662 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



has coincided with the death of Dr. J. C. Cain, to whose labours the revised 

 edition is due ; it represents therefore a last service rendered to his science 

 by one who in many capacities, not least as editor of the Chemical Society's 

 Journal, gave all his life and energy to the welfare and progress of the pro- 

 fession to which he had devoted himself. 



It was perhaps a fortunate matter that Dr. Cain was already associated 

 with Prof. Roscoe in the earlier edition of the book, so that it was possible 

 to preserve the general character and style, and chemists will feel they have 

 in the present work a memento both of author and reviser. 



For many reasons one hesitates to criticise so old a friend as " Roscoe 

 and Schorlemmer," particularly at the present moment ; it will suffice to 

 say that the reviser has obviously given much care to bringing the book up 

 to date by the insertion of suitable references to recent work, but one is 

 nevertheless left with the impression that it is perhaps a case of trying to 

 put new wine into old bottles. 



Possibly what is wanted in a future edition is a group of chemists working 

 under the guidance of a general editor so that less important details may be 

 removed to give place for more modern matter, otherwise there is a consider- 

 able danger of the book becoming more a history of twentieth-century pro- 

 gress in chemistry than a reliable textbook of inorganic chemistry; this 

 applies particularly to such matters as ammonia, nitric acid, sulphuric acid, 

 and to many of the illustrations. 



The printing and general arrangement of the treatise continue, as might 

 be expected, to be a model for chemical publications, though the purpose of 

 the " unopened " pages is not very clear ; they are more favoured by the 

 bibliophile than by the chemist. 



The fact that the book has reached a fifth edition is a proof that there is 

 always a demand for a really readable textbook of inorganic chemistry, 

 and chemists will acknowledge with gratitude and respect the debt they owe 

 both to the late author and the reviser. 



F. A. Mason. 



Practical Chemistry : Fundamental Facts and Apphcations to Modern Life. 

 By N. H. Black, A.M., and James B. Conant, Ph.D., Assistant 

 Professor of Chemistry, Harvard University. [Pp. x + 474, with 251 

 figures and a coloured plate.] (New York : The Macmillan Co., 1920. 

 Price IIS. net.) 



The title of this book is somewhat of a misnomer, as one might be led to 

 expect a practical laboratory manual ; and although a large number of ex- 

 periments are described in a general way, the scope of the book is considerably 

 wider than this. 



The essential purpose of the book is to provide an introductory textbook 

 of chemistry with a view to interesting the student in the subject by showing 

 its wide ramifications and its infinite number of points of contact with 

 daily life. 



The authors have found two ways of awakening the interest of students : 

 first, by appealing to their love of the miraculous and the dramatic ; and 

 second, by touching their curiosity concerning the things of everyday life. 

 With this in view they have outlined many lecture-table experiments, often 

 of a spectacular nature, and wherever possible examples of chemical pheno- 

 mena have been drawn from the student's daily experience. 



There can be no doubt that by this means the subject is made essentially 

 " live," and the interest can be fixed of many a student who otherwise would 

 take but a perfunctory interest in chemistry. 



The illustrations, which are clear and well chosen, vary from diagrams of 

 laboratory appliances to an aerial photograph of a poison-gas attack or the 

 photo of a Permutite water-softening plant, so that all tastes are catered for. 



