122 



NA TURE 



[June 8, 1905 



treatment is by no means superficial, and is. in many 

 places highly condensed. It is all done in forty-two 

 pages, a remarkable testimony to the compactness of 

 quaternion notation and the brevity of quaternion 

 proofs. In chapter xvii., on projective geometry. 

 Prof. Joly gives his own interesting e.xtension, in which 

 a new interpretation is assigned to the quaternion, and 

 he concludes in chapter xviii. with quaternions 

 generalised so as to be applicable to space of any 

 number of dimensions. 



There can be no question ns to the high merits of 

 the " Manual of Quaternions." It is a worthy com- 

 panion volume to the master's own great works. Like 

 the " Elements " of Hamilton and the " Elementary 

 Treatise " of Tait, it is characterised by the extra- 

 ordinary range of mathematical subjects which come 

 within its scope. It is not merely the substitution of 

 one .symbol for three or one for four which makes this 

 condensation possible, for that, after all, is a question 

 simply of notation. But the quaternion calculus re- 

 joices in the possession of two remarkable operators, 

 the linear vector function ^ and the vector differen- 

 tiator V. They operate singly and in combination 

 according to laws which naturally evolve them- 

 selves from the fundamental laws of the calculus. 

 They can be linked together in an endless varietv of 

 ways, and go far to give to Hamilton's quaternions a 

 flexibility, power, and pictorial compactness not 

 possessed by any other general method vvhich is 

 directly applicable to problems of mathematics pure 

 and applied. These features are exquisitely brought 

 out in Prof. Joly's "Manual." C. G. K. 



SOME MEDICAL WORKS. 

 (i) New Methods of Treatment. By Dr. Laumonier. 

 Translated from the second revised and enlarged 

 French edition, and edited by Dr. H. W. Syers. 

 Pp. xvii + 32 1. (London : Constable and Co., Ltd., 

 1904.) Price ys. bd. net. 



(2) The Surgery of the Diseases of the Appendix 

 Vermiformis and their Complications. By W. H. 

 Battle and E. M. Corner. Pp. xi + 2oS. (London: 

 Constable and Co., Ltd., 1904.) Price ys. 6d. net. 



(3) Clinical and Pathological Observations on .Acute 

 Abdominal Diseases. (The Erasmus Wilson Lec- 

 tures, 1904.) By E. M. Corner. Pp. g8. (London : 

 Constable and Co., Ltd., 1904.) Price 3s. 6d. net. 



(4) .4 Short Treatise on .inti-Typhoid Inoculation. 

 By Dr. A. E. Wright. Pp. X4-76. (London : Con- 

 stable and Co., Ltd., 1904.) Price 3^;. 6d. net. 



(5) The Suppression of Tuberculosis. Bv Prof. E. 

 von Behring. Authorised translation by Dr. Charles 

 Bolduan. Pp. v + 85. (New York: John Wiley 

 and Sons; London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1904.) 

 Price 4s. 6d. net. 



(l) TI? VERY year a multitude of substances, chiefly 

 ■L-' synthetic, is introduced, every one being 

 extolled as a certain cure for this or that ailment. 

 By good fortune one of them is now and then found 

 to be of real value, and for a time at least finds a 

 place in the " aramontaria medica," but the majority 

 in a year or two pass into oblivion. Similarly new 

 NO. 1858, VOL. 72] 



modes of treatment come and go, most of them being" 

 of little worth. But the medical practitioner is ex- 

 pected to know of all these medicinal substances and . 

 vagaries of treatment, and must be prepared to employ 

 any one of them at the suggestion of some faddist 

 who happens to consult him. From this point of view 

 the first book on our list may be a useful guide, but 

 otherwise one would be inclined to ask, cui bono? 

 Some of the substances included in the volume are 

 by no means new, e.g. thyroid, guaiacol, and the anti- 

 toxic sera, while others which have a greater clairti 

 to novelty, and are, moreover, of real value, such as 

 aspirin, acetozone, urotropine and cystamine. and 

 ptirgen, are omitted. In dealing with tetanus anti- 

 toxin, no mention is made of injection into the spinal 

 cord or nerve trunks. .As regards phosphorised prin- 

 ciples, lecithin, glycerophosphates, &c., which have 

 of late been extolled in wasting diseases and nervous 

 affections, the administration of a couple of eggs a 

 day would probably be of far greater benefit than any 

 of the medicinal preparations of these substances. 



(2) Messrs. Battle and Corner give a succinct 

 account of the anatomy, pathology, symptoms, and 

 treatment of that common and fashionable malady 

 appendicitis which may be safely recommended as a 

 guide for the medical practitioner. The origin and 

 function of the vermiform appendix are discussed, 

 that little blind tubular appendage of the bowel in- 

 flammation of which gives rise to so much trouble. 

 The appendix has usually been regarded as a vestigial 

 structure and useless in function, but the researches 

 of Mr. R. Y. A. Berry, of Edinburgh, suggest that 

 it is a specialised mass of lymphoid tissue which the 

 authors conceive may serve as a defensive mechanism 

 against bacterial invasion in a portion of the bowel 

 where, for anatomical and other reasons, there is a 

 delay in the passage of the intestinal contents on- 

 wards, and special protection is therefore required 

 against the absorption of bacterial products. 



(3) This work is based on material collected in com- 

 pilation of the Erasmus Wilson lectures, 1904. The 

 author states that the main object of his lectures was 

 to direct attention to the identity of the pathological 

 changes concerned in the production of all acute per- 

 forative and gangrenous processes of the alimentary 

 tract. He suggests that two extremes of tissue death 

 or necrosis may be recognised, viz. that due to de- 

 privation of blood and that caused by the action of 

 micro-organisms. Between these two there are 

 various grades and admixtures ; the former is slow in 

 action, the latter very rapid, and it is this which plays 

 so important a part in abdominal necrosis. The work 

 is practically a collection of notes, but is interesting 

 reading. 



(4) Prof. Wright has done well to collect into a 

 single volume the various papers, with amplifications, 

 he has from time to time contributed to various 

 journals on the subject of anti-typhoid vaccination. 

 The method of preparation of the vaccine, theoretical 

 and practical considerations as to its use, and statistics 

 of its value are all considered. With regard to the 

 last named, it must be mentioned that some con- 

 troversy has taken place in the medical Press as to 



