Marc 24, 1923] 















































of substances which -have a profound influence on 
physiological processes. It is the object of Dr. Dakin’s 
monograph to describe these intermediate stages, and 
the reader may be satisfied that he will obtain the latest 
information on the subject. The book is to be highly 
recommended. It has a good index and a complete 
bibliography. The section on carbohydrates has been 
almost entirely rewritten since the previous edition. 
The description of oxidations which can proceed with 
the aid of water without free oxygen is of interest in 
itself, but such processes are of subsidiary importance 
in the higher animals, since these cannot exist without 
free oxygen. 
With reference to certain views held as to the signific- 
ance of catalase, the author concludes that there is no 
evidence that this enzyme has any connexion with 
oxidation ; it may, however, be of use in decomposing 
excess of hydrogen peroxide, produced in the course 
of autoxidation, into inactive oxygen. The author 
points out that he is not concerned with the thermo- 
dynamics of the various reactions, nor with the cata- 
ytic mechanisms by which they are brought about, 
although he devotes a few pages to autoxidation and 
the peroxide systems, and to the important gluta- 
thione system of Hopkins. This omission is not to be 
regarded as a serious defect, because the object of the 
monograph is of a different kind. It reminds us, 
however, that there is an urgent need for a monograph 
dealing with the thermodynamics and general physical 
chemistry of the oxidation mechanisms of the living 
rganism. W. M. B. 
Treatise on the Integral Calculus : with Applications, 
Examples, and Problems. By J]. Edwards. Vol. 2. 
Pp. xv+980. (London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 
1922.) 50s. net. 
— 
N the second volume of his large treatise on the integral 
culus, Mr. Edwards deals with multiple integrals, 
ma functions, Dirichlet integrals, definite integrals 
general, contour integration, elliptic functions, the 
culus of variations, Fourier series and integrals, 
mean values and probability, and the harmonic analysis. 
he volume contains an immense collection of formule 
d questions extracted from examination papers and 
m the older literature of the subject, which may 
prove useful for reference to the sophisticated reader, 
but are more likely to repel than to inspire the students 
for whom the book appears to be intended. ; 
Mr. Edwards is confessedly out of sympathy with 
modern tendencies in mathematical education, and 
thinks that students do not learn enough skill in 
manipulation. He prefers that they should devote 
their energies to acquiring proficiency in methods which 
are in many cases obsolete, rather than that they should 
obtain the same results by a systematic application of 
a few powerful general theorems. This tendency is 
particularly obvious in the chapters on definite integrals 
and on elliptic functions. In consequence, that resi- 
duum of problems for which the older methods are still 
the most suitable receives rather less than justice. His 
use of the methods of differentiation and integration 
under the integral sign, change of the order of integra- 
tion, etc., is uncritical, and is not likely to conduce to 
clear thinking on these important subjects. His defini- 
tion of a function of a complex variable is unsatisfactory, 
NO. 2786, VOL. 111] 
NATURE 
391 
and entirely misses the point in failing to emphasise 

“the crucial importance of the existence of a unique 
derivative. In the bibliography of the chapters on'the 
calculus of variations he refers the reader to a number 
of obsolete treatises, but ignores the important modern 
works of Hadamard and Kneser. 
The teacher of to-day may use this work for reference 
himself, but he will scarcely wish his pupils to make 
their first acquaintance with the processes of analysis 
from its pages. E. G. C. Poorer. 
Farm Buildings. By W. A. Foster and Deane G. 
Carter. (Agricultural Engineering Series.) Pp. xv 
+377. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; 
London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1922.) 15s. net. 
Tue little work under notice is intended to guide the 
American farmer and agricultural student in designing 
and constructing farm buildings. It is stated that 
farm buildings have had their most rapid development 
in America in the years since 1910. Prior to that one 
could, and indeed still can, find the early buildings put 
up by the first settlers, made of logs, if trees were 
abundant, or of sods or boards if they were not, as 
happened on the prairies. Now, however, these rough 
constructions have largely disappeared, or remain only 
as stores of subsidiary importance, and their place is 
taken by large new and characteristic-looking structures 
of steel and concrete. The change is not only one of 
convenience : it represents a great saving on the farm. 
It is estimated that at least 100,000,000 dollars is lost 
annually to American farmers through depreciation of 
farm machinery due to lack of proper housing ; that 
200,000,000 dollars are lost annually owing to the con- 
sumption of badly stored food by rats ; and further, that 
considerable increases in milk and meat production 
could be obtained if the animals were better housed. 
The authors discuss the best types of barns, stables, 
cowsheds, pigstyes, etc., and give many illustrations 
showing how to adapt the design to the available situa- 
tion or space, and what materials should be used in 
construction. 
The English agricultural student will find the volume 
of particular interest for its sections on silos, pigstyes, 
and cattle-sheds, and for a fund of information showing 
how the American farmer, suffering from even greater 
shortage of labour than his British confrére, has never- 
theless succeeded in putting up buildings of undoubted 
utility. 
British North Borneo: An Account of its History, Re- 
sources and Native Tribes. By Owen Rutter. Pp. 
xvi+404+plates. (London, Bombay, and Sydney : 
Constable and Co., Ltd., 1922.) 21s. net. 
Axtruoucu Sir West Ridgeway, the chairman of the 
British North Borneo Company, contributes a preface 
to this volume, it is in no, sense an official publication. 
This will be appreciated by those who are conversant 
with recent criticisms of the company’s methods of 
administration. The author is both fair and unbiassed. 
The story of North Borneo is not without stirring 
incident. In the last century its coast was infested 
with pirates, whose extermination was first undertaken 
seriously in 1845 at the instigation of Rajah Brooke of 
Sarawak. Their subjugation was completed only in 
1879, the year the British North Borneo Company was 
