43- 



NATURE 



[December ig, 1912 



horticulture. In his volume on "Tulips," Mr. 

 Jacob has successfully surmounted the difficulties 

 of die pioneer — for this is stated by the editor 

 ot the series to be the first book on the tulip 

 published in English — and has produced a delight- 

 fully readable as well as practical treatise on this 

 interesting genus and its cultivation in times past 

 and present. F. Cavers. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 



Catalogue of the Serial Publications possessed by 

 the Geological Commission of Cape Colony, the 

 Royal Observatory, the Royal Society of South 

 Africa, the South African Association for the 

 Advancement of Science, the South African 

 Museum, and the Soutli African Public Library. 

 With an .'\ppendix containing a List of the 

 Serials in the Bolus Herbarium of the South 

 African College. Pp. 54. (Cape Town : 

 South African Public Library.) 

 Lv a " Foreword " to this work it is stated that 

 "this list is the outcome of a suggestion first 

 made by Dr. T. Muir, F.R.S., in Nature." The 

 list, which contains the names of about iioo 

 serials, must be of great service to workers in 

 science in Cape Town ; it is arranged in seven 

 columns, the first containing the names of the 

 serials and the remaining six references to the 

 libraries in the following order : South African 

 Library, South African Museum, Royal Observa- 

 tory, Royal Society of South Africa, Geological 

 Commission, and the South African Association 

 for the Advancement of Science. There is also 

 an appendix containing a list of the serials in the 

 Bolus Herbarium of the South African College. 



This arrangement is obviously applicable to 

 cases in which only a small number of libraries are 

 included, but it gives space to indicate the actual 

 \olumes which are accessible ; thus, in the case of 

 the Smithsonian Annual Reports the six columns 

 have the following entries : — 

 I 1S62-1909 (inc.) [ = incomplete] | 1872-1909 (1S74 missing) | 



I 1856- I 18S0-1910 I — I i88i-i909,(inc.) | 

 In the Royal Society's subject indexes, where 

 there are references to nearly thirty British 

 libraries (indicated by symbols), the serials which 

 are incomplete are marked ;', which gives a very 

 small amount of information and must be regarded 

 merely as a caution. 



In the catalogue under notice there is only one 

 cas? of a serial occurring in all the six libraries, 

 and it is not surprising that this is the Transac- 

 tions of the Royal Society of South Africa. It is 

 well known that Dr. Muir has inveighed against 

 the multiple sets of the same serials in neighbour- 

 ing libraries, and has pointed out that it would 

 he better for only one of the libraries to have a 

 complete set of a serial, which would enable some 

 in the vicinity to use their resources in obtaining 

 serials not possessed by others, and his influence 

 in this direction has probably been felt in South 

 Africa. 



NO. 2251, VOL. 90] 



Union lists of serials have already been pre- 

 pared in many cities and countries, and we may 

 congratulate the trustees of the South African 

 Public Library in adding to their number. 



The Mineralogy of the Rarer Metals: a Handbook 

 for Prospectors. By Edward Cahen and W. O. 

 Wootton, with a foreword by F. W. Harbord. 

 Pp. xxviii + 2ii. (London: Charles Griffin and 

 Co., Ltd., 1912.) Price 65. net. 



This convenient and carefully prepared manual 

 supplies a want that has long been felt. Many of 

 the elementary substances, long regarded as 

 merely chemical curiosities, are now finding 

 useful and often extensive applications in the arts. 

 In the manufacture of filaments for electric lamps, 

 in the preparation of mantles for gas-lighting, in 

 various cases in which hardness or infusibility 

 are desiderata, and especially in the production 

 of steels with special qualities, a large and ever- 

 increasing number of the so-called " rare metals " 

 are finding familiar uses. 



The authors in this handv volume have com- 

 piled, from the best and latest sources of in- 

 formation, statements of the nature, uses, and 

 properties of these various metals, together with 

 an account of the characters, distribution, methods 

 of detection, and commercial value (where this can 

 be ascertained) of the various minerals which 

 constitute the sources of these rare metals. In 

 view of the ever-increasing demands for many of 

 these metals, and the fact that some which have 

 not yet found useful applications may do so in 

 the future, the appearance of this manual is dis- 

 tinctly opportune. The information, though 

 given in concentrated form, appears to be in 

 nearly every case clear and sufficient ; and the 

 book cannot fail to be of very great service to 

 prospectors and others, who are now no longer 

 confined in their researches to seeking for 

 sources of the hitherto limited classes of so-called 

 "precious metals" and "useful metals." 



Not the least valuable characteristic of the 

 book is due to the fact that, in its printing and 

 binding, the question of its suitabilitv for being 

 carried in the pocket, for use in the field, has been 

 carefully provided for. Our satisfaction at the 

 appearance of this valuable book is somewhat 

 marred by the information we have received that 

 science has lost a promising worker by the death, 

 since the book was finished, of the author whose 

 name stands second on the title-page. J. W. J. 



Education and National Life. By Dr. Henr\- 

 Dyer. Pp. 112. (London: Blackie and Son, 

 Ltd., 1912.) Price 15. net. 



Dr. Dver'.s wide experience of educational 

 affairs in this and other countries should ensure 

 for him many attentive readers. The more im- 

 portant aspects of a question of vital national 

 interest are handled in an inspiring manner, and 

 the essays should prove of value and assistance 

 to professional and business men who have no 

 specialised knowledge of education. 



