BOOK

REVIEWS

PERFIL'EV, B. V., AND D. R. GABE. 1969. Capillary methods

of investigating
micro-organisms.
Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh.
627 p.
sd9 10s.
The appearance of this English translation is a
major event in microbiology
and microbial ecology.
Many of us first learned of the capillary methods
of Perfilev
from the article in Bioscience about
five years ago by the late Jackson Foster. Foster
described how Perfilev
had developed
methods
for making glass capillaries with flat sides suitable
for direct microscopy.
Although capillary microscopy is the main theme of this book, a wide
variety of other techniques for the study and isolation of microrganisms
and a number of photomicrographs
of really interesting
organisms (e.g.,
Metallogenium,
Cyclobacter,
Lieskeella)
discovered with the use of the techniques are also given.
The necessity for study of microorganisms
directly
in their microenvironments
is obvious, but microbial ecologists have been reluctant to really commit
themselves to such study. It is an unfortunate
fact
that the smaller the organism, the more sophisticated and expensive must be the apparatus used.
Perfilev has spent a lifetime devising appropriate
methods, and it is to our benefit
that he has
described them in great detail in this book, first
published in Russian in 1961. Until now, those of
us who do not read this language have had to
content ourselves with studying
the illustrations
and trying to imagine what clever things were
being done. We thus owe a great debt of gratitude to the publishers and the translator
(J. M.
Shewan) for producing an English version of this
monumental
work.
The book is in five parts. In the first, the
rationale of capillary microscopy
is given and results are presented of the development
of microsubmerged in mud
bial landscapes in capillaries
and water.
The second part provides
the best
review
I have seen of micromanipulators
and
micromanipulation
techniques which are useful in
the single-cell isolation of microorganisms.
In the
third part, techniques for the microscopic study of
the development
of microcultures
are given, with
emphasis on maintaining
appropriate
environmental conditions,
including
a wide variety of flow
systems suitable
for use with the microscope.
Those who have studied bacterial
life cycles in
microculture
will greatly appreciate
this section.
The fourth part deals with the use of capillaries
for direct microscopic
counts. The fifth section
describes the techniques used in producing
flatwalled capillaries;
this is the longest section of
the book and is essentially
a treatment
of the
ceramic engineering
of capillary production.
In the basic procedure used, a glass preparation
of the required shape is made by fusion of strips
of ribbon glass; this preparation
is then drawn out

under carefully
controlled
conditions
of heating.
Under normal conditions
of drawing
glass, the
capillary is inevitably
round, whereas in the techniques developed by Perfilev,
the shape of the
original stock bar is retained.
The apparatus used
to accomplish
this is described
in considerable
detail and an extensive
discussion is given of
problems that may arise in its use. So far as I
know, flat capillaries
are not marketed
by any
American or West European companies, although
it seems likely that given the motivation
they
could easily acquire the technology.
Apparently
they are not available
commercially
from the
U.S.S.R. I was fortunate
to receive a number of
these capillaries
as a gift a few years ago and
marvelled
at their precision and intricacy.
Perhaps the increasing interest in microbial
ecology
will prompt some enterprising
glass manufacturer
to produce them for us. When this happens, this
book will really prove its utility and we Western
microbiologists
will be in a position to catch up
with the Russians.
THOMAS D. BROCK
of Microbiology,
Department
Indiana University,
Bloomington
47401.
VOLLENWEIDER, R. A. [ED.].
1969. A manual
on methods
for measuring
primary
proIBP
environments.
duction
in aquatic
Handbook No. 12. F. A. Davis Co., Philadelphia, Penn. 213 p. $8.90. (Also available
from Blackwell Sci. Publ., Oxford. 45s.)
This compact volume contains a large amount
of useful information
on techniques for determining the standing stock and rate of production
of
aquatic plants and microorganisms.
The editor has
purposely
defined primary production
to include
chemotrophic,
heterotrophic,
and autotrophic
processes. While one may disagree with the breadth
of this definition,
it is of inestimable
value to
have a text on methodology
which, for the first
time, brings together
techniques
for measuring
the formation
of organic material at the primary
trophic level in the aquatic environment.
Chapters on the measurement of standing stock
and production
rates include procedures
for the
assessment of phytoplankton,
macrophytes,
and
periphyton.
A separate chapter deals with bacterial production,
while special methods related to
the measurement
of primary production,
such as
light attenuation,
nutrients, and statistical aspects
of sampling, are discussed in a final chapter and
appendix.
The book contains a number of illustrations of apparatus, equations for deriving various
parameters, and some tables and figures containing basic data required by researchers in this field.
In a few cases methods are described in detail;

168

BOOKRE-S
generally,
however,
authors have only discussed
techniques in outline, and in some cases the editor
has further evaluated these descriptions.
In lieu
of detailed laboratory
instructions
the book might
have been improved by more examples of actual
measurements.
Although the volume is well referenced, it must be remembered
that scientists in
the developing
nations do not always have good
libraries in which they can check the details of
procedures.
Thus it is particularly
important
to
give as many working
details as possible in a
manual on methods, especially when that manual
is published under the auspices of an international
organization
dedicated to the welfare of mankind.
In summary, the book is highly recommended
as a compendium of current methods used in primary production
research.
The text is easy to
follow, subsectioning is well arranged, and there is
a refreshing scarcity of typographical
errors.
Biological
Fisheries
Nanaimo,

T. R. PARSONS
Station,
Research Board of Canada,
British Columbia.

VOLLENWEIJIER, R. A.
1968.
Water
management research.
Scientific fundamentals
of the
eutrophication
of lakes and flowing
waters
with
particular
reference
to nitrogen
and
phosphorus as factors in eutrophication.
Organization
for Economic
Co-operation
and
Development.
Directorate
for Scientific
Affairs.
Paris. Mimeographed.
159 p. + 34
Figs. + 2 separately paged annexes: Bibliography, 61 p; Current status of research on
eutrophication
in Europe, the United States
and Canada, 20 p. (French
and German
versions available. )
This preliminary
version of a long-awaited
document is a valuable compilation
and review of the
literature
of eutrophication,
combined
with the
critical
judgment
of an experienced
limnologist.
In seven major sections, we are given:
1. Introduction and statement of problem.
2. Notes on
the physiology and ecology of aquatic bloom-forming plankton organisms, and of hydrophytes,
with
reference to their phosphorus and nitrogen requirements. 3. Relationship
between biomass, productivity, and trophic levels of waters. 4. Nutrient
status, nutrient supply, critical concentration,
and
loading levels. 5. Nutrient sources. 6. Inferences
as regards eutrophication.
7. Elimination
of phosphorus and nitrogen from waste waters-state
of
the art.
The report is unique in its coverage and detail.
Each section is richly documented with tables and
figures of data and reference
to a voluminous
literature.
One of the things that will attract attention is
a set of practical recommendations
based on the
amount of nutrient loading associated with deterioration of lakes (Table
4.6).
Vollenweider
ap-

169