May 4, 191 1] 



NATURE 



309 



first division; and chapters on "Ethnology, "The 

 History of ArchEeolofjical Discovery," "Technology," 

 and " Sociolopfv and Religion," under the second 

 division. 



It is, we think, unfortunate that the authors have 

 to a g^reat extent followed the somewhat confused 

 and redundant classification of Dieserud, in the sub- 

 division of their material ; it is impossible, for example, 

 to prevent some overlappng in chapters dealing with 

 "The Unfolding of the Antiquity of Man," and "The 

 History of Archaeological Discovery." Similar diflfi- 

 culties are met with in connection with other chapters 

 in the book. The question of the classification of the 

 subject-matter of anthropology is confessedly full of 

 difficulties, and the authors no doubt found them- 

 selves to a certain extent tied down to the illogical 

 sjstems at present in use. 



The authors confess that their limited space neces- 

 sitated many omissions, but we were surprised to find 

 no mention of the Gibraltar skull in the chapter on 

 "The Antiquity of Man." The chapter on " Anthro- 

 pological Controversies " is full of interest, as showing 

 how theology, politics, and economics interfered with 

 the progress of the science. 



There have been few, if any, complete histories of 

 anthropology published before the appearance of this 

 work, and the origin of each branch of this subject is 

 so thoroughly explored to^its source, that, we are im- 

 pressed with the fact, that a great deal of original 

 historical research must have been carried out by the 

 autiiors in tlip collection of their material. 



SOME BOOKS ON CHEMISTRY. 

 (i) Inorganic Chemistry for Advanced Students. By 

 the Right. Hon. Sir H. Roscoe, F.R.S., and Dr. 

 A. Harden, f.R.S. 2nd edition. Pp. viii + 476. 

 (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 19 10.) Price 

 4s. 6d. 



(2) Chemistry for Beginners. By T. Jenks. Pp. x + 

 309. (New York : F. A. Stokes Co. ; London and 

 Edinburgh : W. R. Chambers, Ltd., 1910.) Price 

 3.V. 6d. (Chambers's Wonder Books.) 



(3) The M.C.C. Periodic Chart of the Elements. Pp. 

 45 (introduction) and chart (folded and bound). 

 (London : Metallic Compositions Co., n.d.) Price 

 8.V. 6d. 



edition of Roscoe and Harden 's "In 

 ic Chemistry for Advanced Students " 

 differs troiii its predecessor (reviewed in Nature of 

 December 7th, 1899), mainly in the addition of new 

 lessons or chapters on carbon compounds and on the 

 radio-active elements. It is, however, very gratifying 

 to see the new method of makinjr hydrazine from 

 i ammonia incorporated so quickly in a text-book, and 

 to find calcium cyanamide duly described as an in- 

 organic compound amongst the compounds of calcium 

 in a (liaptcr which includes a brief but accurate de- 

 scription of the technical preparation of the metal by 

 electrolysis of the fused chloride. The lesson dealing 

 with crystals and isomorphism remains in some need 

 of revision, as three distinct methods are used to 

 NO. 2166, VOL. 86] 



(i) T^HE new ( 

 •^ ori'aiiic 



indicate the faces of the crystals in the various 

 diagrams that are reproduced ; as the symbols used 

 are not explained the simplest remedy would probably 

 be to omit them altogether from the diagrams. The 

 issue of the new edition has supplied an opportunity for 

 introducing the system of atomic weights in which 

 0=16 instead of H = i, and these values are now 

 used throughout the book. The larger volume is 

 intended to be used as a sequel to Roscoe and Lunt's 

 " Inorganic Chemistry for Beginners," and an element 

 such as chlorine, which has already been described 

 in the smaller volume, is now referred to only under 

 its metallic derivatives. In this way space has been 

 saved for the introduction of more advanced work 

 than could otherwise have been included within the 

 limits of less than 500 pages. 



(2) The "Wonder Book" on chemistry is the third 

 venture which the author has made in seeking to 

 interpret to the non-technical reader some of the more 

 important facts and theories of modern science ; the 

 preceding volumes on electricity and photographv are 

 dedicated to "Young Readers"; the third volume is 

 for " Beginners." The story is a readable one, and 

 the statements made are usually accurate, at least 

 when dealing with the facts of chemistry ; the intro- 

 duction of theories is responsible for a certain number 

 of errors, as, for instance, where the existence of 

 monatomic molecules is denied (p. 67), or ions are 

 described as "even smaller than atoms" (p. 243); 

 but the author has not hesitated to introduce his 

 youthful readers not only to the atomic and molecular 

 theories, but also to the periodic law and the theory 

 of electrolytic dissociation. A less ambitious pro- 

 gramme might have deprived reader and writer alike 

 of the satisfaction of having covered the whole of the 

 subject ; but it is precisely because such a sense of 

 perfected knowledge might arise after a perusal of 

 the volume that one would hesitate to commend it to 

 an\' but the lay reader who intends to remain a lav- 

 man. As an introduction to the further study of 

 chemistry its value would be verv doubtful, since a 

 teacher would probably prefer to deal with a beginner 

 who had not made any attempt to study the subject 

 rather than with one who had imbibed the theories 

 somewhat vaguely outlined by the author. The book 

 is well illustrated, and contains an e.xcellent series of 

 portraits of famous chemists, from Priestlev to Men- 

 deh'efr. 



(3) "The Chart of the Elements," compiled by the 

 Metallic Compositions Company, is intended to sum- 

 marise in diagrammatic and tabular form the proper- 

 ties of the elements as elucidated by the periodic sys- 

 tem. It is intended largely for non-ch.emical readers 

 who have occasion to make use of metals in various 

 ways, and desire to know something of the properties 

 of related elements which mav possibly prove to have 

 valuable technical qualitic--. An introduction of forty- 

 eight pages is provided, llic second part of wlilcli, on 

 ■•'lltr Periodic Law and its relation to Spictilative 

 Thought," differs fundamentally from the earlier de- 

 scriptive and explanatory pages and reveals the 

 author at work on what is evidently a favourite hobby 

 or recreation. T. M. L. 



