152 



NATURE 



[June 17, 1897 



description of principal types, and the determination of 

 the dimensions of the various parts of a transformer 

 required to satisfy specified conditions. 



M. Dumont begins his volume with a short account of 

 the various means used for the distribution of energy. 

 He then deals successively with different kinds of con- 

 tinuous current and alternate current electromotors, the 

 advantages and disadvantages of the two types, and 

 systems of electrical transmission of power. 



M. Minet's volume is one of four which it is proposed 

 to publish on electrolysis and electro-chemistry. One 

 will deal with theories of electrolysis ; another with 

 electro-chemistry ; electro-metallurgy is the subject of 

 the present volume ; and electric furnaces and their 

 applications will be treated in the fourth volume. The 

 general laws of electrolysis are described in the intro- 

 duction to the volume before us, then methods of 

 working in the wet way, with electrolytes containing 

 dissolved salts, and afterwards processes of electro- 

 metallurgy in the dry way, which includes the electrolysis 

 of substances brought to a fluid state by igneous fusion, 

 and electro-thermic reductions. 



Cheese and Cheese-making. By James Long and John 

 Benson. Pp. viii -I- i^o. (London: Chapman and 

 Hall, 1896.) 

 Though this little volume bears the names of two 

 authors, they can hardly be regarded as coUaborateurs. 

 What was the origin of the book does not appear, for 

 there is no preface or introduction. Mr. Long writes 

 five chapters at the beginning and three at the end, whilst 

 the intermediate chapters, four in number, are by Mr. 

 Benson. Each author writes independently of the other, 

 and their respective contributions might equally well 

 have appeared as separate pamphlets. The volume, of 

 course, suffers from this lack of cohesion. Mr. Long's 

 chapters are devoted to the principles of cheese-making, 

 the trade in foreign cheese, soft cheese manufacture, 

 Gorgonzola and the varieties of blue or moulded cheese, 

 other varieties of fancy cheese, the milk industry, the 

 principles of butter-making, and creameries and factories. 

 For a chatty or discursive account of the numerous 

 varieties of foreign cheese it may be safe to consult the 

 volume, but the details of manufacture are hardly given 

 with sufficient precision to possess any value for purposes 

 of instruction. Occasionally, too, Mr. Long is a little 

 uncertain in his choice of words, as when he makes refer- 

 ence to districts " where the most luxurious crops are 

 grown" — he no doubt had luxuriant crops in mind. Mr. 

 Benson deals with the best methods of manufacturing 

 Cheddar, Stilton, Cheshire, and Wensleydale cheeses 

 respectively. More care has been bestowed upon this 

 part of the work, which in the hands of an intelligent 

 person might usefully be employed as a guide to the 

 making of the four varieties of English cheese specified. 

 Connoisseurs will agree with Mr. Benson " that a well- 

 made Stilton stands without rival amongst the better- 

 known varieties of cheeses." One disadvantage of the 

 dual but not joint authorship is that there is considerable 

 repetition. Another is that the volume has no index. 

 So well known a continental cheese as the Gruyere seems 

 to have escaped notice, though the Gervais, Bondon, and 

 Coulommiers receive attention. There are no illus- 

 trations. 



Pp. 



(London : L. 



The Naturalist's Directory. 



Upcott Gill, 1897.) 

 It would be interesting to know what the editor of this 

 book means by a naturalist, for we should then be better 

 able to understand why most people whom we regard as 

 naturalists do not appear in his list. The title-page 

 informs us that the book is intended "for the use of 

 students of natural history, and collectors of zoological, 

 botanical, or geological specimens, giving the names and 

 addresses of British and Foreign naturalists, natural 



NO. 1442, VOL. 56] 



history agents, societies and field clubs, museums, 

 magazines, &c." But we have looked in the list for 

 the names of about twenty well-known naturalists, and 

 have not found one of them included. Perhaps the 

 Directory only contains the names of amateur naturalists, 

 or of naturalists inviting exchanges or correspondence ? 



In "a list of the principal natural history work pub- 

 lished during 1896 in the British Isles," we notice a work 

 on metallurgy, and several on chemistry. If these ai< 

 branches of natural history, then the editor, to be con 

 sistent, should include chemists and metallurgists in the 

 Directory. 



Flowering Plants. By Mrs. Arthur Bell (N. D'Anvers). 

 Pp. 204. Illustrated. (London : George Philip and 

 Son.) 

 Though this book is said to be " complete in itself," it 

 it is not a sufficient guide to the beginner in botany, for 

 the first chapter begins with the supposition that another 

 volume has been read, and the meanings of such terms 

 as "calyx," "corolla," "stamens," "pistil" are regarded 

 as part of the mental stock-in-trade of the reader. The 

 book has been written to introduce the reader in an easy 

 and pleasant way to the common flowering plants ; but 

 though we read, on p. 157, "You can easily find either 

 the common or the ivy-leaved Toad-flax for yourselves," 

 we search in vain for any description sufficient to enable 

 a young reader to recognise this plant. Most of the 

 illustrations are reproductions of photographs. A few of 

 them are good, but they are usually quite inadequate to 

 enable the learner to identify specimens of the plants he 

 will meet during his country walks. 



Twelve Charts oj the Tidal Streams near the Channel 

 Islands and Neighbouring French Coast. By F. 

 Howard Collins. (London : J. D. Potter, 1897.) 

 These charts show by arrows the tidal streams around 

 the Channel Islands and as far as the neighbouring coast 

 of France, when it is high water at St. Peter's Port, 

 Guernsey ; one, two, three, four and five hours after high 

 water at that port ; and six, five, four, three, two, and 

 one hour before high water there. Hence, knowing the 

 time at which high water occurs at St. Peter's Port on 

 any particular day, the direction of the tidal streams in 

 the neighbourhood covered by the charts at any time 

 before or after high water can be seen. The charts are 

 based upon Admiralty observations, and should be of 

 service to yachtsmen in the Channel. 

 Guide to the Genera and Classification of the North 

 America?t Orthoptera fou7id North of Mexico. By 

 Samuel Hubbard Scudder. Pp. 87. (Cambridge, 

 Mass, : Edward W. Wheeler, 1897.) 

 The tables and bibliographies contained in this book 

 will prove very serviceable to students of Orthoptera in 

 America. -All the seven families of Orthoptera are found 

 in the United States, but a large amount of work remains 

 to be done upon them, and this volume will assist in the 

 collection and study of material required for advance- 

 ment. The author states that he "contemplates a 

 general work on the classification of our Orthoptera, of 

 which this is merely a Prodromus, and which may serve 

 its purpose until the material at hand has been more 

 thoroughly studied." 



Aids to the Study of Bacteriology. By T. H. Pearmain 

 and C. G. Moor, M.A. Pp. 159. (London : Bailliere, 

 Tindall, and Cox.) 

 A GOOD general idea of the science of bacteriology, 

 especially in its pathogenic aspects, can be derived from 

 this little book. As an introduction to the "Applied 

 Bacteriology " of the same authors, the book should be 

 welcomed by medical students and by all practitioners 

 who wish to know something of the methods of bacterio- 

 logical research, and to understand the significance of 

 the results obtained. 



