March 23, iqiil 



NATURE 



109 



tribution, because, given a simple loop of string, they 

 would soon present themselves to the mind of the 

 ingenious savage. But it is much more difificult to 

 viccount for the presence of one of the most com- 

 plicated forms in the Andaman Islands, Torres Straits, 

 Australia, and Central Africa. In some cases doubt- 

 Jess this is the result of direct transmission, as when 

 the puzzled folk-lorist finds " Cinderella " in the Can- 

 nibal Islands, he may reasonably suspect that she 

 came with the Berlin-wool work and the hideous 

 forms of dress popular in mission schools. But until 

 more materials become available it is useless to 

 speculate in this way. 



! This is some evidence, again, that certain forms of 

 the game may be derived from magic of the sym- 

 pathetic or mimetic kind ; and inquirers interested 

 iin the subject would do well to ascertain if it is ever 

 liccompanied by magic formulae or songs. 



Meanwhile, Miss Haddon has given us a useful 

 ilittle book which may lead to the popularisation of the 

 game in the kindergarten as a means of training eve 

 ind finger, or as a pleasant mode of wasting time for 

 those who are no longer children. 



4 Course of Practical Physics. By Prof. E. P. 

 * Harrison. Pp. x+194. (London: Longmans, 

 I Green and Co., 1910.) Price 4s. 6d. net. 

 This book is based on the syllabus of practical physics 

 for the B.Sc. degree of the University of Calcutta, 

 ind contains upwards of seventy experiments of an 

 advanced nature. The author states in his preface 

 that laboratory manuscripts have been used in its 

 :ompilation, and this is far too evident in the result 

 Droduced. Such instruction forms very often suffer 

 from vagueness and looseness of expression, and 

 illhough this may not be of much importance in the 

 laboratory, where further explanations can be given by 

 ^ demonstrator, yet in a published text-book care 

 should be taken to eliminate such blemishes and make 

 the descriptions more general and concise. To cite 

 m example : — The determination of the thermal con- 

 ductivity of copper on p. 130; the method is that of 

 'dearie; one is told to set up the apparatus as in the 

 figure. The copper bar is not lagged, nor is there 

 iny mention in the text of the necessity of such 

 iagging. Again, on p. 21 — the determination of the 

 period of vibration of a pendulum — it is not clear 

 that the period needs correction (i) for size of ampli- 

 tude, (2) for damping, but the corrections are merged 

 into one causing ambiguity. 



The author describes the measurement of galvano- 

 meter resistance on p. 156 (Thomson's method), and 

 begins by telling us that one of 100 ohms resistance 

 is convenient. 



In some places the statements are inaccurate, e.g. 

 .'>n p. 175, the " neutral temperature " of a thermo- 

 electric couple is defined as that temperature of the 

 (lot^ junction for which the electromotive force 

 vanishes when the cold junction is maintained at 

 ?° C. On p. 144, we have " Plot a B-H curve as in 

 Fig. 101 (hysteresis loop shown). Determine the 

 hysteresis in ergs per c.c. per cycle by measuring the 

 ^rea of the curve." 



There is no doubt much in the book that will prove 

 |Useful to students preparing for a pass degree 

 examination, but its value would have been enhanced 

 f»y the bestowal of more care in editing. 



How to Colour Photographs and Lantern Slides &y 

 ; Aniliyie Dyes. Water and Oil Colours. Crystolemri, 

 \ and other Processes. By R. Penlake. Pp. 77. 

 J (London : G. Routledge and .Sons, Ltd. ; Dawbarn 

 I and Ward, Ltd. ; n.d.) Price 15. net. 

 Ai.Tiioiifni in the greater number of cases the less 

 landwork there is on a photograph the better, it is 

 often possible to apply colour to photographs and 

 I NO. 2160, VOL. 86] 



lantern slides in such a manner as not to interfere 

 in any way with their value as impersonal records, 

 and at the same time to increase considerably their 

 value for demonstration purposes, and, in certain 

 circumstances, to enhance their beauty. Experience 

 has shown that the most suitable results are obtained 

 by special methods, without the knowledge of which 

 even the most skilful worker sulTers a great dis- 

 advantage. It is the technicalities of these special 

 methods that the author describes, dealing first with 

 transparencies and colouring or tinting photographs 

 on the face of them, and in the second part with the 

 art of applying colours on their backs. He gives full 

 instructions as to tools, colours, and processes with- 

 out wasting any space in "artistic" platitudes. 



Fables and Fairy Tales for Little Folk; or, Uncle 

 Remus in Hausaland. By Mary and Newman 

 Tremearne. First series. Pp. iv+135. (Cam- 

 bridge : W. Heflfer and Sons, Ltd. ; London : 

 Simpkin, Marshall and Co., Ltd., 1910.) Price 

 2s. 6d. net. 



This is a popularised version of a series of folk- 

 tales collected by Captain A. J. N. Tremearne, and 

 published, with much useful information on the ethno- 

 logy and customs of the Hausas, in the Proceedings of 

 various societies. The tales add little to our knowledge 

 of the manners of the people. Nearly all of them 

 are based upon the theme of the transformation of 

 men into animals and vice-versa, and there is little 

 of the fairy element. The hero of many of the tales 

 is Spider, who, like the fox of European and Chinese 

 folk-lore and the jackal in India, is the type of the 

 successful rogue. He is appointed king of the beasts, 

 and in various ways swindles the elephant, rhinoceros, 

 and hyaena. He marries a Hausa girl and has 

 children, whom he shelters and dresses with his webs. 

 His rival is the billy-goat, who plays tricks on the 

 lion. In its present form, without notes or refer- 

 ences from other folklore sources, the book is of 

 little scientific value ; but its quaint and humorous' 

 incidents of animal life will doubtless be fully appre- 

 ciated in the nursery. 



Early Britain. Roman Britain. By Edward Cony- 



beare. Second edition, revised. Pp. 275. (London : 



Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 191 1.) 

 Price 3s. 6d. 



This history of Britain, which extends to the year 

 455 A.D., begins with a treatment of the period shad- 

 ing on one hand into geology, and on the other into 

 written history. The reader gets a glimpse of what 

 the geologist has pieced together about the life of the 

 inhabitants of this country in Palaeolithic and Neolithic 

 times, and an interesting account of the less ancient 

 Britons. A very readable description is given of 

 Britains under the Romans, in which the broad facts 

 stand out clearly. 



The Green Book of London Society. Edited by 

 Douglas Sladen and W. Wigmore. Pp. xxii + 524. 

 (London: J. Whitaker and Sons, Ltd., 1911-) 

 This is the second issue of a comprehensive work of 

 reference, the scope of which may be gathered from 

 its sub-title: — "A Directory of the Court, of Society, 

 and of the Political and Official World; including 

 Celebrities in Art, Literature, Science, and Sport, 

 with many other subjects of current interest." Science 

 appears to be given about a page and a half, and the 

 information includes a list of "eminent men of science 

 who appear in London," the names of seven leading 

 (■iii^inrcis. ;i list of twenty-four important srirntific 

 jjcriodiralv, and brief particulars of l\vent\-three 

 scientific sdcictirs. 



