March 23, 1922] 



NATURE 



371 



sophy of the West. The writer is a firm and devout 



l)eliever in Mahomet. He has studied Bradley and 



Bergson, he has taken degrees at Cambridge and at 



[unich, and he has returned to Persia, more ardent 



in ever in the vision of a world-triumphant religion, 



Islamic kingdom of God on earth.] 



Yoceedings of the Aristotelian Society. New Series — 

 vol. xxi. Containing the papers read before the 

 Society during the Forty-second Session, 1920-1921. 

 Pp. iv. + 246. (London : Williams and Norgate, 

 1921.) 255. net. 



[.THOUGH the papers in this volume are philosophical 

 tne technical meaning, several of them are of un- 

 usual scientific interest, and all of them show how the 

 results of pure scientific research are influencing philo- 

 sophical speculation. 



Prof. Montague's paper on " Variation, Heredity and 

 Consciousness " is described as a mechanist answer 

 to the vitalist challenge. It develops an ingenious 

 theory accoiding to which it is possible to trace the 

 transformation of the potential energy acquired by 

 the brain, through the kinetic energies of sensory nerve 



irrents, into all the phenomena of mind and conscious- 

 ness. In the whole process no factor is admitted which 

 is not definable in purely physical terms. The Dean 

 of St. Paul's in his Presidential address " Is the time 

 series reversible ? " finds it impossible to keep out 

 Einstein and the principle of relativity. Miss Oakeley 

 gives an excellent critical account of the recent work of 

 Prof. Driesch in " Pnilosophy of Life and KnowLdge." 

 Prof. Boodin in a paper on " Cosmic Evolution " deals 

 with the new theories of the origin and evolution of life 

 of the A nerican biologists, Osborn, Willard Gibbs and 

 Henderson. Dr. Dorothy Wrinch's paper " On the 

 Structures of Scientific Inquiry " is abundantly 

 illustrated with examples from modern research in 

 mathematics and physics. 



Tables of Refractive Indices. Vol. xi. Oils, Fats and 

 Waxes. Compiled by R. Kanthack. Edited by Dr. 

 J. N. Goldsmith. Pp. 295. (London : Adam 

 Hilger, Ltd., 1921.) 255. net. 



It is satisfactory to find a British firm of scientific 

 instrument-makers not content with manufacturing 

 instruments but, in addition, providing facilities for the 

 compilation and publication of data which will facilitate 

 the use, and incidentally lead to the extended employ- 

 ment of their manufactures. Mr. Kanthack has done 

 his work well, and no one who uses his tables is likely to 

 complain that oils of any importance have been omitted 

 or that the figures quoted are badly selected from those 

 available. 



The names of the oils are arranged alphabetically, 

 both native names and scientific names of the sources 

 being given. Wherever possible the constants are 

 quoted beside the native names and cross-references 

 placed against the scientific names. This has two dis- 

 advantages : native names are variable, being usually 

 merely attempts at phonetic renderings of native 

 pronunciations and they also vary with the country of 

 origin. Further, the method of arrangement fails to 

 bring together oils which are similar in character, a 



NO. 2734, VOL. 109] 



matter of some importance for convenience of reference. 

 It would be difficult if not impossible to devise an 

 arrangement to obviate these disadvantages entirely, 

 but it would probably improve matters somewhat if 

 the scientific names of the sources of the oils were made 

 the backbone of the arrangement and the native names 

 given in a separate glossary. 



The value of the tables to the analyst is enhanced by 

 the inclusion, in separate appendices, of refraction 

 constants for glycerol, glycerides and fatty acids, and 

 " hardened " and polymerised oils, with approximate 

 temperature corrections and factors for the inter-con- 

 version of refractive indices and butter refractometer 

 readings. There is also an extensive bibliography. 



T. A. H. 



The Distribution of Vegetation in the United States as 

 related to Climatic Conditions. By B. E. Livingston 

 and E. Shreve. (Publication No. 284.) Pp. xvi + 

 590 + plates. (Washington: Carnegie Institution). 

 9 dollars. 



The development of ecology has been much stimulated 

 in recent years by the detailed and exact work of 

 American botanists. The book under notice forms in 

 many respects a companion volume to that of Clements 

 on " Plant Succession." "^Essentially it deals with the 

 delimitation of vegetational areas in the United States 

 and the relation of these to environmental conditions. 

 Prof. Livingston is well-known for his work in plant 

 physiology, as well as in ecological plant-geography, 

 and Dr. Shreve is also a physiological ecologist. So 

 this aspect naturally dominates in their joint work. 



The introduction and the first portion of Part II., 

 dealing with environmental conditions, will be read with 

 interest by all ecologists and physiologists since they 

 contain much useful general information and new 

 standpoints for the survey of old questions. That 

 portion of the book which deals directly with American 

 vegetation shows clear indications of an enormous 

 amount of detailed work. The abstraction and pre- 

 paration of figures and tables illustrating the very 

 varied climatic conditions of the United States and 

 their correlation with vegetational areas must have 

 necessitated much concentrated labour, and co-nationals 

 of the authors will owe a debt of gratitude to them for 

 the results. Numerous outline maps are reproduced to 

 show graphically the distribution of climatic conditions, 

 vegetational types, and even occasionally of single 

 species. One coloured map showing the vegetational 

 areas of the United States, and another the life-zones, 

 accompany the volume, which is also provided with a 

 table of contents but no index. W. B. T. 



Modern Motor Car Practice. Edited by W. H. Berry. 

 (Oxford Technical Publications.) Pp. xii + 582. 

 (London : Henry Frowde and Hodder and Stoughton, 

 1921.) 315. 6d. net. 



A LARGE amount of information regarding the details 

 of motor cats and their working in practice will be 

 found in this volume. As a rule, each principal detail, 

 such as clutch, steering gear, etc., forms the subject 

 of a separate chapter. Different designs are discussed 

 and their defects and advantages indicated. The book 



