;62 



NA TURE 



[February 15, 1906 



While we must stand aloof -from Dr. Bastian's 

 heresies, we cannot but admire his dogged support 

 of what seems to us a lost cause. It is something to 

 stand units contra mundum with no loss of courage 

 or of good humour. We also sympathise with some 

 of the positions which the author maintains in the 

 introductory part of his book, e.g. as to the innate 

 or intrinsic variability of living matter, and as to the 

 importance of discontinuous variations or mutations. 

 There is also much vigorous criticism of Weismann's 

 last volume, "The Evolution Theory," and a defence 

 of Spencer's concept of " physiological units " as 

 against Weismann's "determinants." But when, in 

 regard to the transmission of modifications, Dr. 

 Bastian says that " Weismann frankly admits the 

 whole point in dispute — namely, that acquired 

 characters can be, and are, frequently inherited," we 

 must express our surprise at what seems to us an 

 extraordinary misunderstanding. J. A. T. 



A STANDARD TREATISE ON PHYSICS. 



Lehrbuch der Pliysik. By O. D. Chwolson. Vol. iii. 

 Translated into German by E. Berg. Pp. xi + 988; 

 illustrated. (Brunswick: Vieweg und Sohn, 1905.) 

 Price 16 marks. 



Traitc de Physique. By O. D. Chwolson. Translated 

 from the Russian and German editions into French 

 by E. Davaux, with Notes on Theoretical Physics 

 by MM. E. and F. Cosserat. Vol. i., part i., pp. 

 xiii + 407; vol. ii., part i., pp. vii + 202. (Paris: 

 A Hermann, 1906.) Price 16 francs and 6 francs 

 respectively. 



T'HE first two volumes of this important translation 

 from Russian into German have already been 

 noticed in these columns. The present volume em- 

 braces the science of heat, including thermodynamics. 

 The treatment throughout is most admirable both for 

 accuracy and lucidity, and the treatise may be expected 

 to become generally known in this more accessible 

 shape. Each chapter is followed by copious references 

 to original sources of information ; these are divided 

 into sections numbered according to the parts of the 

 text to which they relate ; they constitute a valu- 

 able summary of the most important memoirs, 

 especially as they include quite recent work as well 

 as the earlier work which formed the foundation of 

 the science of heat. The illustrations are excellently 

 done. 



Besides the phenomena which are usually described 

 in a treatise on physics (thermometry, expansion, 

 thermal capacity, laws of cooling, conductivity, general 

 thermodynamics, and equations of state), chapters 

 are to be found here on thermochemical investigations 

 and the theory of solutions, including the phase rule. 

 These are not in any way skimped. An outline of 

 everything that is worth knowing seems to be in- 

 cluded. The matter is not served up in a haphazard 

 manner; but the relative value of different investiga- 

 tions is well brought out by the amounts of space 

 which are devoted to them. The book is a happy 

 mixture of theory and practice. For example, while 

 a delightfully clear explanation is given of the mean- 

 NO. 1894, VOL. 73] 



ing of the various partial differential coefficients which 

 arise in theoretical thermodynamics, there is also 

 given one of the very few existing correct accounts 

 of the implication of the Joule-Thomson experiment. 



The methods of Planck are followed in connection 

 with thermodynamics. The play of entropy in irre- 

 versible transformations is made very clear ; a student, 

 by its perusal, could hardly fail to get nearer to a true 

 conception of the nature of such processes. 



The results of an investigation are not merely 

 summed up in a formula ; in most cases a table of 

 experimental data upon which the formula is based 

 is also provided. This, of course, is as it should be. 

 for it puts the reader at once in touch with the actual 

 experiment, and differentiates the volume from a mere 

 collection of physical tables. 



Altogether, we do not hesitate to say that the three 

 volumes form as satisfactory a treatise on the part of 

 physics to which they relate as we have ever met with. 

 They are to be followed by a fourth volume on 

 electricity and magnetism. 



In the translation into French both the Russian 

 and German editions are made use of, while additional 

 notes on theoretical physics are added by MM. E. and 

 F. Cosserat, the former of whom is a professor in the 

 University of Toulouse. This also will appear in 

 four volumes ; the present instalment consists of parts 

 of the first two. The additional notes will be kept 

 quite distinct from the main text. One such note (con- 

 sisting of 37 pages) now appears on the dynamics of a 

 particle and of a rigid body. This is an attempt to 

 re-state the principles of mechanics in such a way as 

 to remove the difficulties pointed out bv M. Poincare 

 in the application of mechanical principles to natural 

 phenomena. These difficulties arise, according to 

 Poincare, from a too faithful application to all pheno- 

 mena of the theory of the astronomical universe. 

 The system of mechanics expounded is in general 

 based on energetics, but a wider form than usual is 

 given to this principle. It is impossible to criticise 

 the theory presented until the remaining notes bearing 

 on it have appeared. 



With regard to the French edition in general we 

 are very well pleased, and we look forward to its 

 completion, for there are many to whom it will prove 

 more welcome than its German equivalent. The 

 treatise bids fair to prove itself the leading text-book 

 of physics for general use. 



CLIMBS IN WESTERN CANADA. 



In the Heart of tin- Canadian Rockies. Bv James 

 Outram. Pp. 466; with maps and 46 illustrations. 

 (New York: The Macmillan Company; London: 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1905.) Price 12s. 6d. net. 



IN the " Apology " with which this volume is pre- 

 faced, the author tells how he went to the 

 mountains during a part of three summers to recuper- 

 ate from mental overstrain, and states that he has 

 been hampered by the same disability in preparing his 

 book. Nevertheless, he has succeeded in producing 

 a useful piece of work, which brings together an 

 account of all that has been accomplished in the 



