372 



NA TURE 



[March 23, 192: 



is profusely and well illustrated, and forms a valuable 

 compendium for car users. The designei will also find 

 it useful from the same point of view, but as the treat- 

 ment is non-mathematical throughout, its service to 

 him will be somewhat limited. Whilst the volume is 

 for the most part free from errors, there are some 

 statements regarding resiUency on p. 376 which require 

 revision. The book is up-to-date in general, and 

 includes a chapter on the X-ray examination of 

 materials and another on welding repairs. 



My Electrical Workshop. By F. T. Addyman. Pp. 

 viii-H249. (London: The Wireless Press, Ltd., 

 N.D.) Price 7^-. net. 



Despite the many complete mechanical contrivances 

 now obtainable which enable boys to construct models 

 by simply using a screw-driver, there is still a large 

 number who prefer to make things for themselves. 

 Those who have inclinations towards electricity will 

 find the volume under notice useful in helping them 

 to produce apparatus which will work and can be 

 made from simple materials, provided they possess 

 some measure of handiness with tools. There is a 

 large number of illustrations which assist in making 

 the text clear, and here ancj there the real article is 

 described as well as a method of making a model 

 having the same principle. 



A Manual oj Pharmacology. By Prof. W. E. Dixon. 

 Fifth Edition, completely revised. Pp. xii + 468. 

 (London: Edward Arnold and Co., 1921.) 185.net. 



Since the publication in 1905 of the first edition of 

 Prof. Dixon's " Manual of Pharmacology," the volume 

 has maintained its reputation as one of the foremost 

 works on the subject, a reputation which it gained by 

 the very practical arrangement of the subject matter 

 and the readily intelligible manner in which it was 

 presented. The fifth edition retains those character- 

 istic features. Very little change has been made in 

 the classification of the drugs discussed ; they remain 

 as before in pharmacological groups. 



The chief alterations that have been made consist 

 in the insertion of new paragraphs where necessary 

 and in the correction of the text so as to give effect to 

 the results of work that has been carried out by the 

 author and others during the last few years. Several 

 drugs, such as agaricin, allantoin, etc., to which 

 attention has recently been directed, are accordingly 

 considered. Chemotherapy, the conception that the 

 protoplasm of the living cell is provided with receptive 

 side chains to which drugs can attach themselves and 

 so bring the poisonous properties of a toxophore 

 grouping to bear, is, in the author's opinion, based 

 neither on chemistry nor on pharmacology. By the 

 slow oxidation of salvarsan in the blood into a sub- 

 stance containing trivalent arsenic a steady supply of 

 efficient parasiticide is thrown into the blood, the 

 action of the salvarsan being thus only indirectly on 

 the parasite. On the other hand, in the treatment of 

 filariasis, bilharzia and kala-azar by the intravenous 

 injection of soluble antimony salts, these apparently 

 penetrate the embryos or adult parasites and so produce 

 their toxic action. Of the value of twilight sleep in 



NO. 2734, VOL. 109] 



depriving labour of its terrors, Prof. Dixon is by no 

 means convinced ; in his view it has still to be 

 determined. 



The section on antiseptics and disinfectants has 

 been practically rewritten. The action of hypo- 

 chlorites on proteids and the antiseptic action of 

 chloramines and their sodium compounds as well as 

 of flavine are concisely but very clearly described. 

 The employment of sunlight, ultra-violet rays. X-rays, 

 and radium emanations as remedial agents is also 

 briefly discussed. There is no doubt that to the 

 student and to the practitioner of medicine, as well as 

 to all who are interested in pharmacology, Prof. Dixon's 

 " Manual " will remain indispensable. 



Atomic Theories. By F. H. Loring. Pp. ix + 218. 

 (London: MethuenandCo., Ltd., 1921.) 125.6J.net. 

 Recent investigations on the structure of the atom 

 and allied studies have proceeded so rapidly that it is 

 difficult for the average reader to keep pace with the 

 advances. The subject is, however, of absorbing 

 interest, and has such an important bearing on all 

 branches of physics and chemistry, that every student 

 feels the need of making himself acquainted with the 

 main features of the new theories. In the case of 

 chemical students, a non-mathematical treatment is, 

 so far as is possible, desired. Mr. Loring's book, which 

 is attractively printed on good paper, will be found of 

 great interest and value in this connection. Particular 

 mention may be made of the accounts of Rutherford's 

 theory in Chapter VIIL and of Bohr's theory in 

 Chapter X. In some cases, notably Chapter IX., on 

 the Quantum Theory, the treatment is too condensed 

 to be clear. The style in many respects is often at 

 fault ; the author shows a tendency to wander in 

 sentences, which leaves one with a confused idea of 

 what he is trying to say. The statements on pp. 6 and 

 15 that fractional atomic w^eights (0 = i6) are due to 

 isotopes cannot be maintained in the face of examples 

 such as iodine and nitrogen. 



East Carelia and Kola Lapmark. Described by Finnish 

 Scientists and Philologists. By T. Homen. Pp. 

 xiv4- 264. (London : Longmans, Green & Co., 192 1.) 

 2I5'. net. 

 The separatist movement in Eastern Carelia dates 

 from the Soviet regime in Russia. It has now led, 

 on the one hand, to a Soviet attempt to suppress it by 

 force, and on the other to an appeal by the Car. lians 

 to the League of Nations. The present volume, which 

 was originally published in Finnish and later in Swedish, 

 is in a sense a contribution to that movement in so far 

 as it aims, in a series of papers written by experts, to 

 give an account of the country, its products, history, 

 and inhabitants. For this purpose Kola Lapmark, 

 where the Carelians are not in a majority, is included. 

 It was written before the Treaty of Dorpat, 1920, by 

 which a strip of Russian territory ending in Pechenga 

 Gulf was ceded by Russia to Finland, thus disposing^ 

 effectively of Finnish claims to Kola Lapmark. The 

 propagandist aim of the book, however, does not 

 obtrude and is mentioned only rarely. The volume 

 is a valuable contribution to the geography of Arctic 

 Europe, and is well illustrated by several map«. 



R. N. R. B. 



