278 



KNOWLEDGE. 



July, 1913. 



Enough has been said to show the value of the book, not 



only as an aid to examination, but also as a practical guide to 



the student of organic chemistry. It is of necessity concise, 



but it suffers in places from too much condensation, and this 



is particularly noticeable in the section on Enzymes. In this 



connection we notice that the author alludes to the coagulation 



of blood as a fermentative process — an hypothesis which lacks 



confirmation. The book would gain much if a section were 



added on the qualitative analyses of dyestuffs upon the same 



lines as those devised for the substances dealt with in the 



other sections. „ . ,, 



C. A. M. 



The Atmosphere. — By A. J. Berry, M.A. (Cambridge 

 Manuals of Science and Literature.) 

 146 pages. 5 illustrations. 6i-in. X 5-in. 

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

 The first impression after reading this little book is a feeling 

 of wonder how so excellent an account of the scientific 

 investigation of the atmosphere can be produced at so low a 

 price. The subject is treated purely from the chemical and 

 physical standpoint, and omits nothing of importance from 

 the days of Galileo to the present time. Separate chapters 

 are given to liquid air, radioactivity, the inert gases, and so on, 

 and there is a most interesting outline of the views and 

 speculations upon the probable composition of the atmo- 

 sphere in prehistoric times. Every page of the book is read- 

 able, and all points in dispute are stated fairly and without 

 bias. Portraits of Boyle, Priestley, and other early chemists 

 add to the interest, and there is a good bibliography and 

 index. In short, this is a model of what a popular scientific 



book should be. _ . ,, 



C. A. M. 



One Hundred Simple and Exact Mathematical Proofs that 

 the Valencies of Carbon are Unequal. — By Hawkswork 

 Collins, B.A. (Cantab.). 110 pages. 8{-in.X 5i-in. 

 (Morton & Burt. Price 7/6 net.) 

 This volume is a sequel to the author's " The Relative 

 Volumes of the Atoms of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen 

 when in Combination," reviewed in "Knowledge" for 

 January, 1912. In it Mr. Collins shows how his method of 

 calculating molecular volumes may be extended to bodies 

 containing the halogen elements. So far as the results go the 

 atomic volumes of chlorine, bromine, and iodine in combination 

 with carbon are constant, being 23-01, 27, and 32-75 respect- 

 ively, whilst carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen have the same 

 values as before. The calculated values are in extraordinarily 

 good agreement with the experimental results of various 

 investigators, as was also the case in the former volume. In 

 view of this fact it is difficult to understand why Mr. Collins's 

 calculations do not receive greater attention from physical 

 chemists. His books are certainly worthy of this, whatever 

 views may be held concerning his theory of valency. As I 

 mentioned in the former review, Mr. Collins explains the fact 

 that hydrogen may have, according to the configuration of the 

 molecule, any one of four different values, by the theory that 

 the valencies of carbon are unequal. No doubt this would 

 explain it; but more than one alternative hypothesis is 

 possible ; and so this peculiarity in the calculated atomic 

 volume of hydrogen cannot be regarded as proving the 

 inequality of the carbon valencies. Further calculations 

 dealing with the molecular volumes of compounds containing 

 other elements are promised by Mr. Collins, and will no 

 doubt be awaited with interest by those who can value 

 calculations of this sort, and can appreciate the labour involved 

 in making them. 



H. S. Redgrove. 



ECONOMICS. 



The Economics of Everyday Life. — A First Book of 



Economic Study. By T. H. Penson, M.A. Part I. 



176 pages. 48 tables and diagrams. 7$-in. X 5 T -in. 



(The Cambridge University Press. Price 3/- net.) 



This work forms an admirable introduction to the science of 



economics, and should meet the requirements of both the 



general reader and the student who is just commencing a study 

 of the subject. The author's language is clear and simple ; he 

 is careful to give accurate and precise definitions to the terms 

 he employs ("wealth" and "labour" may be noted as 

 particular instances) ; and the frequent use of diagrams aids 

 greatly in enforcing the meaning of the text. Part I of the 

 work is divided into four books, dealing respectively with 

 introductory matters, production, exchange, and distribution. 

 Part II will deal with consumption, taxation, and trade unions 

 and cooperative societies. 



A few points call for criticism. Mr. Penson explains the 

 construction of demand and supply curves, but he omits to 

 point out that if both curves are drawn to the same axes, the 

 market price ot the commodity dealt with (under the simple 

 conditions considered) is given at the point where the curves 

 intersect : this would probably not be obvious to readers 

 unacquainted with graphic algebra. In dealing with the 

 division of labour Mr. Penson notes both the advantages and 

 the disadvantages, but, whilst insisting on the former, unduly 

 depreciates the latter. Up to a certain point (i.e., into trades 

 and professions) the advantages are immense and the dis- 

 advantages very slight. But when division is carried to the 

 extent of incomplete processes, the gain to the community (or, 

 rather, to certain members of it) is, I suggest, outweighed by 

 the loss to those who are engaged in carrying out such 

 incomplete processes. It is thus that the factory system arises 

 with its many evils, especially the non-ownership by the work- 

 men of the tools of his trade, which largely destroys his liberty 

 and tends to make him the slave of the capitalist. Moreover, 

 the happiness of a community depends, not only upon its 

 wealth (i.e., upon what it possesses), but upon what it does; 

 and it cannot be denied that the carrying-out of incomplete 

 processes is soul-destroying work, though such considerations, 

 perhaps, belong to ethics rather than economics. 



In enumerating the advantages of the large retail store over 

 the small business Mr. Penson says that " the large scale 

 tends to the accumulation of large amounts of capital in few 

 hands, and thus to the amassing of large fortunes " (page 77). 

 I cannot in the least understand in what sense this can be 

 held to be a genuine " advantage." 



In concluding the volume Mr. Penson writes : " Whether 



or not the existing system of distribution satisfies the claims 



of justice or achieves the best social results is quite outside 



the scope of the present work. In dealing with this question 



as with others the aim has been to point out and to explain 



things of everyday occurrence, to illustrate and to arouse 



interest in the economics of everyday life." That, of course, 



is the right attitude to take in an introductory work, in which 



economics must be treated as a natural, and not as a normative, 



science. Normative economics must come afterwards ; but 



from the first, I think, we must be impressed with the fact 



that, whilst the skill and ability of the workman or organiser 



are inseparable from the man himself, capital is separable from 



the capitalist ; hence that, whilst the workman and the organiser 



are of value to the community, and should be remunerated for 



their services, the capitalist is not only useless, but acts as a 



clog on the free flow of monev. no n 



B H. S. Redgrove. 



ETHICS. 



The Faith of all Sensible People. — By David Alec 

 Wilson. 124 pages. 6j-in. X4-in. 

 (Methuen & Co. Price 2/6 net.) 

 The title of this book, and the claim made for it that the 

 title is justified, strike one as somewhat pretentious, and the 

 author's style savours of dogmatism. But the book contains 

 a good many sound common-sense maxims on a variety of 

 topics, which show the predominant influence of Confucius. 

 The writer believes in evolution, but rejects the theory of 

 natural selection as unproven, though he offers no alternative 

 thereto. In passing, I might note that the acceptance of 

 natural selection as a scientific law by no means involves the 

 acceptance of the materialistic metaphysics which frequently 

 go along with it. Mr. Wilson has a keen dislike of transcen- 

 dental metaphysics, and he asserts that we do and can know 

 nothing of a life after death, if such there be. This, of course, 



