July 5, 1917] 



NATURE 





of chemistry throug-hout the country, and cannot 

 fail to exercise an influence upon the progress of 

 ■chemical research. Industries that have now 

 been undertaken by American manufacturers can- 

 not be permanently maintained unless continually 

 fostered by research. 



The Government has not been unmindful of 

 its opportunity. Considerable " appropriations " 

 have been made in support of the dye-stuff 

 industry, the recovery of potash salts, the extrac- 

 tion of radium from carnotite ores, etc. A 

 National Research Council has been founded, con^ 

 sisting of leading American investigators, and 

 representatives of the defensive forces, the 

 various scientific bureaux of the State, educa- 

 tional institutions, and the research departments 

 of industrial and manufacturing- establishments. 

 The Chemistry Committee of the council has 

 evidently been carefully organised, and contains 

 within its body, as well as in its numerous sub- 

 ^.ommittees, dealing- with practically every 

 branch of applied chemistry, almost every repre- 

 sentative man in the States. An immediate 

 result is seen in the extraordinary development 

 of the synthetic colour industry, a great variety 

 of dye-stuffs hitherto made only in Germany 

 being now manufactured in the States. It is not 

 too much to say that America is now independent 

 of German production. This extension has, of 

 course, reacted on the coal-tar products industry 

 and on the manufacture of "intermediates," 

 acids, alkalies, ammonia, and a great variety of 

 chemical substances. It has influenced, indeed, 

 almost every branch of applied science and has 

 affected the manufacture of all kinds of appli- 

 ances, both for research and for technical pro- 

 cesses. American instrument makers are now 

 turning out ammeters, voltmeters and watt- 

 meters, thermometers, scientific and industrial, 

 pyrometers, glass-ware, silica apparatus, porce- 

 lain goods, etc., of a kind in no wise inferior, and 

 In some cases actually much superior, to the best 

 ■German and Austrian production. 



This widespread activity has, it need scarcely 

 te said, greatly stimulated the innate inventive 

 genius of the American, and last year saw several 

 ■novelties on the market of interest to chemists 

 and physicists. Among them is rhotanium, an 

 alloy of rare metals, having- a specific g-ravity 

 about half that of platinum, and capable of 

 replacing that metal in the manufacture of 

 '^rucibles, dishes, etc. Another new alloy is 



ariadium, which is said to be specially suitable 

 as resistance material in electric furnace wind- 

 ings, contact and spark points, and other 

 electrical uses. Clebrium, another alloy, is said 

 to be unacted upon by nitric, sulphuric, or 



icetic acid, and to be readily machined. New 

 ases have also been found for altindum and 

 bakelite. 



Altogether the record of progress during 1916 



s most satisfactory. We have reason to know 

 that its rate is being maintained, and we shall 

 look forward, therefore, with interest to the 

 appearance of the second volume of what is 

 undoubtedly a most useful compilation. 

 NO. 2488, VOL. 99] 



WAR MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 



(i) Les Dysenteries, Le Cholera Asiatique, Le 



Typhus Exanthematique. Par H. Vincent et 



L. Muratet. Pp. 184. (Paris : Masson et 



Cie, 191 7.) Price 4 francs. 

 (2) Le Traitement des Plates Infectees. Par 



A. Carrel et G. Dehelly. Pp. 177. (Paris : 



Masson et Cie, 1917.) Price 4 francs. 

 'T^HESE two volumes belong to a series 

 -■- planned to deal with the medicine and sur- 

 gery of war. War medicine and surgery differ 

 considerably from civil practice, so that there is 

 room for such a series. 



(i) In this volume dysentery, cholera, and 

 typhus fever are considered, not altogether a 

 logical mixture, though all three diseases are of 

 considerable importance under war conditions. 



Each disease is dealt with under two divisions, 

 the clinical features and the epidemiology and 

 prophylaxis. Under the former the symptoms, 

 diagnosis, and treatment are discussed, not at 

 any length, but on the whole sufficient for the 

 busy practitioner. 



The two principal forms of dysentery, the bacil- 

 lary and the amoebic, are described, and the causal 

 agents and their principal characters detailed. 



Under cholera the methods for the detection 

 of the vibrio in the stools are described. 

 Prophylaxis in each case is well done, and these 

 sections are f)erhaps the best in the book. Vac- 

 cination for the prevention of dysentery and of 

 cholera is dealt with at some length, but no men- 

 tion is made of Castellani's mixed vaccines. 

 Under typhus fever considerable space is devoted 

 to the louse and methods for dealing with it. 

 The weakest sections are those in which treat- 

 ment is discussed. For bacillary dysentery 

 practically no mention is made of the saline 

 treatment, and for the amoebic variety the 

 ipecacuanha treatment is very imperfectly 

 described, and no reference is made to emetine- 

 bismuth iodide. Similarly for cholera, while 

 Rogers's hypertonic salt treatment is mentioned, 

 the details given respecting it are too scanty to 

 be of much value. 



(2) Some months ago a system of treatment of 

 septic wounds was described by Dr. Carrel. It 

 consists, in brief, in the irrigation of the wounds 

 every two hours with a hypochlorite antiseptic 

 solution (Dakin's), tubes being inserted into the 

 wound and retained there so that the irrigation 

 may be carried out without disturbing the wound 

 or patient. Considerable success is claimed for 

 this method of treatment, and in this volume Drs. 

 Carrel and Dehelly give full particulars how it is 

 applied. Reproductions of photographs clearly 

 illustrate the methods of arranging the irrigation 

 tubes, so that every part of the wound shall be 

 subjected to the irrigating fluid, and charts show 

 the alterations in the microbic flora and the rate 

 of healing of the w-ounds during the course of the 

 treatment. 



For those who have to deal with the wounded 

 in the present war we strongly recommend a 

 perusal of this book. R. T. H. 



