March 14, 19 18] 



NATURE 



diagnostic work upon the thorax and the alimen- 

 tary system. In each of these sections there are 

 considerable additions to the subject-matter of the 

 lirst edition — present-day methods of deahng with 

 war injuries receiving- a good deal of attention by 

 the author. 



The illustrations, many of which are new, are 

 very well reproduced, and reflect great credit upon 

 the producers. We regret the omission of the 

 bibliography; it is presumably intended to insert 

 it in part ii., "Radio-therapeutics," but the size of 

 the work warrants the division of the bibliography 

 into two parts. 



We notice that this book has been adopted by 

 the U.S. Army and Navy Medical Departments. 

 \\'hatever may be said as to the official recogni- 

 tion in this country of the significance of X-ray 

 work, either on the diagnostic or the therapeutic 

 side, and of the status of the medical radiologist, 

 the appearance of this book leaves no doubt in 

 •ne's mind that the study and practice of radio- 

 raphy are on a sound basis, an excellent founda- 

 ;ion, in fact, for the structure of a British School 

 of Radiology. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 

 I he Gate of Remembrance: The Story of the 

 Psychological Experiment which resulted in the 

 Discovery of the Edgar Chapel at Glastonbury. 

 By F. B.' Bond. Pp. x+176. (Oxford: B. H. 

 Blackwell, 1918.) Price 65. net. 



This little book furnishes an interesting record of 

 : series of psychological investigations directed to 

 !ucidate certain hitherto unsolved questions in 

 connection with the Glastonbury excavations. In 

 1907 Mr. F. B. Bond, in anticipation of his ap- 

 pointment to supervise the work, enlisted the aid 

 a friend, called "J. A.," both being members of 

 Psychical Research Society, and associated 

 Kth the secretary in the inquiry. The object was 

 discover the site of the Edgar Chapel, which 

 ;ms to have existed in the time of Queen Eliza- 

 ith, but which has now passed out of memory. 

 >th the friends made a preliminary study of the 

 )nastic chronicles and other literature of the 

 ibject. They held numerous meetings, "J. A." 

 rasping a pencil over a sheet of paper, and Mr. 

 >nd resting his hand on that of his friend. By 

 is method a number of scripts were recorded, 

 )me containing rudely drawn plans, purporting to 

 communications from one "Johannes Mon- 

 lus," "Whyttinge, nuper Abbas," and others, 

 ^ho gave information by which, we are told, the 

 isition of the lost Edgar Chaoel was determined. 

 It is obvious that Mr. Bond and "J. A." have 

 . ompiled the record in perfect good faith, and they 

 lave pointed out errors of fact and style in the 

 communications. They do not regard the com- 

 munications as " the action of discarnate intelli- 

 Lfcnces from the outside uoon the phvsicpl nr r.f>.-.-. 

 us organisation of the sitters." "J. A." is " dis- 

 used to concur with Mr. Bond in the view that 



the subconscious part of the mind may in its 

 operation traverse the limitations of individual 

 knowledge, either acting telepathically through 

 contact with some larger field of memory, or as 

 itself part of a larger unit of a more pervasive 

 kind as regards time and space, conditions which 

 would imply that the individual may have powers 

 of self-expression far greater than those which are 

 normally available through the brain-mechanism 

 controlled by the will and logical faculties." This 

 may be so, but others may prefer to attribute the 

 manifestations to unconscious cerebration working 

 on the authors' historical studies. Apart from its 

 psychological interest, the excellent series of plans 

 and sketches adds to the archaeological value of the 

 book. 



Th." British Journal Photographic Almanac and 

 Photographer's Daily Companion, 1918. Edited 

 by George E. Brown. Fifty-seventh issue. Pp. 

 660. (London: Henry Greenwood and Co., 

 Ltd.) Price 15. 6d. net. 

 The general character of this annual is so well 

 preserved that it needs an actual comparison with 

 the pre-war issues to discover that it is reduced 

 to about half its normal size. Although the " Epi- 

 tome of Progress " for last year is somewhat cur- 

 tailed, this is compensated for in great measure 

 by condensing the abstracts and giving references. 

 There has been so much talk with regard to ren- 

 dering this country independent of foreign fac- 

 tories, so far as some of the more costly chemical 

 preparations are concerned, that one naturally 

 seeks for evidence of progress in this direction. 

 It is satisfactory to note that the Ilford Company 

 is now able to supply certain pure dyes prepared 

 under the direction of Prof. W. J. Pope, of Cam- 

 bridge University. It mentions a "considerable 

 number " useful for the making of colour filters of 

 all kinds, stains for microscopy, etc., and it is 

 claimed that they are superior to the pre-war 

 German products. Among the latest introductions 

 are pinacyanol and pinaverdol, now called sensitol 

 red and sensitol green respectively ; sensitol violet, 

 which is an entirely new panchromatic sensitiser; 

 and filter yellow A. These, with metol and 

 amidol (made by the firm of Johnson and Sons), 

 and various metol substitutes, the compositions of 

 which are not stated, show that a good deal has 

 already been done. Perhaps the second most not- 

 able item is the rise in the price of photographic 

 plates. Before the war the popular one shilling a 

 dozen for quarter-plates was increased by 25 per 

 cent., and now, bv successive steps, the shilling 

 has risen to two shillings and ninepence. 



Memento Oppcrmann a I'Usage des Inginieurs, 

 Architectes, Agents Voyers, Conducteurs de 

 Travaux, Mecaniciens, Industriels, Entre- 

 preneurs. Pp. 268. (Paris et Li^ge : Ch. 

 Bt^ranger.) Price 6 fr. 

 This is a pocket-book for engineers, surveyors, 

 and architects, and contains the information 

 usually given in similar works published in this 



XO. 



2524, VOL. lOlJ 



