330 ' SCIENCE PROGRESS 



any particular industry. Nevertheless, it is a pity that greater uniformity 

 has not been adopted in the articles in this respect ; that on Explosives does 

 not contain a single diagram, while the article on Glass contains an illustration 

 of a bottle-making machine (Fig. 8) of great complexity which is unintelligible 

 from the description of fourteen lines given in the text. As the articles are written 

 by recognised authorities the information is reliable, though a few errors and 

 omissions have been noticed. For example, pure trinitrotoluene is described 

 as being non-toxic and readily soluble in alcohol and light petroleum, while 

 the very important series of Technical Records published by the Ministry of 

 Munitions finds no place in the Bibliography on Explosives. The importance 

 of the Grignard Reagent in the preparation of certain synthetic drugs justifies 

 more space being given to it than eight, lines ; it is at least as useful as pure 

 fluorine, the preparation and properties of which occupy nearty two pages. 

 Except, however, for such small blemishes the book is of great use for rapid 

 reference, particularly to the industrial chemist who has not ready access to 

 a well-stocked library. O. L. B. 



A Concise History of Chemistry. By T. P. Hilditch, D.Sc, F.I.C. Second 

 Edition, revised. [Pp. xi -\- 276, with 16 diagrams.] (London : 

 Methuen & Co., 1922. Price 6s. net.) 



Many advances in chemistry have been made since the publication of the 

 first edition of this history in 191 1, more particularly in connection with the 

 elucidation of the structure of the atom ; in this and other respects the work 

 has been revised and brought up to date. The book is not arranged on a 

 chronological principle, but deals in turn with the evolution of various funda- 

 mental ideas and the development of the different branches of the subject. 

 The author has laboured to justify his title, with the inevitable result that in 

 some cases compression has reduced the chapters to little more than a chrono- 

 logical record ; this is particularly noticeable in the chapter dealing with the 

 history of physical chemistry. The absence of biographical details, though 

 in many ways an advantage, robs the history of chemistry of much of its 

 human interest, but the method of treatment supplies a very readable 

 r6sum6 of the advance of chemical knowledge, though it presupposes a fairly 

 intimate acquaintance with modern chemical theories. 



Perhaps the best chapter is that on the ultimate constitution of matter, 

 which in twenty pages traces very clearly and concisely the development of 

 this subject from the days of Democritus to the theories of Langmuir and 

 Rutherford. It is pleasing to note that due credit is given to Crookes as a 

 pioneer in this field, but it is perhaps somewhat pedantic to adopt the spelling 

 Mendelejew for the discoverer of the Periodic Classification. The book, apart' 

 from its limitations, is well written and can be recommended to advanced 

 students who wish to clarify their outlook and to get a truer perspective than 

 they are likely to obtain amidst the mass of detail which so often crowds 

 lectures and textbooks. O. L. B. 



Inorganic Chemistry. By Martin Lowry, C.B.E.. M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S., 

 Professor of Physical Chemistry in the University of Cambridge. 

 [Pp. X + 943, with 285 figures.] (London : Macmillan & Co., 1922. 

 Price 28s. net.) 



The nature and scope of inorganic chemistry has been profoundly modified 

 during the last fifty years by the influence of " physical chemistry," as 

 Prof. Lowry points out in his preface. 



For this reason it is now possible to re-write many chapters of the science 

 in the light of the newer knowledge, and full advantage has been taken of 

 this in preparing the present work. 



We may inquire perhaps whether the so-called " physical chemistry " 



