July ii, 191 8] 



NATURE 



165 



associated with no such anatomical peculiarities 



i".^. Taxodium distichuni— which opposes great 



distance to rapid depletion of water. The result 



our ignorance of the basic principles in play is 



iluit the modern technique of artificial seasoning 



i> partly empirical. 



limber-drying kilns in which the necessary 

 ;_;ulation of the temperature, relative humidity, 

 ci movements of the air can be secured belong 

 two main types. 



One type is the tunnel-like "progressive" 

 kiln, in which the timber enters at the moist end 

 and leaves at the drier exit end, so that it en- 

 counters different conditions of temperature and 

 moisture as it is moved along the tunnel. The 

 f^t^her main type is the "compartment" or 

 hamber " kiln, in which the timber is 

 .itionary, but the conditions are periodically 

 changed. By the use of such kilns, and with the 

 aid of wet-bulb and dry-bulb thermometers and 

 imidity charts, it is possible to discover and 

 ndardise methods of rapid seasoning that suffi- 

 <.it.ntly conserve the desired properties of the 

 timber treated, and also to vary the methods in 

 accordance with the use to which the wood will 

 finally be put. Mr. Tiemann gives a ^general 

 account of various kilns belonging to these main 

 types, but devotes most of his attention to the 

 water-spray kiln with which his own name is 

 associated. 



Mr. Tiemann 's book is a happy combination of 

 the technico-.scientific with the practical. For in- 

 stance, in dealing with the most economic 

 method of supplying the minimum amount of 

 heat, a scientific discussion of the quantity of 

 heat required is accompanied by practical in- 

 formation as to the methods to be adopted of 

 obtaining, distributing, and conserving the heat 

 required. Accordingly, instructions are given as 

 to the architecture of the kiln, the laying out of 

 several kilns in juxtaposition, the use of exhaust 

 and "live" and superheated steam, the distribu- 

 tion and dimensions of the heating pipes, the 

 aerating devices, and the nature, structure, and 

 thickness of doors, walls, and roof. 



In conclusion, this work may be recommended 

 not only as the sole authoritative book of its kind, 

 but also as summarising the author's extensive 

 original scientific and practical investigations on 

 the subject. P. Q. 



TWO CATALOGUES OF SCIENTIFIC 

 PUBLICATIONS. 



I nivcrsity of Chicago. Publications of the 

 Members of the University. 1902-1916. Pp. 

 \ -518. (Chicago: University of Chicago I 

 Press; London: Cambridge Univ. Press, n.d.) 

 {2) The "Athet.aeum" Subject Index to Periodi- \ 

 cals, 1916. Science and Technology, including '\ 

 Hygiene and Sport. Pp. 162. (London : The i 

 Athenaeum, 1918.) Price 105. net. I 



TOURING the last twenty years there has been I 

 ■•--' an extraordinary increase in the annual | 

 luitput of books and papers on scientific .subjects. | 

 NO. 2541. VOL. lOl] 



In the olden tirne many a quiet student would be 

 content to spend his life upon one piece of work, 

 producing at last one opus magnum in the hope 

 that it might remain a permanent addition to 

 human knowledge. 



Now that schools, colleges, and universities 

 have spread a knowledge of science abroad among 

 the people, our men of science are no longer 

 allowed to confine their publigations to a record 

 of their own researches, but are called upon to 

 write text-books, articles in popular magazines, 

 reviews, lectures, and addresses given at institu- 

 tions, congresses, and receptions. 



Knowing that all this scientific literature exists, 

 anyone wishing to learn the present state of our 

 knowledge on any given subject or of the theo- 

 retical views generally held upon it might well 

 despair of ever discovering all. that has recently 

 been written on these subjects, if he could not 

 rely upon the labours of bibliographers and com- 

 pilers of indexes and catalogues to aid him in 

 his search. 



(i) A complete catalogue of all scientific publica- 

 tions throughout the world would be, unfor- 

 tunately, very bulky. Some idea of its size may 

 be gathered from an examination of the Catalogue 

 of " Publications of the Members of the Uni- 

 versity, 1902-1916, published by the University 

 of Chicago, compiled on the twenty-fifth anni- 

 versary of the foundation of the University." This 

 catalogue is very inclusive, giving the titles of 

 all books, articles,' reviews, and theses published 

 by members of the Chicago University during 

 these fourteen years. The catalogue runs to 500 

 pages, and is remarkable as showing how prolific 

 in published work a single university may be. 



It is scarcely possible or even desirable to index 

 the world's scientific literature on this scale, so 

 that in any comprehensive catalogue some means 

 must be found by which papers of minor im- 

 portance may be eliminated. 



No doubt a counsel of perfection would be 

 that competent critics should read everything that 

 is published and decide in regard to each book, 

 pamphlet, or article whether it brought to light 

 any new facts or fresh theories. L'pon this 

 decision the inclusion of the book or paper among 

 those to be indexed would depend. 



This is the method attempted by the Inter- 

 national Catalogue of Scientific Literature. It 

 must be confessed that the result depends very 

 largely upon the judgment of the experts engaged 

 upon the work. 



(2) An alternative method is to draw up a list 

 of journals of acknowledged character and to 

 confine the catalogue to papers published in these 

 journals. When this plan is adopted it is hoped 

 that, authors, finding that certain periodicals are 

 always indexed by bibliographers, will gradually 

 acquire the habit of sending any original paper 

 they wish to publish to one of these periodicals. 

 For the success of this plan it is necessary to 

 publish a list of the periodicals indexed. Unfor- 

 tunately, in the Athenaeum subject index of 

 periodicals the high cost of composition and paper 



