eee 
_ book does nothing to remove. 
_ ‘Cryptography. By André Langie. 

| —¢ > 
JuNE 2, 1923] 
— . 
NATURE 
737 

of the empirical world, and hence in many it tends to 
become pathological. The relationship between the 
various neurotic types and expressionists is discussed. 
It is a very interesting study, both ofa particular man 
and of an art movement; but the method of writing 
is discursive, and the book might with advantage be 
considerably condensed. 
The Races of England and Wales: a Survey of Recent 
Research. By Prof. H. J. Fleure. Pp. 118. (London: 
- Benn Bros., Ltd., 1923.) 5s. net. 
Pror. FLeure’s modest claim to have given in this 
_ work a survey of recent research is an understatement 
which may give a misleading idea of its very real 
importance as a contribution to the ethnology of 
England and Wales—an idea which the brevity of the 
It summarises in a fair 
and judicial spirit the results of the observations of 
anthropologists on the physical characters of the 
peoples of England and Wales, both in prehistoric and 
in recent times, to which Prof. Fleure himself has 
contributed in no small degree ; but it does far more 
than this. It reviews these results in the light of 
certain general conclusions on the question of the 
development of racial type at which Prof. Fleure has 
arrived. The inferences which he has drawn in con- 
sequence cannot fail to have a profound influence on 
the future discussion of British ethnology as well as 
to stimulate observation in certain directions in the 
future in support or refutation of his views. Of these, 
perhaps the most important is that the intermediate 
type, which forms a common element in the population 
of Britain, and is usually taken to be a combination 
of Nordic and Mediterranean, represents in reality an 
independent “ descent with modification ” within this 
country from a paleolithic type. 
Translated from 
the French by J. C. H. Macbeth. Pp. viii+192. 
(London, Bombay and Sydney: Constable and Co., 
Ltd., 1922.) 9s. net. 
As there is no manual of cryptography in English, this 
book, which is translated from the French, will be 
welcomed by all who wish to make a serious study of 
the subject, either for practical purposes or as an 
intellectual exercise. The author deals with his 
subject under three heads. Under the first he gives a 
brief history of the methods of conveying information 
secretly, beginning with the Greeks, Egyptians, and 
Romans; under the second he gives examples of 
¢ryptographical writings of which he himself has found 
the solution, for the most part, during the War; and 
under the third he gives lists and tables of frequency 
of single letters, bigrams, and other combinations in 
English and other languages. This section will natur- 
ally be one of the most frequently consulted in the 
book, as a knowledge of the relative frequency of 
occurrence of the different letters and combinations 
is essential in all decipherment. The translator adds 
a supplementary chapter dealing with methods of 
conveying information secretly, such as the use of 
sympathetic inks, tramps’ signs, the marking of cards 
by cardsharpers, and the like, and describes the 
Playfair cipher, a substitution system extensively used . 
for military purposes, Commander W. W. Smith, 
United States Navy, adding a note on its solution. ~ 
NO. 2796, VOL. 111| 
Botulism and Food Preservation (The Loch Maree 
Tragedy). By Dr. Gerald Leighton. Pp. xiii+237. 
(London: W. Collins, Sons and Co., Ltd., 1923.) 
Ios. net. 
Dr. Leicuton’s report on the outbreak of botulism at 
Loch Maree in 1922 has been already noticed in NATURE ° 
(March 24, p. 415) and some account has also been given 
of the comprehensive researches of Prof. K. F. Meyer, 
of the University of California, into the distribution and 
biology of the responsible microbe (January 20, p. 95). 
Tn the present volume Dr. Leighton has collected into a 
convenient form most of the available information about 
the disease as it occurs in man and animals. Originally 
most frequently associated with sausages and especi- 
ally common in Wiirtemberg, most of the recent cases 
have been identified in America and more commonly 
with canned vegetables than meat products. ‘‘ Limber- 
neck” in poultry appears to be botulism, and “ grass 
sickness ” of horses is either this or a closely allied 
condition. Prevention is a question of the adequate 
sterilisation of preserved foods. The second part of 
the book recounts the details of the tragedy of the 
potted duck sandwiches and concludes with an ample 
bibliography. 
The Annual Register: a Review of Public Events at 
Home and Abroad for the Year 1922. Edited by Dr. 
M. Epstein. Pp. xii+316+199. (London: Long- 
mans, Green and Co., 1923.) os. net. 
A work of reference that has reached its hundred and 
sixty-fourth volume requires no commendation. This 
‘annual review of the year has an established place 
among indispensable works of reference. English 
history, which appears to include Irish history, and 
foreign and colonial history occupy about two-thirds 
of the book, in a summary which is conspicuous for 
its impartiality and lucidity. A chronicle of events is 
less well-balanced but extremely useful. The year’s 
obituary gives biographical sketches of about 300 
eminent men and women of all countries. Literature 
of the year is dealt with in a forty-page summary, which 
is a comprehensive and, to a large extent, critical survey 
of the year’s books. Science has to be content with a 
twelve-page summary, which, however, ranges over so 
wide a field that little, if anything, of notable value is 
omitted. A full index enhances the value of the book. 
A Text-Book of Machine Construction and Drawing. 
By H. E. Merritt and M. Platt. Pp. x+197. 
(London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1922.) 7s. 6d. 
net. 
‘Treacuers of classes dealing with machine construction 
and drawing are frequently put to a great deal of 
trouble in seeking for modern examples to put before 
their students. Text-books on the subject go out-of- 
date, and on account of the great strides which have 
been made in recent years in the manufacture of 
engineering materials, and in their treatment in the 
machine shop, and consequently in design, details have 
shown an increasing tendency to become obsolete. 
The volume before us contains a large number of 
designs suitable for students, and all of these examples 
are up-to-date. The authors make use of the American 
system of projection, and there is sufficient practical 
geometry included for the purposes of the draughtsman. 
