December 13, 1917] 



NATURE 



28; 



briefly with the poisonous properties of certain 

 explosives, and thus in the smaller volume meets 

 one of the few points of criticism in the review 

 of his large treatise. He says that in the case 

 of trotyl (T.N.T.) it is apparently that absorbed 

 throug"h the skin which is especially injurious ; 

 it passes in a combined form into the blood, and 

 in some cases is eliminated from the system only 

 very slowly. Hence the necessity for scrupulous 

 attention to cleanliness. 



Mr. Marshall has produced a very readable and 

 interesting" synopsis, and his small volume will 

 undoubtedly prove of considerable service tQ those 

 who require only an outline of the subject in con- 

 nection with their work, and of interest to the 

 g^eneral reader who wishes to enlarg-e his store 

 of useful knowledfj'e in a subject of such present- 

 day interest. 



OVR^ BOOKSHELF. 

 The Discovery of America, 1492-/584. Edited 

 by P. F. Alexander. (Cambridge Travel Books.) 

 Pp. xviii + 212. (Cambridge: At the University 

 Press, 1917.) Price 35. net. 

 This volume is one of a series which aims at 

 illustrating the history of geographical discovery 

 by means of selected voyages and travels. The 

 books are intended for use as school readers 

 as aids in the teaching of geography. With this 

 end in view, spelling and punctuation have been 

 modernised, though archaic words have been 

 kept. A list of some dates in the history of 

 geographical discovery and a few notes have been 

 added. The present volume contains the first three 

 voyages of Columbus, Sir Humphrey Gilbert's 

 voyage of 1583, the voyage of Amadas and Barlow 

 to Virginia in 1584, and Jacques Cartier's voyage 

 to the St. Lawrence. There are a number of 

 illustrations reproduced from old prints and wood- 

 cuts, and a few useful sketch maps. So far as 

 the plan of the series goes, the present volume 

 is well executed, but it is a little difficult to see 

 what place such a book can find in the school 

 curriculum. The English and style are scarcely 

 suitable for the teaching of reading, while the 

 geographical knowledge to be derived from the 

 voyages is not sufficient to warrant the use 

 •of the volume as a text-book in geography. The 

 limited time devoted to geography in most schools 

 ■could be more profitably utilised. We trust, 

 however, that some use may be found for the 

 series. 



Foods and their Relative Nourishing Value. By 



Prof. W', H. Thompson. Second edition. 



Pp. 38. (Dublin : At the University Press, 



1917.) Price 4d. net. 



If the British public has not acquired by the end 



■of the war the art of adjusting its diet on rational 



and scientifically correct lines, it will not be for 



iack of sound instruction and good advice. There 



«rc no very definite external signs as yet of any 



widespread reform in this direction in the feeding 



iiabits of the mass of the people, but the popularity 



NO. 251 1, VOL. 100] 



of food literature is evidence at least that large 

 numbers of people are desirous of acquiring infor- 

 mation as to the possibilities of securing economy 

 in food consumption without sacrifice of efficiency. 

 Much of this literature is of the empirical cookery- 

 book type and can scarcely survive the period of 

 food stringency, but it is gratifying to find that 

 a ready sale can be found for the more select and 

 permanently useful literature in which the 

 scientific principles which must underlie food 

 economy are expounded for the benefit of the lay- 

 man. 



There are more pretentious works than, but 

 none which gives as good value for the money as, 

 this booklet by Prof. Thompson, which now 

 appears in a revised, second edition. All the 

 essential information is conveyed in its few pages 

 in concise, lucid form, and is supplemented by a 

 considerable range of diagrammatic and other 

 illustrativa matter. The modern views as to the 

 essentials of adequate nutrition are clearly pre- 

 sented without the use of technical terms beyond 

 the " protein " and " Calorie " which are fast 

 acquiring a place in the popular vocabulary. The 

 booklet is supplied to the public at the net cost of 

 issue, and Prof. Thompson is to be congratulated 

 upon the response which his generosity has already 

 achieved. 



.1 Rumanian Diary, 191 5, 1916, 1917. By Lady 

 Kennard. Pp. vii+191. (London: William 

 Heinemann, 1917.) Price 55. net. 

 This small volume is nothing more than it claims 

 to be, a diary of life in Bukarest and Jassy before 

 and after Rumania's entry into the war. It 

 touches a phase of the war about which little has 

 been heard in this country. Whatever merits it 

 has are due to its vivid descriptions of conditions 

 in Rumania, written from day to day when anxiety 

 and hope, uncertainty and despair were the daily 

 lot of the author. We gather that most of the 

 diary was written by Lady Kennard, but that after 

 she left Rumania she drew on letters from her 

 friends to complete the story. There are no new 

 facts in the book, but it should be read by any- 

 one who wishes to realise what the intervention 

 of Rumania cost that unhappy country and to 

 what a sad plight she was reduced by the enemy 

 invasion. The volume is illustrated by a few 

 photographs. 



H01V to Collect and Dry Flowering Plants and 

 Ferns. By H. S. Thompson. Pp. 56. (Lon- 

 don : G. Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1917.) 

 Price yd. net. 

 These practical hints on collecting, drying, and 

 mounting plants will prove of real service to young 

 botanists. The author recognises the improve- 

 ment in the teaching of botany which has taken 

 place in recent years, especially in secondary 

 schools, and realises the importance of basing in- 

 struction, where possible, upon living specimens; 

 but he makes out a good case for the herbarium, 

 and we hope his booklet will meet with the success 

 it deserves. 



