8o4 



NATURE 



[August 26, 1920 



as a disfing-uished savant would have scorned to 

 supply, while it is quite in accordance with 

 Columbus's own g-eographical ideas derived from 

 the antiquated " Imago Mundi " of Cardinal d'Ailly. 

 The letter was probably fabricated by the family 

 of Columbus after his death to disprove the 

 rumour that he owed his success, not to his studies 

 in cosmog-raphy, but to some information about 

 unknown islands privately obtained. The true 

 glory of Columbus is that he found what he went 

 out to find — a New World. J. L. E. D. 



Our Bookshelf. 



Electricity: Its Production and Applications. By 

 Reg. E. Neale. (Pitman's Common Commodi- 

 ties and Industries.) Pp. viii+136. (London: 

 Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., n.d.) Price 

 2s. 6d. net. 

 The author addresses himself to the general 

 reader who desires to understand something of 

 the way in which electricity is produced and is 

 utilised in present-day industries. The generation, 

 distribution, and storage of electric power are 

 first explained briefly, and then the author passes 

 on to deal successively with lighting, heating, 

 electric driving of machinery, traction, haulage, 

 etc. Further chapters skim lightly over the lead- 

 ing features of electrochemistry, electrometal- 

 lurgy, electric welding and cutting, telegraphy 

 and telephony, and medical applications. So 

 large a field can be covered in a little volume like 

 this only by limitation to the barest essentials, 

 but it is remarkable how complete and accurate 

 is the information given. The reader is, however, 

 hurried on unpleasantly fast, and is never allowed 

 to pause where his interest is aroused. We are 

 not as a rule over-fond of " tabloid " education, 

 but the ubiquitous use of electricity in industry 

 and daily life makes it desirable for everyone to 

 know something of its nature and scope. It will 

 be an advantage to many to have at their dis- 

 posal so well compiled a summary of the subject 

 rather than to rely on the loose statements too 

 often made in conversation and in the non-tech- 

 nical Press. 



The Nature-study of Plants in Theory and Prac- 

 tice for the Hohhy -Botanist. By T. A. Dymes. 

 Pp. xviii-hi73. (London: S.P.C.K. ; New 

 York : The Macmillan Co., 1920.) Price 65. net. 

 The first part of this book is devoted to an ex- 

 planation of the meaning of the phenomena of 

 plant life and its interdependent functions. 

 Wherever possible, comparisons are drawn with 

 human life, and, in consequence, chapters are 

 given curious . titles, such as " Marriage " and 

 "Settling Down for Life." The second portion 

 of the book is a detailed account of the life- 

 history of the Herb Robert and its relatives. 

 Tables are appended showing the separation of 

 the sexes in time, the rnode of pollination, and 

 the method of seed dispersal of British species of 

 NO. 2652, VOL. 105] 



Cranesbills and Storksbills. The book should be 

 a stimulus to intelligent and intensive Nature- 

 study. 



Eugenics, Civics, and Ethics : A Lecture delivered 

 to the Summer School of Eugenics, Civics, and 

 Ethics on August 8, 1919, in the Arts School, 

 Cambridge. By Sir Charles Walston (Wald- 

 stein). Pp. 56. , (Cambridge : At the University 

 Press, 1920.) Price 45. net. 

 A STRONG plea is made in this lecture for the 

 organisation and development of the study of 

 ethics, or, as the author prefers to call it, etho- 

 logy. The interdependence of eugenics and civics, 

 and the foundation of both in ethics, are discussed, 

 and warning is given against striving to produce 

 the perfect physical specimen of man without due 

 consideration of character and mental attributes. 

 Towards the end of the lecture the progressive 

 nature of ethical codes is made clear, and great 

 stress is laid on the importance of the establish- 

 ment of our ideal of the perfect man and the 

 teaching of such practical ethics in both schools 

 and homes. 



A Second Book of School Celebrations. By Dr. 



F. H. Hayward. Pp. 133. (London: P. S. 



King and Son, Ltd., 1920.) Price 55. net. 

 "A First Book of School Celebrations " was 

 reviewed in Nature for August 5. The 

 new volume contains a further series of celebra- 

 tions dealing with the military conflicts in Pales- 

 tine, toleration, Alfred the Great, Pasteur and 

 Lister, Sir Philip Sidney, G. F. Watts, Empire 

 Day, political parties, school leaving day, work, 

 and five of a new type, termed by the author 

 "homage celebrations," which deal with the artist, 

 the martyr, the musician, Ireland, and Poland. 



Stories for the Nature Hour. Compiled by 

 Ada M. Skinner and Eleanor L. Skinner. 

 Pp. 253. (London : George G. Harrap and Co., 

 Ltd., 1920.) Price 55. net. 

 A NUMBER of short stories from the pens of many 

 authors have been collected in this volume. Hans 

 Andersen, Ruskin, and Charles Lamb are repre- 

 sented, and the compilers themselves have sup- 

 plied eight legends. The book should be useful 

 to the teacher giving lessons on natural history 

 subjects to small children, and should also make 

 interesting reading for older children. 



A Manual of Elementary Zoology. By L. A. 

 Borradaile. Third edition. Pp. xviii-)-6i6 + xxi 

 plates. (London : Henry Frowde, and Hodder 

 and Stoughton, 1920.) Price 185. 

 The last edition of this work was reviewed in 

 Nature for April 3, 1919. The only important 

 change made in the new edition is the inclusion 

 of twenty-one large plates, most of which are 

 particularly valuable for laboratory work. 

 Plate xii, showing various breeds of British sheep, 

 is crude, and seems unworthy of a place in a book 

 which is otherwise remarkable for its clear dia- 

 grams and realistic illustrations. 



