August 25, 192 1] 



Nature 



807 



find and which might have made the history of 

 real value is omitted. One illustration is typical. 

 There is a chapter entitled " From Fechner to 

 \\'undt." If the reader should refer to it for an 

 account of the psycho-physical law which has 

 made Fechner's name famous, this is what he will 

 find:— "The law known as the 'Weber- 

 Fechner Law ' has been so often described and 

 discussed that we may be excused the task of re- 

 peating its definition." Practically all we are 

 told about it is that " volumes have been written 

 on it." 



The Bases of Agricultural Practice and Economics 



in the United Provinces, India. By Dr. 



H. Martin Leake. With a foreword by J. 



MacKenna. Pp. viii + 2"/"^. (Cambridge : W. 



Heffer and Sons, Ltd., 192 1.) 155. net. 

 The author of this illuminating book has applied 

 himself to the elucidation of the bases and develop- 

 ment of agricultural practice and economics, 

 showing how improvements in methods of farm- 

 ing must necessarily be associated with the due 

 recognition of economic factors if true advance 

 is to be made. Although the text deals solely 

 with India, the underlying principles are applic- 

 able to agriculture the world over, and the book 

 throws fresh light upon the new problems that are 

 constantly arising now that scientific principles 

 and methods are being more widely applied to 

 farm practice. 



Agricultural practice is essentially based on the 

 relations between the soil and atmospheric condi- 

 tions and the crops grown, and these are set forth 

 factor by factor, careful distinction being made 

 between those which can and those which cannot 

 be controlled. Possibilities of development and im- 

 provement are discussed with special reference to 

 such points as hybridisation and selection, cultiva- 

 tion and manuring, as adapted to Indian con- 

 ditions. Parallel with this, the economic aspect 

 is considered, particular stress being laid on the 

 possibilities that lie in co-operation of various 

 kinds as a factor in the encouragement of agri- 

 cultural development. 



The book is strongly to be recommended, not 

 only to those connected with Indian agriculture, 

 but also to all who are interested in the progress of 

 modern scientific farming, for the conditions dis- 

 cussed are so varied that they provide scope for 

 the consideration of strongly contrasted aspects of 

 the subject. W. E. B. 



Groundwork of Surgery. [For First-year 

 Students.) By Arthur Cooke. Pp. viii -f- 183. 

 (Cambridge : W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd. ; Lon- 

 don : Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, and 

 Co., Ltd., 1919.) 7s. 6d. net. 

 Written by one who is himself a thinker, worker, 

 and teacher, this book furnishes the beginner with 

 an excellent introduction to the science, art, and 

 craft of surgery. Most manuals are addressed 

 by the expert to other experts, or at least to 

 advanced students. In the present volume the 

 author sets himself, very successfully, to lay the 



NO. 2704, VOL. 107] 



foundations on which a more detailed knowledge 

 may be reared. The ground which surgery covers 

 is indicated, and its broad outlines are defined ; 

 space is given to preventive treatment and sur- 

 gical sanitation generally ; and the main surgical 

 affections of the different regions of the body are 

 described. The book may be cordially recom- 

 mended. 



College Botany: Structure, Physiology, and 

 Economics of Plants. By Dr. M. T. Cook. 

 Pp. x-l-392. (Philadelphia and London: J. B. 

 Lippincott Co., 1920.) 12s. 6d. net. 



It is said of this book by the author that it is 

 "an effort to meet present conditions," but it is 

 not very clear what these conditions are. The 

 book is divided into sections on morphology, 

 physiology, and classification, the last including 

 general descriptions of the great plant groups. 

 Some of the drawings, such as Fig. 30, represent- 

 ing a lenticel, and Fig. 152, depicting the pine 

 cone and its parts, can only be described as crude ; 

 but the photographs of individual plants, of which 

 there are many, are much more successful. A 

 number of maps are given showing the various 

 areas of crop production in the Linited States, and 

 economic plants of all kinds are frequently intro- 

 duced into the descriptions. The book would 

 seem to be most suitable for American students 

 beginning the study of agriculture. 



Experimental Organic Chemistry. By Prof. A. P. 

 West. (New- World Science Series.) Pp. xiii-h 

 469. (London: George G. Harrap and Co., 

 Ltd., 1921.) 105. 6d. net. 



Theory and laboratory experiments in organic 

 , chemistry are combined in this book. Only the 

 more important compounds are discussed, and ex- 

 periments of a difficult or dangerous character 

 are purposely omitted. Review tables, giving at 

 a glance the chemistry of groups of compounds, 

 are supplied at frequent intervals. The theoretical, 

 part of the book is somewhat less satisfactory 

 than the practical, for it is frequently very con- 

 densed. The book is well printed and illustrated. 

 This is one of the very few elementary books on 

 organic chemistry which give an accurate de- 

 scription of fractional distillation. 



Reports of the Progress of Applied Chemistry : 

 Issued hy the Society of Chetnical Industry. 

 Vol. V. 1920. Pp. 626. (London : Society of 

 Chemical Industry, n.d.) 155. 



The annual reports on the progress of applied 

 chemistry issued by the Society of Chemical In- 

 dustry fulfil the same functions for applied chem- 

 istry as do the annual reports of the Chemical 

 Society for pure chemistry. They constitute a 

 most useful and authoritative review of the work 

 done during the year. The present volume is the 

 work of experts in the various branches of applied 

 chemistry, and can be recommended to all who 

 wish to keep in touch with the rapid progress of 

 chemical technology. 



