January 1, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



Bl 



Diagrams of Terrestrial and Astronomical Objects and 

 Phenomena. By E. A. Gregory, F.R.A.S. (Chapman 

 & Hall.) 21g. net. These sheets, twelve in number, 

 and forty inches by thirty inches in size, are intended as 

 aids to lecturers on that comprehensive subject, physio- 

 graphy. Hence it is that a very diverse collection of the 

 most striking terrestrial and astronomical phenomena 

 which cannot be experimentally demonstrated or easily 

 observed, are figured. Each chart contains several figures 

 which are grouped under appropriate headings, such as — 

 Form and Rotation of the Earth ; The Sun's Family of 

 Planets ; Eclipses of the Sun and Moon ; Isotherms and 

 Isobars ; The Sea and Circulation of Water ; Volcanoes 

 and Earthquakes ; Peat, Coal, and Coral. Great discre- 

 tion has been exercised 

 in the choice of sub- 

 jects, and the author's 

 claim to praise in this 

 direction is further em- 

 phasized by the pains 



he has taken to select <t*^""^ , ,.''i'if'1'*§^ 



the most up-to-date .-^ ^ 



presentments of the ;•'- 



objects represented. 

 As an example. Prof. 

 Barnard's magnificent 

 view of Saturn, as seen 

 with the fine instru- 

 ment at the Lick Ob- 

 servatory, may be 

 mentioned. 



illustrations are for the most part unusually good. 

 The letterpress is instructive, interesting, and correct, and 

 we must congratulate both editor and publisher alike on 

 the excellent manner in which the work has been carried 

 through. 



r-.^**^^- 



The Secretary of the 

 Zoological Society of 

 London has sent us the 

 "List of the Verte- 

 brated Animals now or 

 lately Living in the 

 Gardens of the Zoolo- 

 gical Society." This is 

 the ninth edition of the 

 List. "Its principal 

 aim," we are told in the 

 preface, "is to facilitate 

 the naming of the 

 specimens in the So- 

 ciety's collection and 

 to render the nomen- 

 clature uniform." In 

 this it is certainly a ' 

 success. It contains a 

 record of over three 

 thousand species, some 

 of which are illustrated. 

 No indication .however, 

 is given as to whether the specimen referred to is stiU 

 in the Gardens. Such an indication would have greatly 

 added to the value of the List, and could easily, we think, 

 have been given. 



Milk : its Nature and Composition. By C. M. Aikman, 

 M.A., D.Sc. (A, & C. Black.) Illustrated. 8s. 6d. 

 One result of the application of the " beer and whiskey 

 money " to technical education, has been the institution of 

 a number of dairy schools in agricultural counties. This 

 has created a demand for a trustworthy book on the 

 chemistry and bacteriology of milk, butter, and cheese, 

 and the need is met admirably by the present volume. 



Not so much the prac- 

 tice as principles — not 

 the art of dairying but 

 the science of it— are 

 dealt with by Dr. 

 Aikman. As soon as 

 the dairy farmer has 

 been made to under- 

 stand that he must 

 pay attention to the 

 i teachings of chemistry 

 and bacteriology if he 

 . wishes to hold his own 

 y' against the products of 

 ; Denmark, Germany, 

 % Sweden, and Holland, 

 he may hope for more 

 prosperous times. The 

 '^ student of agriculture 

 ' Sr should know every- 

 thing contained in this 

 book, and the general 

 '• reader wiU find in it 

 J much that will interest 

 o: him. 



X 



^ 



:fcW'~ 



Young King Vulture in Down Plumage. 

 (F)'om " The Zoological Society's List of Aniuials.") 



The Royal Natural History, edited by Richard Lydekker, 

 B.A., F.R.S. (Warne), has now been brought to a very 

 successful conclusion. Containing descriptions and illus- 

 trations of the principal mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, 

 and invertebrates, it forms a very useful and instructive 

 work. As a book of reference it will be found valuable to 

 a certain extent, but as such its value is slightly impaired, 

 since in a work of this character it cannot be expected 

 that every living creature should find a place. The 



E.rj lerimm tn I Chem - 

 istry. By .John Castell- 

 Evans.(Murby.)2s.6d. 

 The author^ of this 

 book (third edition) 

 has put together a 

 wonderful amount of 

 data and bare outlines 

 of problems useful in 

 the laboratory — mere 

 transcripts of the me- 

 moranda from actual 

 laboratory note-books. 

 The idea embodied in 

 the work is to throw the 

 student on bis own resources — to compel him, in fact, to 

 bungle away at experimental work till he can so master 

 manipulative details as to compel the observed results to 

 divulge their own story. Illustrations are conspicuous by 

 their absence for a like reason — the student must see and 

 handle the apparatus for himself. In efiect, the system is 

 comparable to giving a student of geography the latitude 

 and longitude of, say, Timbuctoo, and telling him to go 

 and find out all about the place on the spot. We think 

 the plan excellent, but, conscious of the brevity of human 

 life, and knowing something of the difficulties to be en- 

 countered, we tremble when we think of the disappoint- 

 ments, defays, and despair which must inevitably follow 

 in the wake of such a system if rigidly adhered to. 



