July 21, 1923] 



NA TURE 



93 



The descriptive matter too is not unworthy of the 

 pictures. The writing is popular in the best sense of 

 the term^ sirnple, but yet exact in the exposition of 

 the fundamental laws and the progress of observation 

 of the physical facts of the science. The explanations 

 are rendered more inteUigible by apposite and original 

 diagrams. After a general and historical introduction 

 by the editor, Dr. Steavenson treats of the " Story of 

 Light and Man's Control of It," with illustrations of 

 telescopes from that of Galileo to the giant 100-inch 

 reflector at Mount Wilson. Spectroscopy is adequately 

 explained, and the chapter concludes with an account 

 of the astronomical applications of the interferometer. 

 Of Chapter II. " The Solar System," it is enough to 

 say that it is in the very capable hands of Dr. Crom- 

 melin. It is a model of popular scientific style. " The 

 Sun and Sun-spots " constitute Chapter III., written 

 too in a fascinating manner by Mrs. Maunder, and 

 copiously illustrated by very fine photographs, mainly 

 from Greenwich Observatory. Mr. C. P. Butler writes 

 on the " Prominences," and the stars and nebulae, 

 meteors and comets, gravitation and tides are among 

 the subjects yet to be discussed. 



The title " The Splendour of the Heavens " is well 

 chosen, for it is this aspect of the firmament which 

 excites wonder and appeals most directly to the mind 

 of man. It inevitably leads to the recognition of the 

 Majesty, the Wisdom, the Beauty of the Creator, and 

 is thus an antidote to the naturalism, and to the stark 

 materialism which is the bane of much of modern 

 science. With unstinted praise we can recommend 

 this excellent serial, which promises to be a standard 

 work of popular astronomy. A. L. C. 



Guide to the Mollusca exhibited in the Zoological Depart- 

 ment, British Museum {Natural History). Pp. 55. 

 (London : British Museum (Natural History), 1923.) 



IS. 



A NEW edition of the Guide to the Mollusca in the 

 British Museum (Natural History) has been certainly 

 long overdue, none having been issued since 1908, 

 when other Invertebrata were associated with the 

 Mollusca in the descriptive account of the " Shell and 

 Starfish Galleries." 



This new Guide occupies practically the same 

 number of pages as did the section of 1908, although 

 much of it has been rewritten, and in its " get up " 

 is fully equal to others of its kind for which the Natural 

 History Museum is famous. It cannot be exactly 

 described as a " popular guide " ; the subject does 

 not lend itself to that, as the mammals and birds do, 

 but it appeals rather to more advanced students of 

 the particular subject. The casual visitor desirous 

 of more simple explanation can fortunately rely on 

 obtaining the information he may require from the 

 demonstrations of the Official Guide, who alone prob- 

 ably can satisfactorily deal with such. No one who has 

 not attempted a similar production knows how difficult 

 it is to produce a really satisfactory work of the kind, 

 or of the pitfalls that beset the compiler, to whose 

 own lapses may be added those introduced by the 

 " familiar " of the printing press. 



Beyond pointing out that the scientific name of 

 the British freshwater pearl mussel has somehow been 

 applied to the marine pearl oyster of commerce 



NO. 2803, VOL. I 12] 



(Pinctada), we do not propose to dwell on those errors 

 we have observed, preferring to leave that task to 

 " kind friends." It is a pity, however, that further 

 currency has been given to a text-book statement 

 that a " Helix has been known to survive a temperature 

 of - 126° C." and even to have strengthened the 

 startling statement by substituting " tolerate " for 

 " survive." We suggest a lost decimal point as 

 explanation. 



Physikalische Chemie der Zelle und der Gewebe. Von 

 Prof. Dr. Hober. Fiinfte, neubearbeitete Auflage. 

 I Halfte. Pp. XV -1- 544. (Leipzig : W. Engelmann, 

 1922.) 575 marks. 



The late Prof. Benjamin Moore reviewed this important 

 book at length in Nature (November 30, 191 1, vol. 88, 

 p. 140) upon the appearance of the third edition. The 

 general character of the book is unaltered in this the 

 fifth edition, and it still remains one of the outstanding 

 texts for the use of students of physiology. 



The present edition has evidently been completely 

 revised, the most striking modification being the 

 division of the book into two main sections ; the first 

 dealing with the underlying physico-chemical pheno- 

 mena apart from their manifestation in the living 

 organism, the second part considering the operation of 

 these phenomena in living cells and tissues. The book 

 also now appears in two volumes ; this first volume 

 includes the six chapters comprising the first section of 

 the book, while Chapter VII., the first chapter of the 

 second section, discusses the osmotic properties of cells 

 and tissues. The material of this seventh chapter in 

 the third edition appeared scattered throughout three 

 chapters dealing respectively with osmotic pressure, 

 osmotic properties of cells and tissues, and a criticism of 

 the lipoid theory. Judging by the present volume, 

 the rearrangement of the subject-matter has provided 

 a more natural and logical presentation of the subject. 

 It is also certainly natural to find that a discussion of 

 permeability no longer centres around the lipoid theory 

 of the plasma membrane. Throughout the book 

 modifications have been made in accordance with the 

 trend of modern physiological investigation ; to cite 

 one example. Chapter III., upon the quantitative esti- 

 mation of hydrogen ions, has been altered to cover the 

 modern use of a wide series of indicators in conjunction 

 with standard buffer solutions ; it also includes a fuller 

 discussion of the regulatory mechanism controlling the 

 reaction of the blood. 



English Coastal Evolution. By E. M. Ward. Pp. 



xii + 262-1-14 plates. (London: Methuen and Co., 



Ltd., 1922.) 85. 6d. net. 

 Mr. Ward has chosen a very interesting subject, 

 and has treated it systematically and well. In his 

 general introduction, he points out that the present 

 features of our coasts are built up or carved out on 

 a land that has been recently submerged. The 

 features of this land are largely due to subaerial 

 erosion, but in places they are becoming modified by 

 the deposits caught on sea-worn flats. In other places 

 features are becoming again revealed by the removal 

 of beach-detritus belonging to an earlier epoch. The 

 glacial deposits that extended the land-area as the 

 ice melted away form here and there protective 



