5 i2 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



one that should be read by every student of chemistry as well as by business-men, 

 scientists, and politicians. 



Frederick A. Mason. 



Practical Organic and Bio-chemistry. By R. H. A. Plimmer. [Pp. xii + 635, 

 with coloured plate and other illustrations in the text.] (London ■ Long- 

 mans, Green & Co., 1915. Price 12s. 6d. net.) 



The present volume is in reality a new and enlarged edition of the author's 

 " Practical Physiological Chemistry " which was intended primarily for medical 

 students and dealt with organic and physiological chemistry from the point of view 

 of animal physiology. The author's experience has, however, led him to believe 

 that the book would be made more useful if its scope were extended, and to this 

 end he has included new sections on organic chemistry and organic substances 

 found in plants, together with methods used in more advanced work. In order 

 to emphasise this change the title of the book has been altered. Although 

 ostensibly a new edition, practically the whole of the text has been rewritten, for 

 in its original form the book gave the impression of being written more especially 

 for the use of the author's own students and all experimental details were in the 

 imperative ; the didactic tone has, however, been eliminated and the book is 

 addressed to all and sundry, and may profitably be consulted by both student and 

 teacher for study or reference. 



No pains have been spared to make the book as complete as possible, and by 

 a judicious rearrangement of much of the subject-matter, as well as by an altera- 

 tion in the type, the book has gained greatly in clearness. In few sections is the 

 complete change of treatment with resulting improvement more marked than in 

 those dealing with enzymes and proteins. Many entirely new and valuable 

 sections have been added, such as those dealing with the chemistry of leaf 

 pigments, haemin and related blood pigments, the functions of haemoglobin and 

 the analysis of blood gases, while shorter sections have been written on betaines, 

 pyrimidines, iminazole derivatives, nucleic acids and hydroaromatic compounds, 

 anthoxanthins and anthocyans ; nearly all of these sections contain experimental 

 details for the isolation and detection of representative members of the class of 

 substance they refer to. The last chapter dealing with the analysis of tissues will 

 prove especially useful to animal physiologists, who will find there compiled to- 

 gether the methods of estimating most of the substances likely to be of interest to 

 them. A very excellent feature of the book is the thoroughly up-to-date character 

 of the information it imparts ; a great many of the methods described are not to 

 be found in any other books and have been taken straight from the original 

 papers. Altogether the author is to be congratulated upon writing a most 

 interesting and valuable book which cannot fail to be received with acclamation 

 by chemists in general and biochemists in particular. 



P. H. 



GEOLOGY 



On Certain Channels attributed to Overflow Streams from Ice-dammed 

 Lakes. By T. G. Bonney, Sc.D., F.R.S., etc. [Pp. 44.] (Cambridge: 

 Bowes & Bowes, 191 5. Price is. net.) 



Prof. Bonney, with his life-long and intimate knowledge of the Alps, is well 

 known as a critic of those who ascribe profound modifications of the earth's 

 surface to the action of glacier-ice. As the leader of a group of geologists in 



