July 2, 1903 



NATURE 



197 



this protess, but it has probably occurred on an even 

 trreater scale under the shadow of Monte Rosa, where 

 the depths of the Upper Val Anzasca have replaced 

 summits which once connected the former peak with 

 tlie ranges about the head of the Saaser Visp. 



But before Alps, Pyrenees, or Carpathians existed, 

 ICurope had its river systems, which, notwithstanding 

 their revolutionary effects, may still be traced. For 

 these we must look to the great zone of the central 

 highlands, which, in earlier days, must have marked 

 the watershed of Europe so far as it then existed. We 

 can, indeed, infer this history from Dr. Partsch's 

 chapters, but its geographical outlines might well 

 have been drawn with a firmer pencil. But his sketches 

 of the different regions of Europe are clear and graphic, 

 not forgetting the scenery and structure of the great 

 Alpine chain, among which we may mention that of 

 the Karsh region of the south-east, with its singular 

 system of underground drainage, outliers of which may 

 be found here and there farther west, notably in the 

 Steinerne Meer, near the Konig See, and sometimes 

 even in the Western Oberland. The chapters on the 

 North German lowland and adjacent seas, on climate, 

 ethnology, and economic geography are particularly 

 good, and the value of the last is increased by small 

 maps showing the chief productive areas of cereals, 

 potatoes, vines, and other useful plants, as well as of 

 minerals. The growth and relations also of the States 

 into which Central Europe is now divided are briefly 

 sketched, and the professor, in remarks upon the zeal 

 lately shown by Switzerland in fortifying the heart of 

 the Alps, takes some little pains to assure this State 

 that the Teutonic Codlin, not the Gallic Short, is the 

 friend. Who lives, will see. 



We think Prof. Partsch makes " block " mountains 

 and fractures a little too prominent, and object to his 

 use of the term rift valley, though aware that he can 

 quote precedents. If the Upper Rhine is a rift valley, 

 we are unable to see how it differs from a " fault 

 valley," i.e. one the general line of which has been 

 determined by a fault or set of faults. Rift valley, in 

 the most proper sense of that epithet, belongs to an 

 extinct phase of geology, when the Alpine lakes were 

 located in gaping fractures; it becomes almost absurd, 

 as Prof. Partsch's own diagram shows, when applied 

 to the above-named region or to the valley of the 

 Jordan, but there are now geologists who take much 

 pleasure, first in coining a dubiously appropriate term 

 and then misapplying it with a lavish hand. One 

 or two other dubious matters may as well be 

 mentioned. It would be more correct to say that 

 the crystalline rocks of the Mont Blanc massif, on their 

 underground course towards the Bernese Oberland, 

 plunge under the Alps of Vaud than of Fribourg ; 

 it is misleading to speak of schistose rocks being 

 associated with the nagelfluh, and it would have been 

 well to have spoken more dubiously about ancient 

 coral reefs as origins of the East Alpine Dolomites. 

 These, however, are but details. The book displays 

 a temperate avoidance of extreme views, is well printed 

 and illustrated, is clearly and attractively written, and 

 will be most useful to both teachers and learners. 



T. G. B. 

 NO. 1757, VOL. 68] 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



A Treatise on the Theory of Solution, including the 

 Phenomena of Electrolysis. By W. C. D. Whet- 

 ham. Pp. x + 488. (Cambridge: University Press, 

 1902.) Price 10s. net. 

 The present work is a rewritten and greatly expanded 

 version of the author's book on " Solution and Electro- 

 lysis," published in 1895. It embraces practically all 

 the material on the subject of solutions which is dealt 

 with in the ordinary text-books of physical chemistry, 

 except that part concerned with velocity of reaction and 

 purely chemical equilibrium. The treatment through- 

 out is characterised by great clearness, especially in 

 the physical and mathematical portions, so that the 

 volume may be warmly recommended to students of 

 chemistry who desire to increase their knowledge of 

 this department of the subject. The first chapter is 

 on the general principles of thermodynamics, so far 

 as they are necessary for subsequent developments, 

 and is followed by chapters on the phase-rule and on 

 solubility. Then comes the discussion of the pheno- 

 mena of osmotic pressure, and the related magnitudes 

 of the lowering of vapour pressure and of the freezing 

 point, to be succeeded by a judicious chapter on the 

 theory of solutions in which the hypotheses of mole- 

 cular bombardment and of chemical combination are 

 weighed and compared. Thereafter come four 

 chapters on electrolytic conductivity and electromotive 

 force, leading to an exposition of the theory of electro- 

 lytic dissociation. Two useful chapters on diffusion 

 in solution, and on solutions of colloids, conclude the 

 work. 



A valuable appendix consists in the tables of electro- 

 chemical data compiled by the Rev. T. C. Fitzpatrick, 

 and reprinted from the British Association Report of 

 1893. This extends to nearly 80 pages, and gives the 

 conductivity, migration, and fluidity data which had 

 at that time been determined for aqueous solutions. 

 The book is also provided with an excellent index, 

 which adds to its value as a work of reference. 

 The Study of Mental Science. By Prof. J. Brough. 

 Pp. 129. (London : Longmans, Green, and Co.> 

 1903.) Price 25. net. 

 This very readable little book is a collection of five 

 lectures in which Prof. Brough has urged with force 

 and eloquence the claims of logic and psychology to 

 take their place in every curriculum designed to give 

 a liberal education. He. claims that the study of logic 

 develops and brings clearly before the consciousness 

 of the student the " natural sense of method " which 

 in the scientific specialist too often works in devious 

 subterranean fashion. Logic, treated as a study of 

 scientific method, should be taught at that stage in 

 the educational course at which a general survey of 

 knowledge has been made, and before the student 

 enters upon one of the more specialised courses of study 

 prescribed by the honours schools of our universities. 

 This sound principle, practically interpreted, means 

 that logic should be made an obligatory subject for all 

 candidates in the matriculation examinations of the 

 universities, that, for example, in the " Little-go " 

 logic should replace " Paley," which for the intelli- 

 gent student is merely a study in one branch of logic, 

 the study of fallacies. For psychology our author does 

 not attempt to claim so urgent and universal import- 

 ance. It is rather as a complement to the " human- 

 ities " that he urges its claims. In the modern world 

 " the panorama of spiritual presentation through which 

 we move " grows overwhelmingly rich and varied, and 

 the mind can hope to cope with it profitably only when 

 its knowledge of spiritual fact is systematised by 

 analysis of psychical processes and by clear conceptions 

 of the elements so revealed and of the laws of their 

 conjunction. Prof. Brough is known as an enthusiast 



