October i, 1914] 



NATURE 



113 



most of the species are only summarised briefly, 

 greater space being- allotted to those of com- 

 mercial importance. Considerable attention is, 

 of course, given to china-clay, and this chapter 

 paves the way for an important one on pottery. 

 Incidentally in these chapters many questions of 



ientific importance are discussed ; for instance, 

 -olid solutions, mixed crystals, hydrated salts, 

 and the classification of the silicates ; Prof. Le 

 Chatelier himself adopts in this book a chemical 

 classification. The admirable work done at the 

 Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, on the 

 artificial production of certain groups of silicates 

 and the determination of their properties, receives 

 adequate treatment. In the concluding chapter 

 the author reviews very briefly the principal rocks 

 and their classification, and the fluxes. 



The book is well printed, but, like French books 

 in general, is issued unbound and with uncut 

 leaves. It unfortunatelv lacks an index. 



NEW BOOKS ON CHEMISTRY. 

 {1) Modern Steel Analysis. By J. A. Pickard. 

 Pp. viii+128. (London: J. and A. Churchill, 

 1914.) Price 35. 6d. net. 

 i) The Synthetic Use of Metals in Organic 

 Chemistry. By A. J. Hale. Pp. xi+169. 

 ^(London : J. and A. Churchill, 1914.) Price 

 ^45. 6d. net. 



A Third-Year Course of Organic Chemistry. 

 *By Dr. T. P. Hilditch. Pp. xii + 411. 

 (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., n.d.) 

 Price 65. 



The Viscosity of Liquids. By Dr. A. E. 

 jDunstan and F. B. Thole. Pp. vii + 91. 

 .(London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1914.) 

 rPrice 35. net. 



Internietallic Compounds. By Dr. C. H. 

 isch. Pp. vi+ii6. (London: Longmans, 

 [Green and Co., 1914.) Price 35. net. 



De la Pirotechnia (1540). By V. Biringuccio. 

 Cura e con Introduzione di A. Mieli. Vol. i. 

 [Pp. Ixxxv + 198. (Bari : Society Tipografica 

 lEditrice Barese, 1914.) Price 3 lire. 



THE little volume by J. A. Pickard is one 

 which may be safely recommended to 

 )se who are engaged in iron and steel analysis. 

 le introductory chapter might indeed be read 

 ith advantage by any analytical chemist what- 

 ever his speciality. The sodium bismuthate 

 method for the estimation of manganese is fully 

 described, and the volumetric methods for the 

 estimation of phosphorus, nickel, and chromium, 

 m short, the various processes, so far as the writer 

 can judge, are well up-to-date. It may be 

 bserved that the author does not mention the 

 NO. 2344, VOL. 94] 



use of porcelain funnels or Gooch crucibles, but 

 recommends pulp filters laid over perforated discs 

 in ordinary funnels. It is impossible to say with- 

 out experience what advantage the pulp filter has 

 over well-fitting paper discs in a small Buchner 

 funnel, but from the description the former seems 

 the more troublesome arrangement. No reference 

 is made to the moist combustion method described 

 many years ago by Turner in which the carbon 

 was filtered through asbestos and ignited sand 

 contained in a hard glass tube and burnt in situ ; 

 for Turner's method seems more convenient and 

 accurate than the process described here, involving 

 the transference of the carbon and filter to the 

 combustion tube. 



(2) The rapidly increasing use of metals in 

 organic synthesis in recent years has expanded the 

 literature to such dimensions that something in 

 the form of a summary of the methods has become 

 almost imperative, and it is a significant fact that 

 books on the synthetic use of metals have appeared 

 almost simultaneously in both German and 

 English. 



The small volume by A. J. Hale includes all 

 the more important methods, which, though 

 not described exhaustively, are thoroughly typical 

 and suflSciently elaborated to render the various 

 processes easily understood. References are also 

 given to the original literature, so that the reader 

 may always supplement his knowledge by turning 

 to the original source. The plan of collecting 

 them at the end of the chapters involves a certain 

 inconvenience, for it necessitates constantly turn- 

 ing over pages, and, as the authors' names are 

 omitted, one is occasionally left in ignorance of 

 rather interesting, if not indispensable, informa- 

 tion. The proper place for a reference is surely 

 on the same page as the subject referred to. 



(3) The volume on organic chemistry by Dr. 

 Hilditch is the third and last of the series of 

 text-books on this subject which have been pre- 

 pared for the use of technical institutes. It 

 contains chapters on heterocyclic compounds, the 

 purine group, polypeptides, carbohydrates, ter- 

 penes, and the alkaloids. 



It would perhaps be more correct to call it a 

 book of reference than a third-year text-book; 

 for it is so closely packed with facts and formulae 

 that it would tax the powers of an exceptionally 

 good memory' to assimilate a fraction of the 

 material in one year. It might also be added that 

 the lettering of the formula?, especially of the ring 

 compounds, is a severe strain on the eyesight, 

 and might be printed in larger type with great 

 advantage. The book has, however, been care- 

 fully and thoughtfully compiled, and should prove 

 useful not onlv to students of technical institutes 



