August, 1913. 



KNOWLEDGE. 



319 



bell in bygone days, whilst the chapter (XIII) on the decoration 

 of the castings is particularly interesting. It is pleasing to 

 note that the writer agrees with Canon Simpson's principle of 

 tuning bells, and he rightly observes that it is a mistake to 

 retain " maiden " bells in a peal when they would be the 

 better for tuning. 



In a complex work of this description there is bound to be 

 a few " slips " which may be well to correct in a future 

 edition. For instance, on page XIII the date of the " Clavis " 

 is given as 1888; it should be 1788. The stating of the 

 changes on page 83 is incorrect, and the same error occurs on 

 page 84. It may be a printer's error on page 83 where the 

 word " courses " is given instead of " changes," but the 

 writer on page 141 calls "touches" ''peals." A " peal " is 

 the extent of changes obtainable, whilst a " touch " may be a 

 number less than the extent. 



It is stated that the second bell at Aldbourne, Wilts, was 

 given "by anonymous donors" (page 340), but such is not the 

 case, for the names of the donors are plainly cast upon the 

 bell, and the full inscription is as follows : — ■ 



" The gift of Jos: Pizzie and Wm. Gwynn of Aldbourn. . 

 Robert Wells fecit 1787. 



Music and ringing we like so well, 

 And for that reason we gave this bell." 



W. L. 



CHEMISTRY. 



The Interpretation of Radium. Being the Substance of 

 six free popular experimental Lectures delivered at the 

 University of Glasgow. — By Frederick Soddy, M.A., 

 F.R.S. 3rd Edition, revised and enlarged. 284 pages. 

 33 illustrations. 8j-in. X 5£-in. 



(John Murray. Price 6/- net.) 



In the third edition of this work, whilst the original lecture 

 form has been retained, many additions have been made 

 concerning recent investigations, including a new final 

 chapter dealing with the thorium and actinium series of 

 radioactive elements. Controversial matters have been 

 avoided as far as possible, but Mr. Soddy does something 

 less than justice to the electronic theory of matter (with all its 

 faults) when he dismisses it as based upon extravagant 

 assumptions (page 151). Concerning transmutation Mr. 

 Soddy shows that the study of radioactivity indicates the • 

 possibility of achieving this ; but he asserts that transmutation 

 has not yet been accomplished, entirely ignoring the experi- 

 mental work of Sir William Ramsay on the subject, which 

 certainly ought to have been mentioned, even if regarded as 

 inconclusive. Another matter that calls for criticism, is that 

 Mr. Soddy does not clearly distinguish between the aim of 

 science (namely, the correlation of phenomena) and that of 

 metaphysics, which is concerned with the source or cause of 

 phenomena. Thus, he uses " matter " as a metaphysical 

 concept, defining " mass " as " quantity of matter " (an 

 exceedingly vague metaphysical expression), whilst at the 

 same time stating that " mass " is measured by " inertia." 

 Energy, moreover, is spoken of in the book as though it were 

 a metaphysical entity. 



Apart from these faults, however, it must be freely admitted 

 that there is much that is excellent in the book — as, indeed, 

 one could only expect from a man to whom the science of 

 radioactivity owes so much. Apart from the tendency to 

 untenable metaphysics, already indicated, the style is clear 

 and precise, and the language is simple and adapted to the 

 needs of the ordinary reader, who requires a general account 

 of the new science, in which technicalities and matters of 

 detail are avoided as much as possible. 



In one chapter, which is frankly speculative, but by no 

 means the least attractive in the book, there are some very 

 interesting speculations arising out of the consideration of the 

 geological significance of radioactivity and the evolution of the 

 elements. Mr. Soddy suggests that there may have been, in 

 the dim distance of the past, a civilisation on this earth in 

 advance of the present, to whom the secrets of the elements 

 were known, and that the traditional theories of the 

 mediaeval and older alchemical philosophers (which in certain 



cases, as Mr. Soddy points out, seem to express at times, in 

 allegorical form the views of modern science) were the 

 remnant of heritage from this past. 



H. S. Redgrove. 



GEOLOGY. 



The Earth : its Genesis and Evolution. — By A. T. Swaine. 

 277 pages. 64 illustrations. 8j-in.X5-in. 



(C. Griffin & Co. Price 7/6 net.) 



Although this work is confessedly a compilation, it may be 

 commended to general readers and lower-grade students as a 

 well-written and, on the whole, trustworthy exposition of the 

 leading factors in the evolutionary history of the earth, with 

 passing notices of the faunas of the different epochs. 

 Scientific terms are avoided so far as possible ; but the 

 author in a very large number of instances has given 

 references to authenticate particular statements, so that the 

 student desirous of entering more deeply into the subject 

 will have no difficulty in finding where to turn for further 

 information. 



Commencing with the consideration of the various theories 

 of planetary genesis and the beginning of the earth, the 

 author, after a chapter on the leading physical features of the 

 latter and its movements in space, gives an excellent survey of 

 the igneous and sedimentary rocks and their mutual relation- 

 ship and sequence. Very wisely, he has omitted all reference 

 to guesses as to the supposed age of the globe in years, 

 remarking that these have practically no basis of fact, and 

 also that figures of such magnitude are beyond the scope of 

 the ordinary human understanding. The fact that nearly all 

 the great mountain chains of the old world are of Tertiary 

 age is brought very prominently before the reader ; but it 

 might have been added that the stupendous physical changes 

 involved in such movements serve to demonstrate that 

 compensating changes must have occurred in other parts of 

 the world, and consequently that the arguments of those who 

 urge the stability of continents and ocean-basins are of little 

 value. Perhaps the least satisfactory parts of the work are 

 those dealing with extinct vertebrates, with which the author 

 seems to have but a very slight acquaintance. It is, for 

 instance, incorrect to describe the figure of the skeleton of 

 Diplodocus (page 168) as that of a restoration of the animal; 

 while the statement (page 171) that the terrestrial dinosaur 

 Brontosaurus was not unlike an Ichthyosaurus or a 

 Plesiosaurus in form will astonish every palaeontologist. It 

 must, too, have been a remarkably big Newfoundland dog 

 that rivalled the ancestral elephant Moeritherium (or 

 Moerithrium, as it is misspelt on page 196) in size. These, 

 however, are blunders which detract but slightly from the 

 value of an eminently readable book. R , 



PHYSICS. 



Wireless Telegraphy. — By C. L. Fortescue, M.A. 

 143 pages. 20 illustrations. 6f -in. X 5-in. 



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



The series to which this little book belongs has already 

 become widely known, and may fairly claim that it supplies 

 " simple, concise, and reliable information." On such a 

 subject as Wireless Telegraphy this combination of qualities 

 is not easy of attainment. The author has succeeded in 

 putting within the compass of 143 pages the main principles 

 of current induction, condensers, oscillatory currents, 

 resonance, and electromagnetic waves, along with details of 

 the various processes of transmitting and receiving, followed 

 by chapters on wireless telephony and on the history of the 

 development of the whole subject. At a first glance the 

 statements seem to be well and clearly put, and a reader who 

 knows something of electricity in practice will doubtless find 

 much help from a book of this kind. It is doubtful whether 

 any book can supply such help to those who have no practical 

 acquaintance with electricity. These, however, are becoming 

 fewer in number. On page 132 we observe that Hertz is said 

 to have published the results of his experiments with oscil- 



