LITERARY NOTICES. 



273 



species of British forest trees. Among 

 those classed as minor species not usually 

 forming pure forests in Britain are five coni- 

 fers introduced from North America. Some- 

 thing is told also in regard to the yew, juni- 

 per, hazel, alder, buckthorn, and hawthorn 

 among useful shrubs. 



Lecture Notes on TnEORETiCAL Chemistry, 

 By F. G. WiECHMANN. New York : John 

 Wiley & Sons. Pp. 225. 



A LARGE body of notes, corresponding to 

 an extended course of lectures, is given in 

 this book. Many of the facts, laws, and 

 processes which it includes are stated with 

 much fullness and are accompanied with 

 illustrative examples. As indicated by the 

 title, the work is confined to theoretical 

 chemistry, and much of the history of chem- 

 ical theory is included in it. A chapter is 

 given to solutions in which the recent work on 

 that subject finds a place. Thermochemis- 

 try receives due attention, and there are short 

 chapters on photo-chemistry and electro- 

 chemistry. Considerable prominence has 

 been given to stoichiometry, but for prob- 

 lems in this subject students are referred to 

 special manuals. The author is instructor 

 in chemical physics and chemical philosophy 

 at the School of Mines, Columbia College. 



The Birth and Development of Ornament. 

 By F. Edward Hulme, F. L. S., F. S. A. 

 New York : Macmillan & Co., 1893. Pp. 

 340. Price, $1.50. 



This book is an attempt to put into small 

 compass and cheap form a general view of 

 the origin and growth of the use of ornament. 

 The opening paragraph follows : " The Birth 

 of Ornament ! Countless centuries before man 

 appeared upon the earth, the Creator of the 

 universe had gazed upon the work of his 

 hands, and declared that all had reached his 

 lofty ideal." Certainly the author can not be 

 accused of too modern a starting point, and 

 he further on puts this beyond question. 

 " Hence we claim for our subject nothing short 

 of infinite antiquity, nothing less than divine 

 authority." The first chapter deals with the 

 value of a knowledge of past ornamentation, 

 the study of principles, and various other 

 general matters. Chapter II really opens the 

 subject, with a consideration of Egyptian, 

 Assyrian, Babylonian, and Phoenician art. 

 TOL, XLIV. 22 



Chapter III deals with Greek and Roman art 

 Chapter IV, division of the Roman Empire : 

 Byzantine, Romanesque, and Early English 

 Art ; Chapter V, Causes of the Decay of Goth- 

 ic Art, and the Renaissance ; and Chapter VI, 

 The Art of Islam, Persian, Indian, Chinese, 

 Japanese, Mexican, Peruvian, and, finally. Art 

 among the North American Indians and the 

 Primitive Savages. The work seems to be 

 the result of a large amount of labor and 

 time. It is very well illustrated with exam- 

 ples from the various periods, and abounds 

 in quotations from such authorities as Sir 

 Joshua Reynolds, Guizot, Ruskin, and Wil- 

 kinson. It contains a useful index. 



A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry. By 

 T. E. Thorpe, D. Sc, F. R. S., assisted by 

 Eminent Contributors. In Three Vol- 

 umes. Vol. III. 0-Z. London and New 

 York: Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. 

 1058. Price, $20. 



We congratulate the editor and the pub- 

 lishers upon the completion of this valuable 

 work. So many subjects requiring extended 

 treatment fall within the latter part of the 

 alphabet that the concluding volume has 

 grown far beyond the size of the other two, 

 and its price has been increased by five dollars. 

 The article on Sulphuric Acid occupies sixty 

 pages, and treats fully each detail of the 

 process of manufacture. Sixteen cuts, show- 

 ing brimstone burners, steam jet pipes, Gay- 

 Lussac and Glover towers, and other appa- 

 ratus are given. Another subject demand- 

 ing large space is the making of sodium car- 

 bonate, which is described with like fullness. 

 The making of other compounds of sodium 

 and the extraction of the metal itself also 

 receive due attention. Under the head of 

 Silver the extraction of that metal is de- 

 scribed, and under Zinc we find the methods 

 of extracting the metal and the composition 

 of its alloys. The article on Water, con- 

 tributed by Prof. Percy F. Frankland, is 

 characterized by a large number of results 

 of analyses of waters from sources of various 

 geological characters and from various local 

 supplies mainly in the British Isles. The 

 composition of many saline and other min- 

 eral waters is given also. Modes of purify, 

 ing water for drinking and for industrial 

 purposes are described, together with a pro- 

 cess of chemical analysis. Prof. Frankland 

 also gives a special section on the bacteriol- 



