3i6 



NATURE 



[February 3, 1898 



recently confirmed by Foote's discovery of diamonds in 

 the Canon Diablo meteorite, and by that of Weinschenk 

 in the meteorite of Ava. Cliftonite, a form of carbon in 

 cubical crystals, detected by Mr. Fletcher in the meteorite 

 of Youndegin in West Australia, may not improbably be 

 regarded as a pseudomorph in graphite after the diamond. 



Finally, Moissan's preparation of diamonds by crystal- 

 lisation from molten iron has at last solved the long- 

 standing problem of the artificial formation of the 

 mineral. 



Sir William Crookes suggests both a deep-seated 

 terrestrial, and a meteoric origin as possible for the dia- 

 monds found upon our globe— in both cases the agency 

 of iron as the crystallising medium being invoked. It 

 must not be forgotten, however, that the same mineral 

 species has often originated in many different ways, and 

 it is by no means certain that nature in her laboratories — 

 provided as they are with such abundant resources — has 

 been compelled to resort to precisely the same expedients 

 as we have been led to employ in our e.xperimental 

 researches. J. W. J. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



The Constitution and Functions of Gases. Part iii. By 

 Severinus J. Corrigan. Pp. 179. (St. Paul : Pioneer 

 Press Company, 1897.) 



This volume is a continuation of the "Constitution and 

 Functions of Gases"— the first two parts of which were 

 reviewed in these columns last year — and deals with 

 the applications of the author's theory to questions of 

 astronomy, treating especially with the genesis and 

 development of the solar system, the age of the sun and 

 the earth and the other planets, and the consideration 

 of the earth from its geological aspect. 



It may be remembered that the author in the first part 

 of his treatise expounded a new theory of gases, where, 

 instead of the irregular movements of colliding molecules 

 as developed in the theory of Clausius and Maxwell, the 

 molecule is supposed to remain stationary as a whole, 

 but is made up of a large number of electric or magnetic 

 doublets which revolve in approximately circular orbits 

 with enormous velocities. In this way many of the 

 properties of gases can be readily explained, and the 

 solutions of many interesting problems attempted which, 

 in some cases, agree fairly accurately with experimental 

 results. The theory was ingeniously developed to do 

 away with the necessity of an ether for the transmission 

 of light vibrations through space, by substituting for it 

 a gas of extreme tenuity. 



By utilising the general ideas of the nebular hypothesis 

 of Laplace, and by applying the equations obtained in 

 the first treatise, the author proceeds to investigate the 

 genesis and development of the solar system, to determine 

 the ages and temperatures of the planets, as well as 

 a multitude of other important facts, which, if they could 

 only be demonstrated, would place the author on a 

 pedestal by the side of Newton as the greatest 

 astronomer of the age. The fertility of resource of the 

 author in developing his ideas is astonishing, and though 

 at all times the theories are intended to be primarily 

 based on known experiniental data, this basis is in many 

 cases so slight and uncertain, and the assumptions so 

 numerous, that the results must be looked upon as mere 

 speculations. The author is equally at home discussing 

 the cause of the Noachian deluge, the nature of vegetation 

 on the planet Mars, and the cause and origin of X-rays. 



In the treatment of the earth, the duration of every 

 geological epoch and its cause is determined. The great 



NO. 1475, VOL. 57] 



glacial period is discussed, and, according to the author's 

 views, must be ascribed to the varying intensity of the 

 sun's radiation in past ages. 



It is impossible in this short space to enumerate a 

 tithe of the wonderful results that the author obtains ; 

 but though there is much that is purely visionary, 

 occasionally some very interesting suggestions are ad- 

 vanced which bear the stamp of probability. The book 

 is written from a scientific rather than a popular point of 

 view, and is chiefly of interest as an example of how an 

 ingenious mind can build up a large and comprehensive 

 theory on very slight foundations. E. R. 



A Run round the Empire j being the Log of Two Young 

 People who Circumnavigated the Globe. Written out 

 by their father, Alex. Hill, M.A., M.D., Master of 

 Downing College, and Vice-Chancellor of the Uni- 

 versity of Cambridge. With 42 illustrations. Pp. 

 viii -\- 286. (London : Swan Sonnenschein and Co., 

 Ltd., 1897.) 



The Master of Downing jokingly lays claim in his 

 preface to the invention of a new system of education — 

 by taking children for a voyage round the world " before 

 the faculty of observation has been stifled by the study 

 of dead languages, mathematics and other abstract 

 subjects, which have no counterpart in our physical 

 environment." The stifling of the faculty of observation 

 is, one must sorrowfully admit, too often a result of 

 studies conducted in the manner of English schools ; 

 but the method of education by travel is surely at least 

 as old as the days of the obsolete Grand Tour ; and 

 educational journeys for children form part of the routine 

 of many continental schools. 



The short record of a family trip round the world is of 

 a character with which the public is familiar : notes of 

 the trivial incidents of life on board ship, little bits of 

 history, occasional touches of moralising, and vivid 

 impressions of what must have been a very enjoyable as 

 well as a most instructive holiday. The route led by 

 Gibraltar and Naples to Port Said, thence to Colombo, 

 whence a considerable tour in Ceylon was made, on to 

 Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Samoa, the Sandwich 

 Islands, and home by the Canadian Pacific Railway and 

 the Atlantic. The young people are indeed to be envied 

 who have so magnificent an opportunity of educating 

 themselves by seeing the world while still unstifled by 

 scholastic cram. 



A few slips are not to be wondered at. It is remarked 

 of the Suez Canal that "larger undertakings of the same 

 kind have been carried out since," the diversity in the 

 use of Tacoma and Rainier (not Ranier as printed), 

 as names of a mountain, is not correctly described ; 

 Morley is transposed to the wrong side of the Rocky 

 Mountains, and Labrador and Newfoundland change 

 places on the Strait of Belleisle. There is, unfortunately, 

 no map ; but if read with an atlas, this pleasantly written 

 book should prove a valuable supplement to more formal 

 geographies. H. R. M. 



Wild Flowers., and other Poe?ns. By James Rigg. Pp. 

 294. (Paisley and London : Gardner, 1897.) 



It is not within our province to express an opinion on 

 the metrical merits of this volume. The author is 

 evidently an ardent lover of nature, and of a poetic dis^ 

 position. We have learnt, by sad experience, not to 

 expect too much scientific accuracy from writers of verse ; 

 and the volume before us is not alone in its offences. 

 Still, it does seem strange that the author should not have 

 got some botanist friend to look over his proof-sheets ; 

 for by so doing he would have learnt that Vaccinium 

 europcea (sic) is not the Latin name of the " blaeberry " 

 (sic), nor Stellaria minor of the chickweed, nor Pinus 

 borealis of the Scotch pine. The Latin names are con- 

 stantly misspelt. 



