December 24, 1914] 



NATURE 



447 



necessarily brief, but many facts are conveyed in 

 short paragraphs — thanks to a plain and effec- 

 tive style — while references are g^iven to special 

 memoirs. As migfht ha^•e been expected, the 

 literature quoted is entirely American, though 

 not a few of the insects described are common 

 European pests on which some useful observa- 

 tions have been made on this side of the Atlantic. 

 European workers, however, will be glad to have 

 the American experience with regard to these 

 species, and to others which are near allies of 

 common " old-world " kinds. The few pages of 

 "general considerations" on the structure of 

 insects are the weak part of the book ; it is dis- 

 appointing to see the cuticle called a " shell " on 

 p. 2 and a " skin " on p. 5. The concluding 

 chapter deals with the practical use of insecticides. 

 Illustrations comprise nearly four hundred figures, 

 some of which are reproductions of excellent 

 drawings, while the rest are photographs of 

 somewhat unequal value. Indeed, examples of 

 extremes of merit and demerit in natural history 

 photography might be drawn from this volume. 



(2) Mr. E. P. Stebbing, who not long ago left 

 the Indian Forest Service to become head of 

 the Forestry Department of Edinburgh Univer- 

 sity, has provided in this handsome volume a 

 worthy monument of his work in the East. His 

 "Manual of Elementary Forest Zoology for 

 India," published in 1908, was noteworthy for 

 many original observations on the life-history of 

 Indian forest beetles. The present work — a large 

 royal octavo of more than 600 pages, with 63 

 plates and 400 text-figures — is entirely de\ oted 

 to those Coleoptera which are known to be of 

 economic importance in Indian forests. The 

 arrangement is systematic, the large series of 

 beetles described being set forth by their families ; 

 it is to be regretted that the grouping of the 

 families is that given by Dr. D. Sharp in the 

 "Cambridge Natural History," a grouping the 

 convenience of which does not atone for its 

 artificiality. In the details of his systematic 

 work Mr. Stebbing has wisely sought help from 

 a number of specialists, for no one man can 

 nowadays deal effectively with all the members 

 of a great insect order from an extensive tropical 

 region. Messrs. C. J. Gahan and G. Arrow of 

 the British Museum, Mr. (i. Lewis, Col. F. \\". 

 Sampson, Mr. G. A. K. Marshall of our Im- 

 perial Bureau, M. P. Lesne of the Paris Museum, 

 and M. G. .Severin of the Brussels Museum are 

 among those who have identified, and where 

 necessary described, specimens of their favourite 

 families. The classificatory work mav therefore 

 be relied on, and with Mr. Stebbing's accounts 

 of life-histories, habits, effects of the insects on 

 NO. 2356, VOL. 94] 



trees, and relation of the insect fauna to the 

 forests in a wide sense, a m.ass of valuable in- 

 formation is here gathered for the Indian student 

 ! of the present and the future. As to the illus- 

 trations, most of the photographic reproductions 

 are beautiful, and, with the exception of a few 

 rough sketches, the drawings may be highly 

 praised. 



(3) A volume consisting of a number of leaflets, 

 briefly describing common crop pests of Behar, 

 Orissa, and Western Bengal is introduced by a 

 preface by Mr. E. J. Woodhouse ; he tells us 

 that the work has been compiled by Mr. S. K. 

 Busu, who is responsible for the few fungi that 

 are included, and Mr. H. L. Dutt, who deals 

 with the insects. Among the latter the presence 

 of Pieris brassicae. Aphis hrassicae, and other 

 well-known British crop-pests is interesting. 

 The leaflets are of quarto size, each being illus- 

 trated by an admirably printed coloured plate. 

 These plates, which, we are told, "have not been 

 previously published, but are intended for use in 

 memoirs in course of preparation by the Imperial 

 Entomologist," will doubtless make it easy for 

 the Indian farmer to identify his insect enemies. 

 They will also prove of no little service to the 

 working entomologist. G. H. C. 



TEXT-BOOKS OF CHEMISTRY. 



(i) Chiniic Physique Elemcntaire. By E. Aries. 

 Tome Premier. Les Principes Generaux de la 

 Statique Chimique. Pp. xxx + 212. (Paris: 

 A. Hermann et Fils, 1914.) Price 4 francs. 



(2) A Manual of Practical Physical Chemistry. 

 Bv Dr. F. W. Gray. Pp. xvi-r2ii. (London: 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd., ,1914-) Price 4>. <SJ. 



(3) Notes on Elementary Inorganic Chemistry. 

 By F. H. Jeffery. Pp. iv+55. (Cambridge 

 University Press.) Price 2s. 6d. net. 



(4) The Elements of Chemistry. By H. L. 

 Bassett, with an introduction by Prof. W. J. 

 Pope. Pp. xii + 368. (London: Crosby Lock- 

 wood and Son.) Price 4.V. 6d. 



(5) Chemical Calculations. Pp. vi+136. CJicmi- 

 cal Calculations (Advanced Course). Pp. vi + 

 48. By H. \\'. Bausor. (London : L'niversity 

 Tutorial Press, Ltd., 1914.) Price 25. and is. 

 respectively. 



(6) The Fixation of Atmospheric Xitrogen. Bv 

 Dr. J. Knox. Pp. vii— 112. (London: Gurney 

 and Jackson, 1914.) Price 25. net. 



(i) ^ I ^HE French text-book of physical 

 1 chemistry would scarcely be re- 

 garded in this country as justifying the author's 

 description of it as "elementary." It is essen- 

 tially an exposition of the work of Willard 



