describable brings corallines and painted shells, and thousand grotesque beings samples left to show that in the sea, through all its spacious realins, life still is found-that creatures there exist more numerously than on the earth itself, &c." P. 2.

Again, and we select almost at random, what can possibly be made of such a jumble of metaphors as occur in the following passages? He is speaking of the coral polyps

"Let us endeavour to picture to ourselves an extent of the bed of the ocean, spacious as these realms that we inhabit, carpeted with living plants; every blade of grass and every flower instinct with life, and all the vast expanse busily engaged in deriving from the surrounding water materials for subsistence. Let us consider that, from age to age, the wide-spreading scene is building up, by constant precipitation from the sea, a rocky territory co-extensive with itself, &c." P. 73.

Then

First, then, the corals are living plants, blades of grass and flowers instinct with life. This metaphor is quitted abruptly, and we are introduced to an expanse busily engaged in deriving materials of subsistence. comes a wide-spread scene occupied in building a rocky territory as large as itself! Now, what possible force or illustration is gained by such figures as these?

Turn we the page as our author would say, and we are presented with the following paragraph:

"Some accident or earthquake, opens a wide chasm in the bottom of the deep; the sea itself pours through the yawning fissure, and leaps down into the fiery gulf; the imprisoned steam produced by such a dread catastrophe, putting its Titan shoulders to the vault above, heaved up the vast incumbent roof, rocks, corals, shells and all!"

A yawning fissure, a foaming sea, a leaping sea, imprisoned steam having Titan shoulders which it puts to the vault above!

Thus

It were too easy to multiply such examples as these, but we desist from the unpleasing and unwelcome task. We would, however, point out some of the faults arising from the same love of display and fine writing, such, for instance, as the incessant employment of unnecessary epithets. we have in a very short space, "active polyps"-" hungry polyps" "eating polyps"—"fishing polyps." The stomach of the Actinia cannot be described as capacious without the following fine phrase "The ample folds proclaim its great capacity."

There are also numerous instances of carelessness which we should not mention, but in the hope that the author may be led to correct them in a future edition, which we heartily hope to see, and to avoid them in the future portions of his work. Thus we have in the description of the internal organs of the actiniæ, p. 94, the following incorrect use of the word compartments. "Between the stomach and the fleshy skin, here widely separated, are spacious cavities, divided by compartments from each other;" whilst, at page 97, we have the cavities themselves very properly mentioned as the compartments. As arising from the same fault of carelessness we may mention the author's expression of doubt as to the true animal nature of sponges and fungæ compared with his calling them distinctly forms of animal life," "such animals as these," &c., a few pages further on. Again, he declares that these animals do not possess a stomach,

66

and afterwards adducing the sponges as an insuperable objection to the ordinary definition of an animal, that it possesses a stomach, he declares that "a stomach is all that is absolutely required. A stomach, provided it can live, is an animal."

Such instances as these are indeed of little consequence, but they evince great want of care, which might be easily avoided. On quitting this part of our task, which nothing but a sense of justice would have imposed upon us, we feel bound to say, that the faults which we have attempted to expose are far less conspicuous towards the latter part of the volume.

The remainder of our duty is indeed an agreeable one. The essential character of the book happily depends upon matters of far greater moment than mere style and taste-and as to the substance of the work, the solid material, the masonry, so to speak, we have pleasure in giving our cordial approbation, however we have been obliged to find fault with the ornamental and extrinsic adjuncts by which it is disfigured. In the first place, however, we would premise that the whole book, as far as it is as yet before the world, is a mere modification of the Author's excellent work on Comparative Anatomy, "The Animal Kingdom," with certain omissions and alterations calculated to render it more acceptable" to ears polite."

The question, which our author does not profess to solve, of the point at which vegetable life ends and animal life begins, in other words, the distinction between an animal and a vegetable being, is handled as we think with considerable tact; and all the difficulties are clearly and candidly, although somewhat tediously stated. The conclusion at which he arrives, in which nothing is concluded, is that "so gradually and imperceptibly do their confines blend, that it is at present utterly out of the physiologist's power to declare exactly where vegetable existence ends, and animal life begins"-and he has the following illustration of the difficulty which we think peculiarly happy, notwithstanding the affected manner in which it is put, and the feeble termination of the sentence. "Light and darkness are distinct from each other, and no one possessed of eyesight would be in danger of confounding night with day; yet he who looking upon the evening sky would attempt to point out precisely the line of separation between the parting day and the approaching night, would have a difficult task to perform."

We do not exactly comprehend why the subject of classification is postponed to the full description of the sponges and agastric or hydroid zoophytes. However, so it has seemed fit to the Professor, and we will follow him in his progress. The system adopted is nearly that of Professor Owen; and forms perhaps the nearest approach to the truth of Nature that has hitherto been promulgated. In his Nomenclature there is however a little inconsistency. Not satisfied with adopting Latin terminations to most of his names, he has the association of an occasional English ending introduced, as it were unbidden, into the more classical society. Thus, we have in the division of the Acrita the following classes; Sponges, Polyps, Infusory Animalcules, Sterelmintha, Acalepha; and in the Homogargliata there are the Annelidans Myriopoda, insecta, Arachnida, Crustacea. Now, in order to be consistent, the Annelidans should be called Annelida, or else we should have Myriopods, Insects, Arachni

dans, Crustaceans. These are, it is true, matters of very secondary, but still of some importance; and they are here indicated as fresh examples of that general carelessness in composition, to which we have seen reason before to call our author's attention.

The substance of the work is excellent. It must be a most useful book for the young zoologist, and for the general reader. Its general views, as far as they go, although we confess we do not think this department constitutes our author's strongest point, are clearly stated, and the anatomical details are given with sufficient precision. The chapter on the important subject of development is, we consider, exceedingly well done. The following illustration of the essential principles of organic development is given in a manner so graphic, as almost to deserve the praise of eloquence; and forms a very agreeable contrast to some of the passages which we have quoted as examples of a different taste :—

"Every one knows how rapidly the puff balls in our meadows are developed, growing during the course of a single night to a size that would be perfectly incredible, did not ordinary observation teach us the reality of the fact; and yet to the simple question, By what means is this extraordinary increase effected?' it has been quite impossible, until very recently, to give anything like a satisfactory reply. On cutting into these living masses, they are found to be quite homogeneous in their texture; the internal part consisting entirely of a spongy substance, without any vessels for the circulation of nutriment, or other complication of structure. When examined, however, with high magnifying powers, every portion of the spongy mass is seen to consist of microscopic cells, which are perpetually springing from each other, every cell producing a new cell precisely similar to itself as soon as its own growth is accomplished; so that in this way millions of millions of these vegetable cells are developed in the course of a very few hours, and by their prodigious accumulation build up a puff-ball measuring a foot in diameter."

Before we conclude we must not omit to notice a very material portion of this work, and one on the character of which its usefulness mainly depends-we mean the pictorial illustrations. The wood-cuts are truly first-rate. We know of nothing equal to them in the whole range of anatomical and zoological xylography. Their truth and correctness, no less than their execution, are beyond all praise. If we might select examples of peculiar beauty, we would refer to the Lobularia, fig. 14; the magnified view of the cells of Madrepore, fig. 19; the Rhizostoma, fig. 63; and the interior of the Echinus, fig. 91. The cutting is worthy of the designs, which we presume to have been principally furnished by the talented author. We are sorry to have to make an exception to this general praise in referring to the wretched unintelligible figure of Velella, fig. 68, which, instead of being light and transparent, is as solid as iron, and almost as opake.

We conclude with a cordial recommendation of the work; and with the hope that the animadversions which it has been our unpleasant duty to make, may induce the author" projicere ampullas et sesquipedalia verba," and to avoid also the careless and, we were going to say, lazy habit that has so materially deteriorated this otherwise excellent book.

URINARY DEPOSITS, THEIR DIAGNOSIS, PATHOLOGY, AND THERAPEUTICAL INDICATIONS. By Golding Bird, A.M., M.D., Assistant Physician to, and Lecturer on Materia Medica at, Guy's Hospital. Royal 12mo. pp. 323. Churchill, London, 1844.

We have for some time past felt the want of a book on urinary diseases, which should give to the practical physician a general view of the recently advanced chemico-pathological doctrines of the Giessen school, in so far at least as they relate to alterations in the conditions of the renal secretion; and point out to him all the available and useful practical hints which are derivable from the present greatly improved state of chemical physiology.

The followers of Liebig have boldly declared that the hypotheses of their master are capable of great and valuable applications to the improvement of practical medicine; and we have been long desirous of seeing the whole subject carefully investigated by a practical man, and one who, though acquainted with, is notwithstanding unbiassed by, the fashionable chemical doctrines of the day.

Dr. Golding Bird has been for some years favourably known to the Profession as an active and highly intelligent physician, who has not confined his studies to what is commonly termed the practical part of his profession, but has, in addition, diligently and very successfully studied the physical and chemical sciences. That the knowledge which he has thus obtained has been usefully applied to the purposes of practical medicine, the work, whose title heads this article, bears ample evidence. It is on a subject peculiarly well adapted for his attainments; for there is, we believe, no department of medicine to which physical and chemical acquirements can be so usefully applied as that which relates to urinary sediments, and we regret to be obliged to add that there is no class of medical subjects on which physicians in general have less knowledge, both theoretical and practical, than that of urinary diseases.

In the year 1843, Dr. Bird delivered, to the pupils of Guy's Hospital, a short course of six lectures on the diagnosis and pathology of urinary sediments, which were published in the London Medical Gazette. These lectures form the basis of the present volume; though Dr. Bird tells us that the subject is greatly extended and nearly re-written.

Dr. Bird's work does not supply all the information relating to abnormal conditions of the urinary secretion, which recent investigations have supplied us; for it professes to limit its range to deposits in the urine. But we are bound to confess, that as far as it goes, it furnishes much useful matter of the kind greatly needed.

In addition to some introductory remarks on the clinical examination of urine, and an appendix containing some tables and references, Dr. Bird's work consists of eleven chapters on the following subjects:1, Physiological Origin and Physical Properties of the Urine; 2, Chemical Physiology of the Urine; 3, Chemical Pathology of Uric Acid and its Combinations; 4, Chemical Pathology of Uric Oxide; 5, Chemical Pa thology of Purpurine; 6, Chemical Pathology of Cystine; 7, Chemical

Pathology of Oxalate of lime (Oxaluria ;) 8, Chemical Pathology of the Earthy Salts; 9, Deposits of Black or Blue Coloring Matters; 10, General Pathology of Non-Crystalline Organic and Organised Deposits; and 11, Therapeutical Employment of Remedies influencing the Kidneys. We propose to notice more or less in detail each of these chapters in the order in which they stand in the original work.

CHAP. I. Physiological Origin and Physical Properties of Urine.-Dr. Bird commences this chapter with some judicious observations on the indications afforded by the renal secretion: and cautions the practitioner against regarding every abnormal condition of the urine as being in itself a disease, since it is in fact merely a symptom,-an indication of some particular phase of morbid action.

The kidneys perform three important functions: they carry off any excess of fluid which may enter the circulation; they remove any crude or indigested elements of the food, as well as the results of imperfect or unhealthy assimilation; and, lastly, they serve to throw off certain highly nitrogenised combinations formed by the re-arrangement of the atoms of the old tissues.

"It is therefore necessary to recognise three distinct varieties of the urinary secretion in every case under investigation: Firstly, that passed some little time after drinking freely of fluids, generally pale, and low spe ific gravity, (1.003—1 009) urina polus. Secondly, that secreted after the digestion of a full meal, varying much in physical characters and of considerable density, (1.0201-028 or even 1.030,) urina chyli vel cibi. Thirdly, that secreted from the blood independently of the immediate stimulus of food and drink, as that passed after a night's rest, urina sanguinis; this is usually of average density, (1.0151.025,) and presents in perfection the essential characters of urine." 5.

After giving a slight notice of Dr. Prout's ideas respecting primary and secondary assimilation, and of his opinion that uric acid and urate of ammonia are derived from the metamorphosis of the albuminous tissues, while urea and some saccharine principle or its close ally lactic acid, are produced by the gelatinous tissues, Dr. Bird sketches briefly, but clearly, the views of Liebig and Mulder on this subject. Liebig, he says,

"Has assumed that the ultimate composition of animal flesh, as a muscle, and of blood, can be expressed by the same formula, and are consequently chemically identical. When, therefore, animal fibre is taken into the stomach, it undergoes a kind of imperfect solution, and reaches the circulation, possessing nearly the same chemical composition as the blood with which it becomes mixed. It then undergoes certain changes in the lungs, assuming probably a more highly vitalised condition connected essentially with the conversion of its albumen into selfcoagulating fibrin; bodies, however different in their physical and molecular arrangement, identical in composition. Reaching in their course the nutrient capillaries, the elements of the food are deposited in the substance of a tissue, as a muscle, whose waste they thus supply. Ere these new molecules can be deposited, room must be made for them by the removal of old matter, and then the following beautiful results of vital chemistry are supposed to come into play. The exhausted atoms of the muscle cannot be removed as fibres, but their elements must be re-arranged, so as to enter the circulation and be carried to other organs. They therefore undergo metamorphosis; water and oxygen are conveyed to the muscle, the former in the fluid of the blood, the latter in the red particles, and the result is the re-arrangement of elements,