Abstract
IN treating of the Physiology of Plants, Prof. Pfeffer very naturally divides his subject into two parts, the first being “Stoffwechsel,” or metabolism, the second the concomitant “Kraftwechsel,” that is, the conversions of latent into kinetic energy and vice versá which are involved in the metabolic processes. The volume now before us treats of the “Stoffwechsel,” and it does so in a very thorough and satisfactory manner. In the first place there is evidence in the work of a very complete acquaintance with the extensive literature of the subject, and further, of a critical power of recognising and bringing into prominence those observations which are worthy of being incorporated in the canon of physiological knowledge. The general treatment, too, of the subject is clear and logical, though it suffers from a fault which is not uncommon with German authors, namely this, that the main line of thought becomes here and there obscured by the cloud of detail with which it is enveloped. Still the book is a mine of information for original workers, and a trustworthy guide for advanced students. It is not too much to say that it is the best work in existence on the subject. If the second volume is as good as the first, Prof. Pfeffer will indeed have to be congratulated.
Pflanzenphysiologie: ein Handbuch des Stoffwechsels und Kraftwechsels in der Pflanze.
Von Dr. W. Pfeffer, Professor an der Universität Tübingen. Band I. “Stoffwechsel”. (Leipzig: Engelmann, 1881.)
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VINES, S. Pflanzenphysiologie: ein Handbuch des Stoffwechsels und Kraftwechsels in der Pflanze . Nature 24, 506 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/024506a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/024506a0