January 27, 192 1] 



NATURE 



691 



and industrial alcohol, viaegar, acetic acid, 

 acetone, and gflycerin. 



The task of writing such a book as that before 

 us is no easy one, needing, as it does, the securing 

 of collaborators having both practical and scientific 

 knowledge of the various industries. Whilst it is 

 not for us to criticise the qualifications of Dr. 

 Rideal's collaborators, our reading of the book 

 has led us to the conclusion that it is a condensed 

 account of existing treatises rather than a succinct 

 and original outline of the various chemical indus- 

 tries. References to the literature are given at 

 the end of each part, and these, we submit, would 

 have been better included in the text, so that the 

 reader would know exactly where to find an ex- 

 pansion of any specific phase of the subject. 

 References to journals such as that of the Society 

 of Chemical Industry, without indicating definite 

 papers, are of little use to those who are not 

 specialists, but wish to glean further information 

 on specific points. 



The major portion calls for little comment on the 

 score of accuracy, but there are some errors and 

 mis-statements, and among them the following 

 may be cited. Wheat is said in one place to 

 contain 55-65 per cent, of starch, whilst in 

 another place the average starch content is stated 

 to be 68 per cent. The statement that the cheapest 

 form of starch is that derived from the potato is 

 iraccurate, and we can scarcely agree that wheat 

 starch is used as a paste for bill-posting, etc. ! 

 1 he title "Cane Sugar" and "Beet Sugar" for 

 the sections dealing with the manufacture of sugar 

 from cane and beet respectively might tend to 



vive the fallacy that sugar from the two sources 

 'i liters. Goldthorpe barley is a broad-eared, not 

 I narrow-eared, two-rowed barley ; it belongs to 



'• variety HorJeum zeocriton, not to Hordeuvi 

 . Jistichum. The statement that by the malting 

 process "the insoluble starch of the grain is con- 

 verted into soluble fermentable sugar " is one long 

 ago exploded. 



As a general criticism of this book, we regret 

 bcinfj unable to come to any other conclusion than 

 that the editor has failed to achieve his object. 

 We hope that in the near future, with the col- 

 laboration of his expert advisers, he will recast 

 the volume so as to eliminate errors and to give 

 n clear and concise outline of the chemical indus- 

 tries dealt with. Arthur R. Ling. 



Our Bookshelf 

 Magic in Names and in Other Things. By E. 

 Clodd. Pp. vii-i-238. (London: Chapman and 

 Hall, Ltd., 1920.) Price 12S. 6d, net. 

 De.ali.ng with the question of magic in names, 

 Mr. Clodd expounds with interesting detail a 

 NO. 2674, VOL. 106] 



chapter in folk-lore familiar to serious students, 

 but well deserving treatment in a more popular 

 form. His book is, in the main, a study of magic, 

 or, to use the new word, "mana," "the sense of 

 a vague, impersonal, ever-acting, universally dif- 

 fused power " immanent in all things. His 

 special subject, the name, is well defined in a 

 quotation from Mr. Cornford which appears on 

 his title-page : " Language, that stupendous pro- 

 duct of the collective mind, is a duplicate, a 

 shadow-soul, of the whole structure of reality ; it 

 is the most effective and comprehensive tool of 

 human power, for nothing, whether human or 

 superhuman, is beyond its reach." Hence the 

 preliminary discussion of the mana in a man's 

 hair or spittle, through which the magician can 

 work evil against the owner, merges into a de- 

 tailed consideration of the name. Evil can be 

 worked against you by anyone who knows your 

 name, and hence it is wise to have two names, 

 one concealed, one for daily use. This leads to 

 the more serious name of power, curses and 

 charms, passwords and spells, the " mantram " of 

 the Hindu, by means of which even the gods 

 themselves can be coerced. The Mohammedan 

 knows the Ninety-and-Nine Names of Allah, and 

 by repeating them over and over again for days 

 he gams magical power. This exposition, always 

 clear and impressive, even if at times the religious 

 views of the author are disclosed with undue em- 

 phasis, is supported by an accumulation of inter- 

 esting facts drawn from a wide range of study 

 of the thought of primitive peoples and of popular 

 belief throughout the world. Folk-lore, as an ex- 

 pression of primitive psychology, has too long 

 remained the possession of the expert, and any 

 attempt to popularise it is welcome. This is Mr. 

 Clodd 's achievement, and his exposition of this 

 chapter of popular belief proves the value of the 

 study as a key to unlock the mind of man, which 

 no historian or sociologist in the future can safely 

 neglect. 



The Civil Servant and his Profession. Pp. 

 viii-(-i24. (London: Sir Isaac Pitman and 

 Sons, Ltd., n.d.) Price 3^. 6d. net. 

 The Society of Civil Servants has organised a 

 series of lectures on various aspects of the pro- 

 fession, and the book under notice contains five 

 of the lectures which were given in March last, 

 with an introductory address by Sir Cecil Harcourt 

 Smith. The first lecture, by the late Sir Robert 

 Morant, deals with the administrative side of the 

 Civil Servant's profession ; the second, by Lord 

 Haldane, with the legal aspects ; the third, by 

 Sir Sidney Harmer, is on the subject of national 

 museums and scientific research ; the fourth, by Mr. 

 E. F. Wise, treats of the relationship between the 

 Civil Service and industry ; and the last, by Mr. J. 

 Lee, deals with the psychology of the Civil Servant. 

 This collection of lectures will give the public 

 some idea of the diversity, importance, and 

 highly technical nature of the work which is per- 

 formed by the staff of men and women who con- 

 stitute the Civil Scr\i(-r. 



