September 29, 1910] 



NATURE 



395 



the localities fished, as well as the physical conditions 

 of the sea during the operations. The economic aspect 

 of the research is not neglected. 



(3) This is the first instalment of the results of an 

 extensive survey of the Irish fishing-grounds, which is 

 now being carried on by Mr. Holt and his colleagues. 

 It is well known to those engaged in actual fishery 

 administration that mere statistics of the quantities 

 of fish landed at the ports afford, in themselves, in- 

 formation of very little value for a rational regulation 

 of the industry. Fishery authorities competent to their 

 work must obviously obtain at first hand a knowledge 

 of the natural conditions of the sea areas under their 

 control, and this has been the object of the Irish sur- 

 vey. The observations recorded are those of fishing 

 operations carried on by the cruiser Helga at such 

 times as her attention was not being directed to the 

 detection of predatory trawlers ; they include lists of 

 the fishes present on the fishing-grounds visited, with 

 the numbers taken per haul, and the individual 

 measurements of those caught. It is quite impossible 

 to summarise the results here stated, but one may say 

 with confidence that the report is a contribution of 

 essential value for a real understanding of the natural 

 conditions of the British fisheries. J. J. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 

 Scioice in Modern Life. Prepared under the editor- 

 ship of J. R. Ainsworth Davis. Vol vi., Engineer- 

 ing. By J. \V. French. Pp. vi + 225. (London : 

 The Gresham Publishing Co., 1910.) Price 6s. net. 

 The first half of this book is devoted to the various 

 systems of power production, and the other half to the 

 application of such power to the manifold needs of 

 mankind ; there is also a short account of the proper- 

 ties of, and the modern methods of manufacturing on 

 a large scale, the chief materials used in constructional 

 work. 



In a book of this nature, which is evidently in- 

 tended to give non-technical readers an intelligent idea 

 of the remarkable work done by the engineer in pro- 

 viding for the varied daily needs of communities living 

 under the complex conditions of civilised life, it is a 

 pity that space should have been given to descriptions 

 of machines and methods which are obsolete, and are 

 only interesting from the historical point of view. In 

 dealing with high-speed engines, there are two illus- 

 trations and some amount of letterpress devoted to 

 the Willans and Robinson central valve engine, which 

 is no longer made, though, of course, such engines 

 are still to be found in generating stations and fac- 

 tories where thev were installed some years ago, and 

 where they will remain until unfit for further service ; 

 it is, however, an obsolete type. In discussing water- 

 tube boilers Mr. French states that "of these types 

 the most e.xtensivelv adopted in the navies of the 

 world is the Belleville water-tube boiler." This is in- 

 correct ; no recent British warship has been fitted with 

 this steam generator, which did not prove altogether 

 satisfactory. 



That the section which deals with the applications 

 of power is well up to date is shown bv the chapter 

 dealing with aerial navigation and hydroplanes. The 

 latest tvpes of machines are described and discussed. 

 The cable-way illustrated on p. 127 was used in con- 

 nection with the building of the new low-level light- 

 house at Beachv Head, and not, as stated, for the 

 Eddvstone Lighthouse. 

 There are a dozen excellent plates, and about 600 



NO. 2135, VOL. 84] 



other illustrations, which will greatly increase the 

 utility of the book to those readers who are not 

 familiar with such technical matters. T. H. B. 



Vegctationsbilder. Edited by Prof. Dr. G. Karsten 



and Prof. Dr. H. Schenck. Eighth series. Part i. 



Trockensteppen der Kalahari. F. Seiner. Part 2. 



Von den Juan Fernandez Inseln. Carl Skottberg. 



Part 3. Die schwabische Alp. Otto Feucht. 



Part 4. .\us Bosnien und der Herzegovina. L. 



.\damovi£. Parts 5-6. Die Flora von Irland. 



Prof. T. Johnson. With six plates in each part. 



(Jena : Gustav Fischer, 1910.) Price 4 marks each 



part. 

 The eighth series has progressed rapidly, as six parts 

 have been published within the year. For the first 

 time the British Islands is represented, namely, in 

 the double part dealing with the flora of Ireland, 

 arranged bv Prof. Johnson. It would be ditTicvilt to 

 improve on the subjects chosen, which include Arbutus 

 nnedo, one of the original forest trees. Erica niackaii. 

 Erica medilcrranea, Daboecia polifolia, Eupliorbia 

 hibernica, Eriocaidon articulatum, and Eryngium 

 maritimum. .Ml the photographs are excellent, and 

 the number takes rank among the best. European 

 countries are also represented in the pictures of the 

 plant associations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, contri- 

 buted bv Prof. L. .Adamovi(5, and those illustrating 

 the Swabian Alps, provided by Mr. O. Feucht. 

 Naturally the magnificent Spruce, Picea oniorika, 

 endemic to Bosnia, is selected by Prof. Adamovifi for 

 illustration, and another subject is Pintis leucodermis ; 

 other photographs portray associations on the chalk, 

 serpentine, and screes. The slopes and cliffs of the 

 Swabian Jura are rich in calcicolous plants, of which 

 Saxifraga ai:^oon and Saxifraga decipiens are two 

 of the most prominent; the illustrations of Laserpitiuni 

 Siler and of Juniper trees about eight feet high also 

 attract attention. The part devoted to the Kalahari 

 desert contains photographs of the well-known trees 

 Copaijera mopane, Copaifcra coleospcrnia, Kigelia 

 pinnata, and Acacia haematoxylon, in their natural 

 habitats; a remarkable large shrub, Sesothamnus 

 Seineri, discovered by the author, presents striking 

 xerophytic characters. Dr. C. Skottsberg illustrates a 

 number of endemic plants. Bocliineria cxcelsa, a tree 

 growing to a height of eighteen feet, Juania australis, 

 a pinnate-leaved palm, Gunncra palmata, and a 

 strong root-climbing fern, Arthroptcris aUescendens. 

 are confined to the island of Masatierra ; scenes from 

 the island of Masafuera show forest of Myrceugenia 

 .Schultzei and the tree fern, Dicksonia berteroana. 



Liglit Visible and Invisible. By Silvanus P. 



Thompson, F.R.S. Second edition, enlarged. 



Pp. xiii4-3S2. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 



1910.) Price 6s. net. 

 The first edition of Prof. Thompson's popular book 

 was reviewed at length in Nature of March 31, 1898 

 (vol. Ivii., p. 506). To the new edition have been 

 added chapters on radium and the manufacture of 

 light, the latter being the lecture given to a popular 

 audience at the meeting of the British .Association at 

 York in 1906. We have little doubt that with these 

 additions the volume will continue to be read widely. 



.1 Home-work Atlas of Maps in Black and White. 



Edited by Prof. L. \\'. Lyde. Pp. 15. (London : 



.\. and C. Black, 1910.) Price li. 

 These simple maps, showing in a striking way the 

 essential facts of the geography of each of the con- 

 tinents, should prove of real use in schools to give 

 pupils guidance as to how, when answering questions, 

 long verbal descriptions may be saved by judicious 

 diagrams. 



