76 



NA TURE 



[May 24, 1906 



removed from the microscope. His previous book on 

 Physiological Histology has, however, shown the con- 

 nection between the two. The fixing action of pre- 

 servatives on tissues, the staining reactions of cells 

 and nuclei, are ultimately chemical in nature, and 

 much of macro-chemistrv can be learnt from micro- 

 chemistry. Dr. Mann's sympathies are mainly phj-si- 

 ological, not anatomical. Ph5'sical chemistry also is 

 more than a hobby with him, and the sections relating 

 to speculations of a physico-chemical nature form 

 pleasant oases in what as a rule is rather solid read- 

 ing. His histological proclivities have led him in 

 some cases to devote a good deal of space to subjects 

 which some might regard as of secondary importance 

 — for instance, his lengthy description of the inter- 

 actions of proteids with mercury compounds evidently 

 springs from the extensive use he has made of cor- 

 rosive sublimate as a fixative. 



Cohnheim's book in the original state cannot be 

 described as an ideal one. It lacks the imaginative 

 faculty, and reflects the stolid, plodding German 

 worker, anxious to omit no reference to literature 

 that can possibly be dragged into a footnote. To 

 some investigators this is of course advantageous ; 

 they will profit by the diligence of the author, and 

 easily be able to consult the memoirs quoted in refer- 

 ence to any special point they are interested in. But 

 to the student who desires to obtain a general in- 

 sight and a wide outlook on the general relationships 

 of the subject, this compression of material is a dis- 

 tinct hindrance ; he will be apt to lose sight of the 

 wood on account of the trees. 



Dr. Mann follows on very much the same lines, and 

 though it is impossible to restrain one's admiration for 

 his labours in hunting up literature, quoting authori- 

 ties as far back and as far forward as possible, one 

 cannot but regret that the text does not as a conse- 

 quence run easily, and most of it will form stiff read- 

 ing even for advanced students. In some places the 

 pages abound with chemical formulae without a suffi- 

 cient guidance in words. Here, again, anyone but an 

 accomplished organic chemist will have difficulty in 

 finding his way along. 



Dr. Mann also has certain mannerisms of style, 

 but one does not complain of these unduly, for they 

 stamp the pages with the author's individuality ; but 

 there is one of these faults which many will find 

 annoying and even confusing, and that is a looseness 

 and inexactitude in the use of terms. For instance, 

 on the title-page we find the word " proteid " used 

 as a general expression for all the albuminous sub- 

 stances; within the pages of the book "proteid" is 

 employed only for a certain group of these materials. 

 Albumin also is sometimes used as a generic term, 

 and at other times applied to a specific group ; some- 

 times it is used as opposed to globulin, sometimes it 

 includes the globulins, and sometimes it includes 

 everything. In one place we read that lactalbumin 

 is one of the few true albumins ; on another page it is 

 alluded to as a hypothetical substance. The author 

 has dedicated his work to his father, and in the 

 dedication tells us something of his father's life- 

 work. It would be interesting to know something 

 NO. 1908, VOL. 74] 



more about his ancestry — whether, for instance, he 

 has any Irish blood in him. The use of the expres- 

 sions " true pseudo-acid " and " true pseudo-base " 

 is distinctly Hibernian. 



The same kind of carelessness is shown in the 

 spelling. Albumin is sometimes spelt with an i, 

 sometimes with an c. The nomenclature committee 

 of the Chemical Society tried to introduce uniformity 

 into spelling, and assigned certain meanings to 

 certain terminations. A word ending in ine, for in- 

 stance, means an alkaloidal material ; a word ending 

 in ill does not ; similarly, the terminations ol and o\c 

 have a distinct chemical significance. But Dr. Mann 

 has paid no attention to such rules. " Vitellin," for 

 example, is sometimes spelt with, sometimes with- 

 out, a final e. " Gelatine " and " cholin " are spelt 

 as just printed in direct contravention of the rules of 

 the Chemical Society. The names of investigators 

 are also often mis-spelt; Waymouth Reid, Curtius, 

 Claude Bernard, and Lane-Claypon are among the 

 sufferers. 



The whole question of nomenclature in chemistry 

 is very difficult, especially in translations. It is hope- 

 less to try to reconcile English with German usages, 

 but there ought to be an attempt on the part of 

 English writers to adopt some sort of uniformity. 

 This difficulty is accentuated in relation to proteid 

 nomenclature, and one can only hope that the joint 

 committee of the Physiological and Chemical Societies 

 now sitting on this very subject may put forward 

 some practicable suggestions. Dr. Mann is therefore 

 not wholly to blame for his misdeeds. 



In spite of the blemishes to which I have devoted 

 so much space, I believe the book will have a useful 

 career in front of it. Its many excellences can be 

 discovered bv reading it and using it, and Dr. Mann 

 is to be congratulated in having produced such a 

 valuable addition to scientific literature. 



W. D H 



STATISTICAL SEISMOLOGY. 



Les tremhlements de terre. Geographie Siismolo- 



giqtie. By Comte F. de Montessus de Ballore ; 



with a preface by Prof. A. de Lapparent. Pp. v + 



475. (Paris: Armand Colin, 1906.) Price 12 francs. 



WITH the growth of their science seismologists 

 have become more and more specialised, and 

 devoted themselves to the cultivation of a limited 

 portion of their domain, but none have marked out 

 for themselves a more clearly defined plot, or culti- 

 vated it with greater assiduity, than the Comte de 

 Montessus de Ballore. Leaving to others the study 

 of the nature and effect of earthquakes, he has con- 

 fined himself to the consideration of their cause, and 

 attacked the problem by the statistical way, believing 

 that a detailed study of the distribution of earthquakes 

 in time and space will most conclusively indicate their 

 cause. By no means the first cataloguer of earth- 

 quakes in point of time, for the great lists of Mallet 

 and Perrey are well known, to say nothing of the 

 numerous local catalogues compiled by others, our 

 author stands preeminent in the number of earth- 



