3io 



NATURE 



[May 4, 191 1 



OVR BOOK SHELF. 



Das liadium in der Hiologie und Mcdiziu. 11, L. S. 

 London. Pp. vi+i(>t>. {lA'\\>/.i^: .Akademischv 

 Vfrl.iiJs^'fsellschaft in. b. II., lyii.) Trice 6 mark**. 

 In the fourteen years since tlic discovery of radium 

 a large mass of observations has arisrn on the efT«'Ct> 

 of radium rays on the vari«>us tissues of the living* 

 organism. The prest-nt work aims ai colk'Cliny data 

 from the publications of all countries and systematis- 

 ing the results obtained with normal as well as path<i- 

 IO|>^ical tissues; and the etTects on plants and animals 

 as well as on man. The author expresses his keen 

 desire to arrange his material so as to show some 

 definite general principles resulting from the physio- 

 k>gical actions of radium rays. Infortunately he has 

 had to own himself quite unable to achieve this ambi- 

 tion. He has therefore decided to divide the work 

 into a biological and a medical section, and to divide 

 each of these into an experimental and a clinical side. 

 The work does not pretend to be a text-book; it is 

 offered merely as a complete compilation up to date. 



The physiological properties of radium rays are 

 fully described, includinjj the decomposition of lecithin, 

 with the separation from it of choHn, a "substance 

 which is capable of producing considerable changes in 

 the organism. The author then passes on to the 

 action of radium rays on bacteria and on the lower 

 fungi. The results here are not very striking. In 

 defjiing with the ferments, toxins, and antitoxins of 

 the body, some very interestinj^f facts are brought to 

 light, and it is shown that radium, whether inhaled 

 or injected in the form of solutions of emanation, has 

 the power of increasinj^ the activity of certain of the 

 body's ferments. Other ferments appear actuallv to 

 be reduced in activity by radium rays. This leads us 

 to the recent use of radium and of radium emanation 

 in the treatment of gout, in which perfectly definite 

 results have already been obtained, although far more 

 observations are required before this treatment can be 

 applied extensively. The action of radium on the 

 skin and on cancerous tissues is also fullv described. 

 The book is a careful and conscientious compilation, 

 and inust prove of great value to those engaged in 

 pr.jctical work with radio-active substances. A. C. J. 

 Die AdameUo(;ruppc, ein alpincs Zcntralmassiv, und 

 seitic Bcdcittunf; fiir die Gebirgsbildnitg titid unsere 

 Kiiintnis inni dem Mechanism us der Intrusioncn. 

 By W. Salomon. II. Teil, Quartiir, Intrusiv^esteine. 

 Pp. vi + 435-603 + Taf. ix-xi. (VVien : R. Lechner 

 (W. M Ciller), iqio.) Price 12 kronen. 

 The first part of Herr Salomon's great monograph 

 on the .Adamello group was noticed in our columns on 

 July 22, iqio. In this second one he describes the 

 diluvium (for he retains this term consecrated by 

 ancient error), such as the different types of moraines, 

 the erratics from the central mass (which have been 

 carried far), and the erosive effects of the ice. In regard 

 to the last, considerations of space forbid us tosavmore 

 than that he has a firm faith in the excavatinjj powers 

 of glaciers, and reg:ards them as ai^^ents of no small 

 importance in the sculpture of the .Alps. The remain- 

 ing and larger portion is devoted to a studv of the 

 intrusive rock of the massif and its enclosures. The 

 former, as might be expected, exhibits several varie- 

 ties, which are often closely associated, and indicate a 

 differentiation in the original mag^ma, before it 

 arrived at its present position, with an approach to 

 solidification in the more basic portions. Thus some- 

 times the latter have been carried awav as actual 

 fragments (not very happily named Lacerations- 

 sphdroide) in the more liquid' material, while some- 

 times a kind of mottHnjx or streaking is produced, as 

 niav be seen in the Guernsey diorite. Not seldom also 

 the rock is cut by aplitic and pepmatitic veins, repre- 

 NO. 2166, VOL. 861 



M;nting the most acid residue, as the fragments c 

 the earliest and most basic segregate. Of thrs»- w 

 fmd some excellent photographs, with ot! 

 more general character. 



Every detail is so elalx)rately worked up tlni ti 

 memoir bids fair to rival the mountain in magnitud' 

 and we cannot but think, since the counterparts < 

 many of the facts occur elsewhere in well-know 

 places, that greater brevity would have been a- 

 provement. These monumental memoirs, tl. 

 conL'iining much that is really valuable, 

 tempt the student to doubt, as in the \ 

 instance, whether it is worth going throuj^i 

 to get to so little. 



Cassell's Cyclopaedia of Photography. Edited 1 y 

 B. E. Jones. Part i. (London : Cassell and Co 

 Ltd., 191 1.) Price yd. net. 

 Messrs. Cassell's "Cyclopaedia of Photograph 

 which the first part is before us, is edited b\ Mi 

 Bernard E. Jones, who is assisted by about twent\ 

 "chief contributors," well known in the photographic 

 world in connection with that particular branch of th' 

 subject that each is associated with. The work is t(- 

 be completed in twelve parts, to be published at fort- 

 nightly intervals. The editor aims at including every 

 accepted photographic term, and at paying particular 

 attention to the requirements of both amateurs and 

 professionals. As an indication of the wide range of 

 subjects included, we give the headings that occur on 

 the first page of the first number : — " Abat-jour," 

 ".Abaxial." ".Abbe Condenser," "Abbe, Ernst," 

 ".Aberration," ".Abrading Powder." The articles in 

 this number that exceed 'one page in length, are 

 titled : — " .Acetylene Generator," " .Albumen Process," 

 ••.Aphengescope," and "Autochrome Process." 



Xew Ideas on Inorganic Chemistry. By Prof. A. 

 Werner. Translated, with the author's sanction, 

 from the second German edition, by Dr. E. P. 

 Hedley. Pp. xvi + 268. (London: Longmans, 

 Green, and Co., 1911.) Price 7s. 6d. net. 

 The first German edition of Prof. Werner's treaxi'^e 

 was reviewed in these columns on March 8, 1906 

 (vol. Ixxiii., p. 433). As compared with the first, the 

 second German edition w-as to a great extent re- 

 written, and in part extended. The chief object of 

 the revision was the harmonising of ^the stations 

 discussing the problem of valency. New sections on 

 work done between the dates of the two editions were 

 added. But on the whole the book has preser\'ed its 

 original character. .An index would add to th*- •'<'•- 

 fulness of the work. 



The Natural History of Svlborne. By GiUuTi W iuit-. 

 With Notes by Richard Kearton, and 123 illustra- 

 tions and photographs by Cherr}' and Richard 

 Kearton. Pp. .xvi + 294. (London: Cassell and 

 Co., Ltd., iqii.) Price 35. 6d. 

 The first edition of this verv' attractive production of 

 a widely known classic was reviewed in the issue 

 of Natlre for March 5, 1903 (vol. Ixvii., p. 419). The 

 fact that the book has been reprinted three times since 

 then shows that the notes and illustrations of Messrs. 

 Kearton have been very successful in extending the 

 knowledge of White's letters on natural history. 



Ho'j.' to ' Build an Aeroplane. By Robert Petit. 



Translated from the French by T. O'B. Hubbard 



and J. H. Ledeboer. W'ith 93 illustrations. Second 



edition. (London : Williams and Norgate, 1911-) 



Price 2s. 6d. net. 



The "resent differs in no essential respects from the 



first edition, reviewed in Nature of -August 25 la>«t 



(vol. Ixxxiv., p. 229). The translators have not felt 



ju5^ified in incorporating details of the numerous 



variations of original types of aeroplanes. 



