7a 



NA TURE 



[May 27, 1897 



information, and the careful student will find scores of 

 facts stated quite simply, and without any attempt to 

 impress the reader, which could be found in no other 

 book in the English language. Whether Prof Max 

 Miiller be all right or all wrong, it must never be for- 

 gotten that he is a great linguist as well as an expounder 

 of mythology, and that if some of us hold views other 

 than his, we ought not to belittle the labours of the hard- 

 working scholar who has done so much to explain to two 

 generations of men the lessons which language has to 

 teach. To write easily, accurately, and pleasantly of a 

 difficult subject is a gift which is worth a great deal. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



The Story of the Earilis Atmosphere. By Douglas 

 Archibald, M.A., Fellow and some time Vice-Presi- 

 dent of the Royal Meteorological Society. Pp. 208. 

 (London : George Newnes, Ltd., 1897.) 

 This is one of the best of the Story series that we have 

 read, but will probably not prove itself one of the most 

 popular. If this prognostication prove correct, it will -be 

 because a large part of the public prefers to be amused 

 rather than instructed. The author has endeavoured to 

 compress too much information within the small compass 

 at his command, and this design has in some measure 

 destroyed the ease with which such a book should be 

 read. The mechanics of the earth's atmosphere is not 

 an easy subject for popular treatment, and though we 

 cannot regret that the attempt has been made to give 

 wider publicity to the work, of Ferrel, Helmholtz, and 

 Von Bezold, we cannot help feeling that the result would 

 have been more satisfactory if the author could have 

 given more space to his work, or had ventured to fill a 

 larger canvas. The tale, on the whole, is pleasantly told, 

 and the author is frequently able, from his wide travels, 

 to illustrate his remarks by his own personal experience 

 in climates where meteorological manifestations can be 

 witnessed on a grander scale than in our own country. 



Starting with the nature and chemical composition of 

 the atmosphere, the author treats of the circumstances 

 that affect its varying temperature. In this section some 

 of the diagrams might, have been a little clearer and a 

 little more finished. The reference letters are in some 

 cases barely legible. We notice, too, a curious sentence 

 on page 52, which will puzzle the student : "As a general 

 rule we find the greatest ranges of temperature of the 

 lowest atmospheric stratum between day and night 

 o:cur in the driest parts of the earth . . . where it often 

 amourits to 40' P., and the smallest ranges in small 

 oceanic islands, where it is as small as 50" F." From, the 

 remarks on temperature the author proceeds to discuss 

 the winds and general circulation of the atmosphere, but 

 the description of the more local phenomena of cyclones 

 is deferred till after the consideration of precipitation. 

 Some little improvement would, we think, result from a 

 different arrangement of the chapters, which would not 

 only have brought the same class of phenomena more 

 closely together, but might have prevented the partial 

 repetition of some of the facts contained in the earlier 

 chapters. For example, two chapters on the sounds and 

 colours of the atmosphere separate the one on cyclones 

 from that relating to whirlwinds, tornadoes, &c., while 

 the i^w remarks on dust and disease, in the last chapter, 

 could possibly have found adequate expression in some 

 of the others. But we willingly admit that Mr. Archibald 

 had a very difficult task, and has accomplished it with a 

 great measure of success. He was not willing to give a 

 bare statement of facts, but has everywhere attempted to 

 add an explanation of them. The book is written right 

 up to date ; and though some of the explanations may 

 require modification as the study and science of meteor- 



NO 1439. VOL. 56] 



ology advance, this is no impeachment of their present 

 value, nor does it imply any fault on the part of the 

 author. W. E. P. 



Wild Bird Protection a7id Nesting-Boxes., Sr-r. By J. R. 



B. Masefield. i2mo, pp. 129. Illustrated. (Leeds: 



Taylor Brothers, 1897.) 

 All interested in the preservation of the feathered 

 denizens of our woods, heaths, streams, and lakes (and 

 who is not ?), will give a hearty welcome to this useful, 

 although unpretentious, little volume, which seems 

 evidently the work of one well acquainted with his sub- 

 ject. After a short introduction, in which the author 

 tells us that he has induced no less than six-and-thirty 

 species to nest in his own garden, the book is divided 

 into four chapters. The first deals with modern legisla- 

 tion on bird preservation, and the powers which a County 

 Council can acquire for the purpose. In the second, we 

 have a brief account of mediaeval laws for the protection 

 of those birds which were becoming scarce in early times. 

 The third, and most generally interesting chapter, gives 

 the author's experiences as to the best mode of attracting 

 different kinds of birds to build ; and the contrivances, 

 which he describes so well and figures so admirably, will 

 be found worthy of the best attention of those who may be 

 inclined to devote their spare hours to this pursuit. In 

 the fourth and final chapter, we find lists of the various 

 species scheduled for special protection by different 

 County Councils. From this we are glad to see that a 

 very large percentage of these authorities have taken up 

 the matter in good earnest. If a suggestion may be 

 offered, it would seem preferable, in cases where a large 

 number of species are scheduled, to include all the smaller 

 birds, as otherwise none but a professed ornithologist can 

 determine whether the order has been infringed. R. L. 

 Reports from the Laboratory of the Royal College of 



Physicians., Ediiiburgh. Edited by J. Batty Tuke, 



M.D., and D. Noel Paton, M.D. Vol. vi. Pp. 303. 



(Edinburgh : William F. Clay, 1897.) 

 A DESCRIPTION of the new laboratory of the Royal 

 College of Physicians, Edinburgh, and a retrospect of 

 the work done in the old laboratory, forms an intro- 

 duction to this volume. The papers refer to investi- 

 gations in anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharma- 

 cology. Many of them are of too special a character to 

 be usefully mentioned here, but among the subjects 

 dealt with are : the relationship of the liver to fats, the 

 action of large doses of dilute mineral acids on meta- 

 bolism, acid and alkali albumin, influence of thyroid 

 feeding on the proteid metabolism in man, the amount 

 of iron in ordinary dietaries and in some articles of food, 

 analyses of iron in the liver and spleen in various diseases 

 affecting the blood, Catha edulis -a plant grown in parts 

 of Arabia and Eastern Africa and widely used as a mild 

 stimulant, carbonic acid gases in diseases of the ali- 

 mentary tract (this paper brings out some interesting 

 points as to the influence of carbonic acid gas upon 

 digestion), and the Malayan arrow poisons. 

 First Principles of Natural Philosophy. By A. E. 



Dolbear. Pp. x + 318. (London : Ginnand Co., 1897.) 

 This elementary book is intended for those who wish to 

 obtain some knowledge concerning the more generally 

 recognised problems and principles pertaining to physics. 

 With this object in view, the author has restricted himself 

 to a simple exposition of the subject, and, with the further 

 help of numerous illustrations and worked-out examples, 

 the reader is made acquainted with the fundamental laws 

 and principles relating to heat, optics, electricity, mag- 

 netism, &c. The mathematical treatment of the subject 

 is, for the most part, laid on one side, only that of the 

 most elementary character being attempted. The be- 

 ginner, however, should get a fair insight into the subject 

 if he uses this book as a first step to a more elaborate 

 treatise, and in this respect it should find many readers. 



