824 



NATURE 



[December 8, 192, 



ultraviolet light in solar radiation, the subject of trans- 

 jMirencyof puses, liquids. solids and, in |)artitrular,Klas»e8, 

 IS discussed in detail. Then follow im|X)rtant chapters 

 on the reflection and produ<tion of ultraviolet radiation, 

 in which the many sources now available are described 

 and (ompared. After describing the dete<tion and 

 measurement of the rays, the author discusses their 

 effect upon living matter and various photochemical 

 actions. Although the reader would have In-en grateful 

 in some places for a more critical discussion, he must 

 feel that he is indebted to the writer for the large 

 numljer of investigations described and for ilr mitiy 

 references. 



The SaviU Club, /S6S-/92J. Pp. vii + 206. (Privately 



printed for the Committee of the Club, 1923.) 

 This book will not only be welcomed by members of the 

 Savile Club generally, but will also be a source of 

 interest and pleasure to all such " strangers " as may 

 come to read the anonymous author's " round un- 

 varnished tale " of the birth and growth of the club, 

 which has well striven to retain the original characters 

 impressed upon it by the principles laid down by its 

 founders. The founders' desire was, in brief, to establish 

 a club consisting of a " mixture of men of different 

 professions and opinions " by " a careful process of 

 election." The eminently readable and racy story of 

 the Savile's progress that occupies seventy pages of 

 this history, in conjunction with the interesting chrono- 

 logical list of members and committees given in the 

 rest of the work, supplies good evidence that these 

 principles have not been forgotten. 



A careful study of the whole of this work, as regards 

 both matter and manner, and especially the apt 

 quotation in the preface from the Spectator (No. 34, 

 April 9, 17 11), suggest to the present writer a probable 

 clue to its author's identity. Such an author must 

 necessarily be a Savilian of very long standing, and 

 intimately acquainted with many fellow - members. 

 He must, further, have had the habit of going to the 

 club very frequently, and be endowed with mighty 

 memory for details. Added to all this, he must be a 

 genuine devotee to the club's principles and traditions. 

 It is not possible to find in the whole list of members 

 any one but Sir Herbert Stephen who possesses this 

 infinite variety of qualifications. This hypothesis con- 

 cerning the authorship withstands the application of a 

 crucial test — the spirit and style of this admirably 

 com posed record. 



Readers of Nature may well take special interest 

 in this book, which shows that the Savile Club has 

 numbered among its younger members a large propor- 

 tion of those who have become the most distinguished 

 men of science in Great Britain and the world at large. 



Electro-Chemistry related to Engineering. By W. R. 

 Cooper. (" A Treatise of Electro-Chemistry," edited 

 by Bertram Blount.) Pp. xiv + 136. (London, 

 Bombay and Sydney : Constable and Co., Ltd., 

 1923.) 125. dd. net. 



Every electrical engineer will admit that the science 

 of electro-chemistr)' is of vital importance to his 

 industry. All the copper he uses is refined exclusively 

 by electro-deposition, and all the aluminium is produced 

 electro-chemically. The electric refining of steel is now 



NO. 2823, VOL. 1 12] 



widely used, and so also is the electric production 

 ferro-alloys. These alloys have enabled wonder: 1 

 results to Ik; obtained in the construction of aircraii 

 Supply engineers have to be very careful not to !- 1 

 electricity leak from their mains, as the result u 

 " vagal)ond " currents corrode water- an ' 

 It is therefore advisable that they should \.- 

 extent their stray currents produce this corruiton, uiid 

 whether they will corrode reinforced concrete or not. 

 We were particularly interested in the chapter on 

 electrical precipitation of dust, smoke, and fume, and 

 its commercial applications. Unfortunately the costs 

 vary greatly with circumstances, so no general 

 figures can be given; but we think that if the laws 

 regulating the emission of smoke into the atmospluTc 

 were made a little more stringent, manufacturers would 

 soon find it more economical to prevent it electrically. 

 The chapter on electro-culture gives excellently and 

 very briefly the present state of the art. Mr. Cwiper's 

 knowledge is acquired atfirst hand. In the final chapter 

 he discusses the relative importance of cheap power 

 and cheap freights. In some countries the cheap [X)wer 

 available is more than counterbalanced by the high cost 

 of transport. To scientific workers, and more especially 

 to electricians, this book will prove useful. 



In Witch-Bound Africa : an Account of the Primitive 

 Kaonde Tribe and their Beliefs. By F. H. Melland. 

 Pp. 316 + 24 plates. (London : Seeley, Service and 

 Co., Ltd., 1923.) 215. net. 



While anthropologists frequently maintain the ne< t>- 

 sity for insight and sympathy in the administration of 

 the affairs of backward races, it is not often that con- 

 crete examples of the peculiar psychology of primiti\ < 

 man are put to the layman so convincingly as some ti 

 the instances which Mr. Melland has singled out in 

 this book. As an official of some twenty-two year>" 

 standing, he is in a position to speak with authorit\ . 

 From this point of view his book can be recom- 

 mended heartily to every one interested in the govern- 

 ment of our backward races. 



On the scientific side, Mr. Melland's account of the 

 Ba-Kaonde of Northern Rhodesia is equally important. 

 The Ba-Kaonde consist of three elements, to which, how- 

 ever, the author gives a common name as a matter 

 of convenience. He is of the opinion that they art- 

 offshoots of the Batuba. Some of their customs 

 suggest an affinity with Central rather than South 

 Africa. There is, for example, practically no " bridi 

 price," but the husband stays with the bride's peopK 

 for a period of from three to ten years, and his childn ;i 

 belong to them. As the title of this book suggest-. 

 Mr. Melland is much impressed by the importance "i 

 witchcraft in the life of the people. 



The Cultivation of Sugar Cane in Java : an Ltt >ut m-.' . 

 Treatise on the Agriculture of the Sugar Cane in Ja:a. 

 and more especially on its Cultivation on the Knan 

 Sugar Estate. By R. A. Quintus. Pp. xii+ 164- ,vs 

 plates. (London : Norman Rodger, 1923.) 125. nit. 



The position occupied by Java as a cane-sugar pro- 

 ducing countn.-. and the care bestowed on the culti\ .- 

 tion of the crop, ensures a welcome to a book in Engli-: 

 dealing with the agricultural methods employed in 

 an important estate in eastern Java. This volunu . 



