182 



NATURE 



[November 7, 1918 



for him to win it he ordinarily is? " Phe affirma- 

 tive answer does, indeed, "draw cheques on the 

 universe which ii has never yet honoured." The 

 negative answer and how to secure it the reader 

 will find in Mr. Robinson's pagi 



APPLICATIONS OF CO IL-TAR DYES. 

 Modern Dyeing Methods: The Application o) the 

 i oal-tar Dyestuffs : The Principles Involved and 

 the Methods Employed. B) C. M. Whittaker. 

 I'p. xi + ji4. (London: Bailliere, Tindall, and 

 Cox, [918.) Price 7s. 6d. net. 



THIS i.s one of a series ol eighteen volumes 

 (published or. in course of preparation) 

 edited l>\ Dr. Samuel Rideal, and intended to give 

 a comprehensive survey of the chemical indus- 

 tries, as set forth in t he general preface which 

 precedes thai of the author. It cannot lie said 

 that the author has followed this well-conceived 

 plan so conscientiously as he might have done; 

 in fact, the only point to which he has rigidly 

 adhered has been the subdivision of his subject 

 into sections. We are promised in the general 

 preface that "there will be a general bibliography, 

 and also a select bibliography to follow each sec- 

 tion." Such bibliographies (coupled with refer- 

 ences to current literature) would have represented 

 a most valuable adjunct to a small work such as 

 this, in which the treatment of so vast a subject 

 is attempted, but all that is given (except a few 

 references in the text) is a very incomplete list 

 of works and current publications on pp. 10 and 

 11, while no select bibliographies follow the sec- 

 tions. The scope of the work is, however, ill- 

 defined, for it bears no fewer than three titles, 

 namely, Modern Dyeing Methods, The Applica- 

 tion of the Coal-tar Dyestuffs (both on the title- 

 page), and Dyeing with Coal-tar Dyestuffs (on the 

 cover); strictly speaking, each of these subjects 

 would require different bibliographies. The 

 second heading is, however, the one under which 

 the book is advertised in the general list, and one 

 would certainly have expected the textile printing, 

 lake-manufacturing, and paper-making industries 

 to receive due consideration, but the two 

 former are ruled out for lack of space, while the 

 third is only cursorily mentioned in one or two 

 places. 



I he dyestuffs are correctly subdivided under 

 the various sections according to their mode of 

 application in dyeing, and not according to their 

 institution. Their application in the 

 dyeing of the various classes of textile fabrics is 

 generally adequ; '■ ribed, and many prac- 



tical hints are given which may prove useful to 

 the dyer. Hut, apart from inaccuracies, there is 

 a certain lo the style which may in some 



cases lead to confusion. In some sections the 

 author gives (e.g. on p. i ») a list of the principal 

 classes of compounds from a chemical point of 

 view, with a typii al • sample -1 1 a. h. Thus the 

 triphetn Imethanc dyestuffs are represented by 

 magenta (the formula given is actually that of 

 p-rosaniline hydrochloride, but this is of minor 

 NO. 2558. VOL. I02] 



consequence); while on p. 13 the azo-dyes of basic 

 character are typified by Bismarck brown (with 

 an incorrect formula), but there is nothing to in- 

 dicate that these are only typical examples. The 

 grouping of the acid dyestuffs on p. 28 is a little 

 clearer, but still requires some further explana- 

 tion, and the same applies to the artificial mordant 

 dveslulls on p. 40. In the three later sections 

 dealing with the direct cotton dyestuffs, the in- 

 soluble azo-colours, and the cosines respectively, 

 no examples al all are given. Not only do we find 

 such inconsistencies, but there is also displayed 

 in many cases a lack of the sense of proportion. 

 Thus, while on p. 19 particulars are given of two 

 methods (11 and />) of applying basic colours in 

 cotton-dyeing, which are seldom, if ever, used 

 to-day, the direct method, which is very useful for 

 light shades, and ensures good penetration and 

 level dyeing, is not even mentioned. 



The last section is devoted to the valuation and 

 detection of dyestuffs, but it is very inadequately 

 handled. No mention is made of any of the exact 

 quantitative methods of estimating dyestuffs which 

 are in use at the present time, while with regard 

 to the identification of dyestuffs on dyed fabrics 

 the author, after referring the reader to Prof. 

 A. (1. Green's excellent work on the subject, con- 

 tents himself with giving a few practical hints 

 or tips, including two for the detection of " faked " 

 indigo. 



Altogether, the work is disappointing, and adds 

 little, if anything, to our present knowledge of the 

 subject. 



THE MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE. 



Methods of Measuring Temperature. By Dr. 

 Ezer Griffiths. With an Introduction by Prin- 

 cipal E. H. Griffiths. Pp. xi + 176. (London: 

 ' Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1918.) Price 

 8s. 6d. net. 



IT is a pleasant task to welcome this work by 

 Dr. Ezer Griffiths, of the Heat Department 

 of the National Physical Laboratory. During the 

 last few vears it has been necessary to refer to 

 texl 'looks written by our Allies rather than to 

 works written by British men of science when • 

 general information on temperature measurement 

 is required. This has been particularly unfor- 

 tunate, as SO much of the fundamental work in 

 thermometry is due to Englishmen. 



Principal E. H. Griffiths, in an interesting intro- 

 ductory reminiscence, points out the great ad- 

 vances that haye been made in the subject during 

 the last thirty years. He stall's that "our know- 

 ledge of the temperature scale about 1600 C. is 

 rable both in facility and accuracy with our 

 measurements some thirty years ago in the neigh- 

 bourhood of 6oo° C.!' That this is no exaggera- 

 tion .1 glance at the chapters on "The Funda- 

 mental Scale of Temperature" and "High-tem- 

 perature Melting-points" will show. In the 

 former chapter Dr. Ezer Griffiths summarises the 

 work done in gas thermometry, the most difficult 

 of all thermometry. He points out that the dis- 



