ELEMENTS OF PLANT BIOLOGY. By A. G. Tansley. (George Allen
and Unwin. 10s. 6d. net.)—Mr. A. G. Tansley has given us an exceedingly interesting elementary account of the interests of modern biology. The book is primarily intended for medical students and is based on the portion of the Cambridge syllabus that is specially concerned with plants, but, as the author states in his preface, "The effort has been made to treat the material from the point of view of general biology rather than from the narrower outlook of pure botany." This treatment helps to make the book a very interesting and instructive one. It will be of considerable value to those who wish to acquire an idea of the principles of modern biology but have no knowledge of natural science. We would select for special mention the chapters dealing with the structure and behaviour of living substances and the bearing of physics and chemistry on such problems. The illustrations are well chosen and include original diagrams of structural features difficult to visualize and not usually given in textbooks.
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