February 2, 1905] 



NA TURE 



317 



OVR BOOK SHELF. 



The Basic Law of Vocal Utterance. By Eir.il Sutro. 



Pp. 124. (London : Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd., 



n.d.) 

 Duality of Voice and Speech. An Outline of Original 



Research. Pp. vi + 224. (London : Kegan Paul and 



Co., Ltd., n.d.) 

 Duality of Thought and Language. An Outline of 



Original Research. Pp. viii +277. (London: 



Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd., n.d.) 

 The first of these volumes, which was originally 

 published in America in 1894, contains the starting 

 point and main beliefs of the author ; the second and 

 third volumes form the amplification and illustration. 

 Beginning with the practical problem of finding how 

 a foreigner, especially a German, can learn to speak 

 English correctly, Mr. Sutro has gone on until he has 

 become convinced that he has discovered several most 

 important scientific truths, and that he has a great 

 mission to carry out in proclaiming them. 



Among the discoveries stated in these volumes the 

 following may be mentioned. There are two streams 

 in the air which is breathed, which keep separate, one 

 being for respiration, the other for sound. .\ person 

 who breathed correctly might use the air supplied by 

 the sound current in such a way as to speak for ever 

 without taking breath, were it not for fatigue. For 

 English speech we inspire through trachea and expire 

 through oesophagus ; for German the direction is 

 reversed. The author has discovered a new vocal cord 

 in the lower jaw. Air passages are diffused through 

 the body ; it is through these that the emotional 

 nature of sound is produced. The original source of 

 tone production has its location in the lungs, the 

 kidneys, and the bladder for the most part. For the 

 utterance of a word representing a flower there is an 

 impression made on the right side of the thigh, while 

 the expression is on the left side just opposite, the 

 order being reversed for the corresponding German 

 word. Just how we breathe into and out of the pelvis 

 the author expects to explain satisfactorily in a future 

 volume. Statements such as these, together with 

 philosophical reflections and practical discussions as to 

 the way in which the production of different sounds 

 should be managed, fill the three volumes. 

 ■ The volumes are not without a certain kind of 



I interest — that of observing the process by which 

 a man. who is evidentiv in earnest, comes to 

 elaborate and believe such nonsense. It is at the same 

 time possible that there may be in the remarks regard- 

 ing the way in which sounds should be produced some- 

 thing which would be suggestive to one engaged in 

 the practical work of teaching in this subject. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Sutro, America has left his works almost 

 unnoticed, while Germany has given a more favour- 

 able reception to them. It appears that an Inter- 

 national Physio-Psychic Society has been founded for 

 the propagation of the views put forward in these 

 volumes. 



A Select Bibliography of Chemistry, 1492-1902. By 



H. C. Bolton. Second supplement. Pp. 462. 



(Washington : Smithsonian Institution, 1904.) 

 The present volume of the " .Select Bibliography " is 

 the second supplement which has been published since 

 the first issue in iSqj, and carries the work down to 

 1902. 



One can only admire the patient labour of the 

 author, now unfortunately removed by death, who has 

 placed in the hands of chemists all over the world a 

 book of reference of such permanent value. 



The supplement contains the titles of books pub- 

 lished between 1S98 and 1902 inclusive, in which the 



NO. 1840. vol .71] 



>ame subdivisions are preserved as in the first volume. 

 It is just a question whether the last subdivision — 

 academic dissertations — which fills nearly half the 

 book, is worth the trouble it has entailed. It consists 

 almost entirely of the titles of dissertations for the 

 German doctorate, which in Germany often find their 

 way into booksellers' hands, but are merely reprints 

 of memoirs that have appeared in the scientific 

 journals. The list is necessarily incomplete, and the 

 trouble of indexing it must have been enormous. 

 The proof-reading, as well as the preparation of the 

 index, have been done by Mr. Axel Moth, of the New 

 York Public Library. J. B. C. 



Hints on Collecting and Preserving Plants. By 

 S. Guiton. Pp. ii + S5. (London : West, Newman 

 and Co., 1905.) Price is. 



The collector of plants, whether he is merely pur- 

 suing a hobby or whether his object is to acquire 

 specimens for reference which will enable him to 

 get a better knowledge of systematic botany, ought 

 to be acquainted with the best methods of preparing 

 and arranging a herbarium. For information he 

 will find this small book useful. Some of the 

 suggested details are not absolutely necessary, but a 

 little experience will soon show which are essential. 

 In some respects Mr. Guiton tends to what one may 

 call the collector's views, as, for instance, when he 

 recommends gumming the specimens on cardboard ; 

 the more usual practice of fi.xing them by means of 

 gummed slips on drawing paper is cheaper, and 

 allows the specimens to be taken off for examination. 

 The preference of iron grids in place of wooden 

 ventilators, the advantages of cotton mattresses, and 

 other such details which might be suggested are 

 rather matters of individual taste ; so long as a 

 collector takes as much care as Mr. Guiton, his 

 herbarium will be a pleasure, not only to himself, 

 but also to kindred botanists. 



Practical Retouching. By Drinkwater Butt. Pp. 

 xv+78. (London : Iliffe and Sons, Ltd., 1904.) 

 Price IS. net 



This book forms No. 10 of the Photography Bookshelf 

 Series, and will be found a useful addition. The 

 matter contained in it originally appeared in the pages 

 of Photography in 1901, but the author has brought 

 the information up to date and presented it in the 

 present form, which will be found convenient for 

 beginners. The chapters are eight in all, and after 

 the preliminary ones dealing with things to be done 

 and to be avoided, and the apparatus and material 

 required for the work, we have those on general 

 manipulations, manipulations in detail of portrait 

 work and inanimate objects, concluding with the use 

 of the back of the negative for further hand-work. 



Stories from Natural History. By Richard Wagner. 

 Translated from the German by G. S. Pp. viii + 

 177. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1904.) 

 Price li'. 6d. 

 These interesting stories dealing with subjects of 

 natural history are presented in excellent English. 

 The translator's style is graceful, and the language 

 chosen is of a kind which will appeal to children ; 

 while the scientific information is sound as well as 

 instructive. JK young reader should learn incidentally 

 a great deal about animal life, and at the same time 

 be given sympathetic interest in it. The little volume 

 is suitable for a reading book in the higher standards 

 of the elementary school and for the lowest forms 

 of a secondarv school. 



