'32 



NATURE 



[December i, 1910 



integration, to identify many of the products with 

 derivatives of these bases. But, as the authors of 

 the above monograph state : — 



"The constitution of an alkaloid cannot be re- 

 garded as definitely ascertained until it has been 

 artificiallv prepared in accordance with the formula 

 and identified with the natural product." 



It is this last synthetic process which calls for the 

 utmost resource and skill of the e-xperimenter. The 

 success which accompanied Hofmann's researches 

 only serv-ed to emphasise the difficulties of the final 

 synthetic stage. In spite of the magnitude of the task, 

 Ladenburg accomplished the complete synthesis of 

 coniine (the active principle of hemlock) in 1886. This 

 was followed by Hantzsch's synthesis of trigonelline 

 in the same year, and of piperine by Ladenburg in 

 1894. Perhaps the most brilliant of recent achieve- 

 ments in this region of research are the syntheses of 

 the tropine alkaloids (atropine, cocaine, tropacocaine) 

 by Willstatter, laudanosine, papaverine, and nicotine, 

 b}' Pictet, and the purine bases by E. Fischer. 



As it is improbable that anv known alkaloid exceeds 

 in complexity those the synthesis of which has been 

 accomplished, it may be safely predicted that sooner or 

 later all will be produced artificially. Interesting as 

 this record is of past results and future promise, the 

 real significance of these discoveries is much more 

 far-reaching ; for the peculiar physiological proper- 

 ties of the alkaloids has led directly to the study of the 

 relation of atomic grouping to physiological action. 

 The ceaseless activity which has been displayed in this 

 direction, especially in the German laboratories, has 

 thrown so much light on the subject that new drugs 

 are constantly produced the therapeutic action of 

 which closely imitates that of the natural product. 

 This vast and ever-increasing mass of new observa- 

 tions has already been carefully compiled in a treatise 

 by Pictet, and in several monographs by Schmidt. 



With the exception of one chapter on the source 

 and significance of the alkaloids in plant-life, to which 

 reference is made below, there is nothing in the pre- 

 sent volume which can be said to supersede those 

 named. Like the latter, it is a compilation of the 

 more important facts systematically arranged and 

 brought up to date ; but there is no attempt at literary 

 embellishment, which renders Pictet 's book so read- 

 able, nor are those full references given, which are 

 indispensable in a book of this nature, and form 

 so important a feature in its predecessors. The con- 

 cluding chapter on the origin of the alkaloids in the 

 plant is the most interesting in the book, not because 

 it throws much new light on the problem, but rather 

 because it reveals the enormous difficulties which sur- 

 round it. The authors rely on the proteins for their 

 raw material, which, it is well known, contain no 

 pyridine, quinoline, or isoquinoline constituent. For 

 these nuclei they have recourse to such protein pro- 

 ducts as lysine and arginine, which can conceivabh' 

 be fused into rings and bring to their aid formalde- 

 hyde, and its reduction and oxidation products, methyl 

 alcohol, and formic acid for further elaborating these 

 simpler ring compounds. Theorising is a necessary 

 part of every progressive science, and no fault need 

 NO. 2144, VOL. 85] 



be found with the authors if they like to exert their 

 ingenuity on so fascinating a theme. At the same 

 time, it mav be pointed out that, if protein materials 

 are to be taken as the starting point, the origin of 

 such compounds as tyrosine and tryptophane affords 

 difficulties quite as great as those which surround the 

 natural synthesis of the alkaloids. J. B. C. 



PRACTICAL GARDENING. 

 Manual of Gardening. A Practical Guide to the Mak- 

 ing of Home Grounds, and the Growing of Flowers, 

 Fruits, and Vegetables for Home Use. By L. H. 

 Bailey. Pp. xvi + 539, (New York: The Mac- 

 millan Company; London: Macmillati and Co., 

 Ltd., 1910.) Price 8s. 6d. net. 



PROF. B.\ILEY is already very well known to 

 readers in this country as the author of 

 numerous works upon various branches of scientific 

 horticulture. His greatest work is a '"Cyclopaedia of 

 American Horticulture," in several large volumes, and 

 containing an immense amount of information on 

 American garden plants, contributed by a large num- 

 ber of specialists. The present work, though far less 

 ambitious, will be found extremely useful to gardeners 

 in the States, even to those with very little experience, 

 for the author, specialist as he is, finds no difficulty in 

 writing upon garden subjects in a manner easily 

 understandable by amateurs. 



In a large measure the work is a combination and 

 revision of two former volumes, " Garden Making " 

 and "Practical Garden Book," and it constitutes a 

 guide to the making of home grounds, and the grow- 

 ing of flowers, fruits, and vegetables for home use. 



Gardening in the States is not so general or tech- 

 nical as it is in our own country, and most of those 

 who attempt to practise it find a great difficulty 

 at the very outset, for they have few good models 

 available to inspire them with correct ideas. In a 

 large number of instances the formal method of design 

 and planting is given preference, and the ordinary 

 formal garden in America has most of the blemishes 

 such gardens possess at home, but few of the virtues 

 that characterise this system of landscape gardening 

 at its best. There are certain instances of first-rate 

 formal gardening in America, but, as the author of 

 "The American Flower Garden " pointed out recently, 

 the public has seldom the opportunity to inspect them. 



Prof. Bailey's advice on the formation of gardens 

 is therefore very opportune, for whilst he does not 

 show himself as a partisan of either of the opposed 

 methods, he explains carefully and in great detail how 

 to make the best use of both by adopting them to the 

 special circumstances of site, aspect, altitude, soil, and 

 climate. Having discussed the "point of view" with 

 regard to laying out the garden and planting it, the 

 author proceeds to relate in detail the treatment of 

 the more important species of plants. The chapter 

 on the protection of plants from things that prey upon 

 them (pests) is unusually valuable, for Prof. Bailey 

 has a rare experience of the subject. Chapters ix. 

 and X. deal respectively with fruit and vegetables, and 

 on these subjects cultural details are supplied on 

 almost every crop. The crops are much the same as 



