196 



NA TURE 



[January 2, 1908 



contact with each other and with non-conducting 

 material; and so tlie book proceeds throughout its 

 four hundred and sixty-seven disjointed articles, which 

 were originally written as " Ideas from Port Shep- 

 stone " for the Natal Mercury. 



VV. E. ROLSTON. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



The Climber's Pocket Book. Rock-Climbing .icci- 

 dents, with Hints on First Aid to the Injured, 

 some Uses of the Rope, Methods of Rescue and 

 Transport. By Lionel F. West. Pp. 79; illus- 

 trated. (Manchester : The Scientific Publishing 

 Co., n.d.) Price 2s. 6d. net. 

 Accidents are possible even to the most careful 

 climbers, and they may happen in places from which 

 a disabled man cannot readily be extricated. In such 

 a case Mr. West's handy little book will be of the 

 highest value, for his directions are terse, clear, and 

 adapted to the various circumstances in which a mis- 

 hap may be critical — on the face of a cliff, in a narrow 

 gully or " chimney," when crags have to be climbed, 

 or narrow ledges traversed before reaching a position 

 which is easy of access. He explains and illustrates 

 by photographs the different modes of using the rope, 

 and how, by means of it, the disabled man may be 

 lowered down precipitous rocks, transported across 

 snow slopes, and carried on a stretcher, readily im- 

 provised, when the going becomes easy. 



We are also told the symptoms indicating the nature 

 of an injury, what to do and what to avoid, the 

 articles of general equipment, and the few simple 

 medicines and appliances which a climbing party 

 should carry with them. That party, Mr. West rightly 

 declares, should not number less than three; four is 

 better, but more than that on a rope much retards 

 progress, and the climbers in front, especially if the 

 party be divided, may dislodge stones which imperil 

 those in the rear. 



If a man chooses to climb alone he must take the 

 risks, for a simple fracture may then mean a lingering 

 death; and two are not enough, for if assistance 

 be needed the injured man must be left to pass hours, 

 perhaps a night, in solitude. Frostbite, snow-blind- 

 ness, and mountain sickness are described, with in- 

 structions for treating them, and Mr. West gives 

 some valuable hints on the best way of avoiding 

 mountain dangers, with a chapter of" " don'ts," of 

 which we must be content to sav that, were it more 

 generally followed, accidents 'would be far less 

 frequent. 



What Rome was Built With. .4 Description of the 

 Stones employed in Ancient Times for its Build- 

 ing and Decoration. By Marv Wincarls Porter. 

 Pp. viii + 108. (London and" Oxford: Henry 

 Frowde.) Price 35. 6d. net. 

 Every intelligent visitor to Rome feels more or less 

 curiosity about the varied stones that were used 

 in such profusion for purposes of construction and 

 decoration. Ordinary guides and guide-books are 

 prone to err in the identification of the stones, and 

 still more in any attempt to trace their origin or 

 explain their formation. To deal adequately with the 

 subject needs, in truth, the knowledge of 'both anti- 

 quary and geologist. The writer of this work, with- 

 out professing any originality, has carefully collected 

 from both sources a great' deal of interesting in- 

 formation, and has examined critically several 

 collections of typical specimens, with the result that 

 she_ has produced a little volume that ought to be 

 decidedly h(>lpful to the inquirer. 

 NO 1992, VOL. 77J 



The nomenclature of the ornamental stones em- 

 ployed by the ancients is often perplexing, leading 

 occasionally to downright error. Even so common a 

 term as " alabaster " is apt to be a source of some 

 confusion, inasmuch as it is applied to both the 

 carbonate and the sulphate of lime. Still more con- 

 fusing is the use of the word " serpentine," for the 

 antiquary often applies it to the green porphyry of 

 Greece, a material very similar to the well-known rock 

 of Lambay Island, near Dublin. On such points of 

 terminology, as on other matters, the writer may 

 be safely trusted, for her quotations show that she 

 has not failed to consult the highest authorities. 



A list of works of reference is appended, but its 

 usefulness would have been increased if the dates 

 of publication had been generally given. In the few- 

 cases where dates are quoted, accuracy is not always 

 conspicuous. Thus a paper by R. Swan on Pares 

 is here cited as having been read at the British 

 Association in 1877, whereas on p. 83 the date is 

 given as 1887 ; but, as a matter of fact, neither is 

 correct, for the paper was read in iS8g, and in 

 .Section C, not G, as here stated. .A little more care 

 might also have been well spent in the arrangement 

 of the matter. What can be the use of explaining 

 the meaning of the word " breccia " in a note on 

 p. 50 when it has already been explained in words 

 almost identical on p. 37? But these arc only trifling 

 blemishes, which detract but little from the value 

 of an interesting compilation. It is difficult to point 

 to any other work on the subject equally convenient 

 and trustworthy. 



Nature's Hygiene and .Sanitary Chemistry. By C. T. 



Kingzett. Fifth edition. Pp. xvi + 527. (London: 



Bailliere, Tyndall and Cox, 1907.) Price 75. 6d. 



net. 

 This is a book written with a purpose, and the pur- 

 pose is to proclaim the virtues of a certain disinfectant 

 in which the author is interested. There is no secret 

 about the matter; he shows us the axe he is grinding, 

 and every now and then holds it up, as it were, that 

 we may admire the nice sharp edge he is putting on 

 the implement. 



By " Nature's Hygiene " the author means the 

 process of oxidation, as shown more especially in the 

 absorption of moist atmospheric oxygen by certain 

 terpenes, with the concurrent production of hydrogen 

 peroxide and oxidised terpenes. Enormous quantities 

 of these substances arise in forests ; the peroxide 

 destroys decaying vegetable matter, and the terpene- 

 products act, in the author's view, as antiseptics. 



The early chapters of the book deal with elementary 

 chemistry, and lead up to the consideration of ventila- 

 tion, fermentation, putrefaction, water supply, and 

 the treatment of sewage. Thence we pass to theories 

 of disease, and so on to the question of disinfection. 

 Remembering that the author is writing for people 

 who are presumed to be ignorant even of very ele- 

 mentary science, we may sav, without endorsing all 

 his opinions, that he gives an interesting and readable 

 sketch of the various matters dealt with. It is marred, 

 however, by vain repetitions; thus the author's views 

 upon the question of whether microorganisms or 

 their toxins are the causa causans of disease crop up 

 about as often as King Charles's head did in the 

 writings of Mr. Dick. Moreover, much of the book 

 is ancient history ; the footnotes teem with references 

 to obsolescent matters dating back to the '70's and 

 '8o's of last century, whereas modern results are 

 sometimes overlooked. Thus, although there are 

 some notes upon argon and electrons, radium and 

 radiobes, yet when we turn to the chapter on malarial 

 fever to learn wh;it our author has to s;iy about the 



