July 28, 1921] 



NATURE 



679 



physics in another disguise. Although a scientific 

 atomic theory, as distinguished from the merely 

 poetic eiforts of the Greeks, appeared early in 

 the seventeenth century, the chemical atomic 

 theory on which the science is based is unques- 

 tionably the work of John Dalton. The story of 

 Dalton has been told before, but the present small 

 memoir may be welcomed as an interesting 

 account which should find favour with students 

 and the general reader. 



Very few slips have been noticed. Garnett was 

 Davy's predecessor at the Royal Institution; 

 " Cruickshanks " (p. 28) should be " Cruick- 

 shank " ; Thenard wrote his own name both as 

 " Thenard " and as " Thenard "—the first was 

 used by his contemporaries, but the second form, 

 used by Mr. Neville-Polley, seems to be common 

 now. It is scarcely correct to describe Thomas 

 Thomson as the "great friend" of Dalton, for 

 at the time of his visit to Manchester to get the 

 account of the origin of the atomic theory accepted 

 prior to Roscoe and Harden 's investigations, 

 Thomson was not personally acquainted with its 

 author. The statement that Higgins " assigned 

 the same weight to all atoms " was refuted by 

 Meldrum, whose work should have been men- 

 tioned. 



Geological Survey of Nigeria. Bulletin No. 1. 



The Geology of the Plateau Tin Fields. By 



Dr. J. D. Falconer. Pp. 55 + x plates. 



(Nigeria: Geological Survey of Nigeria, 1921.) 



los. net. 

 In the first Bulletin of the Nigerian Geological 

 Survey Dr. Falconer has given a useful account 

 of the tin-bearing region of the Protectorate. 

 Ancient schists and gneissose granites have been 

 invaded by newer granites, followed by emana- 

 tions rich in tin and fluorine but not in boron. 

 Long afterwards, when the country had been worn 

 down by atmospheric agencies, it was covered by 

 the " Fluvio-marine Series " — volcanic rocks, 

 and river gravels often rich in tin. Still later 

 these were succeeded by younger volcanic rocks 

 which have in some cases capped and preserved 

 the older sediments. The alluvial beds that are 

 still in process of formation are, however, the 

 chief source of tin. Their investigation not only 

 furnishes information on the occurrence of alluvial 

 tin, but throws light on the problems of river 

 erosion and deposition. The publication under 

 notice, which is illustrated by excellent photo- 

 graphs of scenery and micro-sections as well as 

 by maps, will be welcomed both by geologists 

 and by mining engineers, though some analyses 

 of the chief rock-types would have been a useful 

 addition. 



It is worth consideration whether it would not 

 be possible to supplement a scientific publication 

 like this by a non-technical pamphlet, clearly but 

 simply written without assuming any previous 

 knowledge of the subject. It should be provided 

 with a general geological map, typical views, and 

 large-scale maps and sections, and the meaning 



NO. 2700, VOL. 107] 



of these should be carefully explained. Such 

 publications would go far to promote a more 

 general interest in the study of the rocks and 

 the minerals they contain. 



J. W. Evans. 



The Land of Goshen and the Exodus. By Sir 

 Hanbury Brown. Third edition. Pp. 189. 

 (London : Edward Stanford, Ltd., 1919.) 

 ys. 6d. net. 



This extraordinarily interesting account of the 

 bondage of Israel in Egypt and their exodus 

 therefrom, written with the erudition of the 

 scholar and the charm of the non-professional, is 

 issued a third time. Sir Hanbury Brown advo- 

 cates the view that the land of Goshen lay im- 

 mediately west of the present Suez Ship Canal, 

 that the western arm of the Red Sea extended at 

 the time of the exodus over the Bitter Lakes and 

 Lake Timsah, almost as far as Tel el Maskhuta 

 (Pithom of the Bible), and that the crossing of 

 the Red Sea took place between Lake Timsah 

 and the Bitter Lakes, below Tussum, near 

 Serapeum. In the new edition he contends that 

 the term " Yam Suph " refers to the expanse of 

 water now called the Red Sea, in opposition to 

 Sayce's view which limits the term to the Gulf 

 of Akabah, namely, the arm to the east of the 

 Sinai peninsula. The author also identifies the 

 present Ayun Musa as the Elim of the exodus : 

 this, like many other views advanced by him, is 

 rendered eminently reasonable by his advocacy. 

 The last chapter, entitled ** Modern Events in 

 Goshen," contains illuminating parallels from 

 modern history to the events associated with the 

 sojourn of Israel in Egypt, including an interest- 

 ing reference to the attack on the Suez Canal 

 during the recent war. 



A Farmer's Handbook: A Manual for Students 

 and Beginners. By R. C. Andrew. Pp. xvi-t- 

 126 + xliv plates. (London: G. Bell and Sons, 

 Ltd., 1920.) 65. net. 



Teachers of agriculture would do well to take 

 notice of this little book. It is written by a man 

 who has had practical experience both of teaching 

 and of farming and knows the difficulties 

 that beset the student entering on a new subject. 

 It is confined to the arable side of farming, and 

 deals with the implements and processes neces- 

 sary for ordinary root and cereal crops. Many 

 common important processes ane included which 

 often miss the text-book writer's attention, such 

 as methods of tying corn, sharpening a scythe, 

 making a potato clamp, etc., and there is much 

 information that is usually obtained only after 

 painful and sometimes costly experience. The 

 little book may be commended to the growing 

 body of men and women interested in the cultiva- 

 tion of a patch of land who find themselves more 

 and more called upon to do for themselves what 

 was formerly done bv the skilled odd man. 



E. J. R. 



