440 



NA TURE 



[August 30, 1906 



science is particularly disappointing. It consists 

 almost wholly of disconnected excerpts from letters to 

 or from correspondents, interesting- enough in them- 

 selves, but embodying no connected review of his 

 relations to science, and leaving the reader very much 

 !n the dark as to what these relations really were. 

 'I'he truth is that, what with politics on the one side 

 and the management of his estates on the other, the 

 f^uke had but little time for other occupations. 

 Science was to him not so much a serious study as 

 a refreshing relaxation. Even had he undergone the 

 training and possessed the special mental gifts which 

 go to make the successful man of science, he could 

 hardly have found room for their exercise in his busy 

 life. His mind, however, was so active, that such 

 intervals of leisure as he could secure sufficed to 

 enable him to keep himself informed of what was 

 being done in various important lines of investigation. 

 .-\nd it was this course of interrupted reading and 

 the thoughtful reflection that accompanied and 

 followed it, rather than any original inquiry of his 

 own, that blossomed out into the lectures, addresses, 

 articles, and books which came in such a crowded 

 procession from his pen. His death left a blank in 

 society which has been filled by no one of his con- 

 temporaries. Few men of his class were endowed 

 with so remarkable a mental versatility and took such 

 an eager interest in all kinds of intellectual pursuits. 

 He will be remembered as an illustrious example of a 

 type too rare among us, wherein the grand seigneur, 

 the statesman, the man of letters, and the lover of 

 nature and of science are blended in one noble 

 character. 



CHEMISTRY AND THE DETECTION OF 

 CRIME. 

 Lehrbuch der gerichtlichen Chemie. Zweite ganzlich 

 umgearbeitete Auflage, bearbeitet von Dr. Georg 

 Baumert, Dr. M. Dennstedt, und Dr. F. Voigt- 

 lander. Vol. ii. Pp. x + 248. (Brunswick: F. 

 Vieweg and Son, 1906.) Price 9 marks. 

 T N addition to cases of alleged poisoning, there 

 -•- exist a number of crimes in the detection of 

 which chemical and physical science can render 

 special aid to the dispensation of justice. Thus, in 

 proving the falsification of documents, in demon- 

 strating a forgery, in the identification of blood- 

 stains or other body-secretions, and in the discovery 

 of evidence confirming a charge of incendiarism, the 

 results of a capable scientific examination will often 

 furnish a direct proof, where otherwise the verdict 

 aould depend upon a mere balancing of probabilities. 

 The second part of Dr. Baumert's " Lehrbuch " 

 deals exhaustively with the foregoing problems. Par- 

 ticular attention is devoted to the photography in- 

 volved, and in the investigations described much use 

 is made of this adjunct. In fact, the expert in 

 criminological chemistry, if he is to render all the 

 assistance possible, must be not merely a chemist, 

 but a combination of photographer, microscopist, and 

 detective as well. 



NO. 1922, VOL. 74] 



.'^bout three-fifths of the volume is devoted to the 

 methods of discovering and demonstrating fraudulent 

 alterations of documents. The treatment is very com- 

 plete, embracing as it does not only the microscopical 

 examination of the written characters, the chemical 

 testing of the ink and paper, and the indications of 

 erased or altered letters brought out by photographic 

 enlargement, but also the consideration of pencil 

 marks and " secret " inks. 



Some fifty pages are assigned to the examination 

 of blood-stains, and include a careful description of 

 the conditions which should be employed in carrying 

 out the " biological " test for the characterisation of 

 human blood. The authors think, in opposition to 

 Uhlenhuth, that, given the requisite knowledge of 

 bacteriology and physiology, the analyst rather than 

 the medical man should be entrusted with this ex- 

 periment. A good plate shows the absorption spectra 

 of haemoglobin and its congeners, and, indeed, a 

 word of praise is due to the excellent photographic 

 reproductions with which the book generally is 

 furnished. Next follows a short chapter on the ex- 

 amination of suspected articles for the presence of 

 human spermatozoa, whilst the last thirty pages deal 

 with the evidence of incendiary origin which the 

 chemist may find on closely scrutinising such objects 

 as may have been left undestroyed where a fire has 

 broken out. 



Throughout the book careful directions are given 

 for conducting the various operations, and numerous 

 pitfalls which beset the unwary are indicated. As 

 is befitting where serious charges are concerned, 

 clear distinctions are drawn between the results which 

 constitute proof and those which, however strongly 

 confirmatory, are not in themselves decisive. The 

 general impression left by a perusal of the volume 

 is that in the solution of the crime-problems dealt 

 with the guidance afforded is admirably practical " 

 and safe. C. S. 



NERVOUS DISEASE. 



The Management of a Nerve Patient. By Dr. A. T. 

 Schofield. Pp. ix -1-267. (London : J. and A. 

 Churchill, 1906.) Price 55. net. 



WE cannot congratulate Dr. Schofield on the title 

 he has selected, for a book written, as the . 

 author tells us, for the use of students and prac- 

 titioners requires no such popular designation as 

 "The Treatment of a Nerve Patient." Further, the 

 writer does himself an injustice, for many medical 

 men would not trouble to read a book the title of 

 which suggests some words of advice for a nurse or 

 layman. 



Now we consider this little manual well worthy of 

 a careful perusal, for although we do not agree by 

 any means with all that the writer tells us, neverthe- 

 less it is a book full of valuable suggestions and 

 advice. We agree with the statement that " many 

 physicians do not sufficiently recognise the influence 

 of mind over bodv," but Dr. Schofield, in his desire 



