'■4- 



NA TURE 



[December 30, 1909 



and usefulness greatly increased if its price were more 

 within the reach of modest means. Doubtless such a 

 book is very expensive to produce, but surely this is a 

 case where the wealthy treasury of a great nation 

 might have balanced a possible pecuniary loss against 

 a certain imperial gain. E. A. M. 



,4 A'£Tr TEXT-BOOK OF PALMOZOOLOGY. 

 Lehrbuch der Paldozoologie. By Prof. E. Stromer 

 von Reichenbach. I., Wirbellose Tiere. Pp. x + 

 342. Naturwissenschaft und Technik in Lehre und 

 Forschung. (Leipzig : B. G. Teubner, 1909.) Price 

 10 marks. 



IN several features the present volume may well 

 claim to be in advance of many of the text-books 

 on the subject which have appeared during latter years. 

 Instead of being a mere systematically arranged and 

 uninteresting descriptive catalogue, it provides splendid 

 material for the student who desires an intelligent 

 understanding of the subject. 



In a well-written introduction the author discusses 

 the scope of the science, the history of its origin, the 

 present state of our knowledge of the science, condi- 

 tions of fossil-preservation, the relationship of palteo- 

 .zoology to other sciences, and, lastly, the constitution 

 •of the skeleton in different animals. For the most 

 part the work is limited, except in some of the more 

 thoroughly investigated groups, to the treatment of 

 ■orders and higher divisions. Greater detail would 

 have defeated the end in view — that of providing a 

 • clearly written exposition for beginners who are 

 assumed to have only elementary knowledge of 

 zoology and no acquaintance with geology. The 

 lower animals receive much attention, and their dis- 

 cussion occupies a considerable portion of the volume. 

 An attempt has been made to embody the recent 

 .researches in the different sections without undulv 

 <5bscuring the clearness. Thus, for instance, in the 

 section on the rugose corals is given the explanation 

 -of the septal plan as recently set forth by Carruthers. 



Other important features are the paragraphs on the 

 .geological distribution and the evolution of each 

 group, as well as the concise summary of the diag- 

 nostic characters of the several groups at the close 

 of the treatment of each phylum. A general discus- 

 sion of the contributions of palseozoology to the study 

 of phylogeny is reserved for the second volume. A 

 valuable list of the chief works at the end of each 

 section provides the necessary guide to those students 

 who might wish to continue the subject further. 



The use of a special mark to signify extinct forms 

 is unfortunate, since the necessary frequence of these 

 signs in some parts proves to be a distracting eve- 

 sore. Moreover, Freeh has used the same mark in 

 his " Lethaea Palaeozoica " to denote the last appear- 

 ance of a form in the stratigraphical sequence. 



Undoubtedly, one of the outstanding features of the 

 book is the excellence of the illustrations and the 

 introduction of so many that are new in a text-book. 

 The clearness of the figures and the conciseness of 

 the explanatory notes leave nothing to be desired. The 

 inclusion of technical terms such as " latisellat," 

 NO. 2096, VOL. 82] 



" krvptodont," and "iterative Formenbildung," in the 

 index must prove very useful. 



On the whole, the author can be congratulated upon 

 producing a very good and serviceable text-book, for 

 he has succeeded very well in preserving the educa- 

 tionist's ideal of a treatment proceeding " from the 

 known to the unknown," and not, as is often the case, 

 "to the unknown through the more unknown." 



Ivor Thomas. 



CHEMISTRY IN COURT. 

 A ilanual of Forensic Chemistry, dealing especially 

 with Chemical Evidence : its Preparation and Adduc- 

 tion. Based upon a Course of Lectures delivered 

 at University College. By William Jago. Pp. 

 viii + 256. (London: Stevens and Haynes, 1909.) 

 Price s-s- net. 



IN one way or another, chemical matters form no 

 insignificant proportion of the cases dealt witli 

 by our police courts and civil tribunals. Poisoning 

 tragedies, infringement of patents, adulteration of 

 food, and even libel actions — these are some, but by 

 no means all, of the causes which serve to bring 

 chemist and lawyer professionally together ; and, not 

 infrequently, chemist and lawyer find themselves at 

 loggerheads. 



There are legal subtleties which the chemist is apt 

 to overlook. For example, a well-known scientific 

 witness once set out to explain what a certain claim 

 in a specification meant. " Kekewich, J.," interposed 

 with the remark, "That is for me, Sir James." So 

 the witness had to cast about for a more acceptable 

 form of words. " Speaking as a chemist," he said, 

 " the following words in the claim mean to me " 

 .so and so. With this preliminary the evidence was 

 admissible, and the witness was allowed to proceed. 



On the other hand, there are chemical distinc- 

 tions which to the lawyer are often a mystery of 

 mvsteries. Our author recognises this, and seeks, 

 as far as may be, to make the rough places plain 

 for the members of both professions. 



For the lawyer, he explains shortly the objects and 

 principles of chemistry. He gives examples of 

 " direct " and " indirect " methods of analysis, and 

 directs attention to such points as the collection of 

 fair samples, the changes which in perishable articles 

 may affect the analysis, the occurrence of " traces " 

 of a constituent, and the control of results by " blank " 

 experiments. For the chemist, there is very good 

 advice on such matters as the preparation of the 

 " proof," the form of the certificate, and the use of 

 books in the witness-box. For both, there is a collec- 

 tion of illustrative cases, bringing out the chief points 

 and rulings which affect present-day practice. Many 

 of the causes c^lebres of the last fifty years are quoted. 

 Thus the Palmer and the Maybrick poisoning prosecu- 

 tions, the cordite litigation, the "what is whiskey?" 

 proceedings, the libel action in connection with altar 

 candles, and the disputed validity of the Badische 

 Anilin Company's patents, are some of the many 

 cases which are made to point a moral for the reader's 

 benefit. 



