November 20, 1919] 



NATURE 



311 



forming bodies from each other, and it was to 

 these bodies, all components of pure yttria, that 

 he gave the name of meta-elements. This ques- 

 tion of the cause of the discontinuous phosphor- 

 escent spectra is by no means settled, and offers 

 a field of most interesting research. 



The history and analysis of each of the chief 

 rare earth minerals is given, and this is followed 

 by a good description of the various methods of 

 fractionation used for separating the closely 

 associated members of the rare earth groups. 

 The methods of spectroscopic analysis are given, 

 as is also the use of the magnetometer, an instru- 

 ment only recently applied to these researches. 



The cerium and yttrium groups of the rare 

 earths are each separately described, and the latest 

 determination of the atomic weights are given, 

 together with the methods by which they were 

 obtained. 



In the discussion of the position of the rare 

 earths in the periodic system the author includes 

 the elements scandium and thorium, which for 

 various reasons are not generally considered 

 members of the rare earth group at all. It is not 

 difficult to find places for these, especially the 

 former, which is undoubtedly the "ekaboron" of 

 Mendel^eff, but the placing of the closely allied 

 bodies of the cerium and yttrium groups remains 

 as big a puzzle as ever. 



The final chapter deals with the uses of the rare 

 earth elementg; with the exception of cerium, 

 which is absolutely essential to the production of 

 an efficient "mantle," these are not numerous and 

 are comparatively recent. But enough has been 

 said to show the importance and value of the study 

 of the rare earths, and the author's very complete 

 work, taken in connection with that of Messrs. 

 Schoeller and Powell, will aid very greatly in the 

 study of these little-known bodies from which we 

 can confidently expect great results. 



J. H. Gardiner. 



RACE AND NATIONALITY. 

 Race and Nationality : An Inquiry into the Origin 

 and Growth of Patriotism. By Dr. John Oake- 

 smith. Pp. xix + 300. (London: William 

 Heinemann, 1919.) Price los. 6d. net. 



THE thesis which Dr. John Oakesmith main- 

 tains in this work is one which concerns 

 anthropologists as well as politicians and his- 

 torians. His doctrine that the national frontiers 

 of Europe have no racial significance is a truth 

 so apparent that no proof needs to be adduced. 

 Yet it is perhaps well that the fact should again 

 be insisted on at the present time because the 

 public mind is still' influenced by the vigorous 

 anthropological teaching of last century, wherein 

 it was maintained that the Saxon and Celtic 

 elements in the population of these islands were 

 of diverse racial stocks. We agree with Dr. 

 Oakesmith that there is no single character or 

 set of characters in body or mind by which an 

 anthropologist can tell an Irishman from an 

 Englishman. The claim for Irish separation does 

 NO. 2612, VOL. 104] 



certainly not depend on a difference of race, for 

 both English and Irish are members of the same 

 racial stock, and of the two the Irish are the more 

 representative of the Nordic or North Atlantic 

 race. 



The independence of nationality and race, how- 

 ever, is but a minor issue in Dr. Oakesmith 's 

 main thesis. This concerns itself chiefly with an 

 inquiry into the nature of nationality. He defines 

 and redefines it in many passages, but the fol- 

 lowing may be taken as representing his final 

 conclusion (p. 75) : " Nationality is a conviction 

 based upon practical realities, upon the facts of 

 historical development, and upon the demands of 

 human experience." This represents rather what 

 he hopes nationality may come to mean in the 

 future, for in the present he recognises that mixed 

 with its rational or utilitarian qualities there are 

 both passions and emotions. Rightly enough, he 

 maintains that if these passions and emotions 

 could be eliminated and only the intellectual con- 

 ception of nationality left, then wars would cease, 

 and the world would come by the peace it longs 

 for. Such is the main thesis' of this book. 



Does race, then, play no part in separating and 

 keeping apart the masses of humanity? Dr. 

 Oakesmith seriously maintains that "to envisage 

 race as an operating objective factor in evolution 

 of societies is both unscientific and unphilo- 

 sophical" (p. 74). He cites the case of the 

 Jewish people in England to prove that "race is 

 a metaphysical conception having no foundation 

 in practical life." "With proper adjustments of 

 education," Dr. Oakesmith solemnly asserts, 

 "you can turn an Oriental Jew into an Occidental 

 Englishman." In other words, were we to sub- 

 stitute a Jewish for a native baby in every cradle 

 of England for a generation, English nationality 

 would remain just what it has been since the 

 Anglo-Saxon invasion. Or, to alter the parallel, 

 if we were to substitute babies from China, 

 Central Africa, or Greenland, England would 

 stand just where she did if Dr. Oakesmith is 

 right. It is unnecessary, in the light of experi- 

 ence to be gathered from every part of the world, 

 where diverse races come in close contact, to do 

 more than say that race, unfortunately, is much 

 more than Dr. Oakesmith supposes it to be — a 

 "metaphysical conception." A. Keith. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 

 Sanitation Practically Applied. By Dr. Harold 

 Bacon Wood. Pp. vi-f 473. (New York: John 

 Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London : Chapman and 

 Hall, Ltd., 1917.) Price 135. 6d. 

 The author of this volume is assistant commis- 

 sioner to the West Virginia State Department of 

 Health, and he prepared it as a "corollary to the 

 numerous excellent treatises on the theory of 

 hygiene and the laboratory manuals " for the use 

 primarily of the health officer and for the student 

 of public health topics. In the main it is intended 

 for and will best meet the needs of the American 

 worker and student. 



