December i 2, 191 8] 



NATURE 



283 



.1 business becomes, the nearer its system 

 .)i business and iis relation to its staff approxi- 

 mate to Civil Service conditions — boards of 

 directors do not differ essentially from Govern- 

 in. hi Ministries, Boards, Offices, or whatever their 

 title may be, except in the extent and bulk of the 

 business controlled. 



The bonk is certainly full of thought and of 

 detailed information, and is good reading, inas- 

 much as it helps us to understand what important 

 things we have left undone that we ought to have 

 don.. li is nol too late to do them now. 



A. J. S. 



THE ART OF TRAVEL. 

 Handbook of Travel. Prepared by the Harvard 

 Travellers' Club. Pp.544. (Cambridge, Mass. : 

 Harvard University Press, 1917.) Price 2.50 



dollars. 



'PHIS volume has been prepared by various 

 *■ numbers of the Harvard Travellers' Club in 

 the hope of promoting intelligent travel and 

 observation. Mr. G. M. Allen is the editor, while 

 Prof. W. M. Davis seems to have been mainly 

 responsible lor the choice of authors. Books of 

 this nature written by experts are not numerous, 

 and though they appeal more to strenuous tourists 

 than to serious travellers, they nevertheless have 

 their uses, particularly in more technical matters. 

 ition is an attribute of most boys, but in 

 later life it is hard to teach. American schooling 

 probably does more than our own to develop it, 

 hut the Hoy Scout movement, in its best phases, 

 is its greal nursery. The next generation of 

 travellers may well prove more observant and not 

 less resourceful than the last. 



The first chapter, by Mr. VV. B. Cabot, on 

 "Camp and Travel in the North Country," is a 

 fascinating account of woodlore and scoutcraft on 

 the edge of civilisation, despite the author's irri- 

 tating and ungraceful style. Chapters on tropical 

 and arctic travel arc useful and trustworthy guides. 

 In the latter the pyramid-shaped tent, 6 ft. high, 

 should be mentioned. The cover is supported by 

 tour bamboos meeting at the summit in aluminium 

 I he opening is a funnel, in the middle 

 .I.', la shed alter exil or entrance to exclude 

 drift. The tint has the advantages of being light 

 and of resisting any wind. During a blizzard it 

 snows up and so is protected from both wind and 

 snow. There arc useful chapters on medicine :me\ 

 surgery and on determining positions. Dr. 

 Hamilton Rice adds some notes on traverse 

 surveys in South America. Among the other 

 papers may be mentioned a very clear and instruc- 

 e on meteorology by Prof. R. DeC. 

 \\ ard, and some condensed notes on geo- 

 graphical and geological observation by Prof. 

 W. M. Davis. Prof. Davis describes the necessary 

 equipment of a traveller as a moderate 

 fund of geographical knowledge, an appropriate 

 terminology, and a desire to do good work. This 

 he thinks is sufficient for an empirical record of 

 plainly visible facts. He does well to insist that 

 NO. 2563, VOL. I02] 



care should be taken not to give a wrong impres- 

 sion by the use ol inappropriate adjectives and of 

 unnecessary superlatives. I-'lorid language mars 

 many records of travel. 



The notes on natural history deal mainly with 

 vertebrates and insects. More attention might 

 well be paid to other invertebrates, since their 

 collection is often neglected. It would be well to 

 emphasise thai fish are best preserved by fixing 

 in formalin, and subsequent changes in graded 

 strengths of spirit. A chapter on map-reading 

 might be added. Elementary as such in- 

 struction may seem, it would prove useful, for few- 

 people, even if in the habit of consulting maps, are 

 able to make full use of them. Cartography is 

 not self-obvious, and, like other forms of nota- 

 tion, must be learnt. Some notes on scales and 

 projections should certainly find a place in the 

 book. 



The volume has a compact, handy form which 

 certainly enhances its usefulness. Most chapters 

 have short bibliographies, some of which might 

 with advantage be extended. R. X. R. B. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 

 War Nursing. What Every Women Should 

 Know. Red Cross Lectures. By Prof. C. 

 Richet. Translated by Helen de Vere Beau- 

 clerk. Pp. xi+iig. (London: 'William Heine- 

 mann, 1918.) Price 35. 6d. net. 

 It may be desirable that the nurse should have 

 the scientific grounding outlined in this book, but 

 to term it "War Nursing " is entirely a misnomer, 

 for of the subject of nursing proper the book 

 contains little. 



Commencing with an introduction on the line 

 of conduct of the nurse, the. first chapter deals 

 with antisepsis. The microbial basis of sepsis is 

 discussed, and brief remarks are offered on the 

 ideal antiseptic and on the antiseptic substances 

 commonly in use. Anaesthesia is then considered 

 from the physiological point of view, but no hints 

 are given on the practical administration of anaes- 

 thetics. It is difficult to understand why this 

 subject is included; either the nurse will not 

 administer anaesthetics when it is unnecessary, or, 

 if she does, practical details should have been 

 given. The third chapter deals with foods — 

 questions of calories and nutritive values — but, 

 again, no details an- given (or feeding the sick. 



Haemorrhage is next considered, likewise with 

 a similar lack of any practical instruction how- 

 to deal with an emergency haemorrhage. In the 

 two concluding chapters the subjects of fever and 

 asphyxia are dealt with mainly from the physio- 

 logical point of view, but why the last named 

 should be included in a popular manual is difficult 

 to understand. 



A table of quantities — the carbohydrate and 

 nitrogenous contents of foodstuffs and strengths 

 of antiseptic solutions — occupies the last page. 

 Here mistakes occur, e.g. solutions of carbolic 

 acid 3 per 1000, and of boric acid ~\ per 1000, 

 are far too weak for practical use. 



