February, 1913. 



KNOWLEDGE. 



75 



there need be only one good index at the end of volume II., 

 and a title-page to each ; the pages might and should run on. 



As we use books for many hours daily we offer this 

 suggestion, and feel sure that the step would be in the right 

 direction and none would regret it ; the increased cost would 

 be very trivial, the convenience very great. Books for use are 

 made far too heavy and thick nowadays. 



As to the contents; the story is naturally told in the author's 

 most pleasant, entertaining and well-known way, and it comes 

 from a master hand. Judging by the experience of the 

 previous edition the whole ground of astronomy in its popular 

 aspect will be covered. The part before us does not indicate 

 how far the subject has been re-written or revised to date. 

 In future parts that may be judged. In several departments 

 of astronomy, mainly solar and stellar, immense progress has 

 been achieved by that ubiquitous handmaid — photography, 

 and we hope that the advancements may be frequently intro- 

 duced into the text and plates. 



We heartily commend the book to all those who love to 

 read, and to know more about the objects and worlds beyond 



our own puny Earth. 



F. A. B. 



Astronomy. — By F. W. Dyson, LL.D., F.K.S. 118 pages. 

 60 illustrations. 6:j-in. X4i-in. 



(J. M. Dent & Sons. Price 1/- net.) 



This is one of Dent's Scientific Primers, edited by Dr. J. R. 

 Green. The little book before us is virtually a condensed 

 second edition of the author's larger work upon the subject 

 published in 1910. The only portion that has been materially 

 curtailed is Chapter VIII, on the Fixed Stars, which has been 

 reduced to a microscopical quantity of six pages. The bulk 

 of the book consists of three chapters, forty-four pages of 

 historical astronomy, naturally condensed, but replete with 

 information very much to the point and interestingly given ; 

 the fourth Chapter we might call the practical chapter, as it 

 relates to the instruments with which astronomers work ; the 

 next forty-four pages form Chapters V, VI, and VII, and 

 include the Sun and Solar System, with information to 1908, 

 and numerous illustrations. 



Thus we have in about a hundred pages a concise history 

 of astronomy for more than two thousand years, with few 

 omissions of the important facts which form the eras of 

 astronomical progress, in a neat form and size for the side- 

 pocket, if needed, and a few ounces in weight only ; also at 

 such a price that half-a-dozen can be bought and given to 

 friends at a cost of a novel. 



We advise the reader to study the author's preface, 

 which contains the appreciation — a courtesy often omitted 

 by authors in general — of the author's obligations to other 

 astronomers in enabling him the more readily to produce this 

 excellent little primer, which might well be used as a school 

 book and by teachers themselves. We heartily recommend 

 it, and may the healthy vigour of its youth enable it to reach 



the maturity of manhood's age. 



F. A. B. 



CHEMISTRY. 



A Treatise on General and Industrial Inorganic 

 Chemistry. — By Dr. E. Moi.inari. Translated from the 

 Italian by E.Feilmann, Ph. D., F.I.C. 704 pages. 279 illus- 

 trations. 3 plates. 10-in. X6|-in. 



(J. & A. Churchill. Price 21/- net) 



This book is almost monumental in its scope, for it covers 

 the whole ground of inorganic chemistry, historical, physical, 

 and especially industrial. In some respects it suffers from 

 this fulness, and some of the sections show indications of 

 their severe compression into a single volume of seven hundred 

 pages. 



This criticism, however, does not apply to the description 

 of manufacturing processes, which, with few exceptions, are 

 dealt with at length. In fact, the scheme of the book is to 

 unite the applications of chemical reactions more closely with 

 the theoretical aspect than is usual in text books of chemistry. 



Full details are, therefore, given of the plant used in the 



modifications of various industrial processes, and the book 

 not only gains in interest by this plan, but is also valuable as 

 a source of reference for the technical chemist and patent agent. 



In most instances the descriptions of the manufacturing 

 processes are up-to-date, but this is not invariably the case. 

 For example, the account of the artificial mineral water 

 industry is very meagre and not entirely accurate. A historical 

 error may also be noted in this connection. It is stated 

 (p. 228) that " the first scientific factory for mineral waters 

 was founded on a scientific basis in 1821 by Dr. Struve at 

 Dresden." This is incorrect ; for as far back as the year 1780 

 artificial mineral waters were scientifically prepared and sold 

 by Professor Bergman in Sweden; and in 1790 a factory for 

 their manufacture was established, also on a scientific basis, by 

 Paul in Geneva. 



Another subject that receives too little attention is the 

 chemistry of the rare earths, which is only dealt with very 

 briefly, and in this direction the book would not be a good 

 guide to anyone in search of the latest information. 



An excellent feature is the description of the uses to which 

 the various chemical products are applied, and the statistics 

 of the values of the quantities annually manufactured or 

 exported. Naturally, the chemicals of Italian origin receive 

 the fullest treatment, and among the subjects discussed in 

 connection with them is a most interesting account of the 

 present position of the sulphur industry, and its progress since 

 the establishment of the State Consortio Italiana to regulate 

 the supply and distribution of sulphur. 



The book is excellently printed and illustrated with good 

 diagrams, while the translation is well done. It has deservedly 

 reached its third edition. r A M 



GEOLOGY. 



The Work of Rain and Rivers. — By T. G. Bonney, LL.D., 



F.R.S. (Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature.) 



144 pages. 19 figures. 6i-in. X 5-in. 



(The Cambridge University Press. Price 1/- net.) 



To the present generation it seems amazing that the forma- 

 tion of river-valleys was once ascribed to anything rather than 

 the rivers which occupy them. Yet, as Professor Bonney 

 shows in the last chapter of this entertaining little book, the 

 true explanation of river- valleys is only a recent addition to 

 scientific knowledge, and the earlier geologists (with the excep- 

 tion of Hutton and a few others) were content to believe that 

 the valleys were made for and not by the rivers. Professor 

 Bonney rightly ascribes to J. B. Jukes the honour of settling 

 beyond question the modern view of the work of rivers 

 in excavating their own valleys ; but he perhaps rather 

 exaggerates the influence of the eccentric Colonel George 

 Greenwood, and his book " Rain and Rivers." The rest of the 

 book follows the accepted lines, and while containing little 

 that is new, describes the work of rain and rivers in a way 

 that is bound to excite the interest of the reader. The nature 

 of the treatment may be indicated by the chapter headings — 

 Carving and Carrying, The Making of Valleys, The Transport 

 and Deposit of Materials, The History of a River System, 

 Man's Learning of Nature's Lesson. The author does not 

 approve, as we learn in a footnote, of the modern and 

 extremely convenient terminology which we owe to the genius 

 of Professor William Davis. His illustrations of river-action 

 and history are largely drawn from the Alps, and in the 

 absence of sketch-maps are occasionally not very easy to 

 follow. There is something wrong with the statistics on 

 page 73, where it is stated that a thousand tons of carbonate 

 of lime, if re-converted into chalk, would form a block 

 measuring two feet by three feet at its end and eleven feet 

 in length. G _ w _ T 



Preventable Cancer. A Statistical Research. — By Rot.LO 

 Russell. 167 pages. 7j-in. X 5,1-in. 



(Longmans, Green & Co. Price 4/6 net.) 



The above volume well deserves careful study. The writer 

 is not a medical man, and, therefore, when speaking of the 



