5i6 



SCIENCE PROGRESS 



ing to as much as 80 per cent, of the weight of the protein hydrolysed have been 

 isolated. The results obtained in the case of wheat Gliadin, maize Zein, pea 

 Legumin and hemp Edestin may be quoted as illustrations of the remarkable 

 differences in composition that proteins present : — 



Such are the stuffs of which men in large measure are made — and cobwebs 

 too— and most things that are the outcome of vital agency ; and it is probably 

 because of the infinity of permutations and combinations that can be effected with 

 such building materials that an infinity of forms can arise, although the type cannot 

 be greatly varied. 



The one complaint to be made against the book is that it is far loo short — and 

 English readers will regret that it is not issued in English : it is to be hoped that it 

 will be shortly. 



Qualitative Chemical Analysis: Organic and Inorganic. Third edition. 

 By F. MOLLWO Perkin. [Pp. xii + 337.] (London : Longmans, Green 

 & Co., 1910. Price 4s. 6d.) 



So long as the Board of Education frame their syllabus to include chemical analysis, 

 so long teachers in Schools and Polytechnics will recommend books which are con- 

 sidered to be suitable as a preparation for the Board's examination. Therein lies 

 the secret of the success of most of the books of this class. The excuse for adding 

 one more to the already large array of text-books on Qualitative Chemical 

 Analysis appears to be justified when the third edition is reached. Dr. Perkin has 

 apparently produced a book well adapted to the requirements of the Board of 

 Education, and evidently he is keeping his eyes open for changes in the syllabus. 



Admirable as this alertness is, it should not be forgotten that the issue of a new 

 edition is the opportunity for modifying any views previously advanced, or any 

 theoretical conceptions which have subsequently been shown to be faulty. 



Since the publication of the first edition in 1901, much has been done to 

 show that the statement on p. 15 — "hydrolysis is a secondary change due to 

 ionisation," is not true. 



It seems unnecessary to make particular mention that when compiling the book, 

 the author consulted the works of Ostwald ; this fact is so extraordinarily patent. 



