Fepruary 2.3, 1905] 



NA TURE 



387 



normal and abnormal courses of many reactions are 

 interpreted from a stereochemical standpoint. Then 

 ag-ain, the study of geometrical isomerides, such as 

 substances of the ethylene type with the so-called 

 double linkage between carbon atoms, of poly- 

 methylene and heterocyclic compounds, of compounds 

 with a double linkage between a carbon atom and a 

 nitrogen atom, and finally of compounds with a 

 double linkage betw-een two nitrogen atoms, has 

 (■ngaged the attention of many prominent contem- 

 porary workers. 



The well-known " Handbuch der Stereochemie," 

 bv Walden and Bischoff, gives a comprehensive survey 

 of stereochemical literature up to the year 1894. 

 Owing to the rapid developments of the last ten years, 

 however, this work has lately lost much of its initial 

 value as a source of reference. This defect is now 

 remedied. In the " Materialien der Stereochemie " 

 we have an addendum to the " Handbuch," the 

 literature of each successive year from 1S94 to 1902 

 being classified in a manner which cannot fail to 

 prove of the utmost service. The subject matter for 

 each year is treated under four sections, namely, 

 general stereochemistry, optical isomerism, geo- 

 metrical isomerism of optically inactive compounds, 

 and interdependence of spacial relationships and 

 chemical reactions. A brief description of each paper 

 quoted is usually given. The first section on general 

 stereochemistry, in addition to the bibliography of 

 special monographs published during the particular 

 vear, embraces references to chemical dynamics, 

 crystallography, spectroscopy, &c., in so far as those 

 subjects have any stereochemical bearing. In the 

 three other sections the papers of more general interest 

 are first quoted ; then follow references to the more 

 special papers which are not quoted chronologically, 

 but are conveniently classified according to their 

 subject matter. 



The field reviewed in the first subdivision of the 

 fourth section deals with ring systems, and is so vast 

 that, as a rule, only references are given to the 

 innumerable papers quoted. On the other hand, the 

 papers on polymerisation, substitution, addition re- 

 actions, hydrolysis, &c., included in the same section 

 arc dealt with in more detail. 



The general student will find this work unreadable. 

 The author contents himself with the abstract he 

 gives, and hardly ever ventures on any criticism. 

 Little or no attempt is made to differentiate between 

 the important and the unimportant, and in this 

 respect it seems to the present reviewer that more 

 prominence might with advantage have been given 

 to such research as is acknowledged by all to be 

 outstanding. From the point of view of the specialist, 

 however, the work is admirable. Its value lies not 

 so much in the information actually afforded by the 

 abstracts themselves as in the remarkably complete 

 bibliography which it presents. The ardent stereo- 

 chemist, who in his own particular sphere may be 

 tempted to exclaim, " Zwar weiss ich viel, doch 

 mbcht' ich alles wissen," will assuredly find in this 

 work an aid to the realisation of his desire. 



A. McK. 

 NO. 1843, VOL. 71] 



A TRAVELLER'S GUIDE TO INDIA. 

 The Imperial Guide to India, including Kashmir, 

 Burma and Ceylon. Pp. xi + 244; with illustrations, 

 maps, and plans. (London : John Murray, 1904. ) 

 Price 6s. net. 



THE large and constantly increasing number of 

 tourists and sportsmen who visit our Indian 

 Empire during the winter, together with the smaller 

 section who extend their trip so as to include a summer 

 sojourn in Kashmir or some other Himalayan district, 

 must create an extensive demand for a work like the 

 one before us, and the wonder is that an attempt has 

 not been made long ago to supply such a manifest 

 want. In the present volume, which is got up in con- 

 venient size and shape for the pocket, and printed in 

 small although clear type, with the chief items in 

 caps, or block type, the anonymous author seems, on 

 the whole, to have discharged a by no means easy 

 task in a thoroughly satisfactory and painstaking 

 manner. Indeed, so far as a somewhat extensive 

 personal experience of the country permits of our form- 

 ing a judgment, we may say that, as a viaticum and 

 itinerary, which is, of course, its main purpose, the 

 work is well-nigh all that can be desired so far as its 

 somewhat limited space permits. Although neces- 

 sarily brief, the descriptions of the towns, cities, and 

 stations, and of the railway or other routes by which 

 they are reached, are in the main excellent, and convey 

 a very large amount of useful and necessary inform- 

 ation. The various routes are also carefully planned 

 and thought out, and will enable the tourist to find 

 his way about and to visit much of what is most worth 

 seeing with the least amount of discomfort and diffi- 

 culty. Whether, however, the " selected Hindustani 

 phrases " at the end of the volume will enable the 

 tourist to make himself understood by the natives of 

 even the Hindustani-speaking provinces may be more 

 than doubtful. 



But the author has not been content to make his 

 work a mere itinerary. On the contrary, he treats his 

 readers to brief dissertations on the ethnology, natural 

 history, and geology of the Indian Empire, with 

 scrappy pieces of information with regard to the sport 

 to be obtained. With respect to this aspect of the 

 volume, we are compelled to say, in the first place, 

 that the author has not allowed himself sutificient space 

 to make the information he attempts to convey of any 

 real value, and secondly, that it would have been well 

 had he taken expert advice and assistance. 



One fault about the introductory chapter is that it 

 is too " parochial." The volume professes to treat of 

 India, Ceylon, Burma, and Kashmir, but this chapter, 

 although the reader is not told so, seems to refer only 

 to India proper. For instance, we are told that shoot- 

 ing licences are not required (p. 10), and yet we find 

 (p. 186) that these are necessary in Kashmir. Again, 

 in the ethnological paragraphs we find no reference 

 under the heading of non-Aryan races to either the 

 Veddas of Ceylon, the Burmese, or the Mongoloid 

 triljes of the north-east frontier, while the classification 

 of the natives of the peninsula merely by religion 

 leaves much to be desired. The general description 

 of Indian scenery — inclusive of natural history and 



