REVIEWS 355 



widely to the scientific world as the assistant secretary, and later secretary, of the 

 Smithsonian Institute, and also for his connexion with the United States Com- 

 mission of Fish and Fisheries, as well as for his numerous contributions to the 

 Fauna of North America. What is perhaps not quite as well known or perhaps 

 so fully recognised is the enormous amount of work he did and\the great influence 

 he had upon the development of biological sciences in North America. With the 

 exception of Agassiz, no man had a wider influence or left aiimore enduring mark 

 upon subsequent work. 



With a thorough scientific training and an extensive zoological knowledge, he 

 united a business capacity of quite an exceptional kind — a rare combination. He 

 seemed equally well at home in the consideration of general principles and of 

 small details. Through his organising ability and power of infecting others with 

 his own enthusiasm he was able to inspire collectors, and was responsible for the 

 sending out of a large number of expeditions. 



He will be gratefully remembered by zoologists the world over for initiating at 

 the Smithsonian Institute a policy of generosity in the distribution of literature 

 that has characterised it, and the various other publishing organisations subse 

 quently established in the United States, and one that might be adopted with 

 considerable advantage by the public institutions in Great Britain. Not alone 

 was he in the secretariat of the Smithsonian Institute, a task in itself sufficient for 

 any man, but for years he was responsible for the Fish and Fisheries Commission 

 which he was instrumental in founding, including the Biological Laboratory at 

 Wood's Hole. This was done not merely at the expense of his time and energy, 

 but it also was a very serious drain upon his none too ample income. Lastly, he 

 was responsible for the formation of the National Museum, and the collections he 

 had gathered together constituted the basis upon which it was built up. 



When he took up biology in the United States, it was in a very poor way, yet 

 he left his country about the best organised in the world for biological inquiry 

 and research. 



This volume is a readable account of the activities of a great man who was 

 actuated by a love of science, and a desire to do his utmost for it and his country. 

 It does this mainly by selections from his vast correspondence, and forms a 

 welcome addition to any biological or natural history library. 



C. H. O'D. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



The Principles of Electric Wave Telegraphy and Telephony. By J. A. 



Fleming, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S. Fourth Edition. [Pp. xv + 707, with 7 

 plates and 457 illustrations.] (London : Longmans, Green & Co., 1919. 

 Price 42s. net.) 



This new edition of Prof. Fleming's well-known book is an amplified reprint of 

 the third edition published four years ago. The book retains the same character 

 as the previous editions ; it is a scientific survey of the whole field of wireless 

 telegraphy and telephony rather than a handbook of apparatus ; as the author says 

 in the Preface, it deals with principles rather than descriptions. The most 

 interesting additions to the new volume are those describing the improvements 

 that have been made in the Thermionic Valve. This valve, which is based on 

 Fleming's two electrode valve detectors, is proving, in radiotelegraphy, to be one of 

 the greatest discoveries that has yet been made. By means of it, radiotelephony 





