Ai'Kii., i9i: 



KNOWLKDGl-:. 



163 



its value. This book seems to fulfill its purpose excellently 

 :tnd may be warmly recommended not only to students of 

 geology, but also to civil engineers and others for whom the 

 correct interpretation of topographical and geological maps is 

 often essential. . , 



Secrets of the Hills, and lion- Ronald Read Them. — Hy 



Stkri-Ixg Craig, M..-\., LL.B. 320 pages. 19 plates. 



Numerous Woodcuts. 8i-in. X6-in. 



(G. G. Harrap & Co. Price 3 6 net.) 



In this book geology is genially expounded by a pretcr- 

 iiaturally wise doctor to a receptive and questioning schoolboy, 

 Konald. The scene is laid in Scotland, where Konald is 

 enabled to visit the lead mines of Leadhills, to dig and wash 

 for gold in the same district, to descend a coal mine, and, in 

 short, to sample many of the phases of the rich and varied 

 geology of that favoured country. The author has managed 

 to cover most of the field of modern geology. .\ simple method 

 of question and answer is used throughout, but the more solid 

 instruction is interspersed with picturesijue accounts of 

 Ronald's gold digging and other exploits, in such a way that 

 the book should never pall with the right kind of boy reader. 

 The author has taken great pains to get his facts correct and 

 thoroughly up-to-date, and to that end secured the services of 

 Dr. H. X. Peach. F.R.S., to read over his proofs and to make 

 suggestions and corrections. There is consequently very little 

 with which to find fault, a mistake such as "L'nita"' for 

 '■ L'inta," repeated twice on page 157, and also on page 10, 

 and an obvious misprint (page 265), being all that has attracted 

 the reviewer's attention. The book is finely illustrated with 

 plates, woodcuts, maps and diagrams, which might, however, 

 have been numbered. The absence of an index is partly 

 compensated for by a very full list of contents. .-Vltogether 

 this is a surprisingly interesting book, far in advance of other 

 and older productions of its kind, and may be read with 

 pleasure and profit by adult novices in geology as well as by 

 the boys to whom it is primarily addressed. ^ ... -,. 



MATHKMATICS. 



A \exc- Algebra, V'o/. //.— By S. Barnard and J. M. Child. 

 731 pages. 87 illustrations. 7l-in.X5in. 



(Macmillan & Co. Price 4 -.) 

 This volume completes the school course of .-Mgebra for the 

 'irdinary student — a third volume is in preparation to satisfy 

 the needs of the mathematical speciaUst. It is written on the 

 old lines, but it is brought up to date with chapters on 

 approximate values and graphs. It is certainly a book to be 

 recommended for the use of scholars ; and the excellence of 

 the examples should make it possible to be used by less 

 capable students. The authors have written a book that goes 

 far to defend the position they assign to Algebra in the scheme 

 of education ; thev would have rendered that position less 

 assailable if they had had the courage to do a little pruning— 

 why, for instance, is Harmonical Progression allowed to cumber 

 the ground? In our opinion the pure theoretical niceties of 

 the proofs (especially in so-called "fundamental laws"! are 

 over exaggerated — the clearness of the numerical calculation 

 in Section 293 is more valuable educationally than pages of 

 abstract reasoning. We wish more attention had been paid to 

 giving in true perspective the importance of different theorem 

 and methods; why is not Professor Hill's proof of the 

 exponential used ? e is so important an actor in the world of 

 mathematics that its entrance on to the stage should have 

 been heralded by a flourish of trumpets ; instead, we see it 

 dragged on, clinging to the skirts of the Binomial Theorem. 



F. W. D. 



.-1 Sliarter Geometry. — By C. GodfRKV and A. W. SlDDONS. 



301 pages. 287 illustrations. 73-in. X 5:l-in. 



(Cambridge University Press. Price 2/6.) 



This contains the substance of the well-known " Elementary 



Geometry" by the same authors, rearranged in accordance 



with the views expressed in the Board of Education circular. 

 The authors point out in their preface that the new book is 

 eighty-seven pages shorter than the old one, and that nothing 

 essential has been omitted. Like the Shorter Catechism, the 

 book seems long enough for most yoimgsters, and we ha\e 

 nothing but commendation for the process of curtailment. 

 For its size the book is remarkably massive, and should make 

 a formidable missile. 



Mi;Tia)K()L()GV. 



()i<r Weather.— Hy J. S. Fowi.er, F.R. Met. Soc., and 



W. Marriott. F.R. Met. Soc. 131 pages. 63 illustrations. 



6-in. X 4-in. 



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

 This little volume forms one of the series of Temple Primers, 

 of which forty-five have now been issued. It is clearly written 

 in a very interesting way by competent and experienced 

 authors, and touching as it does on every branch of the subject 

 it forms a capital manual in itself and an excellent introduc- 

 tion to larger works. The chapter on Phenological observations 

 is a valuable addition, since this branch of Meteorological 

 work is frequently passed over in text books. The illustrations 

 are numerous and good. 



J. .\. C. 



PHYSICS. 



.4 College Text-Book of Physics.— Hy A. L. Kimbai.i . Ph.D. 



692 pages. 610 illustrations. Sj-in. X 6-in. 

 (London: G. Bell & Sons. New "Vork : Henry Holt \- Co. 

 Price 10/6 net.) 

 This book belongs to the class, now somewhat numerous, of 

 which Ganot is the type, and it is an excellent example of 

 that class. It is adapted to the needs of students taking the 

 general first-year course in an .American College, and contains 

 all the Physics usually demanded as a preliminai-y to scientific 

 professions in this country. It follows that mathematical 

 reasoning is allotted a secondary place in the scheme of the 

 book, and clear presentation of physical facts is aimed at 

 throughout. The malhemafical treatment is good as far as it 

 goes, which is perhaps no further than would, to use a 

 phrase of Sir J. J. Thomson's, "give a headache to a cater- 

 pillar." Thus Newton's fornnila for the velocity of sound is 

 given without proof: in fact, the methods of the calculus are 

 not employed, and the proof of the formula for acceleration of 

 uniform circular motion is hardly as sound as it might be. 

 Lenses are treated by the method of rays, and although the 

 diopter is not introduced, convex lenses are taken as positive, 

 and concave as negative. It is doubtful whether the formula 

 and the rules given for using it are any easier for the 

 indifferent mathematician than the old-fashioned treatment. 

 There is an excellent section on "Fluids in Motion"; and it 

 is surprising to find in a book with so many practical 

 applications a treatment of machines in which friction and 

 efficiency are disregarded. The chapters on " Heat " seem 

 rather short. On the other hand. " Light," and particularly 

 " Diffraction," obtains full attention. The book is well worth 

 the consideration of teachers and students. ^y ^ g 



Pyronietry.—Hy C. R. Darling, F.I.C. 200 pages. 60 



illustrations. 7j-in. X 5-iii. 



(F. & 1". N. Spon. Price 5 - net. I 



This little manual, which is based upon lectures given before 

 the Society of .Arts, deals, as its title suggests, with the measure- 

 ment of high temperatures, above the range of the mercury 

 thermometer. It gives clear descriptions, with illustrations, of 

 the different types of pyrometric apparatus, and fully explains 

 the principles upon which they are based, so that there should 

 be no difficulty in understanding the way in which they are 

 used. 



The book is essentially of a practical character, and fills a 

 distinct gap in the literature of applied chemistry. It will be 

 found of the greatest assistance to all whose work involves the 

 measurement of high temperatures. ^ ^^ ^^ 



