26 



NA TURE 



[December 7, 1899 



tion, with little or no practicalj work, contenting him- 

 self by adding thirty-eight exercises at the end of the 

 chapter. These exercises leave little to be desired, but a 

 beginner will not always be clear about the several steps 

 by which he is to arrive at the required result. The 

 divisions adopted by the author lead to some very mis- 

 cellaneous chapters ; thus Chapter vi., entitled "Changes 

 Belong to Several Classes," runs to thirty-two pages, and 

 includes a brief treatment of inertia, the electrophorus, 

 voltaic cells, the thermopile, gravitation, expansion, the 

 Gulf Stream. Trade winds and several other subjects. 

 Chapters viii. and ix. take the pupil "along the well- 

 beaten track of chemical rudiments," and were written by 

 Mr. F. Collins. Too much is attempted in this section, 

 and things are often taken for granted of which a 

 beginner has no knowledge whatever. Thus, on p. 185, 

 the modes of chemical action are partly explained by 

 chemical equations, though the only guidance towards 

 understanding them which has been given to the pupil 

 is the table of elements, with their symbols and atomic 

 weights, on p. 181. The value of the book would have 

 been much increased by using simpler language, and 

 adding more illustrations. 

 Elementary Practical Chetnistry. By A. J. Cooper, 



B.A., B.Sc. Pp. viii + 86. (London : Whittaker and 



Co., 1899.) 

 Some idea of the profound changes which have occurred 

 in the teaching of elementary chemistry during the last 

 decade can be obtained from the large number of books 

 recently published, all of which claim to supply a long- 

 felt want. Mr. Cooper's book covers familiar ground in 

 a more or less familiar way. He starts with a brief 

 account of the metric system (which, however, is too 

 short to be of much use), describes the balance, how to 

 determine relative densities, and to measure liquids and 

 fit up apparatus. No wonder the student often asks why 

 these subjects must be studied both in the chemical and 

 physical laboratories. But like many another recent 

 writer of an elementary course of chemistry, Mr. Cooper 

 rightly avoids the thaumaturgic art of test-tubing, and it 

 is in this connection we are able to perceive an advance 

 has been made in the way of studying science. Though 

 the "Heuristic" method, of which so much is heard 

 nowadays, is not suitable throughout a complete course 

 of chemistry, it is unfortunate that so many statements 

 occur like "note the white powder of metastannic acid 

 that is formed " ; " the name of the gas which you have 

 just prepared is nitrous oxide" — which have no signi- 

 ficance to a beginner. 

 The Teaching- of Geography in Szvitzerland and North 



Italy. By Joan Berenice Reynolds. Pp. xii-Fii2. 



(London : C. J. Clay and Sons, 1899.) 

 No more hopeful indication of the growing desire on the 

 part of British teachers to improve the methods of in- 

 struction in our schools could be desired than this little 

 volume provides. It is particularly gratifying to find 

 Jhat the old insular prejudice is giving place to an in- 

 telligent study of foreign educational systems, and that 

 it is at last becoming recognised there is much to be 

 learnt from Continental pedagogic authorities. Miss 

 Reynolds was, in 1897, awarded the Travelling Student- 

 ship for Teachers in connection with the University of 

 Wales, and her report, which she presented in 1898 to 

 the Court of this newest of our Universities, demonstrates 

 conclusively that she made the best use of her oppor- 

 tunities. Equipped with the information provided by a 

 wide course of reading in the geographical literature of 

 the countries she intended to visit. Miss Reynolds was 

 able to intelligently note all the features of Swiss and 

 Italian teaching practice which would prove of assistance 

 to our own teachers, and she has here set them down in 

 a clear and interesting manner. Her book should be 

 read by every teacher of geography. 



NO. I 57 I, VOL. 61] 



Liverpool Marine Biology Committed & Memoirs. /.. 



Ascidia. By Prof. W. A. Herdman, D.Sc, F.R.S.. 



Pp. v -f 52 ; with five plates. (Liverpool : T. Dobb 



and Co., 1899.) 

 This is the first of a series of memoirs which is being 

 prepared by the Liverpool Marine Biology Committee 

 under the editorship of Prof Herdman, to supply a want 

 which " has been constantly felt of a series of detailed 

 descriptions of the structure of certain common typical 

 animals and plants, chosen as representatives of their 

 groups, and dealt with by specialists." The expense of 

 preparing the plates in illustration of the first few memoirs 

 is being met by a donation of Mr. F. H. Gossage, of 

 Woolton. Prof Herdman has omitted detailed refer- 

 ences to original memoirs, the object of his manual being 

 more to provide students of marine biology with a concise 

 and accurate description of the appearance, structure, and 

 life-history of the Ascidian than to publish a bibliography. 



In an appendix a statement is given of the classifica- 

 tion and characters of the Tunicata, in order to indicate the 

 position of Ascidia as a type of the group and its relations 

 to the other British Ascidians. 



The Story of the Wanderings of Atoms, especially those 

 of Carbon. By M. M. Pattison Muir, M.A.. Pp. 192. 

 (London : George Newnes, Ltd., 1899.) 

 An attractive title does not by itself make an attractive 

 book. Assuming that " The Library of Useful Stories " is 

 intended for the general reader, we are afraid that this 

 short account of the compounds of carbon is largely 

 beyond his comprehension. . There is an abundance of 

 information, but the repeated references to Mr. Muir's 

 " Story of the Chemical Elements " will tantalise the 

 man who expects to get knowledge and recreation by 

 the same process. A sound knowledge of organic 

 chemistry is only obtained by experimental methods 

 based upon a thorough grounding in the elements of 

 chemistry, and this end is most satisfactorily obtained 

 by studying simple inorganic substances first. The 

 author has adopted a style more suited for the class- 

 room than the platform of the popular lecturer, and the 

 ordinary person who takes up this little volume will, 

 after reading very few pages, find himself completely 

 out of his depth. 



General Iftdex, by Robert Newstead, F.E.S., Curator of the 

 Grosvenor Museum^ Chester, to Atinual Reports of 

 Observatio7ts of Injurious Insects, 1877- 1898. By 

 Eleanor A. Ormerod, F.R. Met. Soc, &c. With 

 Preface by the author. Pp. xii -f 58. (Simpkin, 

 1899.) 

 The twenty-two annual volumes of Miss Ormerod's 

 Reports are known to all students of agricultural ento- 

 mology, and their usefulness as indispensable works of 

 reference will be largely increased by the present com- 

 pendium, which includes, in addition to the general index, 

 separate indices of plants, animals and unclassified 

 "hosts." Miss Ormerod's preface contains remarks on 

 the origin and method of the reports, notices of a few of the 

 more important insects which have been dealt with, and 

 miscellaneous observations. It is worthy of special note 

 that she considers all birds which are even moderately 

 insectivorous as beneficial to such an extent as to over- 

 balance any mischief they may do in other ways, unless 

 they are present in overwhelming numbers ; but she 

 especially excludes the house sparrow, which she de- 

 nounces as a national evil. W. F. K. 



A Hand-List of the Genera and Species of Birds. By 

 R. Bovvdler Sharpe, LL.D. Vol. I. Pp.. xxi -t- 303. 

 (London : Printed by order of the Trustees of the 

 British Museum, 1899.) 

 The system of classification adopted in this new " hand- 

 list" is that proposed by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe in 1891.. 

 The book is founded upon the " Catalogue of the Birds 



