434 



NATURE 



[December 2, 1920 



attention should be devoted to the formation and 

 properties of the large class comprising condensa- 

 tion products derived from substituted hydrazines, 

 and the latter half is allotted almost entirely to 

 this voluminous branch. The service thus ren- 

 dered is conspicuous, for, in addition to arranging 

 in logical sequence the numerous and scattered 

 records of previous investigators, the author has 

 elaborated methods based on his own research 

 for dealing with mixtures containing two, three, 

 and four monosaccharides. Due notice is given 

 alfeo to the recognition and estimation of gly- 

 curonic acid, the importance of which in glucoside 

 chemistry is well known. The two concluding 

 chapters provide detailed examples of the applica- 

 tion to typical cases of the analytical processes 

 under discussion. 



The appearance of such a book emphasises in 

 a very remarkable manner the facilities for mono- 

 graph production offered by German publishers, 

 and concurrently illustrates the difference in treat- 

 ment adopted by Continental and by Anglo-Saxon 

 authors. Van der Haar's treatise must be ac- 

 cepted as faithful and complete when viewed as 

 a record of facts, yet it is useful only to a small 

 number of specialists, whilst E. F. Armstrong's 

 "Simple Carbohydrates and the Glucosides," 

 dealing with identical materials, appeals alike to 

 students, specialists, and general practitioners of 

 organic chemistry. One presents the bones for 

 sixty-four marks, the other makes a personal 

 introduction to a living body for twelve shillings. 



The present work is admirably produced, and 

 remarkably free from errors, most of which are 

 conveniently overtaken in a list of corrections on 

 the concluding page ; but the absence of a subject- 

 index is to be regretted. M. O. F. 



Our Bookshelf. 



Solubilities of Inorganic and Organic Substances. 

 By Dr. Atherton Seidell. Second edition, en- 

 larged and thoroughly revised. Pp. xxii -1-845. 

 (London : Crosby Lockwood and Son ; New 

 York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1920.) Price 

 45s. net. 



Solubility determinations are often incidental to 

 other investigations, and are, consequently, not 

 indicated in the title of the original paper, or in- 

 cluded in the index of the journal in which they 

 appear. For this reason such data are often 

 difficult to locate, and Dr. Seidell's well-known 

 compilation is a valuable contribution to chemical 

 literature. 



Originally published in 1907, the work was the 



first successful attempt to present a critical survey 



of available quantitative solubility data and to 



select from the discordant results of different 



NO. 2666, VOL. 106] 



observers the most trustworthy values for any 

 given substance. An enormous mass of solubility 

 data has since accumulated, and the present much 

 enlarged edition, which brings the subject-matter 

 up to X918, is certain of a warm welcome. The 

 nomenclature, especially of organic substances, 

 has been revised, and the scope of the work 

 extended to include freezing- or melting-point 

 data for binary and ternary systems. 



The author has endeavoured to maintain "un- 

 remitting vigilance " to avoid errors, but attention 

 may be directed to an unfortunate lapse in the 

 second table on p. 518, where an error has been 

 made in converting milligram-molecules into 

 grams, and where KOH ought to be KjO. All 

 the values in the fourth and fifth columns are 

 wrong. In some cases the author has detected 

 errors in calculation of original results, and indi- 

 cates the necessary corrections — e.g. under 

 strontium formate (p. 681) and ammonium per- 

 chlorate (p. 43). 



New features in the present edition include a 

 detailed explanation of the tables for the guidance 

 of those more or less unfamiliar with the usual 

 tabular methods of expressing such data ; a 

 chapter describing some of the methods used for 

 the accurate determination of solubilities, with 

 excellent diagrams; and an author index, with 

 references to all the original papers consulted. 



S. A. K. 



Small Holding and Irrigation: The New Form of 

 Settlement in Palestine. By Dr. S. E. Soskin. 

 Pp. 63. (London : George Allen and L'nwin, 

 Ltd., 1920.) Price 2S. net. 

 This small publication has been issued by the 

 Zionist Organisation in the interests of agri- 

 cultural and horticultural settlements in Palestine. 

 Intensive gardening is the main theme, and the 

 application of the water resources of the country 

 to the development of vegeculture, as a primary 

 industry, is strongly urged. "The intensive 

 utilisation of the irrigable areas for vegetable and 

 fruit plantations should not come at the end of 

 a period of development of years and decades, 

 but at the beginning of our work of reconstruc- 

 tion in Palestine." After the preface and intro- 

 duction, the subject is elaborated in four chapters. 

 The first chapter deals with the general principles 

 of irrigation in Palestine, as also does the intro- 

 duction, contrasting the climatic conditions with 

 those which obtain elsewhere in tropical and sub- 

 tropical regions. It is claimed that artificial irri- 

 gation will work wonders, rendering two, three, 

 and even four crops a season a possibility. The 

 second chapter discusses the features of intensive 

 gardening and the utilisation of manures and 

 other adjuncts to cultivation. Tomato growing 

 is represented as a promising venture, as also is 

 the cultivation of the banana. The next chapter, 

 headed "A Garden City," indicates the oppor- 

 tunities for, and the value of, co-operative effort. 

 The last chapter is a brief, final word on the 

 essential preparations for the first settlements 

 under the scheme. 



