NA TURE 



[May 4, 1905 



is repeated. On pp. 226-227 i' '^ surely wrong to 

 ascribe the formation of the trace of ethylene found 

 during the electrolysis of an acetate to the same cause 

 as that which produces the plentiful yield of ethylene 

 during the electrolysis of a propionate. The fact that 

 equation v. is divisible by 2, and that equation iv. is 

 not so divisible, is almost in itself sufficient evidence 

 that the actions are of essentially different character. 

 It is somewhat surprising to find that the kathodic 

 reduction of nitrites, nitrates, and arsenical com- 

 pounds finds treatment under the heading " Metals 

 deposited as Oxides at the Anode " (pp. 145-150). 

 These and similar slips are minor blemishes ; but it 

 is to be hoped that the author will subject his book 

 to a thorough revision for their removal when a 

 second edition is called for. 



The references to original papers are numerous, 

 and a convenient table of five-figure logarithms, with 

 instructions for its use, is contained in an appendix. 

 The value of the table might be still further 

 augmented by the inclusion of instructions for the 

 use of the decadic complements of logarithms, a 

 device of which the chemical student is almost in- 

 variably ignorant. 



OVR BOOK SHELF. 



Das Alter der 7virtschaftlichen Kultur der Menschheit, 

 ein Ruckhlick und ein Ausblick. Bv Ed. Hahn. 

 Pp. xvi + 256. (Heidelberg : Carl Winter, 1905.) 

 Price 6.40 marks. 

 In the opinion of Dr. Hahn, well known as the inquirer 

 who revolutionised our ideas on the so-called " three 

 stages " — hunting, pastoral pursuits, agriculture — the 

 mass of the reading public will not change its 

 traditional views on pre-history and primitive culture 

 unless the specialist is prepared to do more for it than 

 issue specialist literature. With the object of making 

 propaganda for his views on the domestication of 

 animals, the forms of cultivation, the transition from 

 hoe-cultivation to plough-cultivation, the invention of 

 the plough, the use of the ox as draught-animal, the 

 share of woman in primitive culture, and especially the 

 development of personal propertv. Dr. Hahn has 

 written the present work, and his object in so doing is 

 commendable. Even specialist literature, however, is 

 not above all considerations of form and logical 

 sequence of ideas ; in an oeiivre de vulgarisation it is 

 a fortiori necessary that there should be an orderly de- 

 velopment of facts and of the conclusions to be drawn 

 from them ; and this, unfortunately, Dr. Hahn has not 

 given us. Not only is the book in places indigestibly 

 full of facts the connection of which with the main 

 argument is not always made clear, but too much is 

 attempted; to the list of subjects given above must be 

 added the description of the economic conditions and 

 interrelations of China, Babylonia, India, and Egypt, 

 a discussion of the origin of the wheel and the waggon, 

 much polemical matter, dealing with criticisms which 

 the public has never read, and finally excursuses on the 

 fiscal question, socialism, and other subjects uncon- 

 nected with his immediate purpose. It would be unfair 

 to deny that the book is interesting and stimulating, 

 but it is rather a causerie than an exposition of the 

 author's theories. This is the more unfortunate be- 

 cause his views on the domestication of animals, the 

 forms of cultivation, and the stages of economic evolu- 

 tion are largely accepted. From mere lack of literary 

 skill Dr. Hahn will leave his readers comparatively 

 NO. 1853, VOL. 72] 



unmoved. As an example of the deficiencies of the 

 book we may mention that the process of domestica- 

 tion of cattle is dismissed with a mention. Many of 

 the author's theories are improbable; it is unnecessary 

 to suppose that the curved horns imitating the shape 

 of the crescent moon first led to the sacro-sanctity of 

 cattle ; there are animal cults everywhere. Personal 

 property, even in vegetable food, was known before 

 domesticated plants ; the Australian natives store up 

 hunya-hunya nuts. We do not need to look to the 

 apparent motion of the stars for the explanation of the 

 origin of Babylonian god-processions, which are a 

 natural method of disseminating the holy influence. 

 The connection of sexual ideas with agriculture may 

 be secondary ; syncretism is disregarded in this and 

 other instances. It may not be out of place to say that 

 a few maps of culture areas would have been very 

 helpful, and not to the general reader only. 



N. W. T. 



Infantile Mortality and Infants' Milk DepSts. By 



G. F. McCleary, M.D., D.P.H. Pp. xiv+135. 



(London : P. S. King and Son.) Price 6s. net. 

 The publication of the evidence before the Inter- , 

 Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration 

 has directed general attention to such subjects 

 as infant feeding. The decreasing birth rate and the 

 appallingly high death rate among infants are dealt 

 with by the author in the earlier chapters of his book. 



An increasing number of mothers are unable to 

 nurse their children, so that some method of artificial 

 feeding has to be adopted. The death rate in 1904 

 among children under one 5'ear was 146 per 1000 

 births, and even these figures by no means represent 

 the total evil, for many of the survivors must be 

 seriously affected. How can this fearful waste of life 

 be stopped? Dr. McCleary deals with one solution, 

 viz. the establishment of depots worked by the 

 municipality and partially rate-supported. It is 

 generally agreed that cow's milk is the best substitute 

 for human milk. Various opinions are held as to the 

 degree of modification that may be necessarv, but 

 pure cow's milk is the basis from which to work. 



Even if a pure milk were on the market the poor 

 could not afford to buy it. The question of State 

 assistance arises. Dr. McCleary leaves the moral 

 question as to whether it is for the ultimate good of 

 a people to relieve them of their parental duties. 

 Within the compass of 130 pages he wisely restricts 

 himself to the practical working of the depots, and 

 as he speaks with knowledge of the Battersea depot 

 his testimony is of interest. In France the milk 

 depot system is carried out to a considerable extent, 

 unmodified sterilised milk usually being supplied 

 (Budin's method). In America the tendency is to 

 follow Rotch in giving modified unsterilised milk. 



The author repeats the necessary warning that a 

 dirty milk is not made clean by sterilisation, and from 

 this it follows that no depot is on a satisfactory basis 

 unless it has absolute control of its own milk supplv. 

 Dr. McCleary advocates much more stringent super- 

 vision of the general milk supply, and thfe establish- 

 ment of municipal depots on the lines of that at 

 Rochester, U.S.A. 

 The book is well illustrated. 



A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus. By 

 J. H. Maiden. Parts i. to v. Pp. iv+ 146. (Sydnev : 

 W. A. Gullick, 1903-4.) 

 The classification of the Australian eucalypts presents 

 similar difficulties to those which confront the botanist 

 who undertakes the arrangement of the Hieracia or 

 Rubi of our native flora, with the additional disad- 

 vantages that the eucalypts are trees or shrubs, and 

 their distribution is more extensive. In the cir- 



