l82 



NATURE 



\_7uly 8, 1875 



following up the hints given by Sir Henry Holland, Prof. 

 Wendell Holmes, and some others, useful results might 

 be obtained. It is difficult to help agreeing with Sir 

 Henry when he remarks that the opinions of Comte on 

 this subject are a sheer paradox (p. 97). Comte strangely 

 denied the competence of consciousness as an interpreter 

 of mental functions. It may perhaps be allowed that 

 consciousness has not been happily investigated hitherto, 

 but it would be wholly premature to assert that it is 

 incapable of scientific investigation, 



W. Stanley Jevons 



URE'S ''DICTIONARY OF ARTS" 

 Ur^s Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines. By 

 Robert Hunt, FR.S., Keeper of Mining Records, &c., 

 &c., assisted by F, W. Rudler, F.G.S., and by numerous 

 contributors eminent in science and familiar with 

 manufactures. Seventh edition, in three volumes. 

 (London : Longmans, 1875.) 



THIS well-known work, of which the seventh edition 

 is now before us, first made its appearance in the 

 past generation. During the life-time of its original 

 projector and editor, Dr. Andrew Ure, it undoubtedly 

 contributed largely to advance the education and progress 

 of our manufacturing and industrial classes, and well- 

 thumbed copies of it are to be found on the library shelves 

 of all the " Mechanics' Institutions " which the educa- 

 tional revival of thirty years ago scattered over the land. 



We find from the preface that since 1858, when the 

 present editor took charge of the work, three editions, 

 including the present, have appeared, so that its reputa- 

 tion as a standard work of reference appears to be still 

 maintained. 



In the volumes now before us, there are, as might be 

 expected, great differences from the edition which pre- 

 ceded them, many new industries having arisen, while 

 others, if they have not altogether disappeared, have at 

 least lost much of their importance. The alterations thus 

 arising have overpassed the space left available by the 

 curtailment and omission of some of the articles which 

 had lost their value, and have increased the size of the 

 work to a total of 3,255 pages for the three volumes. 

 Although a long list of contributors succeeds the preface, 

 we imagine that the burden of the major part of this 

 increase must have fallen on the two editors, and^it is 

 therefore with considerable pleasure that we congratulate 

 them on the thorough manner in which the revision has 

 been effected, and the very full and complete information 

 given in nearly all cases. We must not, perhaps, com- 

 plain if "the information given in such articles as "AH. 

 zarine " and " Aniline " is not very full, since the complete 

 knowledge of the actual methods of production em- 

 ployed in these and in other cases of chemical manufacture 

 are in the possession of persons whose interest it is not 

 to be very explicit in matters involving manufacturing 

 secrets. While, however, the editors are to be praised for 

 keeping the articles abreast of the time in other respects, 

 we cannot agree with them that it is good policy to retain, 

 as they have done, the old equivalentic formulae beside the 

 atomic ones which are now, and have been for years 

 past, in such general use as to justify the exclusion of the 

 former altogether, as has been done in every other work 



on chemical subjects printed within the last five years. 

 The acquisition of the modern views and system of 

 formulas is really so simple a matter that there is no 

 justification for its not being made by everyone interested 

 in the science, and the retention of both forms tends to 

 confuse young workers while conferring at best a doubt- 

 ful benefit upon those who, having learnt the older form, 

 are not made to feel the necessity of learning the newer. 



As may be supposed from the names of the editors, 

 the parts relating to mining and metallurgy are extremely 

 full of valuable information, and we notice particularly an 

 article on coal-cutting machines, one on safety apparatus 

 for mines, and one on mine-ventilation, as deserving 

 attention. Much information is given on printing, and 

 the mixed chemical and mechanical art of calico printing 

 is most exhaustively treated. In the article on the soda 

 manufacture, a good sketch of Schloesing and Rolland's 

 process is given. The explanation of the devitrifica- 

 tion of glass, given in vol. ii. p. 647, is, however, only pro- 

 bably true in a limited number of cases, in many the 

 change being molecular only, and not involving the for- 

 mation of definite silicates. 



The articIe]i|on coal-gas is particularly full and well 

 written ; but in fact this may be said of so many of the 

 subjects treated that it becomes an invidious task to 

 attempt to point out the shortcomings which are in some 

 cases unavoidable in a work of this magnitude, while it is 

 a pleasant one to congratulate Messrs. Hunt and Rudler 

 on the care and ability bestowed on a task of great diffi- 

 culty. We have only to add that the type of the work 

 has been entirely reset, and the titles of the articles 

 printed in a bold type which renders reference easy. 



R. J. F. 



DRUMMOND'S ''LARGE GAME OF SOUTH 

 AFRICA " 



The Large Game and Natural History of South and 

 South-east Africa. From the Journals of the Hon. W. 

 H. Drummond, (Edinburgh : Edmonston and Douglas, 

 1875.) 



THE countries of Amazulu, Amatonga, and Amaswazi 

 form the tract of land bounded on the south by Natal, 

 and on the west by the Transvaal Republic. These were 

 the scenes of Mr. Drummond's experiences, which, he 

 teUs us, extended over a period of some five years, ending 

 in 1872. He candidly admits that his knowledge of 

 Natural History as a science is little or nothing, in con- 

 sequence of which all reference to questions bearing on 

 the subject are omitted, except those which have come 

 within his personal knowledge. Such being the case, we 

 think that we cannot do better than make an attempt to 

 summarise the direct information which the author places 

 before us on those biological questions which are in any 

 way referred to, leaving the discussion of the many 

 valuable observations on sport in general to con- 

 temporaries who are in the habit of keeping those 

 subjects in constant view. 



Of the nine chapters which constitute the work, the 

 first six treat of the buffalo, rhinoceros, eland, elephant, 

 lion, and leopard ; the remaining three being devoted to 

 anecdotes connected with dogs, antelopes, and game 

 birds. 



