March i6, 1922] 



NATURE 



339 



Particularly is this so in the case of a patent for a 

 chemical invention^ where the scope of the monopoly 

 must be defined in chemical terms and generally 

 without reference to drawings. Clearly, then, it is 

 to the advantage of the patentee to obtain the fullest 

 legal co-operation in drafting the specification for a 

 liemical invention. 

 Mr. Potts makes this his theme, and in the 

 major portion of his book he develops it by lay- 

 ing down the principles upon which to construct 

 a chemical patent that will procure maximum pro- 

 tection consistent with security against possible in- 

 fringement or invalidation. His observations should 

 be distinctly helpful both to the research worker in 

 industrial chemistry and to the patent agent, though 

 they tend perhaps to exaggerate a little the function 

 of the latter. Whether, for instance, the patent 

 expert would be capable of diagnosing chemical 

 problems to the extent indicated in chap. 3 is rather 

 open to doubt. 



But there can be no question of the author's 

 grasp of the fundamentals of patent law ; the dis- 

 crimination with which he has selected his lead- 

 ing cases when discussing the validity of patents 

 demonstrates this. On the business aspect of patents, 

 too, the author's views are well worthy of attention, 

 especially as regards their value, individually and 

 collectively, in commercial warfare. E. J. 



Astronomical Photography for Amateurs. By H. H. 

 Waters. Pp. iv + 93 + v plates. (London : Gall 

 and IngHs, n.d.) ds. net. 



Amateurs possessing small telescopes may, with the 

 means at their disposal, secure good astronomical 

 photographs, and the volume under notice is an 

 elementary handbook intended to explain in a simple 

 manner how good results may be achieved. The 

 book does not go beyond this stage, so that none of 

 the many uses to which astronomical photographs 

 may be put are touched upon. 



It is to be regretted that the amateur's share in 

 photographic methods of observation should be 

 regarded as being confined solely to obtaining 

 pictorial records. But, even accepting this limita- 

 tion, there is much that the amateur may do 

 with telescopes of small aperture. As an instance 

 of what can be accomplished with a small instru- 

 ment in the hands of a skilled observer, it may 

 be mentioned that many of Prof. Barnard's superb 

 photographs of the Milky Way were secured with a 

 small lens of less than 2-in. aperture. To amateurs 

 desirous of attempting something in this direction, 

 but hesitating through lack of experience and for 

 want of a guide, this book can be recommended. It 

 is written by one who has had some success in this 

 field, and is full of practical hints and directions as to 

 the methods of working, the type of camera necessary, 

 and the exposures and apertures most suitable for 

 photographing various objects. This is just the sort 

 of book which a beginner requires. It includes five 

 plates with reproductions of astronomical photographs 

 obtained by the author. These are printed on a paper 

 of poor quality, with the result that they are practically 

 useless as indications to the beginner of the results 

 which he should be able to obtain. H. S. J. 



NO. 2733, VOL. 109] 



Philosophy and the New Physics : An Essay on the 

 Relativity Theory and the Theory of Quanta. By 

 Prof. L. Rougier. Authorised translation from 

 the author's corrected text of "La Materialisa- 

 tion de I'Energie " by Prof. M. Masius. Pp. 

 vi-i-159, (Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's . Son and 

 Co., 1921.) 



La Matiere et I'Energie : Selon la Theorie de la 

 Relativite et la Theorie des Quanta. Par Prof. L. 

 Rougier. Nouvelle edition, revue et augmentee. 

 Pp. xii-i-ii2. (Paris: Gauthier-Villars et Cie, 

 1 92 1.) 9.50 francs. 



The French title is a better indication than the 

 English of the contents of this little book. The 

 only philosophical question discussed at any length 

 is that of the relation between matter and energy, 

 regarded as an extreme example of the fundamental 

 problem of a substance and its properties. By far 

 the greater part of the space is devoted to a simple 

 exposition of the theory of relativity and the quantum 

 theory, which is as well suited for those whose interests 

 are primarily scientific as for philosophers. The 

 exposition is quite adequate, but it is not superior to 

 all others of the same scope. The author has not 

 solved the insoluble problem of giving a true account 

 of mathematical theories without assuming familiarity 

 with the mathematical ideas from which they derive 

 their value and meaning ; but he has succeeded in 

 avoiding the distortion of meaning that is frequently 

 a result of such attempts. We can recommend the 

 book to any one with philosophical inclinations who 

 wants to make one more attempt to " understand 

 Einstein," but we are not sure that it was worth 

 translation. However, the translator has done his 

 work, except in the title, with unusual competence. 



Personal Beauty and Racial Betterment. By Prof. 

 Knight Dunlap. Pp. 95. (London : Henry Kimp- 

 ton, 1920.) 6s. net. 



Prof. Dunlap's essay on racial betterment consists 

 of two parts. In the first he analyses the elements 

 which go to make up the ideal of personal beauty 

 as a basis of sexual selection ; in the second he deals 

 with its conservation as a means to the improvement 

 of the race. Personal beauty, he maintains, on the 

 negative side is the absence of deformity and of devia- 

 tion from the accepted type towards that of an inferior 

 race, while on the positive side it is the sign and 

 expression of the potentiality of the individual, not 

 in his own interests, but in the interests of the species. 

 Prof. Dunlap meets possible objections that his view 

 of the factors making for racial betterment is entirely 

 physical by maintaining that that is the primary ideal 

 essential for " the attainment of ultimate ideals." 

 This is somewhat vague, but apparently he means that 

 mental and moral qualities may be neglected in sexual 

 selection without detriment — a somewhat large assump- 

 tion. He discusses the question of the unfit and the 

 desirability in their case of sterilisation, as well as the 

 various causes operative in checking the fertility of 

 those who are best fitted to perpetuate the race. 

 Though he maintains that some fundamental reform is 

 necessary and cannot long be delayed, he himself 

 has no practical programme to propose. 



