December 7, 1899] 



NATURE 



125 



streams which flowed between the side of the glacier 

 and the bounding slope of the valley " (Rep. Can. 

 Survey, 1898, p. 61). 



There are no existing glaciers in the Klondike region, 

 and while the former presence of small local valley- 

 glaciers has been recognised, all the observers are agreed 

 as to the absence of any trace of widespread glaciation. 

 This probably implies that, as in Siberia, the climate 

 throughout the Glacial Period was dry, and that then, as 

 now, heavy precipitation was confined to the vicinity of 

 the coast. 



To sum up our impressions of this book. Prof. 

 Heilprin may be complimented on having given us a 

 vivid picture of transient conditions in the Klondike ; 

 but, from a physical standpoint, his work can scarcely 

 lie taken as a solid contribution to our knowledge of the 

 district. 



The numerous excellent reproductions of photographs 

 with which the book is illustrated are for the most 

 part well adapted to show the general character of the 

 scenery and conditions, though now and again a picture 

 is introduced for effect rather than for instruction. The 

 deep yellow binding with its pictured dog-trains, 

 reminiscent of the "yellow press," is not particularly 

 happy. G. W. L. 



A NEW TEXT-BOOK ON CHEMISTRY. 

 Inorganic Che?nistry for Advanced Students. By Sir 

 Henry E. Roscoe, F.R.S., and Arthur Harden, Ph.D. 

 Pp. 432. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1899.) 



THIS book is intended to supplement "Chemistry for 

 Beginners," which was published about six years 

 ago by Sir Henry Roscoe, with the assistance of Mr. J. 

 Lunt. It is not a complete treatise on the elements of 

 inorganic chemistry, but part of a complete treatise. 

 It is intended for students who have already gained a 

 little knowledge of the subject, and those who would use it 

 must first learn something about oxygen, hydrogen, 

 chlorine, carbon, and their simpler compounds, and about 

 many other matters, either from "Chemistry for Be- 

 ginners " or from some other suitable elementary work. 



We suppose that a small text-book is put into the 

 hands of most beginners when they reach the stage at 

 which they need such a book, and that presently, when 

 they are older and more advanced, this small book is 

 changed for one of the larger treatises. Now, at this 

 latter stage a certain amount of confusion and some loss 

 of time are very apt to occur owing to the overlapping of 

 the contents of most elementary and advanced works on 

 chemistry, and to the fact that the majority of young 

 students are not able to skip with discretion. It is 

 evident that this confusion and loss of time might be 

 avoided by the use of two books, such as those which 

 have now been provided by Sir Henry Roscoe and his 

 colleagues, Dr. Harden and Mr. Lunt ; and we believe 

 that those who have had much experience in teaching 

 chemistry under school conditions will at once recognise 

 the merits of their method of dealing with the subject 

 in two volumes, one quite elementary, one more ad- 

 vanced, and each the complement of the other. 



The present volume, like its predecessor, follows in the 

 main the lines laid down so successfully a generation ago 

 NO. I 57 I, VOL. 61] 



in the familiar " Roscoe's Chemistry." That is to say, 

 the book is intended for students who want to learn the 

 fundamental principles of chemistry, and something 

 about its methods and its data, rather than for those who 

 desire to use the subject as part of a system of mental 

 gymnastics. But though the new book follows lines 

 which have so long been madie familiar to us by the 

 previous work of its eminent senior author, it differs from 

 that earlier work in several respects, notably in its some- 

 what more lin;ited scope, for organic chemistry finds no 

 place between its covers, in the greater attention given 

 to chemical theory, and in the fact that a great number 

 of experiments for the student are described in the text. 



The subject-matter of the volume is divided into 

 thirty-nine lessons, the elements treated of being grouped 

 in such a manner that from the beginning the student may 

 be said to be preparing the way for his subsequent study 

 of the periodic system of classification. The chapters 

 on chemical theory are dispersed among the rest. This 

 arrangement may, perhaps, seem open to the objection 

 that the student's reading in certain subjects may be 

 somewhat broken up ; but the authors have adopted it, as 

 they tell us in their preface, with the object of relieving him 

 of the tedious task of working without a break through 

 a long series of metals and their compounds. The parts 

 of chemical theory chiefly discussed in these lessons are 

 atomic and molecular weights, equivalents, specific and 

 atomic heats, crystals and isomorphism, valency, the 

 constitution of hydroxides and oxyacids, dissociation, 

 thermochemistry, electrochemistry, the periodic law 

 and spectrum analysis. There are questions to be 

 worked out, and numerous summaries. We are not quite 

 convinced that so many of these latter make for sound 

 learning. Should not every student prepare a good 

 many of his own abstracts after he has read 

 a few chapters and compared them with some 

 summaries provided as examples ? This, however, is a 

 small matter, as it is obvious that the existence of 

 summaries in the text need not prevent any student from 

 constructing his own abstracts during his reading. We 

 feel sure that the new book will be welcomed by those 

 who are familiar with its predecessor, and by many 

 others, and we wish it and its companion volume all 

 success. W. A. S. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 

 Elements of Natural Philosophy. By Alfred Earl, M.A. 



Pp. viii -f- 320. (London : Edward Arnold, 1899.) 

 Mr. Earl is already well-known as the author of the 

 admirable " Practical Lessons in Physical Measurement," 

 and one naturally examines a new book of his with great 

 expectations. The preface states that the present volume 

 is "intended as a handbook for the laboratory," and "has 

 been written for the use of beginners." The book does 

 not, in our opinion, exactly fulfil these conditions ; yet it 

 may still prove of use, though rather to teachers than 

 taught. A laboratory manual should give clear, precise 

 instructions as to what the student has to do— guidance 

 of a sufficiently explicit nature for the pupil to work 

 from without unduly bothering the teacher, who, very 

 often, has too large a number working at the same time 

 for purely individual instruction. Yet, in dealing with 

 the measurement of simple quantities, for example, Mr. 

 Earl gives some nineteen pages of general descrip- 



