244 



NA TURE 



[JANUARY 1 6, 1908 



the exposition himself, for his introduction shows that 

 he lias a fjood acquaintance both with the capacities 

 of children and with the way in which these studies 

 niav be utilised to serve the ends of mental develop- 

 ment. Neither Miss Howard nor Dr. Herbertson 

 ^eem to have got much beyond the primitive idea 

 that children possess empty knowledge boxes into 

 which geographical and historical information can 

 be shot at will. 



The other sections are on a higher level. Mr. 

 Raker's account of mathematics is quite good, and 

 will be helpful to teachers in anv type of school ; but 

 his treatment suffers from compression, for it is im- 

 jjossible to cover in the space allotted the whole field 

 of study from the infant stage to the commencement 

 of trigonometry. Natural science fares well in the 

 hands of Dr. Percy Nunn and Miss von VVyss, and 

 .iny teacher of science, especially in secondary schools 

 or technical institutions, will profit from studying 

 with care their exposition of method. In their selec- 

 tion of sciences for the " intermediate " and " final " 

 ■-tages we are inclined to think the writers take too 

 narrow a view ; botany, chemistry, and physics have 

 I heir place, but many would prefer, especially in view 

 of the increasing claims of hygiene, to see more recog- 

 nition given to physiology in the year or two pre- 

 ceding the scholar's departure from school. Languages 

 have been placed in the hands of Dr. Rouse (aided 

 by his colleague, Mr. W. H. .S. Jones) for Latin 

 and Greek, and Mr. ^L^nsfield Poole for French and 

 (lerman. Both belong to the ranks of avowed "re- 

 formers." Many schoolmasters will rub their eyes 

 with blank amazement on reading the specimen 

 lessons in Greek dialogue as conducted in the Perse 

 r.rammar School, but Dr. Rouse's system is merely 

 I he application of the same general principles which 

 Mr. Poole expounds for a modern language. 



On closing the book one is encouraged to recog- 

 nise the progress that English teachers are making 

 in the serious study of professional work. -Ten years 

 have elapsed sine- Mr. Barnett edited the pioneer 

 volume of this description, and the comparison is 

 favourable to the craftsman schoolmasler of the 

 present day. 



MAINTENANCE OF KOADS. 

 Road-making and Maintenance. A Practical Treatise 

 for Engineers, Surveyors, and Others. By Thomas 

 Aitken. .Second edition. P|3. xviii + :;27; illus- 

 trated. (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd.) 

 Price 2JS. net. 

 "T^HE first edition of this book w.is published in 

 -»- 190 1, and the fact that a second edition of a 

 technical book of this character should be called for 

 within so short a period testifies to its value, and also 

 to the greater attention that has been given to the 

 maintenance of roads within the last few years. 



.\fter the advent of railways, and the abolition of 

 turnpikes, road-making became a very neglected 

 science ; the advent of bicycles and the inconvenience 

 felt by a very large section of the public caused pres- 

 sure to be brought on highway authorities, and a 

 gradual improvement set in. The subsequent intro- 

 NO. 1 994, VOL. 77] 



duction of motor-cars brought road maintenance very 

 much to the front, and, t.iken generally, the main 

 roads of this country are now kept in very fair condi- 

 tion. This, however, has involv-ed a very large ex- 

 penditure. It was stated at a recent discussion on 

 motor vehicles at the Institution of Civil Engineers 

 by the surveyor of the county of Middlesex that the 

 cost of main roads in his county had increased from 

 49,oooi. in 1889 to 90,391/. in 1905. In the two years 

 1904-6 improvements on the roads had amounted to 

 86,536/. The cost of the main roads of England and 

 Wales has increased from 2,120,332/. in 1901 to 

 2,478,481/. in 1905. 



The book now under notice has been revised and 

 brought up to date, and much new matter has been 

 added. The question of damage done to the roads 

 by motor-cars, and the nuisance arising from dust 

 caused by the speed at which these vehicles are driven, 

 has been fully treated in a new chapter. .\ descrip- 

 tion of the various remedies that have been tried for 

 dealing with the dust problem is given. The conclu- 

 sion at which the author has arrived is that no real 

 solution for dealing with this nuisance has yet been 

 found, but he has no doubt that the system of " tar 

 macadam " or " building up the road stone coating 

 with a matrix of tar, chips and dust as a binding 

 medium is the best possible method of solving the 

 dust problem in a satisfactory and permanent 

 manner. " 



The advantages of tar macadam are increased 

 durability over ordinary macadam, imperviousness to 

 moisture, capability of being kept clean, and the 

 surface is not liable to be disintegrated by frost. 

 Owing to its greater durability and to the fact thai 

 the surface of the road can be renewed by a thin 

 coating of fine tar macadam, from time to time, with- 

 out disturbing the subsurface or foundations, the cost 

 over a series of years, when everything is taken into 

 consideration, is not more than that of a steam-rolled 

 ordinary macadam road. The author of this book, 

 however, expresses the opinion that its first cost pro- 

 hibits its adoption on an extensive scale on rural main 

 roads. 



The book is divided into eighteen chapters, dealing 

 in an exhaustive and practical manner with the fol- 

 lowing subjects: — Historical sketch of road-making; 

 resistance to traction on roads; laying out new roads 

 and the improvement of those already made ; retain- 

 ing walls, culverts, bridges, &c. ; materials used for 

 repairs ; quarrying road stone ; breaking and haulage ; 

 rolling and scarifying ; prevention of dust ; footways ; 

 wood pavement ; asphalt ; brick pavement ; tar 

 macadam ; testing the surface of roads and use of the 

 viagraph ; subways. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



A History oj CIn-mislry. By Hugo Bauer. Trans- 

 lated by R. \'. .Slanford. Pp. vii + 232. (London: 

 Edward -Arnold, 1907.) Price 36". bd. net. 

 The philosophy of chemistry can only be properly 

 studied by the historical method. Present-day chem- 

 ical philosophy, like present-day religion, is a product 

 of evolution, and to understand it thoroughly it 

 is necessary to be able to trace the successive stages 



