July 9, 1903] 



NATURE 



219 



as well as the method of constructing stereoscopic 

 diagrams to be used with it. To those anxious to 

 lighten, so far as possible, the labour of the student, 

 while increasing the efficiency of the teacher's efforts, 

 Prof. Manchot's little book should afford suggestive 

 reading. Edwin Edskr. 



PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS IN FACTORIES. 

 Infortuni sul lavoro. Mezzi Tecnici per Prevenirli. 



By Ing. E. Magrini. Pp. xxxi + 251. (Milano : 



Ulrico Hoepli, 1903.) Price L.3. 

 '"T'HE introduction opens with this apt quotation, 

 -»- " Le fabricant doit autre chose k ses ouvriers 

 que le salaire. " And the book purposes to teach the 

 manufacturer how to pay the debt by providing all the 

 protection possible against dangers attending the use 

 oi machinery. 



The prevention of accidents is a subject to which 

 much attention has been given in Italy, first by the 

 " As^ociazione per prevenire gli infortuni sul lavoro," 

 and finally by the Government, which completed its 

 legislation in 1899 by the issue of a set of precautionary 

 rules incumbent on all users of machinery. These 

 rules form the framework of the book, each chapter 

 having, as text, an extract from them, and describing 

 in detail the appliances needed to give effect to the 

 regulation in the various classes of machinery. 



The first two chapters deal with prime movers, the 

 means of fencing them and of stopping them, not 

 merely by cutting off the motive power, but by apply- 

 ing brakes to the moving parts. Transmissions — 

 shafts, belts, gears, &c. — form the subject of chapter 

 iii., and share with circular saws (chapter v.) the dis- 

 tinction of causing more accidents than any other class 

 of apparatus. .'\ comparison of these two chapters is 

 instructive. Of all protective devices, those for 

 circular saws have called ior most ingenuity and met 

 with least success. The numerous coverings described 

 are costly and complicated without being really 

 effective, and they are devices which a workman would 

 discard whenever possible. On the other hand the 

 protections described in chapter iii. are simple, effec- 

 tive, and devoid of any hindrance in working, and call 

 for more attention than they usually receive. Carding 

 and spinning machines, emery wheels, ladders and 

 protective clothing, spectacles, &c., are dealt with 

 briefly, while elevators of all kinds and their safety 

 appliances are discussed fully. In chapter vii. forty 

 pages are devoted to the dangers of manoeuvring wiiu 

 belts in motion. Much in this is of great value, many 

 of the devices being as simple as they are effective. 



Electrical machines, fires and boilers receive very 

 inadequate treatment in the remaining twenty-five 

 pages. The chapter on electrical machinery does not 

 approach the standard of the rest of the book ; it is far 

 from complete, even on more important points, and 

 contains many statements and recommendations that 

 would find but little acceptance from engineers. 



Speaking of the book as a whole, it tends rather 



towards a catalogue ; more critical descriptions of the 



different devices would have been welcome, ;;nd tliis 



more especially in regard to two important points, 



NO. 1758. VOL. 68] 



which are almost entirely overlooked. These are,, 

 firstly, that a device which does not afford complete 

 protection often increases the danger; it lulls to a 

 sense of false security. Secondly, that a protection 

 which can be discarded by the workman is o; far less 

 value than one which he is forced to adopt. Most 

 safety devices are of some hindrance in working, and 

 experience shows that workmen take no interest in 

 efforts made for their protection ; they are merely 

 annoyed at the inconvenience in their work. 



These few criticisms are easily outweighed by the 

 praise which the book well deserves. Nearly all the 

 devices are illustrated as well as described, and irk 

 matters of detail the book gives numberless useful 

 hints, and what may be termed dodges rather than 

 appliances ; a master, by following these, could avoid 

 many dangers at little cost and trouble. 



G. H. Baillie. 



A NEW SWISS HANDBOOK. 

 Guide to Switzerland. Pp. cvi + 235; with 31 maps 

 and 6 plans. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 

 1903.) Price 55, net. 



MODERN tourists, and in particular those who 

 wander in companies, are prone to haunt certain 

 familiar centres, Lucerne, Grindelwald, Zemiatt, 

 Chamonix, Pontresina, and to confine their excursions 

 within narrow bounds. Messrs. Macmillan have de- 

 signed a handbook to meet the needs of this class. In 

 many respects the conception of the volume is good, but 

 the execution is faulty and unequal. To deal first with 

 its merits. The eulogy of the political institutions of 

 the Swiss Republic, and the notes on the nature of 

 glaciers, introduced among the preliminary chapters, 

 ought to interest and inform the better class of sight- 

 seers, while practical suggestions on health and outfit 

 are useful to all. The separate hotel list will be found 

 convenient for reference ; houses frequented by our 

 countrymen are distinguished by larger type, and prices 

 are in many cases quoted. As a whole, the list seems 

 to be compiled with care, but there are singular 

 omissions; amongst them we have noted Binn, St. 

 Beatenberg, Montana, Piora, Promontogno, Lanzo 

 d'Intelvi, all well-known stopping places. At Binn, 

 the text tells us, " refreshments can be procured, and 

 if necessary beds obtained at the Curb's." The village 

 has for years had a large hotel with an English chap- 

 lain attached. The inns on the tour of Mont Blanc, at 

 Contamines, Nant Borrant, Chapieux, are mentioned 

 in the route, but not in the list. 



When we come to study in detail the guide-book 

 proper, we find that the routes have been conveniently 

 airanged round the centres to which they naturally 

 attach themselves. The editors recommend their text 

 as "concise and accurate." As to accuracy, we can- 

 not endorse their estimate of their work. The section 

 relating to Davos is well done, but that devoted to the 

 Upper Engadine is meagre*and untrustworthy. The 

 new railway connecting Thusis and St. Moritz by the 

 Schyn and Albula, opened to Celerina this year, 

 ought to have been described. Promontogno, with its 

 good hotel, the natural halting-place for travellers 



