FEBRUARY II, 1904] 
NATURE 341 
o 
OUR BOOK SHELF. 
The Planning and Fitting-up of Chemical and Physical 
Laboratories.. By T. H. Russell, M.A. Pp. xx+ 
178. (London: B. T. Batsford, 1903.) Price 7s. 6d. 
net. 
THE young college graduate at the present time. fre- 
quently finds himself confronted with the problem of 
installing a science laboratory in. the school which he 
may have chosen as the scene of his first teaching ex- 
perience. The laboratory in which he has been worlk- 
ing has, it may be, developed through various stages 
of incompleteness into an institution capable of supply- 
ing his every want, whether in the form of apparatus 
or of other equipment. The student has, however, in 
most cases taken but little part in this gradual evolu- 
tion, and in general feels greatly at a loss if compelled 
afterwards to work in some institution less elaborately 
equipped. Still more difficult is his task if called upon 
to equip a new laboratory, and perchance in a build- 
ing which the architect has most satisfactorily designed 
for any purpose but that of a science laboratory. Much 
assistance can be gained by those placed in such a 
position from the excellent little book before us, which 
deals in a practical manner with the general design and 
equipment of an elementary, chemical, or physical 
laboratory. Dimensioned drawings are provided of 
suitable working benches and other fittings, and in 
addition, useful notes as to the best manner in which to 
apportion the space available. 
For the satisfactory planning of a university or 
college laboratory, considerably more experience than 
can be gained from a book of this kind is, of course, 
necessary. The author seems to have noted carefully 
the best practice in some of our own more recently 
equipped institutions, but has made some rather curious 
omissions which one would be glad to see remedied in 
future editions of the book. What physical or even 
chemical laboratory at the present day is complete with- 
out a satisfactory electrical equipment? The design of 
the most suitable and convenient system of distributing 
the electric current to different parts of the laboratory 
is one of the most difficult problems which have to be 
faced. Yet the author makes absolutely no mention of 
such fittings, neither does he give even general hints 
which would be of guidance in this matter. 
It is, moreover, to be regretted that no use is made of 
Continental experience, which, in the matter of labor- 
atory equipment, is really very valuable. Since, in 
Germany, it is the custom to publish full descriptions 
of any new and important laboratory, it would have 
been a very simple matter to at least refer to such 
literature. The new chemical laboratory of Prof. 
Emil Fischer in Berlin makes a particularly valuable 
study to anyone dealing with laboratory design, the 
completeness and elegance of the installation being 
probably unique so far as a teaching institution is con- 
cerned. 
However, so much that is good can be found in the 
book that it is almost ungrateful to point out such 
omissions. IRE MSS Lele 
The Highlands of Bukhara. Part ii. Hissar, the 
Range of Peter the Great, and the Alai. St. Peters- 
burg, 1902. By V. I. Lipskiy. Pp. 220; with 18 
plates (Russian). 
Tuts is a new volume of the fine series of works on 
Central Asia published by the Russian Geographical 
Society. M. Lipskiy describes in it his journey across 
the western portion of the beautiful snow-clad Hissar 
Range, then the valley of Kafirnagan and _ the 
Surkh-ob, which flows at the southern foot of this 
range, and finally the range of Peter the Great, which 
runs parallel to the former, south of the Surkh-ob. 
This last range M. Lipskiy crossed four times, follow- 
NO. 1789, VOL. 69! 
ing three different passes, and he explored in more 
detail the picturesque region of glaciers in the eastern 
portion of the range, east of the "Gardan-i-kaftar Pass. 
Three great glaciers, to which the traveller gave the 
names of Borolmaz (from a peal of the same name). 
Peter the Great’s, and Oshdnin’s (from the first ex- 
plorer of this range), are described in detail, and the 
descriptions are accompanied by excellent photographs. 
It is sufficient for the glacialist to cast a glance at some 
of these photographs in order to say that the present 
glaciers must be but small remains of a much greater 
glaciation, and that the valleys they now occupy must 
have once been filled deeply with ice. This is also the 
opinion of M. Lipskiy, who has discovered immense 
moraines across the upper valleys and other traces of 
a wide glaciation. The altitude of the range of Peter 
the Great seems to be less than it was supposed to 
be, namely, about 17,000 feet. That the Alai Range is 
a continuation of the Hissar Range can now be taken 
as certain, and consequently the range of Peter the 
Great must be a continuation of the Trans-Alai, a 
border-range of the western, Bukhara portion of the 
Pamir plateau. Traces of upheavals in a direction 
N.W. to S.E. seem also to exist. Throughout, in de- 
scribing his mountaineering, M. Lipskiy gives lists of 
the plants he saw. Art aie 
The British Journal Photographic Almanac, 1904. 
Edited by Thomas Bedding. Pp. 1604. (London : 
Henry Greenwood and Co.) Price rs. net. 
LikE its predecessors, this volume is of considerable 
thickness, containing no less than 1604 pages. It is 
the forty-third yearly issue, and as usual contains a 
veritable mine of useful information which should 
appeal to every photographer. When so much matter 
is involved, it is difficult to refer to one subject more 
than another; attention, however, may be directed to 
the ‘‘ epitome of progress,’’ compiled by the editor, 
which contains an excellent résumé of the more im- 
portant papers published throughout the past year. 
The main portion of the text matter is devoted to 
numerous short articles on miscellaneous photographic 
topics, tables of all descriptions, and a most complete 
collection of photographic formule and recipes. <A 
great number of illustrations are scattered among the 
text, and the volume contains a mass of advertisements 
handy for reference. The fact that the 25,000 copies 
forming the edition were fully ordered several weeks 
before publication speaks volumes for the popularity 
of this bool. 
Erdstrom und Polarlicht. 
junt  hPps #13655 1) (eipzicy: 
1903.) Price 80 pf. 
Tuts volume, which is No. 175 in the excellent 
“Sammlung Goschen,’’? well maintains the high 
standard of the series. It is difficult, indeed, to see in 
what way these tiny volumes could be improved. Most 
careful pruning must have been exercised by each 
author, and the result is a concise, compact summary 
of present-day knowledge. The subjects of the 
chapters are the magnetic elements, the permanent 
magnetism of the earth, the variations of the earth’s 
magnetism, earth currents, and the aurora. The vari- 
ations are illustrated by diagrams, and include secular, 
daily and annual variations and their theory, magnetic 
storms, the eleven-year period, and influence of the 
sun, moon and planets. 
There are three plates showing magnetic distribu- 
tions. 
For mathematical theory reference is made chiefly to 
Erdmagnetismus, 
A. Nippoldt, 
Goschen, 
By Dr. 
Ce le 
vol. Ixxviii., ‘‘ Theoretische Physik,’’ in the same 
series. There is a_ sufficient literary summary 
provided. 
