476 



NATURE 



[December 31, 1914 



only show concern as to the reception of his 

 books, and a general interest, as of a man of the 

 world who was also a prelate, in the doings of 

 great personages. His famous excursions into 

 science and metaphysics seem to have been such 

 iours de force as have always been executed by 

 brilliant public men. 



In a sense Berkeley was an eighteenth-century 

 Rergson. His naive development of the thesis 

 that judgment is involved in every act of vision 

 was consonant with the then state of psychology. 

 In his metaphysics he turned out matter, in order 

 to introduce the living God. The being of the 

 sense-world consists in its being perceived. The 

 remark of Clarke and Whiston, themselves pro- 

 fessional metaphysicians, deserves immortalisa- 

 tion ; they expressed, when invited to criticise 

 Berkeley, regret for "the waste of his extra- 

 ordinary genius on metaphysics." 



A. E. Crawley. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 



Modern Tunneling: imth Special Reference to 

 Mine and Water-supply Tunnels. By D. W. 

 Brunton and J. A. Davis. Pp. vi + 450. (New 

 York : John Wiley and Sons ; London : Chap- 

 man and Hall, Ltd., 1914.) Price 155. net. 

 The matter in this book is confined chiefly 

 to tunnels and adits for mining purposes, 

 and includes also those used to carry water for 

 power, irrigation, and domestic use. Such 

 tunnels are driven generally through fairly hard 

 rock. Some cross-sections of typical tunnels are 

 given, and extensive bibliographies are supplied 

 which will be of assistance to the engineer 

 responsible for the design of a tunnel. The bulk 

 of the book, however, is taken up with descrip- 

 tions of- methods of executing tunnels. The 

 authors are evidently experts in such work, and 

 give capital discussions on such subjects as the 

 choice of power for tunnel work, air compressors, 

 ventilation, rock-drills, haulage, blasting, and 

 timbering. 



The section dealing with precautions which 

 should be taken by the manager in order to 

 ensure the safety of the workmen is of particular 

 interest. In 191 1 an average of nearly four men per 

 1000 employed in and about the metal mines of 

 the United States were killed ; 3*8 per 1000 in 

 coal-mining were killed in the same period. 

 These accident's are not entirely preventable, but 

 much of the. present mortality and injury is the 

 result of ignorance or gross carelessness, and can 

 be avoided. When, for instance, a man sees fit 

 to thaw frozen dynamite in a frying-pan, or by 

 a candle flame, there is nothing accidental about 

 the explosion which ensues. Many managers also 

 are either ienorant of ordinary precautions or 

 most negligent in seeing that they are properly 

 and consistentlv earned out. The fall of a slab 

 of rock weighing anything less than one ton 

 should be charged at once to carelessness. 

 NO. 2357, VOL. 94I 



The authors give a long list of don'ts, and 

 include notes of warning regarding intoxication^ 

 which, as a contributory cause of accidents, is too 

 little appreciated. Even a slight degree of in- 

 toxication is dangerous underground, where it is 

 very apt to be greatly aggravated by lack of fresh 

 air and by heat. Most of the processes described 

 relate to American practice, but British engineers 

 will find much to interest them in this volume. 



Jute and Linen Weaving. By T. Woodhouse and 

 T. Milne. Second edition. Pp. xxvii -1- 590. (Lon- 

 don : Macmillan and Co., Ltd.; New York: 

 The Macmillan Company, 1914.) Price 125. 

 net. 



I This book must be ranked among the classics in 

 technical literature. There is a thoroughness and 

 completeness about it that appeals equally to the 

 elementary student of weavmg, to the experi- 

 enced textile engineer, and to all those occupying 

 responsible positions in the weaving departments 

 of the textile industry. 



Whilst the book is written around the title and 

 deals with the subject of jute and linen weaving, a 

 very considerable portion is equally valuable to 

 the cotton and other sections of the trade ; in fact, 

 it may be looked upon as a very comprehensive 

 exposition of the subject of weaving in general, 

 for most of the problems and mechanism con- 

 nected with weaving are fully treated. 



For a book of this character to require a second 

 edition is clear evidence of the very high appre- 

 ciation in which it is held. The authors have 

 taken advantage of this issue to add considerably 

 to its value by the inclusion of some 108 new 

 illustrations with their corresponding explanations, 

 and much new matter has been incorporated. The 

 582 pages are divided up into twenty-two chapters 

 ranging from an explanation of counts, through a 

 very complete description of preparing machinery 

 of almost all types, arrangements and details of 

 looms, and their special purposes with minute 

 particulars of their functions and products. 



The newest chapters include automatic weft 

 supply mechanisms, the chain linking machine, 

 terry or turkish towel motions, warp stop 

 motions, the latest box motions and jacquards, 

 and an interesting chapter on electric driving of 

 individual looms. 



To all who are interested in jute and linen 

 weaving and even to those who are chiefly con- 

 cerned in other sections of manufacture, this book 

 can be recommended as an unusually valuable 

 text-book, and the authors are to be complimented 

 on attaining such a high level in their treatment 

 of the subject. 



The Indian Museum, 1814-1914. Pp. xi + 136-f 

 appendixes. (Calcutta : Trustees of the Indian 

 Museum, 1914.) 

 Only Anglo-Indians who, like the present writer, 

 can recall the days when — in the early middle 

 'seventies — the natural history and antiquarian 

 collections of the Asiatic Society of Bengal were 

 crammed into an ordinary-sized dwelling-house in 

 Park Street, while those of the Geological Survey, 

 together with its oflSces, were housed in a business 



