J ANUAkY 'I iQ, rgoti 3 



IVATCmE 



249 



r^e British Journal P/iof&grdfihii: Afi^tanac, 1901. 

 Edited by Thomas .Bedding. Pp. 1552. (London: 

 Henry Greenwood and Co., 1900). 



The fourth annual issue of this photographic almanac 

 seems to be as popular as ever, judging by the great 

 amount of matter contained in ihe present volume 

 There are no less than 1552 pages, about 500 of which 

 form the text. The arrangement of the book is the same 

 as that adopted last year. There are over eighty articles 

 on practical subjects, written by photographers, and these 

 contain many useful hints which should be of service to 

 those who utilise the experience of others. The " epi- 

 tome of progress of the year," compiled by the editor, is 

 very mteresting reading, references to the most important 

 advances being liberally made. " Recent novelties in 

 apparatus " and " practical notes and suggestions of the 

 year" also form no inconsiderable portion of the volume. 

 The great collection of formulae, tables, measures, photo- 

 graphic societies of the United Kingdom, &c., makes 

 the volume a necessary accessory to any photographic 

 studio. 



Among the mass of material will be found some excel- 

 lent illustrations, the frontispiece being a bromide print 

 by Messrs. Morgan and Kidd. Not the least useful 

 portion of this volume is the great collection of advertise- 

 ments of most of the photographic manufacturers and 

 ■dealers. The volume is quite up to, if it does not 

 •exceed, the standard of last year, and should be in the 

 possession of all photographers. The price of one 

 shilling brings it within the reach of all. 



The Lead Storage Battery. By Desmond G. Fitz-Gerald. 

 Pp. xi -I- 383. (London : Biggs and Co., no date.) 



In spite of the great industrial application of the 

 accumulator, the theory of its working is in a very un- 

 satisfactory state ; and, moreover, those who desire to 

 obtain information on the subject are obliged to seek for 

 it in the publications of scientific institutions. Mr. 

 Fitz-Gerald's book is a very useful summary of the leading 

 facts and theories of the subject. Whilst fulfilling in 

 some respects the objects of a text-book, it is much more 

 than a text-book. Mr. Fitz-Gerald is able to speak with 

 authority on both the chemical and electrical aspects of 

 the storage cell, and his criticisms of existing types and 

 suggestions of possible improvements will be found in 

 many cases very valuable indications of what are likely 

 to prove profitable lines of research. At the same time 

 the book should be in the hands of any one who has to 

 deal with accumulators, especially electrical engineers, 

 who too often are quite ignorant of the chemistry of the 

 subject. Besides discussing the various theories of the 

 accumulator, the author gives an interesting account of 

 its development, and descriptions, which are, we are 

 inclined to think, too brief, of the different types of cell 

 in use. 



Mr. Fitz-Gerald apologises in the preface to the book 

 •for its possessing the defects of a compilation from notes 

 ■made from time to time. It would have been better if, 

 instead of making this apology, the author had removed 

 the defects and had made the book a more consecutive 

 work. It is difficult to make out to whom the book is 

 intended to appeal, as in some instances elaborate calcu- 

 lations are entered into on points so elementary as to be 

 quite childish, whilst in others a knowledge of chemistry 

 is assumed which we doubt if the average electro-chemist 

 possesses and feel sure is not possessed by the majority 

 of electricians. In addition, the parts devoted to the 

 history and theory of the subject respectively are inter- 

 mixed without any apparent reason, and lose greatly in 

 ■continuity and clearness in consequence. These defects 

 are the more to be deplored as it is to be feared that 

 they will discourage many from reading the book. 



NO. 1628, VOL. 63] 



The Elements of Inorganic Chemistry. For Use in Schools 



and Colleges. By W. A. Shenstone, F.R.S. Pp. 



xii -V 506. (London : Edward Arnold, 1900.) 

 The object of the author of this elementary text-book is 

 clearly stated in his preface. He says : — ■ 



" I have endeavoured to provide a book which begins 

 with a course of experimental work for quite young 

 students, and develops at the later stages into a text- 

 book suitable for those who are older — that is, into a 

 text-book containing fewer facts than those written solely 

 for senior students, and in which the powers of young 

 workers are more carefully kept in view in the earlier 

 and middle parts than is necessary in the case of books 

 written for students of a different type." 



The book is divided into five parts. Part i. is chiefly 

 taken up with the study of water and air, as exemplifying 

 some of the principal types of chemical action and 

 physical properties ; Part ii. treats of the laws of com- 

 bination and the atomic theory ; Part iii. of the non- 

 metals and their principal compounds ; Part iv. of 

 chemical affinity, heat changes, electrolysis, spectrum 

 analysis and crystallography ; Part v. of the metals and 

 their chief compounds. 



Directions are given for the performance of several 

 hundreds of experiments, most of which can be done by 

 the student himself. These directions, like the diagrams 

 of apparatus which illustrate them, are very simple and 

 clear. 



The book seems extremely well adapted to the wants 

 of the class of students the author has in view. Any 

 youth of ordinary intelligence who works through the 

 volume under the supervision of a competent demon- 

 strator will acquire, not only an adequate knowledge of 

 the facts of chemistry, but also sufficient theory to enable 

 him to range and systematise these facts and to under- 

 stand their general bearing. 



The Thompson- Yates Laboratories Report. Edited by 

 Profs. R. Boyceand C. S. Sherrington. Vol. i., Reprints, 

 1898-99 ; Vol. ii., Reprints and Reports, 1898-99 ; Vol. 

 iii.. Part i, 1900. (Liverpool : University Press.) 

 These three handsome volumes testify to the energy and 

 vitality of the Liverpool school. After a preliminary 

 account of the laboratories founded by the munificence of 

 the Rev. Thompson-Yates, vol. i. is devoted to neurology, 

 and contains papers and reprints by Profs. Sherrington 

 and Boyce, and Drs. Warrington, Laslett and Griinbaum, 

 of which the one by the first-named author, upon the 

 peripheral distribution of some spinal nerves, forms 

 the piece de resistance^ occupying more than half the 

 book. There are also interesting papers upon the 

 changes found in lead paralysis and upon the muscle- 

 spindles in pseudo-hypertrophic paralysis. In the latter, 

 Griinbaum considers that his observations support the 

 theory that this disease is a primary one of the muscles. 

 The first half of vol. ii. contains papers and reprints in 

 bacteriology, hygiene and morbid anatomy, of which 

 Dr. Balfour Stewart contributes three on plague — its 

 diagnosis, and on the active constituents of Haffkine's 

 prophylactic. Dr. Annett an interesting resume of the 

 tubercle-like bacilli in butter, and the same author an 

 experimental inquiry on the use of boric acid and 

 formaline as milk preservatives, in which he shows that 

 kittens fed on milk containing these two substances are 

 injuriously affected. The account of the morbid anatomy 

 and pathology of a case of myelopathic albumosuria, 

 by Drs. Bradshaw and Warrington, is a valuable contri- 

 bution to our knowledge of this very rare disease, which 

 was first described by Bence Jones, and of which only 

 seven other cases have been recorded. Next follow the 

 reports of the various departments and, as a supplement, 

 Profs. Boyce and Herdman's report on oysters and 

 disease, and the report of the Malarial Expedition to 

 West Africa. 



