54 



NATURE 



[May 19, 1892 



round corners which look as if they were sharp angles, 

 is so strikingly unlike anything which can be realized 

 (and the results explained in this section can to a great 

 extent be experimentally realized), that the diagram be- 

 comes at least misleading. If the corners are sharp by 

 intention, then the diagram is absolutely wrong. 



In spite of the faults and defects we have been obliged 

 to notice, this book is, as we have said, an admirable 

 attempt at a very worthy object, and with some remodel- 

 ling it can be made into an excellent text-book. We 

 wish it all success, feeling well satisfied that it meets a 

 decided want. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



The Dietetic Value of Bread. By John Goodfellow, 



F.R.M.S. (London: Macmillan and Co.) 

 This book is another addition to the useful series of 

 "Manuals for Students," published by Messrs. Macmillan 

 and Co. The author states in his preface that the object 

 of the work is twofold. First, to lay before the general 

 public an account of the various kinds of bread, by which 

 their merits may be judged ; and, secondly, to afford 

 technical information to students and others on the im- 

 portant subject of the true value of bread as a food. 

 These objects have in every way been fulfilled. No one is 

 more qualified to write such a book than Mr. Goodfellow, 

 who by his previous writings has shown such a grasp of 

 the subject with which he has to deal. 



The first section of the volume is concerned with 

 " Food, Diet, and Digestion." This is a very difficult 

 matter to treat in a popular manner. It involves some 

 of the most complicated problems of physiology. The 

 author, however, has not shirked his task ; anyone, how- 

 ever ignorant he may formerly have been on the processes 

 by which food matters are rendered suitable for absorp- 

 tion and after-use by the human organism, if he reads 

 through these pages carefully, cannot but help gaining 

 much knowledge on the functions of the stomach and 

 intestinal canal, and of the waste and work of the body. 



The nature of the digestive fluids is not, of course, 

 considered with the minuteness of detail necessary for a 

 medical examination, but enough is said to render the 

 following sections perfectly intelligible, although they 

 are treated in a scientific manner. 



" White Bread " is first considered. An introductory 

 chapter is given describing the structure of the wheat 

 grain, and the changes which flour undergoes when ex- 

 posed to heat and the process of fermentation. Not only 

 are the chemical and physiological properties of bread 

 considered, but economical principles are gone into, and 

 it is shown " that bread is one of the cheapest foods, not 

 only with regard to the actual weight of nourishment ob- 

 tained, but also with regard to the variety of the nu'.rient 

 constituents ; and the purchaser who expends his modest 

 i^d. in a 2-lb. loaf may rest assured that he could not 

 spend his money to better advantage." 



We further learn, however, that white bread is not a 

 perfect food ; those who partake of it should take care to 

 supplement it largely with other foods, in order to make 

 up for the lack of calcareous matter. On no account 

 should it form part of the diet of children unless sup- 

 plemented by milk or other foods rich in lime and phos- 

 phates. 



Turning to " Whole-meal Bread," full descriptions are 

 given of its composition, amount and nature of the salts 

 present and their solubility ; its digestibility, the waste 

 present, and the action of bran on the intestine ; its 

 flavour, satiety, and dryness ; and its effects on infants and 

 children. 



The ordinary whole-meal bread is not a desirable food, 



NO. 1 1 77, VOL. 46] 



and far inferior to good white bread as regards the weight 

 of actual nourishment and the thoroughness of the diges- 

 tion. Its ingestion is often followed by diarrhoea, and the 

 action of the bran increases the waste of food. 



After a short consideration of some special forms of 

 bread, such as " aerated," " bran," " rye " bread, &c., Mr. 

 Goodfellow proceeds to speak of Meaby's Triticumina 

 bread, of which he has a very high opinion, and believes 

 that it is as near a perfect food as such a bread can be, 

 and deserves the universal commendation which has been 

 accorded to it by the medical and analytical world. 

 " Germ," " diastase," " gluten " bread, &c., are then de- 

 scribed, and the book finishes with short chapters on the 

 diseases of bread and its medicinal properties. 



To all who are interested in this subject, or wish to 

 extend their knowledge of "the staff of life," we heartily 

 recommend this volume. 



Graduated Mathematical Exercises. Second Series. 



By A. T. Richardson, M.A. (London: Macmillan 



and Co., 1892.) 

 On a previous occasion we have referred to the first 

 series of exercises by Mr. Richardson. In these he led 

 the student through a set of graduated examples, com- 

 mencing with arithmetic and reaching those on cube root, 

 compound interest, and quadratic equations. 



In the present series, which is nitended to be a con- 

 tinuation of the first, the relatively higher flights of 

 mathematics have been dealt with. The problems have 

 been arranged on the same lines, the more difficult of 

 them being reached as advance is made, and include those 

 on algebra, logarithms, trigonometry, mechanics, and 

 analytical geometry. 



An idea of the range over which each subject spreads 

 can be gathered from the fact that all the problems will 

 about suffice to cover such examinations as those of the 

 Oxford and Cambridge Locals, and Army and Navy, 

 allowing a small margin of safety. 



Great care seems to have been taken to insure ac- 

 curacy, every example having been worked out at least 

 twice. For class work these examples will be found 

 handy and a great saving of time, while for use at home 

 the book should be widely employed. 



Bibliothek des Professors der Zoologie und vergl. Ana- 

 tomie, Dr. Ludwig von Graff, in Graz. (Leipzig : 

 Wilhelm Engelmann, 1892.) 

 Prof, von Graff is the lucky owner of a fine scientific 

 library, which was formed mainly by Carl Theodor von 

 Siebold, his father, and his grandfather, all of whom were 

 professors. This library came into the possession of Prof, 

 von Graff in 1882, and as it was too large for the modest 

 dimensions of a German professor's house, he exchanged 

 many books relating to practical medicine for zoological 

 monographs and periodicals. At Graz the library is 

 freely used by his assistants, pupils, and colleagues, and 

 it is mainly for their benefit that the present catalogue 

 has been issued. It consists of 337 closely printed pages, 

 and is a compilation of considerable value, not only 

 because it gives lists of authors and their works, but 

 because of the admirable way in which the lists are 

 arranged. The contents of the library are grouped under 

 four headings— periodicals, auxiliary books (including 

 works on University systems, bibliographical writings, dic- 

 tionaries, &c.), zoologia generalis, and zoologia specialis. 



The Canadian Guide-book. By Charles G. D. Roberts. 



(London : William Heinemann, 1892.) 

 Tourists and sportsmen in Canada ought to be very 

 much obliged to Mr. Roberts for having provided them 

 with this excellent Guide-book. The method he has 

 adopted is that of Baedeker's Hand-books, and the result 

 is in every way worthy of the models he has chosen. The 

 work includes full descriptions of routes, cities, points of 



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