May 15, 19 19] 



naYure 



203 



interesting, a large part of it affords but tedious 

 reading; somehow it suggests that organisms 

 looked at in this light are not, and never have 

 been, aZi-ye. That we should learn much if Prof. 

 MacLeod's method were adopted is probably very 

 true, but it is difficult to imagine any large 

 number of biologists adopting it. 



(2) Prof. Smallwood's "Text-book of Biology " 

 is of a very different character. It is an intro- 

 duction to biology for elementary students, 

 planned so as to retain the main features of the 

 "type" system, while at the same time offering 

 a much wider outlook on the subject than is given 

 by most other books of the kind. It has reached 

 a third edition, and therefore doubtless meets a 

 real want, and yet it cannot be called satisfactory. 

 In 300 pages largely occupied by figures, mostly 

 •very good, it attempts to treat almost every 

 'known aspect of biology, and the impression 

 given is "a little of everything and not enough 

 of anything." A good elementary text-book based 

 on biological principles rather than on types is 

 certainly much to be desired, but it will not be 

 easy to write, and the volume under notice, 

 though an attempt in that direction, is by no 

 means an unqualified success. L. D. 



INDUSTRIAL ELECTROLYSIS. 

 The Applications of Electrolysis in Chemical In- 

 dustry. By A. J. Hale. (Monographs on Indus- 

 trial Chemistry.) Pp. ix + 148. (London : Long- 

 mans, Green, and Co., 1918.) Price 75. 6d. net. 

 nPHIS is one of the volumes of the series 

 -»- of "Monographs on Industrial Chemistry" 

 n6w being published under the general editor- 

 ship of Sir Edward Thorpe. The author is 

 demonstrator and lecturer in chemistry at the 

 Finsbury Technical College; his book is well 

 printed and illustrated, and contains copious refer- 

 ences to the patent and other literature of the 

 subject. 



The work is divided into an introduction and eight 

 ' hapters. The introduction and chap. i. (thirty- 

 two pages in all, or two-ninths of the book) are 

 devoted to the discussion of the general principles 

 of electrolysis and methods of generating the 

 current ; the remaining seven chapters, extending 

 to III pages, have to suffice, therefore, for the 

 special subject with which the book deals — namely, 

 industrial electrolysis. The compression re- 

 quired to cover the ground in the allotted space 

 is, in fact, rather too severe a handicap for ade- 

 quate treatment, and the book would have gained 

 in value had its length been doubled. As it is, 

 two chapters have been given to the extraction 

 and refining of metals, and two chapters to the 

 electrolysis of alkali chlorides ; while one chapter 

 each is devoted to the electrolytic production of 

 the gases hydrogen and oxygen, of inorganic 

 colours, and of organic compounds such as iodo- 

 form, anthraquinone, etc. 



The description of particular processes and cells 



is necessarily brief, and in the circumstances the 



NO. 2585, VOL. 103] 



author would have been wise to devote less space 

 to the earlier patents and processes of electrolysis 

 (many of them no longer In operation), and to 

 give more detailed descriptions of the processes 

 and cells now in actual use. For example, the 

 Acker process of caustic soda manufacture by 

 the electrolysis of fused salt has not been a success 

 as a practical process, yet the author has devoted 

 nearly two pages and two illustrations to his 

 description of it, and some of the other cells and 

 processes dealt with are similarly only of historical 

 interest. 



As Sir Edward Thorpe pointed out in his 

 general introduction to the series of mono- 

 graphs to which this volume belongs : " In 

 some cases, where the subjects touch the actual 

 frontiers of progress, knowledge is so very 

 recent, and its application so very tentative, that 

 both are almost certain to experience profound 

 modification sooner or later. This, of course, is 

 inevitable." It is a pity that the author has 

 increased this handicap of "being out of date 

 before it appears" by including matter in the 

 present volume that is only of historic value. 



However, the work will prove of considerable 

 value to students of electro-chemistry who wish 

 to obtain a rapid survey of its industrial applica- 

 tions, and also to engineers and chemists who wish 

 to trace the development of particular processes. 

 As already stated, there are copious references to 

 the earlier journal and patent literature, and good 

 subject-matter and name indexes, which add to 

 the value of the book as a reference work on the 

 subject with which it deals. J. B. C. K. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 



America at School and at Work. By the Rev. Dr. 

 H. B. Gray. Pp. xx + 172. (London: Nisbet 

 and Co., Ltd., 1918.) Price 55. net. 

 This is a highly valuable contribution to the solu- 

 tion of present-day educational problems. Dr. 

 H. B. Gray was joint author with Mr. S. Turner 

 of a stimulating book issued in 1916 entitled 

 "Eclipse or Empire?" The present work 

 is the fruit of an extensive tour in the 

 United States during the spring and summer 

 of 191 7, especially among the educational institu- 

 tions of the prosperous States of the Far West 

 least affected by European influences, and is a 

 remarkable revelation of the spirit of enterprise 

 shown by these States. The author is unstinting 

 in his praise of the "magnificent and far-reaching 

 measure" known as Mr. Fisher's Education Act 

 of 1918, from the operations of which he antici- 

 pates the most fruitful results for the future well- 

 being of the nation. 



America has a tremendous problem to face — 

 namely, to turn into good American citizens in the 

 shortest time possible the great stream of immi- 

 grants which annually comes to its shores from all 

 parts of the European world, and the instrument 

 by which this salutary result is accomplished is 

 chiefly the English language, .the medium for 



