elements of the Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates,’ adapted from the 
German of Dr. Robert Wiedersheim by W. N. Parker. 2nd edition, founded on the 
third German edition. London and New York, 8vo, 1897, xvi. and 488 pp., 333 figs. 
f Science Progress, i. (1897) pp. 278-96. 
% Anat. Anzeig., xiii. (1897) pp. 483-90. 
