NA TURE 



[February 23, 1905 



^eology^is, moreover, little short of ludicrous. 

 What, for instance, are we to say of a writer who 

 describes the rocks of the Himalaya as Archaean, 

 although he does qualify this by stating later on that 

 a band of Cretaceous (which is incorrect) and Tertiary 

 rocks skirts the foot of the range? The reference to 

 the Mesozoic rocks of the peninsula is also mislead- 

 ing, and we should like to know what " similar 

 scenery in Europe " is recalled by the traps of the 

 Ghats. A few coloured plates of more or less 

 characteristic Indian mammals and birds relieve the 

 necessarily dry details of the work, but it would have 

 been better if the author had made up his mind what 

 name to employ for the Indian antelope, instead of 

 calling it Antelope (in error, by the way, for Antilope) 

 hezoartica on p. 12 and A. cervicapra on the plate. 

 When a future edition of this otherwise excellent little 

 work is called for it may be hoped that the introductory 

 chapter will be re-written with the aid of some one 

 who has at least a smattering of elementary inform- 

 ation with regard to the geology and zoological pro- 

 ducts of the country. R. L. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Bacteriology and the Puhlic Health. By Dr. George 



Newman. Third edition. Pp. xx-l-497. (London : 



John Murray, 1904.) Price 215. net. 

 Dr. George Newm.an is well known as a public health 

 e.xpert and bacteriologist, and his contributions to the 

 literature of preventive medicine have attracted con- 

 siderable attention both in this country and abroad. 

 The present volume may be regarded as an elaboration 

 of his previous writings, and is, in most respects, 

 thoroughly up to date. 



There are thirteen chapters, dealing with subjects as 

 follows : — the biology of bacteria, bacteria in water, 

 bacteria in the air, bacteria and fermentation, bacteria 

 in the soil, the bacteriology of sewage and the bacterial 

 treatment of sewage, bacteria in milk and milk pro- 

 ducts, bacteria in other foods, bacteria in disease, 

 tuberculosis as a type of bacterial disease, the etiology 

 of tropical diseases, the question of immunity and anti- 

 toxins, and disinfection. There is also an appendix 

 on technique and a welcome index. 



The chapters dealing with some of the pressing 

 administrative problems of the day are specially worthy 

 of commendation. 



The chapter on bacteria in milk is an admirable 

 dissertation, and the author deserves much credit for 

 his judicious handling of a mass of conflicting opinion 

 and apparently irreconcilable facts. For the benefit 

 of those who regard the bacterial diseases of animals, 

 some of which are preventable, as of little economic 

 importance, the following quotations (p. 324, p. 319, 

 p. 203, p. 204) may be given : — 



" In 1903 there were in Great Britain as many as 

 1463 outbreaks of glanders in which 2490 horses were 

 attacked. This is the highest number of outbreaks 

 since 1892, when they numbered 1657. The prevalence 

 of this disease is localised often to certain counties and 

 districts. In 1903, 855 of the 1463 outbreaks occurred 

 in the county of London." 



" In 1903 there were 761 outbreaks of anthrax in 

 Great Britain, in which 1127 animals were attacked. 

 This is the largest return recorded since the passing 

 of the Anthrax Order in 1886." 



" It is a well known fact that tuberculosis is a 

 common disease of cattle. Probably not less than 20 



NO. 1843, VOL. 71] 



to 30 per cent, of milch cows in this country are affected 

 with it." 



" In the United Kingdom in 1901 there were 

 4,102,000 milch cows. If we take 2 per cent, of these 

 as having tuberculous udders, it gives us 80,000. The 

 average annual yield of milk per cow may be taken 

 as, at least, 400 gallons, which means that from these 

 80,000 tuberculous udders 32,000,000 gallons of milk 

 are obtained." 



It is perhaps unnecessary to add that glanders, 

 anthrax, and tuberculosis afflict man as well as the 

 lower animals. 



The book, judged as a whole, is a most valuable 

 contribution to the literature of preventive medicine. 

 It will prove most useful to medical officers of health, 

 medical men, bacteriologists, veterinary surgeons, 

 trade experts, and many others. The lay reader will 

 find it replete with information, and written in a lucid 

 and agreeable style. 



In a sense, the present volume is a later edition of 

 " Bacteria," which was noticed by the present writer 

 in these columns in 1899; but the new publication is 

 amplified and improved to such an extent as fully to 

 merit this second notice. A. C. Houston. 



Die hisherige Tiitigkeit dcr Physikalisch-technischen 

 Reichsanstalt. (Brunswick : Vieweg and Son, 

 1904.) 

 Die Tdtigkcit der Physikalisch-technischen Reichs- 

 anstalt im Jahre 1903. (Berlin : Springer, 1904.) 

 In these publications is given an interesting account 

 of the progress of the Reichsanstalt from its found- 

 ation in 1887 to the present time. From the first 

 pamphlet by the president, Dr. Kohlrausch, we find 

 that the total number of instruments tested up to the 

 end of 1903 was 290,000, an average of nearly 20,000 

 a year. If, however, we deduct from this the number 

 of clinical thermometers and of safety fusible plugs 

 for boilers, the aggregate is reduced to 50,000, or 

 an average total of about 2800 a year for all other 

 instruments. Against this figure we may compare 

 the totals taken from the report of the National 

 Physical Laboratory for 1903, from which it appears 

 that the aggregate for the year for instruments and 

 tests of all kinds was 30,817, or, excluding clinical 

 thermometers, 11,424. 



.\n interesting recent development of the Reichs- 

 anstalt is the opening at various towns throughout 

 Germany of five branch stations, where electro- 

 technical instruments can be verified. The report 

 concludes with a long list of the recent original 

 papers published by the members of the staff. 



It is not possible to give in the space here available 

 anything like an insight into the manifold contents 

 of the second publication — the report of the Reichs- 

 anstalt for the year 1903. The researches mentioned 

 include the expansion of water between 0° C. and 

 100° C, and of numerous materials from liquid air 

 temperatures upwards, the laws of radiation, light 

 units, and magnetic permeability. Full details arc 

 eriven as to the numerous instruments tested. 



J. A. H. 



The Principles of Inorganic Chemistry. By Wilhelm 

 Ostwald. Translated by Dr. .Alexander Findlay- 

 Second edition. Pp. xxxi + 799. (Macmillan and 

 Co., Ltd., 1904.) i8s. net. 



The best proof of the excellence of this work and its 

 appreciation bv English-speaking students is that a 

 new edition has been found necessary after such a 

 coniparativelv short time as two and a half years. 

 The work, unlike many text-books on chemistry, 

 forms interesting reading, and this is greatly caused 



