NOVEMHKR 14. [918 



NATURE 



which is scared) conveyed bj the tide selected foi 

 it; ii might have been more appropriately entitled 

 "The Practical Uses oi Coal Scientifically Con- 

 sidered, " for the ,ui tin. 1 reviews in it the technical 

 applications ol coal, whilst, to use his own words, 

 he has "consistent!) endeavoured throughout to 

 give due prominence to the underlying scientific 

 principles." It need scarcely be said that the work 



is extreme!) well dune, .1- might, indeed, be ex- 



ed from the high reputation that the authoi 

 has deservedly won in this particular field oi 

 labour. Necessarily it contains n<> really new 

 matter. Inn giv< I ir, accurate, and o 



summary of the present state of knowledge re- 



ing the nature and chemical composition oi 

 that it undergoes on 

 heating, and more especiall) the phenomena asso- 

 ciated with its combustion. The use of coal as 

 the soun e of a wide ranee of chemical compounds, 

 which form the basis of a vast number of dyes 

 and drugs, is barely touched upon, the author's 

 attention being mainl) concentt ited upon coal as 



^arv to add 



that the utilisation of the by-products that can 



multaneouslj obtained nevertheless receives 



due consideration, although the elaboration of 



these by-products is not followed beyond the 



earliest stages. 



The first third of the volume is taken up with 

 an account of the chemical composition of coal in 

 the light of modern research. Prof. Bone has made 

 d use ni the \ast mass oi material accumulated 

 by previous workers on this subject; it is perhaps 

 to Im regretted that the work was completed just 

 e the issue of the important monograph of 

 I)'-. Marie Slopes and Wheeler on this subject, so 

 that Prof. Hone did not have the advantage of see- 

 ing the mo oi these writers. Upon 



the whole, however, Prof. Bone inclines 10 endorse 

 the views already put forward by Dr. Wheeler in 

 his previous work, whilst admitting that there still 

 remain many obscure points that need to be 

 cleared up. The brief summary of the present 



■ r knowledge on pp. 126 el seq. may In- 

 instanced as an excellent example of the author's 

 power ot presenting a highly complex subject 

 briefly and lucidly. The next few chapters are 

 devoted to the principles underlying the combus- 

 tion ol coal and thei ons to industrial 

 and domestic heating, including the abatement of 

 smoke. Next in order come the carbonisation of 

 coal under various conditions, and the complete 

 gasification of coal foi tion oi producer- 

 and water-gas. Finally, the important pro- 

 blems COnomy in the manufacture of iron 

 and steel, and those connected with the employment 

 I ior the production of power, are considered. 



ombustion, 

 which, interesting though it is, does not really tit 

 in well with the general scheme ot the book. 



I' a work covering so wide a range, it is in- 

 evitable that all sections cannot be treated as full) 



ader might desire, though it is only fair 



to point out that the author can scarcely be blamed 



for this; his difficulty would, indeed, be to com- 



press ' ithei than to expand each portion. Thus 



- -'550. vol.. t02 



it may perhaps be suggested that not enough 

 weight is laid upon direct firing by coal-dust, a 

 method that ought to be capable of the fullest 

 possible utilisation ol the thermal energy of the 

 fuel. The possibility ol employing the explosive 

 ol a mixture of finel) divided coal and air 

 in some form ol explosion engine has already 



.ad seriously the attention of various in- 

 ventors, and although the difficulties presented 

 are very great, it would be very rash to consider 



the problem as insoluble. In this wav it should be 

 possible to utilise tile whole i.l the mechanical 



energy developed by the combustion of coal, less, 

 of course, the amount necessarily absorbed in 

 pulverising the coal if nilK '1 less is lost in this 



way than in gasifying coal, the advantages pre- 

 sented are obvious, and it might therefore fairly 

 be suggested that Prof. Hone might have devoted 

 a little more space to the problems affecting the 

 combustion of coal-dust. 



One of the most valuable sections of the book is 

 that relating to the possible economies attainable 

 in the manufacture of steel; Prof. Rone is un- 

 doubtedly right when he states that the reason w In 

 British ironmasters work on less economical lines 

 in this respect than their Continental rivals is 

 because most British ironworks were built at a 

 much earlier date, before modern methods of steel 

 manufacture had been devised, and that it takes 

 time to remodel these older works and to bring 

 them up to modern requirements. British iron- 

 masters have always been fully alive to the need 

 for fuel economy; in this connection it is curious 

 to note that Prof. Bone has overlooked the early 

 experiments of Mr. Charles Cochrane upon drying' 

 the blast supplied to the blast-furnace ; these long 

 antedated Gayley's work at Pittsburgh, which is 

 fully discussed here. 



Taking the book as a whole, Prof. Bone may 

 fairly be congratulated upon having produced a 

 very valuable work upon a very difficult subject, 

 a work which is likely to be of great assistance 

 to every one of the vast army of the industrial 

 users of coal, and to remain a standard work upon 

 the subject for many vears to come. H. L. 



CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC PAPERS. 

 Catalogue of Scientific Papers, Fourth Scries 

 (1884-1900). Compiled by the Royal Society of 

 London. Vol. xvi., [-Marbut. Pp. vi + 

 1054. (Cambridge : At the University Press, 

 1918.) Price 5/. 55. net. 

 \A/^ congratulate the Royal Society on the 

 * fourth volume of the Author Catalogue of 

 tin- scientific papers published during the seven- 

 teen years [884 1900, The first volume (num- 

 bered vol. xiii. of the catalogue), containing a 

 list of papers by authors whose name s begin with 

 the lettet \ and B, was published in June, 11114; 

 the second volume, with authors' names from C 

 lo I'ittig, in February, 1915; and the third volume 

 (numbered vol. xv. of the catalogue), containing 

 tin- author index to the end of 11, in October, 

 icjio. The volume now issued carries the- indexing 

 ne Marbut. Il is no light matte' 



