REVIEWS 505 



In addition to others, geological science made a significant contribution to this 

 end. Although the next war may be fought principally in the air, the main clash 

 of arms in this one took place on the ground, and the geological nature and 

 topographic form of the terrain inevitably assumed importance in the conflict. 

 Knowledge of earth-science was needed for drainage and tunnelling operations ; 

 also for the finding and investigation of various raw materials, the demand for 

 which was stimulated by the war. Recognition of these facts by the United 

 States National Research Council led to the production of this textbook. The 

 Germans early recognised the importance of geology in warfare, as shown by 

 the appointment of numerous geologists to their armies for special technical 

 duties, and by the appearance of many articles on " Kriegsgeologie " in their 

 geological journals. The British and French armies followed suit later with the 

 appointment of geologists charged with special duties, but apparently not to 

 the same extent as the Germans. 



The book under review is stated to be a preliminary effort with a view to 

 a more complete volume later on ; and it shows signs of the haste with which 

 it has been produced in numerous small errors and misprints. Naturally a 

 compilation of this sort tends to produce rather arid reading. 



The book contains eight chapters, with the following headings : Rocks and 

 other Earth Materials ; Rock Weathering ; Streams ; Lakes and Swamps ; 

 Water Supply ; Land Forms ; Map Reading and Map Interpretation ; Economic 

 Relations and Military Uses of Minerals — a list which gives an idea of the scope 

 of the work. The military applications of each topic are carefully pointed out. 

 These include engineering considerations relating to rocks (i.e. selection of road 

 metals, excavations, etc.), drainage, pollution of soil, water supply, influence of 

 topographic features on warfare, the military uses of maps, and the geology 

 of raw materials necessary to warfare. The concentration of the book on this 

 military end has led to a certain bareness of statement, such as (p. 16) "Coal 

 beds are old buried peat beds," but dogmatism is perhaps unavoidable in books 

 of this kind. 



A special word of praise must be given to the illustrations, which consist of 

 well-selected and beautifully reproduced plates, along with special sketches by 

 F. Morris and A. K. Lobeck. The latter are in general excellent and most 

 illustrative; but Fig. 116 (p. 247), alleged to show drumlins and associated 

 swamps, is very slight and uninforming. 



On the whole the book is a characteristically American production in the 

 thoroughness and elaboration with which the subject is presented. We believe 

 that military curricula would be strengthened by the study of this book, or by 

 another on the same lines, but more adapted to British military requirements. 

 Finally, we may note the excellent get-up of the book, its clear printing and 

 good paper (as far as war paper goes), combined with a remarkably small price. 



G. W. T. 



The Analysis of Minerals and Ores of the Rarer Elements. By W. R. 

 Schoeller, Ph.D., and A. R. Powell. [Pp. x + 237.] (London : C. 

 Griffin & Co., 1919. Price 16s. net.) 



Although the extended use of many of the rarer elements and their compounds 

 in industrial processes has resulted in the publication of several treatises on the 

 chemistry of such substances, no systematic account of the analytical methods 

 used in the examination of their ores has hitherto appeared in English. In the 



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