REVIEWS. 



CHEMISTRY. 



Laboratory Text Book of Chemistry. — By V. S. Bryant, 

 M.A. Parti. 246 pages. 10-in.X 72-in. 

 (J. & A. Churchill. Price 4/- net.) 

 The method upon which this text book is based is excellent, 

 for it aims at suggesting the use of experiment at every stage 

 of its course. From the very first the student is encouraged 

 to test facts and statements for himself, and the danger of his 

 learning the theoretical part of the science by memory is 

 guarded against by the use of supplementary questions, the 

 answers to which will require thought. The present part 

 includes the fundamental principles of chemistry, and the 

 elements, ogygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, and their chief 

 compounds ; and a further section is promised dealing in the 

 same thorough manner with valency, oxides, carbon, and 

 sulphur. Diagrams are provided where necessary, and blank 

 spaces and pages are left for pencilled notes by the teacher or 



student C. A. M. 



General Index to " The Chemical News." — Vols. I-C. 

 712 pages. lOi-in.X 7j-in. 

 (The Chemical News Office. Price 40/-.) 

 Not only subscribers to The Chemical News, but others 

 who wish to consult its pages, and others again who may 

 now be tempted to seek for information, will appreciate the 

 issue of a general index to Volumes I to C of the periodical in 

 question, which appeared between the years 1860 and 1909. 

 The amount of labour entailed must have been very great. 

 The detail which has been gone into is shown by the fact that 

 subjects and authors are both given, while many of the former 

 are subdivided, and cross-references have been introduced. 

 Although the index contains two thousand one hundred and 

 thirty-six columns, the book is of a convenient size and is only 

 an inch and five-eighths thick. All chemists should show 

 their appreciation of the enterprise of The Chemical News 



W. M. W. 



by adding this valuable index to their library. 



ENGINEERING. 



Continuous Beams in Reinforced Concrete. — By Barnard 

 Geen, A.M.I.C.E., M.S.E., M.C.I. 210 pages. 14 illus- 

 trations. lli-in.X8$-in. 

 (Chapman & Hall. Price 9/- net.) 



Continuity in reinforced concrete structures is at the same 

 time one of the most advantageous features possessed by the 

 material and one of the difficulties that has to be dealt with 

 by the designer. In steel structures continuity of beams can 

 to a great extent be avoided. In reinforced concrete the 

 monolithic nature of the structure makes such an easy 

 solution of the problem impossible. Considerable experi- 

 mental work has been done on the question of continuity of 

 structures by the French Government Commission and other 

 bodies, but hitherto the literature of the subject has lacked 

 a simple and reliable guide to the stresses to be expected in 

 continuous beams. 



Mr. Geen has isolated the question of their determination, 

 and has worked out the bending moment and shear diagrams 

 for two, three, and five spans under five different forms of 



loading. These diagrams have been combined, so as to give 

 directly the maxima positive and negative shears and bending 

 moments to be provided for in the cases dealt with. 



In addition, such closely allied questions as the haunching 

 of beams, the bending stresses in columns due to the 

 continuity of the beams, the effect of subsidence of the 

 supports, and some features of tests of structures are also 

 briefly dealt with by the author. 



The book is a useful contribution towards filling a decided 

 blank in the literature of reinforced concrete. The author 

 wisely stops at the determination of the stresses, and does not 

 proceed to discuss the method of determining the sections 

 necessary to resist them. That has been dealt with ad 

 nauseam in the literature of the subject. 



The scheme of the work is unconventional. Out of a total 

 of two hundred and ten pages only some thirty-seven are 

 occupied by explanatory letterpress, the remainder being 

 devoted to diagrams and tables. The omission of the usual 

 padding and the general clearness and conciseness of the 

 letterpress enhance the value of the work and increase its 

 usefulness as a reference work for practical men. 



N. M. 

 MICROSCOPY. 



The Microtomist's Vade-Mecum. — By Arthur Bolles 



Lee. 7th edition. 526 pages. 9-in. X5j-in. 



(J. & A. Churchill. Price 15/- net.) 



Since the first appearance of this book in 1885 no fewer than 



seven editions have been called for, and no better testimony 



to its value as a work of reference could be wanted. It is 



one which every microscopist who does any real work, as 



well as every biologist who makes researches, must consult 



again and again. That it has been once more brought up to 



date is matter for congratulation, and that the new edition 



should be in the hands of everyone interested is shown by the 



fact that the index alone gives more than seven hundred new 



entries. 



W. M.W. 



.ZOOLOGY. 



Notes on the Natural History of Common British 

 Animals and some of their Foreign Relations. Verte- 

 brates.— By Kate M. Hall, F.L.S., F.Z.S. 289 pages. 

 64 illustrations. 7i-in. X5-in. 

 (Adlard & Son. Price 3/6 net.) 

 Miss Hall's object in writing this book is to give those who 

 are engaged in the busy routine of elementary teaching such 

 information as she thinks would be of great service to them 

 in interesting boys and girls in our common British animals. 

 We think that Miss Hall has most successfully fulfilled her 

 purpose. To get together anything like the amount of 

 material which is here brought into convenient compass, very 

 much reading would have to be done, and it is quite probable, 

 not to say practically certain, that those who lack the Author's 

 training and experience would overlook many of the very 

 interesting points which give the book its charm. It will 

 appeal strongly, not only to the teachers for whom it is meant, 

 but to all those whose tastes lead them to love natural 

 history. w . M. W. 



NOTICES. 



LIEBIG'S LABORATORY— A CORRECTION.— 

 Figure 395, which was labelled Liebig's Laboratory, is in 

 reality from a photograph of a Pharmaceutical Laboratory of 

 the eighteenth century, reproduced at the Historical Medical 

 Museum. 



CHANGE OF ADDRESS.— Messrs. Wratten & Wain- 

 wright, Ltd., have removed from Croydon to Kodak House, 

 Kingsway, W.C. A new factory has been erected for them 

 at Wealdstone, which will enable them to enjoy all the 

 resources of the Kodak plant. 



SECOND-HAND APPARATUS.— Mr. Charles Baker's 

 catalogue, No. 53 P, contains a classified list of second-hand 

 photographic apparatus. This is kept separate from other 

 second-hand instruments, of which catalogue No. 54 has just 

 been issued, containing more than two thousand items, all of 

 which are guaranteed to be in perfect working order. 



ZOOLOGICAL BOOKS.— The most recent of Messrs. 

 John Wheldon & Company's catalogues contains nearly twelve 

 hundred entries dealing with the Invertebrata, exclusive of 

 Insects. 



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