Makch 2, 1896.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



65 



coloured figures are given of a very large number of insects, 

 larvae and pupre. These figures are beautifully executed, 

 and with very few exceptions are wonderfully true to 

 nature. With their help a novice could not fail to identify 

 any species which is figured. We would heartily recom- 

 mend the book to collectors as the most accurately illus- 

 trated oue on the subject which we have seen. 



Elnneiits of Modi-rn Chemistri/. By C. Adolphe Wurtz. 

 Translated by Drs. Greene and Keller. Fifth Edition. 

 (Lippincott Co., Philadelphia.) Medium-sized hand- 

 books on general chemistry are multiplying. JIany of 

 these new text-books are simply old ones in a new 

 guise. In the majority of these books the theoretical 

 portion of the science is much neglected, so that they 

 become mere summaries of facts and reactions, without 

 making any real progress in their educational value. We 

 are, therefore, better pleased when we find authors con- 

 tent to bring out a new edition of such a standard work as 

 Wurtz's " Elements of ]\Iodern Chemistry," which has 

 already done such good service in the past. Its chief aim 

 is to make clear the inner meaning of chemical laws and 

 phenomena, so that one may confidently assert that theory 

 is the strong point in this text-book. Wurtz is by no means 

 an innovator in theoretical chemistry, but he has the very 

 rare gift of expounding his subject in so easy and brilliant 

 a way as to render chemical theories attractive even for 

 those to whom they are still a terror. The present edition 

 has been considerably enlarged by the translators, and we 

 note that argon and helium are already included among 

 the list of known terrestrial elements. The book is espe- 

 cially adapted for the use of medical students, to whom 

 it will give a sound general knowledge of the elements of 

 chemistry, without wearying them with details of secondary 

 importance. 



Till' ]]'ild Fiiivl and Sea Foul of (ireat Britain. By 

 A Son of the Marshes. Edited by J. A. Owen. (Chapman 

 and Hall.) Illustrated. 14s. In this book the author 

 fully bears out his well-known character as a true and 

 observant field naturalist, but, like the decoy man he 

 describes, he is none too free with his information. The 

 book is full of en'iertaining anecdotes, but we feel sure 

 that it would have been more widely read had the author 

 omitted the minute descriptions (which may be found in 

 any handbook of British birds), and inserted in their stead 

 more of his delightful local touches of man, bird, and beast. 

 As a guide to the wild fowl and sea fowl of Great Britain 

 the book has no particular interest, but as a fasciiiatins 

 book to read it must appeal to everyone, and, above all, 

 to the field naturalist. 



Rt'adii's Shakespeair. Vol. I., Historical Plays. David 

 Charles Bell. (Hodder & Stoughton, 1895.) There 

 are, perhaps, few things so neglected by the average 

 Englishman as the art of elocution. This is partly due 

 to the lack of literature on the subject, and Mr. liell's 

 volume is not altogether an unsuccessful item towards 

 filling up the gap. For although the author scarcely 

 attempts to deal with the " power of speech " in general, 

 the volume before us — the first of a series — may no doubt 

 tend towards the elocutionary study of Shakespeare. And 

 therefore we would recommend its condensed plays and 

 its accentuated lines to the embryo student, or to the 

 man too busy to make his own selections from the great 

 dramatist. 



IliuliHiical Lectures. (Ginn & Co.) The thirteen lectures 

 contained in this volume were delivered at the ^Marine 

 Biological Laboratory of Wood's IIoU in the summer 

 session of 1894. Nearly every lecture deals with oue 

 or other sides of the problem of organic development, and 

 of the value of the whole to all who are concerued with 



the question of the nature of life there can be but one 

 opinion. A special feature of the meetings at Wood's HoU 

 is that an endeavour is made to bring the thoughts of 

 workers in physical science to bear upon biological 

 matters. Accordingly, we find that the first lecture in the 

 volume deals with life from a physical standpoint, the 

 expositor being Prof. A. E. Dolbear. This lecture alone is 

 sufficient to form the basis of a review ; it aims at showing that 

 phenomena which are held to demonstrate the existence of 

 a vital force may also be exhibited by inorganic matter — 

 that, in fact, a definition of life which cannot be applied to 

 the phenomena of non-living things has not yet been 

 obtained. We look at the beautifully symmetrical arrange- 

 ment of crystals in a snowflake, and ascribe the structure 

 to physical agencies, denying to it the vital force which 

 is assumed to control the movements of an amceba. 

 Even spontaneous movement is not peculiar toliving matter, 

 for Quincke and Biitschli have made artificial protoplasm 

 possessing all the characteristics of am*bii-, by means of 

 a mixture of potassium carbonate and olein oU ; which 

 facts result in a feeling among biologists that " the 

 phenomena exhibited by a living thing are finally resolv- 

 able into physical and chemical processes." We have only 

 referred to one of the many lectures in the volume, 

 but the others are no less interesting. The volume is not 

 written so that he who runs may read its pages : it is for 

 those who are in the current of modern scientific thought, 

 or who wish to know what are the burning questions with 

 biologists of to-day, and to such we heartily commend it. 



Molecules and the Malecular Theori/ of Matter. By A. D. 

 Risteen, S.B. (Ginuct Co.) Illustrated. 8s. Od. In this 

 volume the elements of the molecular theor}' of matter as 

 it is held to-day are elucidated. For many years it has 

 been maintained that every substance, however imiform 

 and homogeneous and quiescent it may appear, is composed 

 of separate particles, each of which is in rapid motion. 

 The author brings together the observations of physicists 

 which go to establish this proposition. Beginning with 

 an examination of the kinetic theory of gases, he shows 

 that a large range of phenomena can be referred to it, 

 and then passes to apply the molecular theory to liquids 

 and gases. The methods by which the general order of 

 magnitude of molecules have been determined are after- 

 wards described. In the last section of the book the field 

 of observation is left, and speculations as to the constitution 

 of molecules and the nature of intermolecular forces are 

 dealt with. This brief statement will show the scope of 

 the work, and it only remains for us to say that the treat- 

 ment is excellent. A knowledge of mathematics is required 

 before a few of the points discussed can be understood ; 

 but a large portion of the book can be readily followed and 

 enjoyed by most readers of scientific literattu-e. Every 

 student of physics should add the volume to his library. 



(irent Astronomer.-:. By Sir Robert S. Ball, D.Sc. F.R.S. 

 (Isbister & Co.) Illustrated. 7s. (id. No writer or lecturer 

 on astronomy is better able to entertain the public than 

 Sir Robert Ball. His style is attractive, and often ornate, 

 and he does not over-burden his listener or reader with 

 facts. This book is representative of his manner of 

 exegesis ; nothing in it is beyond the comprehension of 

 the general reader, but, at the same time, the treatment is 

 too redundant to be admirable. Too many anecdotes are 

 introduced, on account more of their entertaining character 

 than of their suitability ; and the only reason one can 

 imagine for the insertion of some of the information in a 

 volume on " Great Astronomers " is that Sir Robert found 

 the material available, and thereupon determined that its 

 goodness should not be wasted. Having said so much — 

 more in sorrow for the author's irrepressible humour and 



