SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



213 



SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



CHEMISTRY. 

 The general interest which has been 

 aroused the last few years in physical 

 chemistry is reflected in the number of 

 books which have appeared in this de- 

 partment. Some of these dwell more 

 upon the older physical chemistry, de- 

 voting but relatively little space to the 

 later developments, while others are 

 chiefly concerned wi^th the newer phases 

 of the subject. Perhaps the most satis- 

 factory book which has appeared along 

 this line is Walker's 'Introduction to 

 Physical Chemistry' (Macmillan). No 

 attempt is made to exhaust the field 

 but the subject is well covered. Espe- 

 cially commendable is the clearness of 

 the book, which will render it useful to 

 students. The non-mathematical treat- 

 ment of the subject will also commend 

 it to many who use it as an introduc- 

 tion to physical chemistry. A book of 

 narrower scope is Dr. H. C. Jones's 

 'Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation and 

 Some of Its Applications,' from the press 

 of the same publishers. The author 

 gives first a short review of the develop- 

 ment of physical chemistry up to the 

 days of van't Hoff, and then surveys 

 the origin of the theory of electrolytic 

 dissociation, its proofs and some of its 

 applications. While making no pretense 

 to cover the whole field of physical 

 chemistry, the author furnishes a very 

 readable account of the most important 

 of the later generalizations. It is a 

 book which should be read especially by 

 those chemists and physicists who are 

 working in other fields, that they may 

 gain a fair view of the electrolytic dis- 

 sociation theory written by one thor- 

 oughly competent for his task. Biolo- 

 gists, too, will find the latter part of the 

 book, treating of the applications of the 

 theory to animal and plant life, of espe- 

 cial interest. Dr. Jones, with S. H. 



King, has also translated Biltz on 'Prac- 

 tical Methods of Determining Molecular 

 Weights.' This is a successful attempt to 

 gather together the best of the different 

 methods of real value, and it is very 

 satisfactorily carried out, presenting a 

 good guide book for students. 



In the production of text-books of 

 general chemistry, there seems to be a 

 little lull, very few books having ap- 

 peared in recent months. The first part 

 of what promises to be a somewhat orig- 

 inal work on inorganic chemistry, by 

 Dr. Sperber, has appeared. After the 

 introduction on general chemical laws, 

 the elements of the seventh group (chlo- 

 rine, etc.), are first considered, and then 

 their hydrogen compounds; the sixth 

 group (oxygen, etc.) and its hydrogen 

 compounds; fifth group (nitrogen, etc.), 

 etc. The method used is purely induc- 

 tive, each subject being introduced by 

 experiments from which the underlying 

 principles are developed. 



A third edition of Elliott and Fergu- 

 son's 'Qualitative Analysis' has appeared 

 which is a considerable improvement 

 upon the previous editions. The princi- 

 pal merit of this book, is in the opinion 

 of many its greatest drawback. In 

 clearness and minuteness of directions 

 it is hardly equalled by any manual of 

 qualitative analysis, and thus it is a 

 particularly easy book for the instructor 

 to use, especially with a large class. But 

 this, on the other hand, cannot fail to 

 encourage mere mechanical work on the 

 part of the student and to discourage in- 

 dependence. With large classes, how- 

 ever, it is a difficult problem how best 

 to cultivate individuality of work. 



A little manual of 'Analysis of White 

 Paints,' by G. H. Ellis, will prove of 

 value to chemists to whom now and 



