196 



NA TURE 



[December 30, 1S97 



other matters, entries relating to the Royal Society and 

 science, the former chapter deaHng with the period 

 from 1844 to 1861, when Mr. White became Assistant 

 Secretary ; the latter with that from 1861 to 1884, the year 

 before he ceased to hold office. The forty years which 

 these two chapters cover were years in which science 

 made remarkable strides, and years also during which 

 important events took place within the Society. Mr, 

 Walter White was literary rather than scientific in his 

 leanings ; still the records of the impressions made by 

 the successive exposition of new scientific ideas upon one 

 who listened to them in turn, near at hand, during so 

 long a series of meetings of the Society could not fail to 

 be interesting. We are told in the preface that the 

 present volume is not the whole diary, but only 

 selections from it. It is to be regretted that what has 

 been published contains so little dealing with the 

 weighty matters of science brought before the Society 

 during the forty years, or with the effects produced 

 by new ideas on those who were the first to listen 

 to them. It is still more to be regretted that the 

 selection has been so largely confined to matters 

 which cannot justly be called by any other name than 

 tittle-tattle and scandal. From his position Mr. Walter 

 White was to a large extent a confidential servant of the 

 Society. The Fellows were in the habit of talking to 

 him freely, and often expressed themselves concerning 

 scientific things and scientific persons in a familiar and 

 unguarded manner. There could be no harm in Mr. 

 Walter White writing down for his own delectation say- 

 ings which pleased him on account of their picturesque 

 force, such as Mr. A.'s account of Dr. B.'s opinion about 

 Prof. C.'s works and ways ; but it is to be exceedingly 

 regretted that Mr. William White should have thought 

 it desirable to give publicity to gossiping statements, 

 redeemed neither by wit nor by accuracy, the appearance 

 of which can do little more than give pain to the living 

 or to the friends of the dead whom they concern. We 

 hasten to add, lest the above remarks should excite 

 curiosity, that the gossip in question will yield very little 

 amusement where it does not give offence. We may 

 add that the volume does not do justice to Mr. Walter 

 White himself any more than it does to the leading men 

 of science and the Royal Society ; their conversation 

 with him did not consist chiefly in finding fault with 

 each other, nor was his chief delight in listening to them, 

 and taking notes of their angry or idle words. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Agricultural Chemistry. By R. H. Adie, M.A., B.Sc, 

 and T. B. Wood, M.A. 2 vols. Pp. ix + 280, and 

 vii + 229. (London : Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd., 



1897.) 

 In the preface this is described as an elementary text- 

 book of chemistry, designed for students beginning the 

 study of agricultural science, and adopting as its method 

 the teaching of the subject by experiment. The book 

 demands some attention, as it is written by the teachers 

 of agriculture in the University of Cambridge. 



We are often told that the only right way of teaching 

 chemistry is by leading the student to be himself the 

 discoverer of chemical facts and laws by a series of 

 experiments, observations, and inferences. This method 

 is certainly excellent as an introduction to the science, 



NO. 1470. VOL. 57] 



but it becomes too cumbersome as the scholar proceeds, 

 and the teacher soon finds himself making important 

 statements of which no demonstration is forthcoming. 

 Nor are all parts of the science best learnt by the 

 exhibition of experiments. It is, indeed, easier to learn 

 grammar as grammar, than to discover grammar for 

 ourselves by the analysis of a language. 



The first of these small volumes is intended as an 

 introduction to general chemistry ; the second deals 

 with the subjects of soil and manures, with a briefer 

 reference to the constituents of plants, and the analysis 

 of foods. 



It is difficult to tell in what manner the book is in- 

 tended to be used. The details of the experiments are 

 often so imperfectly [described, that it would be im- 

 possible for a student to perform them without further 

 directions. The preface states that the book is especially 

 intended as an aid to teachers ; but if the teacher is to 

 follow the course marked out, he must clearly have a 

 great deal of other information to fall back upon. One 

 cannot, however, resist the conclusion that a great many 

 of the experiments mentioned are not meant to be per- 

 formed, but merely to be talked about. 



We need hardly say that a good deal of correct 

 teaching is given, but the errors and deficiencies are 

 not a few. R. W. 



Notions generates sur I'Ecorce terrestre. Par M. le 

 Prof. A. De Lapparent. 8vo. Pp. 156. (Paris: 

 Masson et C'«., 1897.) 



Geology can be made attractive enough by a good 

 writer who divests the subject of those details which 

 concern only the specialist. To learn the aims of the 

 science and its main results are all that the general 

 reader and the elementary student require ; and it is 

 well when, as in the present little work, a distinguished . 

 master is not only willing but able to produce such a 

 sketch agreeably written as well as instructive. The 

 subject is introduced in »the course of six lessons, and 

 the author, in the first place, deals with the early history 

 of the globe, with seas and continents, and the external 

 features of the earth in general. He passes on to 

 consider various questions of physical geography, and 

 the erosion of the land by rain, rivers, and sea. His 

 remarks on the cutting away of river-courses so as in 

 time to produce a profit cfiqidtibre are illustrated with 

 reference to the Seine, which has excavated its channel 

 almost to the lowest possible level throughout its main 

 course. The method of accumulation of various sedi- 

 ments, and volcanic phenomena are next discussed. Up- 

 heavals and depressions and the sequence of rocks form 

 the subjects of another lesson. Some account of the 

 Paris Basin is given, and in conclusion there is a brief 

 description of the principal geological formations. The 

 work is illustrated by thirty-three figures of fossils, 

 sections, and photographic reproductions. Among the 

 fossils only the principal forms of life are indicated, such 

 as a Sea-urchin from the Chalk, a Devonian Spirifer, 

 Jurassic Ammonites, and a Fossil Bird. The student's 

 mind is therefore not burdened with many names, but a 

 perusal of the work will give him a clear general grasp 

 of the principles and elements of geology. H. B. W. 



The Dawn of Civilization : Egypt and Chaldcea. (Third 

 edition.) By G. Maspero. Pp. xiv + 800. (London : 

 S.P.C.K., 1897.) 



The third edition of " The Dawn of Civilization," the 

 English translation of Prof. Maspero's " Les Origines," 

 has just been issued. The three coloured photographic 

 plates which were inserted in the second edition are 

 here retained, while but few changes have been made in 

 the text of the second edition of the work. The most 

 considerable addition appears to be in the chapter deal- 

 ing with the first Theban empire. Here the author 



