A ITURE 



[September 12, 191 8 



viewer to be successful in that it provides a book 

 which is far more readable than the ordinary 

 text-books on the subject. Naturally, the author 

 cannot I >pe t" be in practical touch with so 

 a field, and in his efforts to secure the neces- 

 sa r\ . . densation somewhat unequal treatment 

 has resulted; indeed, the first half of the bo- 

 far too condensed. In consequence, then 

 numerous points of detail which might be criti- 

 1 ised adversely, and to this extent it fails to give 

 mi accurate picture ol tin- industry. But such 

 riticism is of minor importance as compared with 

 the potential power oi the work to stimulate in- 

 terest, and it should certainly be placed in the 

 hands of every process manager and chemist and 

 of all student's who wish to enter chemical in- 

 dustrv. They cannot fail to read it and feel that 

 there' is still progress to be made in their pro- 

 cesses, ami that the chemical theory even of such 

 well-worn manufactures as acid and alkali making 

 has made great developments since the application 

 of physical chemistry was understood. 



So much interest attaches to-day to nitric acid, 

 the importance of which in time of war and, it 

 is to be hoped also, in time of peace to the nation 

 is at last being understood, that the author may 

 be forgiven for expanding on this subject. Quite 

 apart from the future exhaustion of the deposits 

 of Chile nitrate, once so eloquently pictured by 

 Sir William Crookes, the invention of the sub- 

 marine has introduced new problems into the 

 transport of this material in time of war. The 

 problem of the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen 

 has been solved in Germany, and its solution here 

 is, of course, only a matter of time. The problem 

 was one demanding huge expenditure and pro- 

 longed experiment, and not commercially attrac- 

 tive to business undertakings hampered by un- 

 intelligent taxation ; it is essentially national in 

 character, and must be undertaken with State 

 assistance, as it is by no means certain that under 

 peace conditions the synthetic product can com- 

 vvith the natural. 

 On account of the difficulties attending trans- 

 port, acids are necessarily made close to the place 

 where they are used, and consequently there are 

 a large number of small manufacturers, many ol 

 whom are working on too small a scale to be 

 economii allj efficient. The placing of this in- 

 dustry upon an economic basis is one of the many 

 post-war problems which are already receiving 

 attention. The alternative processes for the syn- 

 thetic production of ammonia and nitric acid are 

 discussed at length by Mr. Partington. 



I;l Mi. Mitchell's book is of a somewhat dif- 

 ferent type fn>m that of those already considered. 

 It belongs to Sir Edward I horpe's series of indus- 

 trial monographs, which aim in particular at show- 

 ing how fundamental ami essential is the rela- 

 tion of principle to prai ti< e. Mr. Mitchell's object 

 1 give a concise outline ol the chemical com- 

 n and properties of the more impoilant 

 oils and fats. In this he has been SUCCi ful, and 

 tin lytical sections will he found very useful, 



in sp ol the fact that there are several satis- 

 J550, VOL. I02] 



factory works on this section of the subject alread) 

 in existence. It is more difficult, however, to 

 justif) the application of the title "industrial." A 



description is given of the methods of pressing and 



extracting oils from the crude materials, and of 

 purifying and preparing them for food purposes; 

 but this is very brief, and no attempt is made 

 to discuss the many chemical problems which 

 arise in the oil and fat industry. An altogether 

 inadequate picture is given of the present state 

 of the utilisation of science in the manufacture 

 ol edible oils. 



flu very lull bibliography is one of the best 

 Features of the book; it is conveniently divided 

 into sections. E. F. Armstrong. 



( To he continued. ) 



THE "KEW BULLETIN." 



Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Bulletin of Mis- 

 cellaneous Information, 1917. Pp. iv + 349 + 36. 

 (London : H.M.S.O., 1917.) Price 45. 6d. net. 



THE present volume of the Kew Bulletin is an 

 effective rebuke to those in authority who for 

 a time were able to deprive the leading botanical 

 station of the Empire of its means of npblication. 

 It would seem an axiom of common sense that 

 a scientific institution carrying out work of prime 

 economic importance should be able to put on 

 record and render as widely available as possible 

 the results of its work. 



The subject-matter of the volume was published 

 in seven parts during the past year, and com- 

 prises, thirty-seven articles of varied interest. The 

 most important is a List of Economic Plants, 

 native or suitable for cultivation in the British 

 Empire, which formed a double number issued 

 last December. This list was prepared in 

 response to a suggestion from the Committee of 

 the Botanical Section of the British Association 

 that a more extended and thorough study of our 

 economic plants was a matter of national and 

 imperial importance. The plants are classified 

 under their uses — such as oils, gums, rubber, 

 drills, timber, etc. ; the source is indicated, and 

 some useful information on the product is also 

 given, with references to publications where fuller 

 information may be obtained. 



Other articles of economic importance deal with 

 the rubber plant, Hevea brasiliensis ; in two are 

 discussed the possible methods of increasing the 

 percentage yield of rubber by seed-selection, as 

 was done in the cultivation of cinchona, in which 

 the percentage vield of quinine has been more than 

 doubled. Another deals with one of the most 

 serious diseases to which this rubber-tree is sub- 

 jecl bark-canker, caused by a fungus, Phyto- 

 phthora Faberi; the writer, Mr. A. Sharpies, 

 Government mycologist in the Federated Malay 

 States, finds that the present position is most 

 unsatisfactory, and that the subjeel calls for care- 

 ful and co-ordinated investigation. 



A general systematic review of the species of 

 the genus Strvchnos, native in -India and the East, 



