June 9, 1898] 



NATURE 



123 



the heron sailing gracefully at ease on p. 153, and the 

 same bird after being stricken by the peregrine two pages 

 later ? It is, of course, a drawback that so many of the 

 illustrations depict birds and other animals in postures of 

 pain, but this is inseparable from the subject. While 

 commending the illustrations as a whole, a few, like the 

 one of the hobby, appear to have been printed from some- 

 what worn blocks. 



To those not conversant with the sport, it may come 

 as a matter of surprise that so many species of the 

 Falconidce are trained in various countries for hawking ; 

 these ranging in size from the merlin and the hobby to 

 the golden eagle, and their quarry from the snipe and the 

 lark to the roe-deer, or even the wolf. As hawking with 

 eagles is unknown in western Europe, the portion of Mr. 

 Harting's work relating to that branch of the sport cannot 

 fail to prove generally interesting. It would, of course, 

 have been mere waste of space if the author had 

 attempted to give full descriptions of all the various 

 hawks and falcons employed in the sport ; but as there 

 is some considerable degree of confusion in regard to the 

 species of eagles trained for hawking in Turkestan and 

 other parts of the Russian empire, he has done well in 

 giving a full discussion on the question. And here Mr. 

 Harting, as usual, displays an intimate acquaintanceship 

 with the zoology of the subject and the literature relating 

 thereto. It appear^ from these observations that the bird 

 commonly employed in Turkestan, where it is knovvn as 

 the berkut, is the golden eagle, but that other species, 

 such as the Imperial eagle, are likewise trained ; while it 

 is stated that occasionally sea-eagles of two species are 

 made use of. 



Although it is by no means meant to displace the older 

 and more bulky treatises, Mr. Harting's little volume 

 ought to give the beginner all the information he requires 

 for setting up a hawking establishment, either on a large 

 or a small scale, and it will doubtless aid in maintaining 

 interest in an ancient and exciting sport which ought by 

 no means to be allowed to fall into neglect. R. L. 



THE RUDIMENTS OF PHYSICS AND 



CHEMISTRY. 



General Eleinentary Science. Edited by William Briggs, 



M.A., F.C.S., F.R.A.S. Pp. viii -f 390. (London: 



W. B. Clive.) 

 Elementary General Science. By A. T. Simmons, B.Sc, 



and Lionel M. Jones, B.Sc. Pp. viii -I- 328. (London : 



Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1898.) 

 'T'HE new regulations for the matriculation examin- 

 -l- ation of the University of London provide that on 

 and after next January all candidates must present them- 

 selves for examination in the rudiments of physics and 

 chemistry included in a syllabus under the head of 

 " General Elementary Science." Following the " stream 

 of tendency " of science teaching at the present time, the 

 examiners announce in a note prefixed to their syllabus 

 that the subjects " will be treated wherever possible from 

 an experimental point of view. Candidates will be ex- 

 pected to have performed or witnessed simple experi- 

 ments in illustration of the subjects mentioned in this 

 NO. 1493, VOL. 58] 



syllabus." By making this announcement, the Univer- 

 sity of London has shown its intention to encourage the 

 introduction and extensionof practical methods of science 

 teaching into our secondary schools ; and there can be 

 no doubt that if the examiners insist upon the possession 

 of knowledge gained by demonstration and experience, 

 instead of the transient information acquired by reading, 

 their action v/ill be the means of greatly improving 

 the character of the scientific instruction given in the 

 smaller secondary schools. Hitherto, many schools of 

 this character have trained candidates for matriculation 

 without showing them a single scientific experin.ent ; 

 the new curriculum will, however, make this state of 

 things impossible, and will therefore be the means of 

 increasing the efficiency of secondary schools. 



The two volumes under notice have both been pre- 

 pared to meet the new requirements of the London 

 University, and they exemplify the old saying that " there 

 is a right and a wrong way to do everything." In the 

 volume edited by Mr. Briggs little attempt has been 

 made to produce a book in the spirit of the new syllabus. 

 Neither the first section of the book dealing with 

 mechanics, nor the second section dealing with heat, 

 light and electricity, can be regarded in any way as 

 likely to lead to a practical acquaintance with scientific 

 facts ; they both contain a large amount of information 

 concisely expressed, but the information is of precisely 

 the same kind as appears in books prepared for students 

 working under the old matriculation regulations. In 

 other words, more attention is paid to arithmetical 

 gymnastics in the regions of mechanics and physics 

 than to experiment. The section on chemistry is better 

 done, nearly one hundred experiments being described 

 in it ; but it is unequal in treatment, and contains too 

 many equations and formula; for a beginner in chemistry 

 to understand. As a whole, the book is unsatisfactory ; 

 it contains information to be read and learnt by the 

 student instead of descriptions of experiments to be per- 

 formed, and though it may be useful as a training in 

 providing exercises in physical arithmetic, it has no 

 educational value. 



The book by Messrs. Simmons and Jones is of quite 

 a different character from that compiled under Mr. 

 Briggs's direction. It contains an admirable course of 

 practical work covering all the principles of mechanics, 

 physics, and chemistry included in the new subject for 

 London matriculation. No less than 310 experiments 

 are described, and they are not only practicable, but can 

 also be performed with simple apparatus. Many of the 

 experiments, such as the pin-methods of proving the 

 laws of reflection and refraction of light, the simple 

 experiments on voltaic cells, and the method for heating 

 a solid in a closed volume of gas (p. 258), are distinctly 

 good, while most of them furnish evidence that the 

 authors are describing matters of personal experience, 

 and not hypothetical arrangements. The experiments 

 alone provide a valuable set of practical e.xercises in 

 elementary physics and chemistry, and if the descriptive 

 text is read in connection with them, the student will be 

 given a sound basis of scientific knowledge. The volume 

 contains an instructive course of work which will be of 

 real assistance to both teachers and pupils in schools 

 where elementary science is taught. 



