BOOK REVIEWS RECENSIONS DE LIVRES Control and Manipulation of The remaining bulk of the sium held in Edinburgh in 1984. Animal Growth. P.J. Buttery. chapters deal with hormonal control Readers familiar with this very suc- N.B. Haynes and D.B. Lindsay. of growth, with specific sections on cesful series are again presented Published by Butterworths, growth hormone, prostaglandins, with a change in format, and after London. 1986. 347 pages. Price insulin, glucocorticoids, 1-adrenergic the 1985 volume appears, future $125.00. agonists, and various hormone- plans are for only biennial meetings releasing factors. These chapters are and proceedings. This book is the proceedings of the somewhat diverse in approach, The opening and final chapters of long-established and successful some dealing with only biochemical the proceedings deal with nutrition yearly Easter School in Agricultural parameters, and others describing research past and future, and are of Science, from the University of animal function and performance. such a general nature as to seem out Nottingham, England. Over half of In general the reader is given a good of place in relation to the other the 20 chapters are concerned with overview, and current literature is technical papers. The remaining the relationship of endogenous and cited for further reading. In terms chapters seem to be arranged in no exogenous hormones and growth, of endogenous hormone manipula- particular order and the reader is and it is somewhat unfortunate that tion, the reader is provided with continually transferred back and the title does not reflect this topical some thoughts of future direction in forth from theoretical aspects of theme. terms of recombinant gene transfer. modeling nutrient requirements, to The initial chapter deals with the As anticipated, much of the discus- more classical growth response effect of environment on growth, sion at this time is limited to small data. and this refers to numerous dated mammals. If a general them can be given for research with too much emphasis on Obviously, no book on this con- the book, it would be on modelling only one species, namely the pig. troversial topic would be complete of the bird's response to various The following chapters on the gen- without some discussion on safety nutrient inputs. It is likely that the eral role of growth promoters and aspects. There is good discussion on book will appeal mainly to nutri- xenobiotics give a good overview, aspects of meat residue and diffi- tionists, and in this respect they may yet again are generally lacking in culties involved in assay procedures. well have to consult with a mathe- any new thrusts or ideas. It is unfor- Overall the book is well written matician to decipher many of the tunate that these early chapters are and the reader is presented with a equations presented. A basic limita- less stimulating, since the remaining wealth of information and cited tion of modelling approaches is sections of the book are well worth research data. As with any book assumption of association and reading. that is the proceedings of a confer- response between various inputs Prior to detailing specific hor- ence, its major weakness is lack of and outputs. In many instances, the monal effects on growth, there are flow and consistency from chapter reader is confronted with far too a number of chapters describing to chapter. However, anyone want- many axiom and definition equa- growth of various tissues of the ing specific specialized information tions that are in large part supposi- body followed by an excellent over- will not find this a problem and will tion; unfortunately, they seem to be view of fetal growth. Following an be aided by an excellent indexing presented as absolute fact. There informative account of neurophy- system. are more classical chapters involved siological control of growth and with amino acid, energy, and how this will impact on hormonal Steven Leeson vitamin-mineral requirements of control, there is an interesting sec- Professor, Animal Nutrition birds, although in large part, they tion on so-called epidermal growth Department ofAnimal and Poultry provide little new information and factor. The authors point out that Science the cited data are somewhat dated. a variety of animal diseases result University of Guelph In many of these chapters, there are from the breakdown of cell growth Guelph, Ontario, Canada NIG 2WI differing views on basic methods of regulation and despite their impor- interpreting data, and it is unfor- tance, we still have limited knowl- Nutrient Requirements of Poultry tunate that these follow chapters eged of factors and mechanisms and Nutritional Research. C. Fisher specifically on this subject. involved in controlling cell pro- and K.M. Boorman. Published by It is difficult to maintain the stan- liferation. As an example of such Butterworths, London. 1986. dard of excellence set by this series polypeptide mitogens, mode-of- 224 pages. Price $84.95. of symposium proceedings, and this action, role, properties and unifying is perhaps why we will see biennial hypothesis is given for epidermal This book records the proceedings volumes in future years. The growth factors. of the 19th Poultry Science Sympo- volume is not up to the standard of 774 Can Vet J Volume 28, No. 12 December 1987 past years, and the reader gains little billion in Latin America, two billion Veterinary Neurology. J.E. Oliver, new knowledge on the nutrient in Africa, and four billion in South- B.F. Horlein and J.C. Mauhew. requirements of poultry. With such east Asia. The self-sustaining Published by W.B. Saunders, a dynamic and fast-moving indus- mechanisms by which current life- Toronto. 1987. 554 pages. Price try, it is unfortunate that much of forms on earth are supported may $111.00. the cited material is dated, and that not survive the demand on resources. in fact the book took two years to The loss of plant, insect, bird, fish, The goal of the authors of Veterinary appear in print. and mammalian species will be Neurology is to provide a compre- Steven Leeson staggering. hensive reference and textbook of Professor, Animal Nutrition This beautifully produced, well- neurology that includes both farm Department ofAnimal and Poultry researched, and well-written book and small animals. Although the Science will fire the imagination of those foundations of this new text lie in University of Guelph who want our children and grand- B.F. Horlein's third edition of Guelph, Ontario, Canada NIG 2WI children to see something of the Canine Neurology, this is a new living treasury which we have book presenting the latest advances The State of the Ark: An Atlas of inherited. It is an ideal sourcebook in veterinary clinical neurology. The Conservation. Lee Durrell (with for anyone interested in conserva- expert contributions from 15 addi- research by the International Union tion. The five sections of the book tional authors enhance its depth and for Conservation of Nature and assesses the current state of the accuracy of information. Natural Resources). Published "ark", of the wild, of the species, The resemblance to Horlein's by Doubleday and Company. of the regions and of "Noah's original text is seen in the chapters 224 pages. Price $21.95 (softcover). army". The latter describes some of on disc disease and neurosurgical the many emerging groups dedi- techniques applicable to small A dominant image of our time is of cated to the conservation of the animals. The first part of the book planet Earth seen from the moon, planet, from large organizations includes the basic neurological a tiny sphere floating silently in the such as the World Wildlife Fund examination techniques and neuro- galactic space, apparently unique in and Greenpeace to individual diagnostic procedures which are a Universe of millions of galaxies. efforts such as those of Canada's explained and illustrated in detail Three billion years of evolution Kay and Larry McKeever and the with many recent references. The have endowed our world with an Owl Rehabilitation Research Foun- neuroradiography section is excel- inconceivable diversity of life forms dation. "Green" politics are now lent, both in content and radio- together with, according to the Gaia influential in Europe but the graphic reproductions. The elec- hypothesis, a remarkable self- tremendous interest in conservation trodiagnostic chapters provide an regulating ecological system. is universal. Canada comes out excellent synopsis of the consider- Human population growth has led, moderately well in terms of national able research and practical informa- at an exponentially increasing rate, support for international agree- tion that has been accumulating to massive destruction of natural ments on preservation of wetlands, over the last ten years. environments which have taken so on preventing the trade in endan- The section on specific diseases is long to develop. Half the world's gered species, and over acid rain. an important addition to the text- tropical rain forests have disap- The front lines in this fight are not books presently available. Although peared since the second world war. however in North America. the coverage of farm animal neu- The loss of animal species through rology is not comprehensive, the This book is highly recommended. authors have highlighted and pro- the destruction of their habitat has in It paralleled the rise in human popula- to all interested conservation. vided references on many of the has many inspiring examples of more recently identified or tion. Between now and the year local efforts. Sadly, the 2000, ten percent of animal and practical, researched neurological diseases of veterinary profession, concerned farm animals. Large animal diseases plant species may disappear, with health of all animal species half unmourned because they have with the are interspersed with small animal other than humans, gets no men- diseases classified according to the not even been described.