158 



KNOWLEDGE. 



April, 1913. 



The Observer's Handbook for 1913. — 72 pages. 

 7J-in.X5-in. 



(Toronto : The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 

 Price 25 cents. (Is.) 



A very convenient handbook, containing the same informa- 

 tion as our monthly " Face of Sky " ; also sunrise and sunset 

 tables for latitudes forty-four degrees to fifty-two degrees, 

 and an article on the Comets of 1912. In the table of 

 elements, page 53, there is a bad misprint. The mass of 

 Mercury is given as 0-476 of the Earth's; this, presumably, 

 should read 0-0476. On the same page, see the remarks in 

 the previous notice re rotation periods of Mercury and 

 Venus. Page 54, the periods of Jupiter VII and VIII should 

 be two hundred and sixty days and seven hundred and thirty- 

 nine days, not two hundred and sixty-five, and seven hundred 

 and eighty-nine days. It is curious how often early approximate 

 values of constants continue to be printed, when later ones 

 are readily accessible. Same page, the satellite of Neptune 

 is stated to be nameless ; many authorities now use the name 

 Triton, the adoption of which seems worthy of encouragement. 

 The work also_ contains star maps', with notes on the objects 

 of interest in each constellation ; also an article on " Recent 

 Progress in Astronomy," by W. E. Harper. This deals more 

 particularly with stellar parallaxes and proper motions and 

 star-drift. Some recent conclusions in these fields have an 

 important bearing on the structure of the stellar system. 



A. C. D. C. 



BOTANY. 



Hutchinson's Popular Botany. — By A. E. Knight and 



Edward Step, F.L.S. Volumes I and II. 588 pages. 



721 illustrations, 18 coloured plates. 9f-in.X7i-in. 



(Hutchinson & Co. Price 7/6 per volume.) 



These two volumes should do much to encourage the study 

 of plants. They contain a great number of attractive photo- 

 graphs, many of which have been taken by Mr. Step, but it is 

 obvious that there are many details which can much more 

 easily and effectively be brought to the notice of the student 

 by means of a drawing or diagram ; and it must be said that 

 those by Mr. A. E. Knight which have been introduced serve 

 their purpose extremely well and are most clear. Mr. Step's 

 books are well known and appreciated, and it goes without 

 saying that he has brought forward in a most pleasing way a 

 multitude of points of interest with regard to flowering and 

 other plants. At the same time, the book is a serious one and 

 contains much valuable information. The structure of the 

 plant, the way it does its work, and the relation of the leaf to 

 its environment, make up the first part ; while floral forms and 

 their connection with the visits of insects, fruits, and some 

 account of the reproduction of ferns and mosses, go to make 

 up the second, which also contains a glossary of botanical 

 terms and an index. It appears that at the present day the 

 British public demands coloured plates, and nine very effective 

 ones have been introduced into each of the volumes. We 

 sincerely wish Mr. Step's work the success which it deserves. 



W. M. W. 



CHEMISTRY. 



Elements and Electrons. — By Sir William Ramsay, 

 K.C.B., F.R.S. 173 pages. 7-in.X4|-in. 



(Harper & Brothers. Price 2/6 net.) 



This little volume gains an added interest from the recent 

 discoveries of Sir William Ramsay, Professor Collie and Mr. 

 Patterson, which indicate the possibility of building up 

 elements from the immaterial ether and transmuting them 

 into one another. These discoveries, in fact, add a further 

 chapter to the history of the atomic theory. 



The outline of this history is here given so clearly that 

 even a reader without any previous knowledge of chemistry 

 could follow it. Starting with a brief description of the 

 notions of the ancients about matter, the author soon brings 

 his story to the atomic theory of Dalton, which during the last 

 century was practically unchallenged. It is true that specu- 



lations upon the possible existence of a primordial form of 

 matter inevitably followed the discovery of the remarkable 

 periodic relationships among the elements, but it was not 

 until the disintegration of radium into other elementary 

 bodies was discovered that any definite proof was obtained of 

 the existence of something more elementary than the 

 '■ elements " as defined by the chemist. 



Sir William Ramsay keeps modestly in the background 

 while sketching the wonderful discoveries of the last few 

 years, but the story gains much in interest from being told by 

 one who has helped to shape its course. r A M 



Second Stage Inorganic Chemistry (Theoretical). — By 

 G. H. Bailey, D.Sc. Revised by H. W. Bausor, M.A. 

 Sixth Impression. Fourth Edition. 544 pages. 109 illustra- 

 tions. 7-in. X 5-in. 



(The University Tutorial Press. Price 4/6.) 



The fact that there has been a demand for yet another 

 edition of this book is a proof that it supplies a want. In fact, 

 as a skeleton outline of all the principal facts of which a 

 knowledge is required by candidates for the lower examination 

 in " Inorganic Chemistry," conducted by the Board of 

 Education, it could hardly be surpassed. Moreover, the 

 information is conveyed in such a clear-cut form that it 

 impresses itself upon the memory. The book should prove 

 useful not only to those studying for particular examinations, 

 but also to all students who need a general summary of the 

 principles of chemistry upon which they can base their further 

 reading. Hence, in a way, it may take the place of a course 

 of lectures, provided that it is regarded, like the lecture, as a 

 means of clarifying acquired knowledge. Unfortunately, this 

 type of book also shares with the lecture the danger of being 

 regarded as a thing sufficient in itself. 



C. A. M. 



Second Stage Practical Inorganic Chemistry. — By 

 William Briggs, LL.D., M.A., and R. W. Stewart, D.Sc. 

 Revised and enlarged by H. W. Bausor, M.A. Sixth Impres- 

 sion (3rd Edition). 206 pages. 13 illustrations. 7-in. X 5-in. 



(The University Tutorial Press. Price 2/6.) 



This book is the practical portion of the theoretical volume 

 in the same series. LiKe its companion, it deals with its 

 subject in a thoroughly utilitarian manner, and it should find 

 a welcome from all who are working for the examination in 

 question. The exercises are well-chosen and the directions 

 clearly described, and the student who works conscientiously 

 through the book will gain a good grasp of the general principles 

 of chemical analysis. 



One cannot help feeling, however, that it is a mistake to 

 divorce so completely the theoretical and practical sides of a 

 science, and that, apart from examination purposes, it would 

 be more satisfactory to have the two portions incorporated in 

 one book. 



The table of atomic weights in the appendix also calls for 

 criticism, for the numbers are rounded off and are prefixed 

 by a note to the effect that they are " sufficiently accurate for 

 the purpose of ordinary chemical analysis." Surely it is a 

 mistake to encourage a beginner to aim at a limited degree of 

 accuracy ; and, apart from this, the use of such numbers at 

 the outset will be liable to give the impression that the atomic 

 weights stand in closer numerical relationship than appears to 



be the case from the recorded determinations. 



C. A. M. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



Turkey and the Eastern Question. — By John Macdonald, 

 M.A. 92 pages. 6-i-in. X4i-in. 



(T. C. & E. C. Jack. Price 6d. net.) 



This fascinating little book is, if anything, topical ; at first it 

 seems merely so. But consideration shows it is the book for 

 the student of the political movements of the age, whose 

 opportunities for study are limited to morning half-hours 

 with his newspaper, for "the man in the street." It would 



