March 24, 1921] 



NATURE 



103 



use of the calculus, has endeavoured with a fair 

 amount of success to simplify the proofs of the 

 algebraic formulae used, so as to keep these 

 within the scope of the average university 

 graduate course in mathematics. More space is 

 devoted to the coefficient of correlation, the too 

 facile use of which by many writers is responsible 

 to-day for much loose reasoning. 



Part i. remains on the same lines as in the 

 earlier editions ; by reference to particular groups 

 of English statistics it illustrates the general prin- 

 ciples guiding the collection, tabulation, and utilis- 

 ation of results of statistical inquiries, so far as 

 these aims can be reached without the use of any 

 but the most elementary mathematics. Some of the 

 illustrations have be^n brought up to date, and in 

 particular the chapter dealing with the important 

 subject of index numbers of prices and cost of 

 living has been rewritten, but, in spite of the fear 

 expressed by the author that too much attention 

 to such details might have upset the balance of the 

 work, it seems a pity that he did not take this 

 opportunity of revising thoroughly all the illus- 

 trations from official and other publications. This 

 would have made the volume much more alive and 

 attractive to the non-academic reader whose object 

 it is to equip himself as a citizen to understand 

 and criticise the increasing volume of figures with 

 which statements of rival political and social 

 policies are now supported. 



The Sea-Shore. By W. P. Pycraft. (The Nature 

 Lover's Series.) Pp. vi+156. (London: 

 S.P.C.K. ; New York: The Macmillan Co., 

 1920.) 45. 6d. net. 

 Many books have been written about the sea- 

 shore and its life, some very good. Miss New- 

 bigin's by far the best; others good, like Lewes's 

 and J. G. Wood's; others not good at all. Mr. 

 Pycraft 's book is very good, for he knows at 

 first hand what he is talking about. He is an 

 expert on sea-shore birds, and he has insight into 

 the magnalia naturae. Moreover, the book has 

 the smack of individuality — the first of a "Nature 

 Lover's Series " — aiming at a synoptic view, not of 

 ' the fauna merely or principally, but of the sea- 

 shore as a region as full of intellectual as of 

 aesthetic delights. Many of those who go to the 

 shore for recreation miss half the fun because 

 they are unaware of the intensely interesting 

 problems all around them. They do not see the 

 significance of things. But Mr. Pycraft's book 

 gives them a jumping-off place. It tells of the 

 gathering together of waters, of shallow seas and 

 deep seas, of cliffs s^d caves, of pebbles and sand- 

 beaches, of islands and their charm, and of the 

 animal inhabitants of the varied haunts which 

 the sea-shore includes. It is all luminous and 

 illuminating, and, naturally, the treatment of the 

 sea-shore birds is masterly. Mr. Pycraft strikes 

 the genetic note in his physical chapters, and the 

 bionomic note in his natural history. We are 

 sorry that he has deliberately refrained from deal- 

 ing with the sea-shore plants and with the Algae, 

 for that was needed to round off the survey. This 



NO. 2682, VOL. 107] 



defect notwithstanding, the book has a wider 

 horizon than most sea-shore books, and many will 

 be grateful to the author. Even in short books 

 it is surprisingly difficult to avoid sheer casualties 

 like Asterius and the four chisel-like teeth of the 

 sea-urchin, a number immediately raised to five. 

 It is not our experience that a guillemot's egg 

 "rolls round in a circle" when jostled, but we 

 bow to the authority of one of the most scientific 

 of ornithologists. His book is pure gold. 



The Encyclopaedia and Dictionary of Education. 

 Part i. (London : Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, 

 Ltd., 1921.) 25. net. 



This is part i. of an "Encyclopaedia and Diction- 

 ary of Education " being issued under the general ■ 

 editorship of Prof. Foster Watson. The work 

 when complete will comprise nearly 2000 large 

 crown quarto pages. It will contain as many as 

 2250 separate articles contributed by more than 

 850 specialists representing most of the chief 

 universities of the world in practically every 

 branch and section of theoretical and practical 

 education. Having regard to the fact of the 

 rapid development of education in all branches, 

 especially in this country, during the last two 

 decades, and its close connection with social and 

 national movements, it is believed that a work 

 dealing systematically with its progress will meet 

 with warm approval. 



The subject-matter of education has grown so 

 complex, including its psychological, medical, 

 and other aspects, that it demands for the in- 

 quirer, the teacher, and the administrator some 

 authoritative guidance such as this work is de- 

 signed to give, including clear, accurate, and 

 concise accounts of all types of teaching institu- 

 tions in the British Isles and Dominions, not only 

 in their historical aspect, but also in their present 

 conditions. In addition, there is passed in review 

 the educational systems of all the important 

 foreign countries. Due prominence has also been 

 given to the lives and teachings of great educa- 

 tionists, and the Board of Education's Regula- 

 tions have been epitomised in a convenient and 

 simple form. 



Each part will be illustrated. A complete list 

 of the contributors is supplied with part i., but 

 we note the absence of the names of any con- 

 tributors dealing with the important developments 

 and position of education in Germany. 



The Mechanical Production of Cold. By Sir 

 J. A. Ewing. Second edition. Pp. x -|- 204. 

 (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1921.) 

 255. net. 



Although it is more than twelve years since 

 the first edition of Sir J. A. Ewing's book was 

 published, the author has not found it neces- 

 sary to do more than correct some errors and to 

 modify the text in places where the meaning was 

 obscure. The book therefore is substantially the 

 same as the first edition, a notice of which 

 appeared in Nature for February 25, 1909 (vol. 

 Ixxix., p. 484). 



