iSa 



NATURE 



[January 16, 1919 



SCIENCE TEXT-BOOKS FOP THE 

 hi TURE. 



Manuale di Fisica ad ' so delle Scuole Secondarie 

 e Sttpcriori. Vol. iii. " Elettrologia. " By 

 Prof. B. I tessau. I'p- ' " 7 <n <- (Milano : 

 Societa Editrice Libraria, 1918.) Price 23 lire. 



WHATEVER changes are introduced in our 

 educational scheme in the near future, it 

 may be taken as certain that physical science is 

 destined to occupy a more prominent position in 

 the schools. It is to be hoped, therefore, that 

 science-teachers will rapidly come to some agree- 

 ment concerning its scope and the general method 

 of its presentation. To the present writer it seems 

 evident that if the next generation is to possess 

 a better appreciation than its predecessors of the 

 possibilities of science as a means of enjoyment, 

 a mental discipline, or an industrial power, 

 science must be taught in a less detailed 

 and more general manner than is at present cus- 

 tomary. As Sir Napier Shaw has indicated, there 

 must be less insistence on laboratory science in 

 the schoolboy stage, and more emphasis on its 

 applications to large-scale and natural phenomena 

 and to recent discoveries. This may mean some 

 missing links in the logic — which can be supplied, 

 when necessary, at the university — but it will be 

 balanced by a great increase in interest for both 

 pupil and teacher. Obviously this will necessitate 

 a radical revision of the present school text-books. 



It was in the hope of obtaining some light on 

 the nature of this revision that the book 

 now under notice was opened, especially as 

 it forms the third volume of a " Manual of 

 Physics for the Use of Secondary and Higher 

 Schools." To criticise a foreign text-book from 

 such a point of view would, of course, be unfair ; 

 it may therefore at once be said that only two 

 minor criticisms are called for. The first is that, 

 considering its public, the book appears to be 

 unnecessarily large and costly ; the second, that 

 some of the illustrations are so well • worn as 

 to deserve a period of retirement. For example, 

 induced currents are demonstrated by an astatic 

 galvanometer and a Bunsen (or Daniell) cell, 

 though probably no teacher would use this appa- 

 ratus as the most convenient. 



The book is written with all the literarv charm, 

 lucidity, and logicality of method that seem in- 

 separable from French and Italian manuals; it is 

 up to date in its matter, and is calculated to 

 excite and hold the interest of the reader. 



From the point of view indicated above, it may 

 be noted that modern developments receive ample 

 treatment ; such are X-rays, radio-activity, tele- 

 graphy (wireless and otherwise), telephony, and 

 machinery ; even the constitution of the atoms 

 and atmospheric electricity receive brief mention 

 in the concluding pages. The order differs little 

 from that adopted in English text-books; in this, 

 perhaps, it is too conservative for a new model. 

 For instance, there appears to be little reason 

 why the idea of electrons should nut be introduced 

 NO. 2568, VOL. 102] 



at a much earlier stage, as is done in some 

 American text-books; a stream ol charged particles 

 does, at least, give a student concrete ideas on 

 the nature of a current, and make- electrostatic 

 induction less hazy. As a model for future books 

 in this country, the volume is too detailed and, 

 except for those who intend to pursue the subject 

 further, too mathematical to be copied. 



In conclusion, one can but wonder when the 

 pupils of our "secondary and higher schools" 

 will be capable of reading such a volume with 

 understanding and profit. R. S. W. 



PLANTING IN MARIJIME LOCALITIES. 



Seaside I'htntiug for Shelter, Ornament, and 

 Profit. By A. D. Webster. Pp. 156. (Lon- 

 don: T. Fisher L'nwin, Ltd., 1918.) Price 

 185. net. 



THERE is no kind of planting which needs 

 more careful study before it is undertaken 

 j than the planting of maritime situations. To all 

 I the problems that arise in inland localities in 

 i regard to soil, moisture, and exposure, there is 

 added at the seaside the very momentous one of 

 salt-laden spray. Winds, too, not only reach their 

 maximum of violence on our snores ; their 

 mechanical effects are more persistent there than 

 elsewhere. The best thing anyone contemplating 

 an extensive' scheme of planting near the sea can 

 do is to make a thorough study of the problem 

 by visiting places where it has been successfully 

 solved. Such a place is the famous Holkham 

 sands, in Norfolk, planted by the Earl of Leicester. 

 Here an immense area of loose, shifting sands 

 exposed to the full blasts from the North Sea 

 has been clothed with a magnificent growth of 

 pines and other trees. But, failing that, the next 

 best thing is to obtain expert advice. The 

 literature on the subject is not extensive, and we 

 know no work that deals more satisfactorily with 

 it than this new book by Mr. A. D. Webster. Mr. 

 Webster's book is no mere rechauffe of what has 

 been written before. It embodies the personal 

 experience of one who has planned, superintended, 

 and successfully achieved the planting of many 

 seaside places. Besides the planting of trees and 

 shrubs for utility and ornament, Mr. Webster 

 deals also with the fixing of sand dunes by the 

 use of marram grass and other plants. This 

 question is of immense importance in connection 

 with coast erosion and the smothering of fertile 

 land by inblown sand. 



The book is well printed and illustrated by some 

 thirtv half-tone plates, excellently reproduced. 

 These pictures would, however, have been more 

 convincing had they illustrated plantations and 

 trees actually existing in maritime localities. 

 Many of the photographs were taken in obviously 

 inland sites. The plates bearing the legends 

 "Laburnum by t he Seaside," " Whitebeam at the 

 Seaside," and "Stone Pine at the Seaside" are 

 all of trees growing in Kew Gardens, which is 

 scarcely a maritime locality. The picture entitled 



