May 22, 191J9] 



NATURE 



223 



A GEOLOGICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF 

 INDIA. 

 A Bibliography of Indian Geology and Physical 

 Geography, li'ith an Annotated Index of 

 Minerals of Economic Value. Compiled by 

 T. H. D. La Touche. Part i., "A Bibliography 

 of Indian Geology and Physical Geography "; 

 part ii., "An Annotated Index of the Minerals 

 of Economic Value." Pp. xxviii + 571 and 

 ii + 490. (Calcutta : The Geological Survey of 

 India; London: Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd., 

 1917 and 1918.) Price, part i., 55. ^d. ; part ii., 

 65. 



GEOLOGISTS, and especially students of 

 Asiatic geology, owe a debt of gratitude to 

 Mr. La Touche for having prepared, and to the 

 Geological Survey of India for pubUshing, these 

 two useful volumes, which the printer and paper- 

 maker have made distinctly portly. The first is 

 a bibliography of all that has been published re- 

 garding the geology of India and adjacent coun- 

 tries, arranged by authors, with a separate head- 

 ing for all anonymous writings, and we note that 

 Mr. La Touche has refrained from the needless 

 pedantrv' of classing those unsigned contributions 

 as anonymous of which the authorship was openly 

 avowed and is well known. The bibliography 

 seems very complete, for a somewhat critical 

 search has failed to discover any omissions and 

 has met with only one error, where two authors, 

 who happen to have the same surname and 

 initials, have had their separate identities merged 

 into one person. 



The second volume will probably prove of wider 

 interest, being an annotated index to all published 

 information regarding rocks or minerals of 

 economic value. It is conveniently arranged in 

 alphabetical order of the substances dealt with, 

 and under each heading is given a brief review 

 of recorded occurrences and production where the 

 mineral has been worked, with references to the 

 original authorities enumerated in the first 

 volume. Glancing over this annotated index, we 

 note that the production of diamonds, for which 

 India w^as especially famed in olden days, had 

 fallen to some 55 carats in 191 5, the latest date 

 quoted by Mr. La Touche, and to 18 carats in 

 191 7, the latest date for which returns have been 

 published. The more plebeian form of carbon, 

 known as coal, has become a very important in- 

 dustry in India, and of it more than 18,000,000 

 tons a year are now mined. Iron, too, has become 

 an important industry, and in 1917 nearly 365,000 

 tons of pig-iron and steel were produced by the 

 two principal companies concerned in the industry. 



The influence of the war on mineral production 

 has been marked ; it is apparent even in the work 

 under review, and becomes more noticeable when 

 it is compared with the review of mineral pro- 

 duction during 1917. The output of tungsten has 

 nearly doubled, more than 4500 tons of wolfram 

 having been produced in India during 191 7, mostly 

 from the Tavoy district of Burma. Vanadium, at 

 NO. 2586, VOL. 103] 



present one of the most keenly sought after of all 

 metals, figures in Mr. La Touche's work by a 

 single reference to the reputed presence of 2 per 

 cent, in the ash of certain lignite of Travancore. 

 Of magnesite, the production has risen from about 

 400 tons in 19 14 to more than 18,000 tons in 1917. 

 Mica, of which 40,000 cwt. had once been pro- 

 duced, fell to 27,000 cwt. in 1915, but the demand 

 for war needs had once more raised the quantity 

 returned as production to more than 40,000 cwt. 

 in 1917; in the same year more than 62,000 cwt. 

 were exported, a discrepancy which gives rise to 

 : a naive comment by the Director of the Geological 

 I Survey that "there is a thriving trade in mica 

 j theft in some of the mining areas, and stolen mica 

 naturally does not appear in the output returns." 



Such are some of the reflections which have 

 occurred to us in examining this work, but its real 

 value is as a book of reference. As such it will 

 be invaluable, and the constant standby of all who 

 are in any way concerned with the mineral re- 

 sources of our Indian Empire, or with the import- 

 ant contributions which it has made to pure 

 geology and the kindred sciences. 



RESEARCH ON WOUNDS OF WAR. 

 Ambulance de " L' Ocean," La Panne. Tome ii., 

 fasc. I. Travaux publics sous la Direction du 

 Dr. A. Depage. Pp. 376. (Paris : Masson et 

 Cie; London: H. K. Lewis and Co., Ltd., 

 1918.) Price 18 francs net. 



THIS volume contains, in the first half, articles 

 dealing with operative and post-operative 

 methods and results of various wounds in war. 

 In the second half more stress is laid upon the 

 bacteriological aspect and histological appearances 

 of war-injured tissues. In the first article, by 

 Dr. Depage, is a general discussion of eitcision 

 and delayed primary and secondary suture of 

 wounds. The author deals with the application 

 of this method of treatment to various regions of 

 the body, and lays particular stress on avoiding 

 transverse incisions in the limbs, which, althougfi 

 giving free access, lead to unduly severe loss of 

 tissue and difficulty in suture. The percentage 

 results of success obtained are excellent. 



Dr. Depage and Dr. Delrez then report on a 

 series of cases of severe injury to the feet, with 

 or without involvement of the bones and joints. 

 Very good photographs and radiographs show 

 the wounds of some of the more severe in thfe 

 various stages and the final results. The authors 

 strongly recommend the removal of the astragalus 

 to assist in the early drainage, and very complete 

 inversion until the tissues are clean, after which 

 the surfaces are approximated and fixed with wire 

 sutures. 



Dr. Delrez contributes a long article upon that 

 most controversial subject — wounds of the knee- 

 joint. After discussing the indications for imme- 

 diate amputation, he gives examples and figures 

 of a large number of cases, dividing them into 

 classes according to the extent and nature of 



