January 6, 1910] 



NA TURE 



277 



the book, but sadly needed by the reader, of the im- 

 portant errors, with specially prepared tables to facili- 

 tate calculation. 



The extreme importance of the collimation error 

 and its surprising possible magnitude are pointed out, 

 and a very neat way of ascertaining if the telescopic 

 axis is perpendicular to the index mirror when the 

 arm is suitably turned is described, but it is unfor- 

 tunate that this is not available in all sextants as 

 made. 



One fault must be insisted on. The use of the signs 

 ' and " for feet and inches instead of the abbreviations 

 ft. and in. is bad enough when used by engineers, 

 but then it is rare that there is fear of confusion. The 

 author, however, gratuitously causes confusion in a 

 book which is bristling with the signs ' and " in 

 their proper meaning by using the symbol " for inches 

 even in the same sentence with " in its proper mean- 

 ing. It is to be hoped that this and one or two 

 typographical errors will be corrected in a future 

 edition. C. V. B. 



The British Journal Photographic Almanac, igio. 



Edited by George E. Brown. Pp. 1320. (London : 



Henry Greenwood and Co.) Price is. 

 The present issue of this very useful volume is drawn 

 up on the same lines as those of its immediate pre- 

 decessor, and its contents are of the usual essence of 

 photographic matter on all topics, which makes it such 

 a valuable aide memoirc to the working photographer. 

 Commencing with the usual calendar, which begins 

 on p. 407, and not on p. 447 (as it is incorrectly in- 

 dexed, by the way), there follows the useful directory 

 of photographic societies and bodies. An interesting 

 chapter on lens calculations by mental arithmetic, 

 written by the editor, precedes the large section on the 

 epitome of progress by the same authority. This 

 latter portion is always one of the chief contributions 

 to the volume. Then follows a description of the re- 

 cent novelties in apparatus, which occupies nearly 

 100 pages. FormuleB for the principal photographic 

 processes, the developing formulas of the principal 

 plate and paper makers, miscellaneous information, 

 and the usual large number of valuable chemical, 

 exposure, optical, and other tables, bring the volume 

 to a conclusion. 



.'\nother feature of this publication, and one which 

 is so often referred to by those who have the book 

 in their possession, is the excellently indexed mass of 

 advertisements in which the main text of the book is 

 sandwiched. 



The volume should find its usual place in every 

 photographer's library. 



Outlines of Bacteriology (Technical and Agricultural). 

 By Dr. David Ellis. Pp. xii 4-262. (London: Long- 

 mans. Green and Co., igog.) Price 75. 6d. net. 

 The general plan of this book is excellent, but we 

 doubt if the various subjects are dealt with in suffi- 

 cient detail to render the book of much practical utility 

 to the student. To attempt to deal with disease-pro- 

 ducing organisms and all the technical applications of 

 bacteriology in 260 short pages is an impossible task 

 if anything more than general principles is to be con- 

 sidered. 



The contents of the book include the general mor- 

 phology and biology of the bacteria, a subject to which 

 the author has himself contributed, sterilisation, 

 pathogenic bacteria, sulphur and iron bacteria, pre- 

 servation of food products, nitrification, fermentation 

 and ferments, and their industrial applications (e.g. 

 beer, butter, cheese, tanning, tobacco, &c.), and 

 sewage disposal. 



Unfortunately, a number of errors disfigure the text. 

 NO. 2097, '^'OL. 82] 



Thus on p. log a classification of proteids is given in 

 which one class is termed "amyloids" and is stated 

 to be insoluble in gastric juice, globulins are said to be 

 soluble in dilute acids, and casein is given as an 

 example of a derived albumin, and is said to be 

 soluble in dilute acids. .A number of mistakes also 

 occur in the section dealing with pathogenic organ- 

 isms. In the section on the preservation of food-stuffs 

 by heat, while canning is mentioned, there is no refer- 

 ence to the sterilisation or the pasteurisation of milk. 

 The names of plants yielding flax, hemp, jute, &c., 

 are not correctly given, and on p. 245 a paragraph 

 dealing with the Bacillus enteritidis of Gartner is 

 hopelessly wrong. 



The book is clearly printed, and illustrated with a 

 number of figures. Many of these are very diagram- 

 matic and drawn to no scale, so that the reader sees 

 the anthrax bacillus and influenza bacillus depicted 

 about the same size, which is somewhat misleading. 

 R. T. Hewlett. 



.1 Descriptive Catalogue of the Dobr^e Collection of 

 European Noctuac. Compiled by H. B. Browne. 

 Hull Museum Publications, No. 63. Pp. XV4-156. 

 (Hull : A. Brown and Sons, Ltd., igog.) Price 

 :s. net. 



The late Nicholas Frank Dobrte, of the New Walk, 

 Beverley, who died in igo8, at the age of seventy-seven, 

 formed a very valuable collection of Palaarctic Noctua; 

 between the years 1871 and 1S88, which he subsequently 

 presented to Hull Museum, on the understanding that 

 a complete catalogue should be published. We pre- 

 sume that it will be preserved intact, for we are 

 convinced that special collections of all kinds, whether 

 literary or scientific, are of far greater permanent 

 value whenever it is possible to preserve them thus, 

 than when they are (sometimes unavoidably) dis- 

 persed, or even broken up to be incorporated with 

 larger collections. The collection includes longer or 

 shorter series of 654 species, more than 300 named 

 varieties and aberrations, and 720 specimens of pre- 

 served larvae. These are contained in forty-two cabinet 

 drawers, and Mr. Browne has carefully noted the 

 origin of every specimen according to Mr. Dobr^e's 

 note-boolcs, and added short descriptions of a large 

 number of aberrant specimens, named or otherwise. 

 The work is of much importance to all students of 

 the interesting group of moths of which it treats. 



The Human Race: its Past, Present, and Probable 

 Future. An essay by J. Samuelson. Pp. xii-l-ig2. 

 (London: Swan Sonnenschein and Co., Ltd., igio.) 

 Price 3s. 6d. net. 



In part of this small volume is summarised the whole 

 history of the human race — man's origin and material 

 progress, the history of his vices and virtues, and of 

 his mental, social, and political development. That 

 such a summary must be very superficial is only to be 

 expected, and the author claims very little for it, but 

 hopes "that it will at least stimulate inquiry and 

 serious study on the part of youths about entering 

 life." Its chief fault appears to us to be that there is 

 no clear distinction drawn between changes in man 

 himself and changes in his surroundings. Thus, for 

 example, under the heading "Man's Mental Progress " 

 are catalogued a number of discoveries and inventions, 

 such as the spectroscope and telephone, which are not 

 evidence of mental progress at all if one takes the 

 term to mean improvement of mental powers. It is 

 also to be regretted that, although the author appears 

 to be a believer in evolution, no mention is made of 

 heredity as a factor possibly affecting the history of 

 mankind. E. H. J. S. 



