3.^6 



NA rURE 



[January 20, 1910 



on the re-freezing of water that has sunk from above 

 into the ice-mass. The recently published work on 

 glacial phenomena in the Bighorn Mountains has 

 been promptly utilised, and one of the fine cirques, 

 though not our own favourite picture, is shown on 

 p. 179. Chapter xix., on the relations of plants and 

 animals to their environment, lias been contributed by 

 Dr. Cowles and Mr. C. C. Adams. G. A. J. C. 



OVn BOOK SHELF. 

 An Atlas of Absorption Spectra. By Dr. C. E. K. 

 Mees. Pp. 74. (London : Longmans, Green and 

 Co.; Croydon: \^'ratten and W'ainwright, Ltd., 

 1909.) 

 .All scientific workers who have had occasion to em- 

 ploy colour-sensitive photographic plates during the 

 last few years will probably have wished at some time 

 to learn some details as to the specially great ad- 

 vances made in their preparation. .Mso for the 

 etficient use of the plates suitable screens or colour- 

 filters are required to equalise the action of the various 

 colours. Dr. Mees, as director of the firm of Wratten 

 and W'ainwright, has had exceptional facilities in 

 dealing with these matters, and in publishing this 

 atlas he is giving others the benefit of his work. 

 The spectra were taken on the spectrum panchromatic 

 series of plates, which, in addition to the usual region 

 of maximum sensitiveness in the violet, show another 

 maximum near \ 6500 in the red, with gradually 

 decreasing action to A 7500. To obtain as even 

 records as possible, two schemes were adopted :— (i) 

 For the spectra of dyes an equalising screen of special 

 composition, with two cells of mandarin-orange and 

 P-nitrosodiniethylaniline, was used with a Ncrnst lamp ; 

 in the case of special dyes the spectra were photo- 

 graphed in two sections for convenience ; in front of 

 the slit a wedge-shaped cell was fitted containing the 

 dye solution, with a similar cell filled with pure water 

 the opposite way to compensate for any prismatic 

 effect. _ By this means the light passed through vary- 

 ing thicknesses of absorbing medium from end to 

 end of the slit, and the resulting spectra show curves 

 bounding the absorption bands which indicate 

 graphically the change in absorption with varying 

 thickness of dye. (2) For the spectra of the colour- 

 filters the wedge cell could not be employed, and in 

 its place a black wedge of specially prepared glass 

 was used. This gave a range of intensity from i to 

 io.ooo. 



The atlas contains reproductions of the spectra of 

 170 dye-stuffs, most of them obtained from the 

 Hoechst Farbwerke, and of 76 colour-filters prepared 

 by Messrs. Wratten and Wainwright for various pur- 

 poses, which are clearly stated. All the photographs 

 are scaled in wave-lengths, so that by mere inspec- 

 tion the exact range of any absorption may be ascer- 

 tained. A concise index is given, including the name 

 of dye, concentration, source, whether it" is acid or 

 basic, and a scale of numbers representing the rela- 

 tive stability to light. Series of monochromatic 

 filters are supplied and illustrated, which practically 

 isolate a very small portion of the spectrum in each 

 case, these being suitable for work requiring great 

 precision in the wave-length of light employed. 

 Physiology of Man and Other .Animals. By Dr. 

 Anne Moore. Pp. xiii + 212. (New York: Henry 

 Holt and Co., 1909.) Price 80 cents. 

 This little book is intended for the use of children in 

 schools; about half of it is devoted to elementary 

 physiology, and the remainder to elementary zoology. 

 The author has the gift of putting things clearly, 

 and in a manner likely to interest the young. She, 

 NO. 2099, VOL.' 82] 



however, very soon gets out of her depth, and often 

 makes mistakes of the most elementary nature. This 

 is particularly noticeable when she speaks about the 

 nervous system or strays into the region of chemical 

 physiology. There is no clear distinction made be- 

 tween the central and the peripheral nervous system, 

 and no mention made of the functions of the brain 

 as the organ of mind; the depressor nerve is stated 

 to cause slowing of the heart, and the sympathetic 

 nerves, we are told, received their name because of 

 their extreme sensitiveness. 



Her definition of osmosis would not be accept- 

 able to any physicist or physiologist ; she has not 

 even grasped the distinction between internal and 

 external respiration. We are told that carbon 

 dio.Kide stimulates the respiratory muscles to action; 

 that the secretion of the sebaceous glands is a part 

 of the secretion of the sweat glands ; that lipase is 

 the most important ferment of the pancreatic juice; 

 that peptones are absorbed and pass to the liver ; 

 that fats are hydrocarbons ; and that the formula for 

 starch is C,N,,0„. Such examples of glaring errors 

 are quite sufficient to show that the book cannot be 

 recommended as a safe guide to those who have 

 passed childhood, and even for children it seems a 

 pity that some degree of exactness should not be 

 aimed at. 

 Deutsche Siidpolar-Expedition, 1901-1903. Bd. ii. 



Geographic und Geologic. Heft 5. Pp. 348-410; 



pis. xxviii-xxx. (Berlin : Georg Reimer, 1909.) 



Price 8 marks. 

 The German South Polar Expedition called for a few 

 hours at the islands at St. Paul and New Amsterdam, 

 and though in so short a visit but little fresh informa- 

 tion was obtained, one of the valuable by-products of 

 the expedition is a useful summary and discussion of 

 all that is known about these islands. New Amster- 

 dam was discovered in 1522 by Sebastian del Cano, 

 who commanded Magellan's expedition after his 

 death at Manila. Both islands arc Frencli posses- 

 sions. They are both solely volcanic, and rise from 

 a common base. New .Amsterdam is composed only 

 of basalt, while St. Paul consists of basalt with some 

 rhyolite tuffs and obsidian. The memoir on the geo- 

 graphy of the islands is by Dr. von Drygalski, on 

 the geology by Philippi, and on the petrology and the 

 relations of the lavas to those of Kerguelen, Posses- 

 sion, and Heard Islands by Reinisch. E. Vanhoffen 

 contributes a catalogue of the flora and of the fauna, 

 which consists only of insects, myriapods, spiders, 

 tardigrades, Crustacea, rotifers, &c. The memoir has 

 three excellent plates illustrating the scenery and vol- 

 canic features. 

 Lcs Progres recents de I'Astronomie (1908). By 



Prof. Paul Stroobant. Pp. 115. (Brussels : Hayez, 



1909.) 

 Everyone interested in the progress of astronomy will 

 welcome the appearance of Prof. Stroobant 's annual 

 summary of a year's results, and 1908 was by no 

 means a barren year. Hale's discovery of the Zeeman 

 effect in the solar spectrum, the Flint Island eclipse, 

 tlie Lowell Observatory observations of the planets 

 and their spectra, the discovery of J viii by Melotte 

 at Greenwich, and the preliminary comet campaign 

 provided by the appearance of 190S IH, are all re- 

 viewed in a fashion at once comprehensive and clear. 

 The omissions are few, but we regret to find no 

 mention of the McClean expedition to Flint Island. 

 Four plates illustrate various researches, and the 

 tables of results will be found useful for reference. 

 Although each result appears under a general and a 

 special heading, the addition of an index to this small 

 volume would, we believe, enhance its value. 



W. E. R. 



