REVIEWS 499 



very human element into it. He is prepared equally to discuss the principles of 

 combustion — which he has made his own special subject — or the latest dodge for 

 extracting the nimble half-crown from the unwary by means of such wonderful 

 preparations as those noted on p. 229, a spoonful of which, dissolved in a pint of 

 water and sprinkled on a ton of coal, will make it last as long as four tons ! 



Prof. Bone's subject is of such exceptional interest and is dealt with from so 

 many aspects, including that of the scientist, manufacturer, householder, and 

 statesman, that it will certainly prove acceptable to a wide circle of readers. 



The subject matter is divided into chapters dealing respectively with the Origin 

 and Formation of Coal ; the Chemical Composition of Coal (which is considered 

 in great detail on pp. 35-163) ; the Combustion of Coal ; the Principles governing 

 Combustion and Heat Transmission in Boilers ; Domestic Heating ; the Smoke 

 Nuisance and its Abatement ; the Carbonisation Industries — in which the vexed 

 question of high- versus low-temperature distillation is discussed ; the Complete 

 Gasification of Coal ; Water Gas and its Applications ; Fuel Economy in the 

 Manufacture of Iron and Steel ; Power Production from Coal ; " Surface Com- 

 bustion," etc. ; and a useful Bibliography dealing with the subject of Coal. 



At the present day, when a shortage of coal and iron exists, there is a whole 

 story, and a very unsatisfactory one, in Prof. Bone's statemention p. 371, "... the 

 author has sometimes come across cases, and especially in steel works, where, for 

 want of proper scientific control, upwards of 100 tons of coal per diem were being 

 gasified in producers under conditions which mean the needless waste of fully 

 25 per cent, (and sometimes more) of the fuel consumed. And, so far as this 

 country is concerned, there is perhaps no branch of fuel technology in which the 

 substitution of scientific for rule-of-thumb methods would realise greater margins 

 of improvement than in connection with generation and application of producer 

 gas for furnace purposes." 



It is to be feared that the same disastrous story must also be told of other 

 industries where fuel is notoriously wasted to a great extent, and if the present 

 work under review should succeed in casting light in dark places and, assisted by 

 the present fuel shortage, in persuading some at least of our industrialists to put 

 their houses in order, no slight victory will have been obtained. Prof. Bone and 

 all concerned in bringing out the book are to be congratulated on the success 

 of their efforts. 



(3) The Applications of Electrolysis in Chemical Industry. By A. J. Hale, 

 B.Sc, F.I.C. [Pp. x + 148, with diagrams.] (Price 7s. td. net.) 



This volume covers a good deal of ground and has chapters dealing with the 

 following subjects : General Theories, Methods of Generating the Current, the 

 Electrolytic Refining and Winning of Metals, Production of Hydrogen and 

 Oxygen, Electrolysis of Alkali Chlorides, Chlorine and Caustic Soda, Hypo- 

 chlorites, Chlorates and Perchlorates, Miscellaneous Inorganic Compounds, 

 and Organic Compounds. 



The most obvious defect of the work is due to the limitations of space, as 

 it can hardly be assumed that all the subjects noted above can be satisfactorily 

 discussed in 148 pages of fair-sized print. For instance, the whole subject of 

 electrolytic copper refining is dismissed in eight pages— hardly an adequate 

 treatment of so important a matter ; no mention is made in the section on 

 chlorine and caustic soda of the important Moore-Allen cell which is widely used 





