REVIEWS 331 



that this book should serve as the general introduction to a series of volumes 

 on industrial colloid chemistry. It is an encyclopaedia of information, with 

 copious references to original papers up to 1920. 



Special attention should be directed to the chapter on fog and smoke, 

 which is a welcome contribution to this subject. It is considei"ed that 

 reference would be facilitated if the chapter on the properties of colloidal 

 solutions were subdivided. The space afforded to semipermiable membranes 

 is scarcely adequate, and the section on emulsions could be considerably 

 extended. 



This book is not only a valuable addition to the literature of applied 

 colloid chemistry, but is also a useful text-book for students. WE G. 



Creative Chemistry. By Edwin E. Slosson, M.S., Ph.D. [Pp. xii + 311, 

 with 38 illustrations.] (London: University of London Press, 1921. 

 Price I2S. 6d. net.) 

 Creative Chemistry is an attempt by the Literary Editor of The Independent 

 to present some of the achievements of modern chemistry in a form such as 

 would appeal to the lay mind. The author does not flatter his readers by 

 assuming that the style which appeals to the " well-informed person " is 

 that of the very popular press, and it is surprising that there are still literary 

 editors in America capable of the following sentence : " The farmer in any 

 country is apt to be set in his ways, and when it comes to inducing him to 

 spend his hard-earned money for chemicals that he never heard of and could 

 not pronounce he — quite rightly — has to be shown." Apart, however, 

 from style the book is not all that could be desired from the point of view 

 of accuracy. The section on explosives is particularly confused ; trinitro- 

 toluene is apparently regarded as an organic nitrate, the principle involved 

 in the preparation of cordite is ignored, the nitro-cellulose being regarded as 

 a mere absorbent of the nitro-glycerine, and cordite and similar substances 

 are considered to be high explosives. A little more attention to the English, 

 to the punctuation, and to the accuracy of some of the statements would 

 have produced a readable book of a somewhat " racey " description. 



O. L. B. 



Experimental Organic Chemistry. By Augustus P. West, Ph.D. (New 

 World Science Series. Edited by John W. Ritchie.) [Pp. xiii + 469.] 

 (London : George G. Harrap & Co., 192 1, Price los. 6d. net.) 

 Every teacher of organic chemistry has his own particular methods, which 

 he is anxious to impress upon the world with the result that class-books 

 continue to multiply. The author, a Professor of Chemistry in the Univer- 

 sity of the Philippines, has had special problems to face and has compiled a 

 text-book of organic chemistry with very full directions for the preparation 

 of a number of the commoner organic compounds. By making the experi- 

 ments illustrative of the text he has avoided the cookery-book type of volume 

 so often encountered. The subject-matter is well presented, and the experi- 

 ments, in general, very fully described so as to present little difficulty to the 

 novice ; the concentrations or gravities of acids used are, however, not given, 

 and an undesirable vagueness hovers over the term " concentrated nitric 

 acid." Dangerous experiments are avoided, and the student is repeatedly 

 warned not to get phenol on his hands, but it is surprising that no caution is 

 given over the distillation of nitro-benzene, and in one preparation instructions 

 are given to add concentrated nitric to concentrated sulphuric acid. There 

 seem to be two objections to the book : the American spelling and the unusual 

 practice of writing, for example, ortho-phenylenediamine as (0)C6H4(NHj,)a. 

 Organic chemistry is sufficiently complicated without worrying the elementary 

 student with an alternative spelling of sulphur, etc., and a notation other than 

 that almost universally adopted. O. L. B. 



