January 8, 1920] 



NATURE 



467 



the results of specific therapy in its widest sense, 

 and it is not unlikely that, as our knowledge of 

 the non-specific as well as the specific therapeutic 

 effects arising from the introduction into the 

 animal body of a bacterial protein accumulates, 

 many of the deductions so glibly drawn by ardent 

 vaccinists may go by the board. None the less, 

 as an exposition of the faith of an enthusiastic and 

 somewhat over-confident vaccinist, the book is well 

 worthy of perusal, and contains what, on the 

 whole, appears to be sound advice. 



The early chapters are devoted to general ques- 

 tions connected with the nature, preparation, and 

 administration of vaccmes, and are excellently 

 written. For the chapter dealing with the best 

 methods for securing material from various sources 

 for culture and preparation of vaccine, the reviewer 

 has nothing but praise, the laudable object being 

 to secure "the right kind of material in the right 

 kind of way." Chapters follow on the use of 

 vaccines in prophylaxis and in the treatment of 

 the carrier-state, but the greater part of the book 

 is devoted to vaccines as therapeutic agents in 

 practically every microbic disease. There would 

 appear to be no microbic disease, whether of acute 

 or chronic character, which is not amenable to 

 vaccine-therapy when employed in the manner 

 indicated by the author. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 



The Stars Night by Night: Being the Journal oj 

 a Star Gazer. By J. H. Elgie. (First published 

 as "Night Skies of a Year," 1910.) Pp. xiv + 

 247. (London: C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd., 1919.) 

 Price IX. 6d. net. 

 Thekk are many ways of being an astronomer, 

 of which perhaps the easiest is to learn the stars 

 and know them by position and name — and there 

 are grades even in that. \\'e do not imply that 

 this defines Mr. Elgie 's limitations, but he has 

 written a very pleasant and useful book to help 

 others to attain this degree of astronomical know- 

 ledge. Of such books there are many, but this is 

 somewhat unusual. Written in a chatty manner on 

 the model of White's "Selborne," it describes the 

 author's experiences as a star-gazer or naked-eye- 

 observer throughout a year, with much quotation, 

 anecdote, and general astronomical information 

 intermingled. There are more thaii a hundred dia- 

 grams, showing the constellations as they appear 

 with reference to the horizon at different dates. 

 Naturally, the diagrams apply to any and all years, 

 so the vear when the observations were njade is 

 not given, except incidentally in 'the index, but 

 the fact that the author saw Mira Ceti at maxi- 

 mum early in 'January, and that it was then as 

 bright as y Cygni, is fairly conclusive evi- 

 dence that it was 1907. 



The book is a cheap reprint of an earlier one 

 published in 1910, "The Night Skies of the Year," 



NO. 2619, VOL. 104] 



which still remains as the page-heading, and it 

 is not surprising that this reprint should have 

 been considered advisable. It should command 

 a large sale, for both the general reader and the 

 astronomer of any category will find something of 

 interest in its pages. 



The Examination of Milk for Public Health Pur- 

 poses. By Joseph Race. Pp. Vi + zi^. (New 

 York : John Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London : 

 Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1918.) Price S.?. 6d. 

 net. 

 This book gives a very useful summary of the 

 chemistry and bacteriology of milk. The chemical 

 portion includes the composition of milk and the 

 chemistry of the various constituents, enzymes, 

 immune bodies, mineral salts, etc., with details 

 for their detection and estimation. Milk standards 

 are considered, as well as preservatives. In the 

 bacteriological portion a general account is given 

 of the bacteria of milk and of methods for their 

 enumeration. Chapters are devoted to excre- 

 mental organisms and to streptococci, to the 

 tubercle bacillus and other pathogenic organisms 

 which may occur in milk, to cells, dirt, debris, etc. 

 Chap. ix. deals with pasteurised milk and aciduric 

 bacilli; and directions for the preparation of 

 culture media and tables of specific gravity, for the 

 conversion of cuprous oxide and copper to lactose, 

 etc., are given in an appendix. The descriptions 

 throughout are clear and concise, and die ana- 

 lytical methods are clearly set out. The book, 

 which contains within its compass an extraordinary 

 amount of information, is most useful, and can 

 be strongly recommended as a laboratory hand- 

 book for the teacher and student. 



R. T. H.. 



Insect Pests and Plant Diseases in the Vegetable 

 and Fruit Garden. By F. Martin Duncan. Pp. 

 95-1-12 plates. (London: Constable and Co., 

 Ltd., 1919.) Price 35. 6d. net. 

 The object of this little volume is to provide gar- 

 deners and allotment-holders with a simple account 

 of the commoner insect and fungoid pests. The 

 descriptions of the various harmful species appear 

 to be on the whole trustworthy, and some approved 

 methods for eradicating them are recommended. 

 But the book's value is diminished by want of revi- 

 sion in the' light of modern work. For example, 

 the author is content with Curtis's determination 

 of the potato aphid, and states that the larva of 

 Anthomyia radic^im is a common pest on cabbage 

 roots, which, despite the name of the fly, is not 

 the case. The account of the infection of potato 

 h\ Phvtophthora and the denial of sexual repro- 

 duction in this fungus also require modification. 

 The seven orders (including the comprehensive 

 " Neuroptera " of old-time entomology) into 

 which insects are said in the introduction to be 

 "generally grouped " would not be accepted as an 

 adequate systematic arrangement by any student 

 of to-day. The illustrations include some good 

 photographs and some indifferently executed draw- 

 ings. 



