August 31, 1911] 



NATURE 



277 



of the mode in which man becomes infected with 

 malaria by means of mosquito bites. It is the clearest 

 and most simple account of a complex and puzzling 

 phenomenon which we have had occasion to read. 

 Neither are domesticated animals left out ; and in 

 this section it may be mentioned that the author 

 follows Prof. Keller in regarding humped cattle as 

 descended from the bantin of the Malay countries. 

 On pp. 270-1 Hainan is misprinted Hainau, and 

 cygnoides rendered cygmoidcs, while an altogether 

 misleading figure of a lamb is made to serve as the 

 representative of the handsome wild sheep of Trans- 

 caspia. A brief account of fossil animals, or rather 

 fossil vertebrates, concludes this section of the work, 

 which is followed by the aforesaid chapters from the 

 pen of Miss McCracken. 



Chapters on the relation of micro-organisms and 

 sanitation, on ancient and modern man, the struggle 

 for existence, communal life, &c, conclude a very 

 readable book on a very technical subject. R. L. 



How to Enamel: being a Treatise on the Practical 

 Enamelling of Jewellery with Hard Enamels. By 

 H. M. Chapin. Pp. xii + 70. (New York : J. Wiley 

 and Sons; London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 191 1.) 

 Price 4s. 6d. net. 

 This is an unpretentious little book written by a prac- 

 tising enameller. It describes in plain language the 

 simplest methods of enamelling on metals, and has 

 the merit of avoiding all air of mystery pertaining to 

 the craft. The writing has no claims to literary finish, 

 and the Americanisms scattered up and down the pages 

 will come upon an English reader with something of 

 a shock. But the writer's gift for expressing his 

 meaning plainly, and his practical hints as to helps 

 and hindrances in the work, obviously the result of 

 direct personal experience, will earn the gratitude of 

 the reader who goes to him for instruction. 



In so small a compass, of course, no more than the 

 elements of the subject are treated, and the beginner 

 is very properly warned that only experience can teach 

 him his craft. By omitting some not very helpful 

 pages on transferring photographs to enamel, room 

 might have been found for illustrating and comment- 

 ing on a few fine examples of enameller's work of 

 former ages ; or, perhaps more stimulating to crafts- 

 men, some specimens of the handiwork of such modern 

 masters as Lalique, Thesmar, Du Suau de la Croix, 

 Fisher, and Dawson, would have set before the 

 beginner something to remind him that the result of 

 all his efforts will be worth nothing unless quickened 

 by the breath of art. 



History of Geology. By H. B. Woodward, F.R.S. 

 Pp. vi+154. (The History of Science Series.) 

 (London : Watts and Co., 1911.) Price is. net. 

 No more appropriate writer could have been found for 

 this condensed history of geology than the author of 

 the recently published "History of the Geological 

 Society of London." The personal touches which 

 abounded in that volume have of necessity been cur- 

 tailed in the treatment of a wider theme ; but we meet 

 here pleasantly with Mary Anning (p. 63) and Ethel- 

 drtd Benett (p. 126), side by side with Humboldt and 

 James Hall. The book is clear and interesting in all 

 its chapters. Stratigraphy naturally assumes most im- 

 portance, since it includes the succession of organisms 

 on the earth, and this is the aspect of geology that 

 appeals most directly to the mind of man. Perhaps 

 there are almost too few references to the difficulty ex- 

 perienced by the earlv geologists in making headway in 

 countries where adherence to a Jewish system of 

 cosmogony was held to be an act of public morals. 

 Those who begin with Mr. Woodward's present book 



NO. 2183, VOL. 87] 



may well pass on, guided by his fourth chapter, to the 

 opening pages of Lyell's "Principles of Geology." 



Petrology is treated less systematically, and few will 

 agree with the statement (p. 143) that " the petrology 

 of the Igneous rocks has the advantage of being a 

 more exact science than that of Palaeontology." 



The pertinacity of Rome de l'lsle and the self- 

 sacrificing life of Haiiy receive only slight mention on 

 p. 43. We should have liked some reference to the 

 successful stand made by English-speaking geologists 

 against the view that igneous rocks assumed a new 

 facies with the passing of Mesozoic forms of life, and 

 of the part played by Jull in this matter — since other 

 living workers are mentioned — and in the development 

 of the teaching of geology. The heading " Early 

 Geological Maps " (p. 50) does not include William 

 Smith or Macculloch, the maps of the former being 

 described on p. 34, while Macculloch 's Scotland has 

 to wait until p. 80. "Progress in British Geology" 

 occurs twice as a heading in chapter iii. These are 

 small points of arrangement and are easy to correct. 

 The portraits of geologists have been selected from 

 good and thoroughly interesting originals. We feel 

 that we must mention specially the early Lyell, the 

 William Buckland expounding the tooth of a hippo- 

 potamus, and the thoughtful von Buch resting so 

 naturally in the open air. G. A. J. C. 



A Treatise on Wireless Telegraphy and Wireless 

 Telephony. By Prof. T. Mizuno. Pp. i.\4-s63-l-x 

 + 208 Figs. Written in Chinese characters. 

 (Tokyo : The Maruzen-Kabushiki-Kaisha, 1911.) 

 Price 4.50 yen, or 9.?. 

 Seven years ago Prof. Toshinojo Mizuno, of the 

 Imperial University of Kyoto, published a popular 

 work on wireless telegraphy and telephony. At that 

 time it was difficult to transmit messages more than 

 two hundred miles. The present volume is in the 

 main a theoretical consideration of the same sub- 

 ject, and is intended for the use of students at the 

 university. With the exception of the numerous 

 formulas and equations w-hich suggest a treatise on 

 higher mathematics, the fact that the text is in 

 Chinese idiographs, places this work beyond the reach 

 of European students. The references to Maxwell 

 and Hertz in the early chapters indicate that the 

 author has started on good foundations. Following 

 these, references are made to the work of many 

 investigators in England, Germany, Italy, and other 

 European countries. 



The description of instruments, which are illus- 

 trated diagrammatically, concludes with a reference to 

 the telephonic relay of Mr. S. Brown, which shows 

 that the writer is well up to date in regard to modern 

 inventions. The author says but little about his own 

 work, or the contributions to improvements in prac- 

 tical wireless telegraphy made in his own country, 

 but these exist. The whole work may be compared 

 to a play of Shakespeare with actors in Eastern 

 costume, but it also suggests that Japan is abreast 

 with the abstruse researches of the West in connection 

 with which she has made advances. 



Les Machines a ecrire. By J. Rousset. Pp. 177. 

 " Encyclopedie Scientifique des Aide-Memoire." 

 (Paris': Gauthier-Villars and Masson et Cie., n.d.) 

 Price 2.50 francs. 

 In this little book the author dissects the typewriter 

 of commerce, and in a series of chapters shows how 

 in different machines each function is performed. 

 There are fifty-eight figures. The descriptions and 

 figures are clear, and the book should fulfil its pur- 

 pose. It is a little difficult, however, to see what 

 this purpose is, for ingenious as the mechanism of 



