REVIEWS. 



CHEMISTRY. 



A't'w Ideas on Inorganic Cliciiiisfrv.—'By Dr. A. Wkr.ser. 

 Translated by E. P. Hedi.ev. Ph.D. 268 pases. 9-in. x 6-in. 



I Longmans. Green and Co., Price 7 6 net.) 



This is among tlie most valuable contributions to the science 

 of Chemistry which have been made of recent years. The 

 first edition was published in Germany in 1905, and within 

 three years a second edition was required. The present 

 booU is the translation, with some additions and corrections, 

 of this second edition. 



It deals, in the main, with the problem of the valency of the 

 elements as shown in their different compounds, and while 

 outlining the various theories that have been put forward, 

 attempts to weave them into a consistent f.abric, and discusses 

 their relationship to the observed facts. 



Although the systematic classification of inorganic com- 

 pounds does not as yet rest upon so stable a basis as that of 

 organic compounds, indications are not wanting that before 

 long such a scheme may be de\iscd. In fact this book goes 

 a long way in this direction. 



Both as a critical history of the doctrines of \alency and a 

 guide to unexplored fields, it should meet with a welcome from 

 all chemists, and in particular from those whose work involves a 

 consider.ation of the structural constitution of inorganic com- 

 pounds. The book is excellently translated, though there are 

 a few grammatical slips, and is clearly printed and arranged ; 

 but although there is a full table of contents at the beginning 

 of the book, the absence of an index is a blemish. Its use as 

 a handbook to research would .also be greatly increased by 

 repeating the references given at the foot of each page in a 

 classified bibliography, CAM 



Inorganic Clu'inistry..~By V. Stanley Kipping, D.Sc, 



F,K.S., and W, H. Perkin, D.Sc, F,R,S, 751 pages. 120 



illustrations. 7i-in. X Sl-in. 



I\V. & K. Chambers. Price 7 6.) 



So great is now the number of elementary text-books of 

 Chemistry that any fresh addition to them needs to justify its 

 existence by novelty of treatment or arrangement. In the 

 present case there is undoubtedly such justification, the 

 subject matter being so arranged as to avoid some of the 

 pitfalls in the way of the beginner. 



All who have had experience in teaching will recall the 

 difficulty of convincing a young student of the reality of an 

 invisible body, and of making him grasp the fact that a salt in 

 solution has as real an existence as an insoluble compound. 

 This was summarised by Professor Vernon Harcourt in his 

 phrase, that "a precipitate is too often an object of super- 

 stitious veneration." 



To obviate this difficulty the authors of this book ha%e 

 wisely postponed the consideration of the gaseous elements, 

 with which most text-books start, until such time as the 

 student shall have acquired a practical acquaintance with the 

 reaction of common salts. 



The first part covers the ground needed for the London 

 Matriculation examination, while in the second part chemical 

 and physical changes are dealt with more fully, and sections 

 upon tlie determination of molecular weights, ionic dissociation, 

 spectrum analysis, and radioactivity are included. 



In this part also comes the systematic account of the 

 elements. The interest of the student is likely to be main- 

 tained by the way in which metallic and non-metallic elements 

 have not been isolated from one another. 



Throughout the book, experiment goes hand-in-hand with 



theory, and although the utilitarian end of examinations is 

 not lost sight of, it is not unduly emphasised. 



We can, therefore, heartily recommend the book to any 

 beginner who wishes to study Chemistry without the necessity 

 of following set courses of lessons, 



C. A. M. 



GE()(";RAPHV. 



Mdilcrn Ccitfirapliy.—lh- Marion 1. Nkwbigin. D.Sc. 

 256 pages. 13 illustrations. 7-in. '^ 4-in. 



(Williams \- Norgatc. Price 1 - net.) 



This little book forms part of the Home University Library, 

 and is an excellent compendium of the different subjects 

 brought into relation mider the head of geography. The 

 standpoint is " frankly anthropological," geography being 

 considered as the study of the earth in relation to its inhabi- 

 tants, especially man. The chapter headings, however, raise 

 the doubt, at least in the mind of the reviewer, whether 

 geography is, after all, a unit of science like chemistry or 

 zoology. I'or instance, two of the chapters are geological, 

 others are botanical, zoiilogical or ethnographical. Is not 

 geography, therefore, rather the application of many sciences 

 to the description of the earth in relation to its inhabitants ? 

 Be that as it may, we have read Miss Newbigin's work with 

 great pleasure, and believe that it will give similar pleasure to 

 that section of the public which desires popular accounts by 

 competent specialists of the latest developments in knowledge, 

 A note on the literature and a good index is provided, 



G, W, T. 

 GEOLOGY, 



Characfcristics of Existing Glaciers. — By W. H. Horrs. 

 jOl pages. J4 plates. 140 figures. 9-in. X 6-in, 



(New York: The Macmillan Co. Price 13 6 net.) 



This important and authoritative work is by a distinguished 

 .■Vmerican glacialist whose mind has not been unduly obsessed 

 by the importance of the alpine type of glacier. Throughout 

 the book emphasis is placed on the contrast between mountain 

 glaciers — the alpine type — and continental glaciers, such as 

 those which cover Greenland and the .Antarctic Continent. 

 Hitherto, despite the enormous disparity in size .and shape, 

 the practice has been to treat these types together as if they 

 obeved the same laws and accomplished the same work. This 

 book takes the view that mountain and continental glaciers are 

 different in kind rather than in degree. In accordance with this 

 view, most space is allotted to the continental type as being by 

 far the largest and most important masses of ice. The ice- 

 caps covering small elevated areas, such as those of Iceland, 

 are regarded as in some measure intermediate between the 

 two types ; but physiographically they are allied to the 

 continental ice-sheets, and have few affinities with mountain 

 glaciers. 



Professor Hobbs is a convinced upholder of the excavating 

 and eroding power of glaciers, in opposition to the school 

 which claims that glaciers exercise a more or less protective 

 influence on their beds. We think, however, that the author 

 assigns too little weight to the maturely considered views of 

 such authors as Bonney and Garwood as to the protective 

 influence of glaciers. In regard to mountain glaciation, much 

 importance is given to cirque-recession as one of the chief 

 erosional methods of small bodies of ice, in strong contrast 

 to continental ice-masses, whose chief method of erosion is 

 by abrasion of their floors. 



One of the most useful features of the book is the way it 

 summarises and collates the ice-observations of numerous 



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