December 7, 1905] 



NA TURE 



123 



tables, and even with such a well-known gas as 

 carbon dioxide they have not been completely deter- 

 mined. It has become more and more necessary for 

 the engineer or manufacturer to be familiar with the 

 scientific researches and theoretical considerations 

 which lie at the base of his industry, and Germany 

 has come to be looked upon as the leader in funda- 

 mental work of this sort, but the " Neuere Kiihl- 

 maschinen " of Prof. Lorenz makes no pretence to be 

 of this comprehensive character. While refrigerating 

 machinery is sufficiently simple, the principles on 

 which it is based are not so easy of comprehension to 

 the working engineers and business men who use it 

 industrially. As a handbook for men of this class 

 and as a resume of the subject, this manual has long 

 been known in Germany and on the Continent. 

 Various editions have been published as a volume of 

 the " Teehnische Handbibliothek," and the present 

 translation under the title of " Modern Refrigerating 

 Machinery " is from the edition of 1901. 



No space is taken up by a historical introduction, 

 but after some pages of an elementary character on the 

 principles of heat there follows a chapter on" Methods 

 of Cold Production," which gives a well arranged and 

 concise description of the manner in which refrigera- 

 tion is produced bv different methods and of the 

 energy required. Tin- chapter on compressors treats 

 chiefly of the important details of the machines, and 

 wisely does not touch upon matters which belong more 

 properly to generic and not to special machine design, 

 and has some instructive indicator diagrams. The 

 chapters which follow deal with condensers and 

 evaporators, the cooling of liquids and air, and the 

 manufacture of ice. They describe clearly the chief 

 features of the matter under discussion, and do not 

 enter upon general descriptions from which it is diffi- 

 cult to decipher the essential points. The pages de- 

 voted to very low temperatures, written four years 

 ago, have now become merely of historical interest. 

 The final chapter, on the performance of refrigerating 

 machines, or, as the translator calls it, "The Yield ol 

 Cooling Machines," contains the only higher mathe- 

 matics in the book, which contrast rather strangely 

 with -.nme of the simple definitions at the beginning. 

 The translation is poor. The German original is 

 closely followed. Such sentences as " tightness to- 

 wards gases requires, besides faultless material, as 

 small a number as possible of tubulures and stuffing 

 boxes " are not very clear to an English mechanic, 

 nor does the constant use of italics for the more im- 

 portant words add to the attractiveness of the pages. 

 The illustrations are numerous and excellent, and the 

 cuts are superior to those in the German edition. 



In the same volume, though the pages are numbered 

 consecutively, is a separate work on " American Prac- 

 tice in Refrigeration." It contains some admirable 

 illustrations and useful data in regard to the con- 

 struction of cold storage rooms, but it is not quite 

 apparent what purpose the American authors could 

 have in view in reprinting tables from such well-known 

 bcoks as those of Siebel and Wallis-Tavler. 



C. H. B. 

 NO. 1884, VOL 73] 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 

 The Geography vj Sew Zealand. By P. Marshall. 



Pp. x + 401. (Christchurch, N.Z., and London : 



Whitcombe and Tombs, Ltd., n.d.) 

 The author claims to have written " according to 

 the spirit of the New Geography," to give due con- 

 sideration to the influence that the relief of the land 

 has upon the circulation of the atmosphere, the 

 climate, the distribution of flora and fauna, and the 

 settlement of population ; he explains that the latter 

 is influenced considerably by the distribution of 

 mineral deposits, while the nature of the industries 

 affects the commerce of the country and shapes its 

 political institutions. 



The work is for this purpose divided into three 

 parts, under the headings (1) historical, (2) physical, 

 (3) political and commercial. There is a valuable 

 introduction by Prof. Gregory, and an important 

 chapter on geysers by the same writer, in which, how- 

 ever, he erroneously alludes to Strokur as being still 

 an active geyser, whereas it ceased to erupt in 1895. 

 The chapter on earthquakes by Mr. G. Hogben de- 

 serves special mention ; the several kinds of earth 

 movements and their registration by the seismograph 

 are described. Of special interest to all lovers of 

 Ao te Roa — the unscientific reader as well as the 

 geographical student — are the chapter on the Maoris, 

 by Mr. A. Hamilton, and the descriptions of various 

 unique natural beauties. 



At times the style is very explanatory and the 

 matter original. Occasionally the author's meaning 

 is somewhat vague, as when he writes : — " the high 

 mountainous land here reaches the sea, and i- in fact 

 truncated by it." But on the whole the information 

 given is accurate and concise, and the arrangement 

 throughout careful. 



As stated in the preface, the book is not merely 

 the result of the author's and his contributors' per- 

 sonal observation, but is a collection of facts and 

 figures from the previous writings of acknowledged 

 authorities on the islands of which it treats. The 

 letterpress is profusely illustrated with maps, repro- 

 ductions of photographs, sketches, .and old prints. 

 These are all interesting, and many of the sketch- 

 maps serve well to illustrate the text. 



M. G. B. 



Wild Wings; [dventures of a Camera-Hunter among 

 the Larger Wild Birds of North America mi Sea 

 and Land. By H. K. Job. Pp. x.xv + 341 ; illus- 

 trated. (London: A. Constable and Co., Ltd.; 

 Boston and New York : Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 

 1905.) Price 10s. 6d. net. 

 Despiti its somewhat pedantic title, this book is 

 much above the average of works of the same general 

 nature, and deserves a wide circulation, if only on 

 account of the earnest plea made by its author that 

 the' camera may, at least to some extent, be sub- 

 stituted for the shot-gun in our intercourse with 

 birds. In this laudable endeavour he is supported by 

 the President of the United States, who, alter stating 

 that wild-game shooting, under proper restrictions 

 and regulations, must be considered legitimate so 

 long as we breed domesticated animals for slaughter, 

 observes that " there is altogether too much shooting, 

 and if we can onlv get the camera in place of the 

 gun and have the sportsman sunk somewhat in the 

 naturalist and lover of wild things, the next gener- 

 ation will see an immense change for the better in 

 the life of our woods and waters." 



The special feature of Mr. Job's book is undoubtedly 

 formed bv the illustrations, all of which, we are told, 

 are reproductions — and very excellent ones — of photo- 



