February 20, 1908] 



NA TURE 



t-asi coasts, a routf, travelled now for the first time 

 by a German, that includes the passage of many 

 <lan<jerous glacial rivers. 



In vol. ii. is the account of the principal journey. The 

 party, consisting of the author, his guide, and a stu- 

 <lint from Torgau, left Reykjavik, passed again 

 'I'hingvellir, and the Geysir district, and made the 

 i-cent of Hekla. Then across the Ranga to Oddi 

 Stiirolfshvoll and the many scenes of the Gunnarr Saga, 

 Htrglhorshvoll — of the Nj^ll Saga — to \ostur and 

 Aiistur .Skaptafells Sysla — the most difficult part of the 

 journey ; it is here that the coast is so dangerous, and 

 so many fishing smacks are wrecked. The inhabitants 

 of this district have but little communication with 

 centres of civilisation, and have preserved the ancient 

 characteristics almost unchanged. The travellers then 

 continued througli the Mula Sysla (Sudur and 

 Xdrdur), and Thingeyjar Sv^la (Xordur and Sudur), to 

 Akureyri. 



Kvery part traversed is minutely described; there is 

 a good deal of scientific matter for the lay reader; and 

 here it may be remarked that the author has an irri- 

 t.iiing habit of interspersing his reading matter with 

 references — in addition to the many footnotes — and of 

 placing the Icelandic of so many words in italics and 

 parenthesis. This is a great hindrance to easy read- 

 ing, especially as the same translation is given 

 many times as the word recurs, and items of inform- 

 iiion are often repeated. 



\o\. i. deals with Iceland's geological origin and 

 formation, its volcanoes and glaciers, its geographical 

 exploration, and traces its history from the earliest 

 erilonisation in the ninth century, as a free State, under 

 Norwegian and Danish government, to the present 

 d.iy's self-government under the Danish flag. 



The study and practice of medicine, the system of 

 education, which is praised as perhaps the best in the 

 world's history, the language and literature, are all 

 considered, as are the ancient and modern industries 

 .'ind arts — wood-carving, embroidery, sculpture, paint- 

 ing, music, and the drama. 



Much space is devoted to agriculture, and eighteen 

 jiriges treat e.\clusively of sheep. The varied efforts 

 <'f the State to encourage the farmers to obtain prac- 

 tical knowledge and to provide schools for their train- 

 ing and assistance are noted. The fishing industry 

 nKo receives State help, and manv statistics of this 

 important branch are given. Much is made of the 

 ];iracy of foreign fishing boats in Icelandic waters, 

 I'.nglish trawlers being specially attacked. But the 

 <'iuthor seems to have a prejudice against everything 

 Knglish ; the British tourist is unmercifullv criticised, 

 and his manners, clothes, and food unfavourablv com- 

 pared with those of the German traveller. The one 

 (I our countrymen who joined the partv for a short 

 lime must have been a very bad e.xample of his kind, 

 ir there is another side to the storv, which is given 



.IS all else in the book — in detail. 



The descriptions of Reykjavik and .\kureyri are 

 very full and e.\plicit, and during his visit Herr Herr- 

 m.mn made the acquaintance of many Icelanders, and 

 so gained, at first hand, information regarding the 

 hospitals, schools, and many public and private social 

 institutions and customs. 



NO. T999, VOL. 77] 



He sees everything generally coidnur de rose, and 

 prophesies a bright future for the island, expressing, 

 nevertheless, the fear that the people, who, more than 

 any other nation, have through centuries of civilisation 

 preserved their ancient manners and customs, their 

 pure language and literature, will, with their advance, 

 lose in primitive charm. He urges philologists, while 

 there is yet time, to make a thorough study of Ice- 

 landic. 



We can hope, with Herr Herrmann, ihat he may 

 add later a third volume to his book, dealing with 

 the other parts of the island. If, at times, the personal 

 element is too obtrusive, still the book leaves a very 

 clear idea of Iceland, land and people, past and 

 present, a result due partly to the many and excellent 

 photographs, and numerous references, with which the 

 author fortifies or supplements his own observations. 



M. G. B. 



.IZ)F.4iVCJ!;D ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. 

 Organic Chemistr\i for Advanced Students. By Prof. 

 J. B. Cohen. Pp. viii + 632. (London: Edward 

 .\rnoId, 1907.) Price 21s. net. 



THKRE are several very excellent text-books upon 

 the subject of organic chemistry in the English 

 language, but although' these meet the wants of the 

 average student, the want of a more comprehensive 

 book has been long felt. The book before us is in- 

 tended to supply this want, and to a certain extent 

 it undoubtedly will do so. The book, according to 

 the author, is a series of essays prepared from notes 

 of lectures delivered to senior students. The work is 

 perhaps best described as being a series of mono- 

 graphs upon different branches of chemistry; as a 

 consequence certain subjects have been exhaustively 

 dealt with, and other subjects have been entirely 

 ignored. Some students will therefore find all they 

 require within the covers of the book, and others will 

 search in vain for the branch of chemistry with which 

 they are familiar or desire to become familiar. Of 

 course, a book written in this manner is bound to a 

 certain extent to lack sequence, and one has practic- 

 allv to commence dc novo with each section of the 

 book, that is to say, every section has its own historical 

 introduction. For example, the first chapter is a more 

 or less general introduction, but when we come to 

 chapter ii., dealing with isomerism and stereo- 

 isomerism, there is again a long historical introduc- 

 tion. We are not objecting to the author treating the 

 subjects historically; in fact, it is probably best to 

 deal with each branch in this manner in order that 

 the student may get a thorough and comprehensive 

 grasp of the subject. This method of introducing and 

 showing the gradual development of the subject is 

 more likely to stimulate originality than the simple 

 setting foithof a number of cut-and-dried facts. 



There is, of course, a danger in treating organic 

 chemistry in the form of a series of monographs deal- 

 ing with different branches, because of a tendency to 

 detachment and to an unnecessary division of the 

 subject. But in giving a series of lectures to advanced 

 classes in organic chemistry, there is practically no 

 other wav open than thoroughly to exhaust certain 



