REVIEWS 68 1 



The author himself has played a leading part in the development of the 

 practical side of the theory which is now in everyday use both by Post Of&ce 

 engineers in connection with telephony and by consulting engineers when 

 designing power transmission lines. The same theory can be applied in 

 both cases, but it is perhaps more accurate for the case of overhead tele- 

 phone transmission. The author introduces some novel units as, for ex- 

 ample, the abhenry and the statfarad. He also writes logh x for loge^, 

 i.e. for the naperian logarithm of x. As a rule, however, he uses inter- 

 national symbols and nomenclature. The book presupposes very little 

 mathematical knowledge on the part of the reader, and as it is very clearly 

 written it can be recommended to every engineer who desires to acquire 

 the ability to solve transmission problems at first hand. It can be specially 

 recommended to every young electrician. A. Russell. 



Greek Biology and Greek Medicine. By Charles Singer. [Pp. 128, with 

 21 illustrations.] (Oxford : at the Clarendon Press, 1922. Price 

 IS. 6d. net.) 



In less than 130 pages Dr. Singer has given us, in the book under review, 

 a very interesting sketch of the history of Greek Biology and Greek Medi- 

 cine and their influence on subsequent ages. He has even found room 

 for quite a number of picturesque and helpful illustrations. This is Dr. 

 Singer's third attempt to present his theme to a wide circle of readers. 

 Last year we had from his pen a full account of " Greek Biology and the 

 Rise of Modern Biology " in the second volume of Studies in the History 

 and Method of Science edited by him, and already reviewed in these pages. 

 Early in the present year he contributed to The Legacy of Greece (a volume 

 edited by Mr. R. W. Livingstone) two papers devoted respectively to " Greek 

 Biology " and " Greek Medicine." And now we have this welcome sum- 

 mary. Quite apart from the dif&culty of presenting the same material 

 in several forms, the subject bristles with difficulties. The scantiness of 

 the records, the corruption of the texts, the uncertainty of their correct 

 interpretation and the difficulty of determining their date and origin are 

 sufficient to tax anyone's ingenuity. All considered. Dr. Singer is to be 

 congratulated on the measure of success which he has achieved. But he 

 will be the first to admit that he is open to criticism in various ways. Some 

 of his statements about Aristotle, Pythagoras, and others are hardly intelli- 

 gible, if not actually misleading, for those unfamiliar with the fundamentals 

 of their philosophies. Considerations of space had, no doubt, to be taken 

 into account, but it would have been better to have omitted Greek quota- 

 tions, footnotes, and less important passages in the text. Then, again. Dr. 

 Singer is a great enthusiast for his subject, and enthusiasm has an unfortu- 

 nate tendency to run away with one's judgment. For instance, after ad- 

 mitting that we really know nothing about the life of Hippocrates, our 

 author promptly proceeds to speak of him almost in the glowing terms of 

 a religious enthusiast ! And his imagination finds all sorts of charms in the 

 visage of Hippocrates, although it is admitted that the existing busts of 

 the Father of Medicine are not authentic portraits, but artistic fancies ! 

 Certainly such passages add to the readableness of the account. The general 

 reader may even be specially grateful for them. A. Wolf. 



Architectural Drawing. By Wooster Bard Field, Architect. With an 

 Introduction and article on Lettering by Thomas E. French. [Pp. 

 xii + 242, with 9 figures.] (New York and London : McGraw-Hill 

 Book Co. 1922. Price 205. net.) 



To the architect drawing is a means to an end, not the end in itself. Effi- 

 cient draughtsmanship is nevertheless of the utmost importance in the 



