December 17, 1914] 



NATURE 



417 



How well qualified is the author (aided by con- 

 tributions from other hogf-hunters) for his task 

 may be inferred from the statement that he has 

 been present, to the best of his belief, at the 

 death of between seven hundred and eight hundred 

 boars. To stay-at-home people such numbers 

 may savour somewhat of exaggeration, but any 

 such misgivings may be dispelled by reference 

 to the final chapter of the book, where he will 

 learn that the average annual bag of the Muttra 

 tent-club alone is 210 head. 



Major Wardrop gives his readers a glimpse of 

 » early pig-sticking by recalling the almost for- 

 gotten fact that for the first quarter of last cen- 

 tury the universal weapon was the long throwing 

 spear, and that the modern short "jobbing" spear 

 did not come into use until 1830. In the penulti- 

 mate chapter he discusses the paraphernalia and 

 technique of the sport. For the contents of the 

 intermediate chapters the reader must be referred 

 to the book itself, which he will probably not 

 leave until he has read it from cover to cover. 



(2) An equally delightful volume is the second 

 on our list, although it has to be confessed that 

 its contents include mcwc "philandering" than 

 " fishing " ; but since it teems with anecdotes 

 which can scarcely fail to raise a hearty laugh, its 

 appearance in these troublous times should be 

 very welcome. Like the first, this volume will 

 prove of interest to Anglo-Indians, as it com- 

 tains a chapter of mahsir-fishing, coupled with 

 the author's experiences among what he is 

 pleased to denominate Indian trout. As regards 

 the remainder of the book, perhaps the most 

 valuable chapter to the practical angler is that 

 dealing with the use of shrimps as a bait, as 

 practised in Ireland, a considerable portion of 

 which originally appeared in the Field. Like 

 most anglers who have tried their hands on fish 

 of many kinds, Mr. Mainwaring unhesitatingly 

 awards the palm, from the point of \\c\v of sport, 

 to the lordly salmon, although he confesses to be 

 no adherent to the "dry fly" mode of catchin-^ 

 his fish. The general scope of the volume is 

 well indicated by its title, and the author does not 

 even touch upon the natural history side of the 

 subject. R. L. 



MA THEM A TIC A L TEXT-BOOKS. 

 (i) Elements of Algebra. By G. St. L. Carson 



and Prof. D, E. Smith. Part i., pp. v-i-346. 



(London and Boston: Ginn and Co., 1914.) 



Price 35. 

 (2) John Napier and the hivention of Logarithms, 



1614. A lecture by Prof. E. W. Hobson. Pp. 



48. (Cambridge University Press, 19 14.) Price 



15. 6d. net. 



NO. 2355, VOL. 94] 



(3) An Elementary Treatise on the Calculus for 

 Engineering Students. With numerous ex- 

 amples and problems worked out. By J. 

 Graham. Fourth Edition. Pp. xi + 355. (Lon- 

 don: E. and F. X. Spon, Ltd., 1914.) Price 

 Ss. net. 



(4) Constructive Text-hook of Practical ^fathc- 

 matics. By H. W. Marsh. Vol. iv. : Technical 



Trigonometry. Pp. x + ; 



(Xew York : J. 



Wiley and Sons. Inc. ; London : Chapman and 

 Hall, Ltd., 1914.) Price 65. 6d. net. 

 (5) Arithmetische Selbststdndigkeit der euro- 

 pdischen Kultur. Ein Beitrag zur Kultur- 

 geschichte von Prof. N. Bubnow. Aus dem 

 Russischen iibersetzt von Prof. J. Lezius. Pp. 

 viii + 285. (Berlin: R. Friedlander und Sohn 

 1914.) Price 105. 

 (i) 'nr^HE teaching of algebra is still in the 

 X experimental stage, and is likely so to 

 remain for many years to come. There are 

 extremists in each camp. There are those who 

 feel that no real progress can be made until con- 

 siderable manipulative skill has been acquired, 

 and those who hold that the real educational 

 value consists in the absorption of certain general 

 I ideas which are largely independent of algebraic 

 drill. The authors of this volume claim to steer 

 a middle course. How far they have succeeded 

 in solving the puzzling problem with which 

 educationists are faced to-day can only be decided 

 by trial. Certainly there are many good features 

 in their book, which is based on the formula 

 rather than the problem. But until an actual trial 

 is made of their methods, it is impossible to pro- 

 nounce with any certainty on the merits of their 

 scheme, for the ramifications, affecting as they 

 do the whole scheme of education of the non- 

 specialist, are particularly intricate. We shall 

 look forward with interest to the second volume. 



(2) In view of the tercentenar\- celebration of 

 the publication of John Napier's "Mirifici 

 Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio," under the 

 auspices of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the 

 issue of this small volume comes at an opportune 

 moment. Most schoolboys have heard of 

 logarithms and realise their practical utility ; but 

 few of them are acquainted with their history, 

 and fewer still with the form in which they 

 originated. Dr. Hobson gives In a simple and 

 very readable manner a comprehensive account 

 of their discovery and evolution ; an engraving 

 of Napier and a reproduction in facsimile of a 

 page of the Descriptio add to the attraction of a 

 book that should find its way into every school 

 library. 



(3) The opening chapters of this text-book con- 

 tain in outline such parts of algebra, trigono- 



