772 



NATURE 



[August 19, 1920 



feature, such as at the National Physical Labora- 

 tory or at a laboratory serving- the interests of a 

 group of works producing many kinds of manu- 

 factured articles. 



Criticising the research associations developed 

 in this country, the author deprecates the degree 

 of control remaining- in the hands of the Research 

 Department, the character of the personnel of the 

 Advisory Council and its committees, and the 

 policy of secrecy which is fostered by a research 

 association comprising a group of manufacturers 

 in one industry ; and considers the difficulty of 

 determining the choice of researches and the dis- 

 posal of results to be serious. Many people, how- 

 ever, will not display any particular enthusiasm 

 for the author's alternative proposal, a co-opera- 

 tive laboratory conducted by an association of 

 users. It may be admitted that users have a 

 common interest, but this is less clearly defined 

 and much more difficult to focus on one line of 

 research than that of an association of producers. 

 Users also have less experience in the production 

 of the material they employ, and in industry it is 

 highly desirable to make use of existing know- 

 ledge as a basis for research. The author may not 

 be aware that, in some cases at least, British re- 

 search associations are dual in character, compris- 

 ing both producers and consumers, this probably 

 being an ideal combination. 



It is important to note that the author considers 

 it undesirable to divorce a works research depart- 

 ment from works problems, and the success of 

 notable instances to the contrary should not 

 obscure the principle. 



Many readers will doubtless wish that the 

 author had gone further into detail than is the 

 case in many chapters. The economic and social 

 benefits of research should perhaps not have been 

 taken for granted, and the question of the co- 

 ordination of research and the collection and dis- 

 tribution of scientific intelligence could have been 

 dealt with to advantage. In general, however, 

 the book bears the marks of experience through- 

 out, and will well repay perusdl. 



A. P. M. Fleming. 



Science and Crime. 



Legal Chemistry and Scientific Criminal Investiga- 

 tion. By A. Lucas. Pp. viii+i8i. (London: 

 Edward Arnold, 1920.) Price 105. 6d. net. 



THERE are numerous text-books on the subject 

 of forensic medicine, but, with the excep- 

 tion of works on toxicology, there are very few 

 which deal with analogous problems to the in- 

 vestigation of which chemistry is applicable. This 

 little book makes no pretension to being a com- 

 NO. 2651, VOL. 105] 



plete treatise on forensic chemistry, and to this 

 extent its title is misleading, for it consists largely 

 of notes on the cases which have come within the 

 author's experience, together with a few general 

 remarks on the methods of dealing with exhibits 

 and presenting the evidence in such cases. 



As director of the Government laboratory in a 

 country such as Egypt, where frauds of all kinds 

 appear to be exceptionally numerous, the author 

 has had the advantage of applying the methods 

 described in various journals in a great number 

 of cases, and of noting their deficiencies, and he 

 gives particulars of these cases arranged alpha- 

 betically under the headings of the different sub- 

 jects. 



As a rule, original methods have not been 

 devised, but some of the sections give interesting 

 details of the author's investigation in connection 

 with special subjects. For example, referring to 

 human hair, he shows that it is doubtful whether 

 the alleged change in the colour of the hair to 

 red has ever been caused by the Egyptian method 

 of embalming. Another novel point of chemical 

 interest is that in no instance has pitch or bitumen 

 been found in the pitch-like material used in pre- 

 serving human mummies, the material examined 

 invariably consisting of resins or gums which 

 have become naturally blackened by age. 



From the point of view of the practical chemist, 

 the most useful section is that dealing with the 

 examination of documents, in which questions 

 connected with the composition of paper and inks 

 are dealt with at some length. In one land case it 

 was found that out of 168 documents no fewer 

 than 163 were forgeries, the frauds ranging from 

 simple alterations of names to the elaborate 

 fabrication of documents by joining parts of other 

 documents, and concealing mutilations by partly 

 scorching the paper. In this connection the 

 author lays stress upon the importance of know- 

 ing the dates of changes in the methods of manu- 

 facturing paper and the like. 



As carbon ink is still frequently used in Egypt 

 for title deeds of land, the author has had the 

 exceptional opportunity of studying modern docu- 

 ments written in ink similar to that used prior to 

 the invention of iron gall inks, and he gives in- 

 teresting particulars of his observations. Con- 

 trary to the commonly accepted belief, the carbon 

 inks on several of the older Arabic documents 

 between a.d. 1677 and 1871 were partly brown, 

 and the same thing was noted on still earlier 

 manuscripts dating back to a.d. 622. Hence the 

 conclusion is drawn that it must be regarded as 

 proved that carbon inks which were originally 

 black may become brown with age. 



The questions of secret writing and its develop- 



