HARD WJ CKE'S S CIE NCE - G O SSI P. 



'47 



student of animal life in days when the evolution 

 theory had not made its -way into the conceptions of 

 animal history as it has now. He was a sportsman 

 pure and simple, seldom killing for killing's sake, and, 

 though one may not always take his view, it is im- 

 possible for a lover of nature not to be interested as 

 the author carries him along with pleasant discourse 

 of eagles and ospreys, wild swans and their ways, 

 seals, otters and foxes, not disdaining frogs, and cats, 

 and sparrows. Mr. St. John was rather too anxious 

 to shoot ospreys, and was, indeed, somewhat incon- 

 sistent with his own remarks in doing so ; and to the 

 hooded crow he was a determined enemy. His style 

 is very readable, and on the whole these volumes are 

 as pleasant a sportsman's record of animal life as one 

 is likely to find anywhere. The little pen-and-ink 

 tail pieces are many cf them delightful. The tour is 

 contained in about half the first volume, and is fol- 

 lowed by field notes for the different months and 

 extracts from note books. The Appendix by Messrs. 

 Harvie-Brown and Buckley concludes the second 

 volume. A word or two of praise should be devoted 

 to the printing, paper, and general get up, ;which 

 makes the contents of the sombre covers pretty nearly 

 all that can be desired from this point of view. 



First Year of Scientific Knowledge, by Paul Bert, 

 translated by Madame Paul Bert (London : Relfe 

 Bros.), 2s. 6d. It is announced in the very short 

 preface to this, its English edition, that there is 

 scarcely a school in France, even in the smallest 

 village, where ' ' M. Paul Bert's famous book " is not 

 used. It is to be inferred from this, from the title, 

 and from the book itself, wherein Paul, George, 

 Harry, and James are duly informed of a vast number 

 of facts, that it is intended for young children. Here, 

 in rather less than 350 pp., one has animals, plants, 

 stones and soils, physics, chemistry, animal and 

 vegetable physiologies, discussed and laid aside in 

 succession. It is, after all, but little more than a 

 page a day for the young children, and the illustra- 

 tions are so many and so entertaining, some so really 

 good, that if by the end of the year the child is not a 

 botanist, a physicist, &c, in little, the failure should 

 perhaps be laid to the door of the system, which is 

 not that which has of late years been advocated as 

 the true method of studying science. It is really 

 wonderful what is here provided, ready cut and dried 

 for the children to swallow, if only they can hold it 

 all. The book is a phenomenon worth considering. 

 Its illustrations, of which there are said to be 550, 

 are many of them attractive, though all are small. 

 That of the sheep's jaws happens to be printed upside 

 down, and unfortunately that intended to explain the 

 apparent movement of a penny in a vessel when 

 water is poured in, is quite wrong, and that in more 

 ways than one ; and here the text also is not free 

 from blame. 



An Elementaiy Star Atlas, by Rev. T. H. E. Espin, 

 F.R.A.S. (London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co.). 



This is a book of star maps and text, the maps on the 

 right-hand page and the text on the left. The book 

 isjight to hold, and the stars are marked in black, 

 large enough to be seen on the white paper in a dull 

 light. The book is specially intended for beginners, 

 but it is only fair to warn the beginner that he will 

 probably find it necessary to give his careful considera- 

 tion to the method on which the book is constructed. 

 There are twelve maps, the places where January and 

 July would be expected being occupied by circum- 

 polar maps (north pole). Should a second edition be 

 called for, it is to be hoped that various matters of 

 more or less consequence will be attended to, and so 

 the usefulness of the book be increased. A preface is 

 supplied by Mr. J. A. West wood Oliver, editor of 

 the " Illustrated Science Monthly." 



THE ECONOMICAL PRODUCTS OF PLANTS. 

 By John T. Riches. 



CAMPHOR. — This valuable commodity is the 

 produce of Cinnamomum Camphora, Nees et 

 Eb. {Camphora officinartim, Nees), a native of China, 

 chiefly near Chinchew, in the province of Fokien, also 

 very plentiful in Formosa, and some parts of Japan, 

 the principal supplies of the material coming from the 

 former part by way of Singapore to this country. It 

 is a large tree (Fig. 167) belonging to the laurel family 

 [Lauracetr) with a straight trunk, freely branched at 

 the top, all the parts when bruised emitting a 

 camphoraceous odour. Leaves alternate, on long 

 petioles, ovate-lanceolate, subcoriaceous, entire, 

 bright green above, paler beneath, three-nerved. 

 Flowers in lax axillary and terminal panicles, small, 

 bi-sexual. ' Fruit small, roundish, drupaceous. 



Camphor, like most substances the produce of 

 countries southwards or eastwards of India, was un- 

 known to the ancients. It was, however, known to 

 the Arabs, who called it " kaphoor." It is diffused 

 throughout all parts of the tree, hence all, with the 

 exception of the leaves, are used in the process of 

 procuring it : root, stem, and branches are cut up 

 into convenient lengths, and boiled in water in 

 large closed vessels, when the volatilised substance is 

 sublimed into inverted cones of straw placed within 

 earthen capitals. In this form it is collected and 

 imported into Europe, and is known as crude 

 camphor, mainly from the parts mentioned above, 

 but some of good quality is obtained from Japan, 

 which is, however, chiefly secured by the Dutch, 

 amounting in some years to several thousand pounds. 

 It exists in this stage in the form of small greyish- 

 coloured sparkling grains, which by aggregation form 

 crumbling cakes, with all the properties of pure 

 camphor, but mixed with impurities. After its 

 importation all these are removed by another process, 

 after which it assumes the form in which it is usually 



