LITERARY NOTICES. 



421 



not before observed in popular skin trea- 

 tises, and wliich gives it a special claim 

 upon intelligent readers. It is not only 

 a guide for the preservation of the health 

 of the skin, but it is a kind of medical dic- 

 tionary on the subject, giving important in- 

 formation which kindred books omit. This 

 feature of the work is thus explained in 

 the author's prefatory note : " He has there- 

 fore sought to introduce in its pages not 

 only the medical terms used in reference 

 to diseases of the skin, but also the popular 

 names given, both those which are rightly 

 and those which are wrongly applied. If, 

 therefore, information be sought in refer- 

 ence to any particular matter, it will be well 

 first to consult the index, which has been 

 made particularly full." 



A Text-Book of the Physiological Chemis- 

 try OF the Animal Body. Including an 

 Account of the Chemical Changes oc- 

 curring IN Disease. By Arthur Gamgee, 

 M. D., F. R. S., Professor of Physiology 

 in the Owens College. With Illustrations. 

 Vol.V. Pp.48t. Macmillan & Co. Price, 

 $4.50. 



This elaborate work will prove most ac- 

 ceptable to the interested students of physio- 

 logical and medical chemistry. The activi- 

 ty of research in these departments is very 

 great ; thoroughly equipped experimental 

 laboratories are multiplying in different 

 countries, and trained men are concentrat- 

 ing their efforts more and more upon special 

 lines of inquiry. The consequence is, a rap- 

 id revision of former results, an extension 

 of observations, and a noteworthy physiolo- 

 gical progress. Dr. Gamgee's book is writ- 

 ten from the point of view, not of former 

 text-books, but of the latest original me- 

 moirs, which are continually referred to, 

 and from the point of view of his own va- 

 ried and laborious experimental investiga- 

 tions. The volume forms a complete and 

 independent work, though it is intended to 

 be followed by another within a year. It is 

 devoted mainly to the elementary tissues or 

 substances of the body blood, lymph, and 

 chyle being included in the classification 

 and it deals with the chemical composition, 

 changes, and processes of these parts. The 

 second volume will treat of the chemistry of 

 the chief animal functions. In the method 

 of the work physiological chemistry has 



been regarded from the point of view of 

 the biologist and the physician rather than 

 from that of the chemist. In this respect 

 the book deviates widely from the typical 

 plan of works on organic chemistry, where 

 the dominant and classifying conceptions 

 are of the chemical order. The volume will 

 meet a want and be much appreciated as a 

 high-class text-book, and it may be safely 

 consulted by all interested in fundamental 

 chemico-physiological questions. 



A Physical Treatise on Electricity and 

 Magnetism. By J. E. H. Gordon, B. A., 

 C. A. M. B., Assistant Secretary of the 

 British Association. In Two Volumes. 

 Pp. 618. D. Appleton & Co. Price, %1. 



Of all sciences that of electricity is per- 

 haps the most purely experimental. The 

 agency has always to be evoked by special 

 manipulation. While the properties of heat 

 have always been more or less known to 

 everybody, nothing was known of electricity 

 for thousands of years. It was a revelation 

 that followed the art of experimenting, and 

 it has advanced at a rate exactly propor- 

 tioned to the progress of experimental art. 



Mr. Gordon in this new work has dealt 

 with the science entirely from this side, 

 limiting his use of mathematics, except in a 

 few foot-notes and' appendices, to simple 

 j algebraic operations. The work is issued in 

 two beautifully printed volumes, which are 

 profusely illustrated with finely executed en- 

 gravings, representing the present perfec- 

 tion of electrical apparatus and the refine- 

 ments of electrical processes, and, besides a 

 clear and concise statement of the fiiain 

 facts of the science, contains an exposition 

 of many of the more recent and important 

 experimental researches. 



The author claims that he has aimed 

 throughout to interpret the various phenom- 

 ena in accordance with the theory worked 

 out mathematically by Maxwell and others, 

 which regards inductive influence as trans- 

 mitted by strain or vibrations of some 

 kind in the intervening medium, instead of 

 being a direct " action at a distance." In 

 accordance with this purpose, most of the 

 later researches to which attention is partic- 

 ularly given, are those which directly bear 

 upon problems the solution of which will 

 throw light upon what may be termed the 

 mechanism of electrical action. Though not 



