Abstract
THE German edition of Dr. Hertwig's discursive treatise—“Präformation oder Epigenese?”—was so fully reviewed in these columns shortly after it appeared (vol. li. p. 265, 1895), that it is unnecessary to state again the criticism contained in it of Weismann's theory of the germ-plasm and doctrine of determinants, or to go over Dr. Hertwig's own theory of the development of organisms. The fact that this translation is an authorised one, and that it bears the name of Mr. Chalmers Mitchell, is a sufficient guarantee for biologists that the arguments set forth in the original edition are faithfully reproduced. In a lucid introduction, Mr. Chalmers Mitchell states the positions taken by Weismann and Hertwig, and points to the issue involved. This statement, and the glossary of technical terms, will be very helpful to readers who have but a general idea of the matters on which the argument turns. The German words “Erbgleich” and “Erbungleich,” which Mr. Bourne proposed to translate isocleronomic and anisocleronomic, have been rendered by the words “doubling” and “differentiating.” The word “rudiment” has been used as the equivalent of “Anlage,” and most biologists will agree that it well covers the meaning of the German word.
The Biological Problem of To-day. Preformation or Epigenesis? The Basis of a Theory of Organic Development.
By Prof. Dr. Oscar Hertwig. Authorised translation by P. Chalmers Mitchell, M.A. Pp. xix + 148. (London: William Heinemann, 1896.)
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The Biological Problem of To-day Preformation or Epigenesis? The Basis of a Theory of Organic Development. Nature 54, 316 (1896). https://doi.org/10.1038/054316b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/054316b0