Feb. 13, 1879] 



NATURE 



ZZI 



review not merely of all terrestrial space but of all terres- 

 trial time as well, we are carried back " over an incal- 

 culable number of thousands of years" to the prehistoric 

 time of crude tools of flint, bone, horn, and the hke, and 

 so by rapid strides through stone and bronze and iron to 

 these last days, on which the age of steel is dawning. 



This, howerer, is only by way of prelude, and the 

 author straightway settles down to his facts and figures. 

 These latter are naturally so numerous that the general 

 reader will hardly find the book as a whole a light or 

 entertaining one ; yet apart from the very high value of 

 the statistics for purposes of reference, there is much in 

 the book to interest every one who cares for his country's 

 or the world' s welfare. 



First, a few words with respect to the character of the 

 statistics. These of course vary in completeness and in 

 accuracy with the respective development or otherwise of 

 the countries concerned, or of these special industries. 

 With respect to our own country tabular statements are 

 given of the number of pits for certain years between 

 1854 and 1876 ; of the production in each coal-district 

 for the year last named ; of the total produce in each 

 year since 1 854 as well as for certain years previously ; 

 of the percentage of increase in production and in value ; 

 of the chemical constituents of all the more important 

 coals (sixteen in number) ; of the comparative heating 

 power and general utility of certain English and West- 

 phalian steam-coals used by the German n^vj ; of the 

 average price of coal for each year from 1865 and for 

 certain years before ; of the chief purposes to which the 

 coal is applied and in what proportions ; of the growth 

 of British railways, and of the coal traffic thereon as well 

 as by sea and canal ; of the growth of British shipping ; 

 of the coal exports, and of the chief countries importing 

 these, with the weight and value of their respective 

 amounts. Add to these similar tables for the iron and 

 steel industries of Great Britain ; and multiply the total 

 by a similar number of tables according to their degree 

 for other great coal and iron producers such as Germany, 

 United States, Belgium, and France ; add also every 

 available form of statistics for other parts of the globe, 

 from the Arctic Circle to the Cape of Good Hope, and 

 from Japan to Morocco, and one will readily admit that 

 as a book of reference the work must be invaluable. 



But the book is no mere statistical abstract. These 

 tables, numerous as they are, are only scattered here and 

 there throughout a very full and valuable text. The his- 

 tory of the rise and development of the great coal and iron 

 industries here and elsewhere is stated briefly but suffi- 

 ciently :.the relative advantages and disadvantages of the 

 several competing countries in their material and social 

 aspects are well indicated : such questions as those of 

 labour, increased or improved means of transport, the 

 near prospects of such inventions as the Siemens-Martin 

 and Bessemer steel processes, Barff's process for pre- 

 venting iron from rusting, electric lighting, &c., are also 

 discussed ; and finally, the literature of the subjects dealt 

 with is shown under each head at length, so that those 

 whose special requirements demand more than even this 

 work can give them, are at least shown where they may 

 find the information they desire. 



At a time of such profound depression in both these 

 important industries, one naturally is eager to discover 



any rift among the clouds which the large accumulation 

 of facts here contained, or the conclusions of so wide and 

 an accurate an observer, may disclose. There is doubtless 

 a consolation of a selfish kind to be got from observing 

 that the state of affairs as to depreciation in the value of 

 collieries and ironworks, in the prices of iron and coal, 

 and in the wages of the workmen, is apparently quite as 

 bad among our competitors as among ourselves. Thus 

 the average price of coal in Germany was, in 1873, 

 \os. 9^/., and in 1877, 5^. ^d. ; the wages, after rapidly rising, 

 have now fallen back to the rates prevalent ten years ago, 

 while the character of the workmen has deteriorated, and 

 their relations to their employers have been changed in 

 every way for the worse. In the iron trade the 125 joint- 

 stock companies lost in 1877 alone a sum equal to 8 -9 

 per cent, of their aggregate capital, which amounts to 

 ^24,335,709 ; and this capital at present represents, ac- 

 cording to the quotation of the Berlin share-market, a 

 current value of about ^7,335,ooo only. One regrets to 

 notice that M. Pechar's chief remedy for these evils 

 appears to be a return to protective tariffs so far as they 

 have been abolished, and an aggravation of them where 

 they exist. He is profoundly convinced that for many 

 years to come no country in the world can hope to com- 

 pete in the world's markets or even in their respective 

 home-markets, with Great Britain in any but minor 

 special products. 



M. Pechar, however, has good hopes for the iron 

 industry generally and consequently for the coal industry, 

 whose fortunes depend so closely on those of iron. He 

 expects that in most of the present applications of iron, 

 steel will shortly supplant it, but that the iron industry 

 wuU not therefore perish, but on the contrary will find 

 new and larger spheres, partly as subsidiary to steel, 

 partly by in its turn ousting wood and other substances 

 from many of their present uses, as for example in 

 buildings. 



But it is unfair to summarise M. Pechar' s conclusions 

 apart from the many considerations by which he supports 

 them, and we must therefore refer the reader on this and 

 other points to the book itself. It will amply repay his 

 perusal. J. Marshall 



OUR BOOK SHELF 



Natural History, Sport, and Travel. By Edward Lock- 

 wood. (London : Allen and Co., 1878.) 



MONGHYR is a large district in Bengal, divided into two 

 nearly equal portions by the Ganges. Here Mr. Lockwood 

 has spent many years as magistrate^ and during that 

 period had the inclination and the capacity to gather much 

 knowledge of the district and its people. He laments in 

 his preface that during twenty years' service he met only 

 one Englishman (a Professor of Botany) who could 

 identify the most common trees and plants. This is cer- 

 tainly lamentable, especially for the ignorant themselves, 

 who thus miss a great and constant source of enjoyment 

 and a fine opportunity of adding to a knowledge of the 

 productions of one of our most important dependencies. 

 This modest little volume is a good example of what may 

 be done bv a man who makes no pretensions to have 

 more than' a "desultory" knowledge of natural history. 

 Mr. Lockwood is a very good observer, and his book con- 

 tains many valuable notes on the animals and plants to 

 be met with in the district of IVIonghyr. He has much 



