September 28, 1905J 



NA TURE 



53^ 



in vain so far as the author and his readers are con- 

 cerned. The illustrations are taken from well-known 

 workers, but at least the approximate magnifications 

 should be given. Other points, owing to their import- 

 ance, would require to be traversed in detail, but 

 enough has been said to help those interested to judge 

 whether the book would suit their purpose or not. 



A. McWlLLIAM. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Latins ct Aiigh>-Saxo)is, Races supericiires et Races 

 iiifericiires. Bv Prof. N. Colajanni. Translation 

 by Julien Dubois. Pp. .\x + 432. (Paris: F. .Mean, 

 igo5.) Price 9 francs. 

 SiG.NOR CoLAj.W'.M, a .Socialist deputy and professor 

 of statistics, is a convinced opponent of the doctrine 

 of Anglo-Saxon superiority. The questions which he 

 proposes to himself are, in brief : — (a) the meaning 

 of the terms race and nation ; (b) the existence of dis- 

 tinctive racial qualities ; (c ) the transmission of 

 acquired qualities ; (d) the equivalence of decadence 

 in the nation and senescence in the individual. He 

 concludes (a) that we have no data by which to deter- 

 mine the specific racial attributes of Sergi's European 

 types; (b) that the terms superior and inferior, save 

 as an expression of their relative positions at a given 

 moment, have no meaning when applied to nations; 

 ((") that acquired qualities are transmitted, especially 

 when segregation favours fixation of the type ; and 

 (rf) that decadence is relative, by comparison with the 

 progress of other nations ; nations may, phoenix-like, 

 rise from their ashes and attain a second time to 

 greatness. 



Although Signor Colajanni 's main arguments are 

 derived from the English and Romance-speaking 

 peoples of the present dav, he does not hesitate to 

 invoke the facts of ancient history and the non- 

 European races, and his task is, in fact, one which 

 demands the amplest equipment of historical, socio- 

 logical, and economic knowledge, combined with an 

 impeccable method and an unerring judgment. Let us 

 illustrate his fitness for his task. .A large part of the 

 first half of this work is taken up with the proof of 

 the first and second conclusions cited above; but his 

 method consists largely in putting side by side two 

 or more quotations, primA facie contradictory, and 

 drawing from them the conclusion that both or all 

 are erroneous. He overlooks the fact that criteria 

 are apt to differ; one author may assert the 

 superiority of a race, another its inferiority ; unless 

 the standard is the same, the views are not even 

 shown to be contradictory. Even were it otherwise, 

 it is evident that of two contradictory assertions 

 both are not necessarily wrong. 



The statistical methods of the work are not above 

 criticism; on p. ^54 we have iio/_^ = 22 ; on the follow- 

 ing page there is a comparison of the material pro- 

 gress of France and England since 1840; for France 

 the savings banks are included ; the deposits show an 

 increase of 2200 per cent. Signor Colajanni has no 

 hesitation in taking this as an index number, but he 

 does not add to the English table any corresponding 

 figure for our savings banks; even, therefore, were 

 it legitimate to take the mean of ten index numbers, 

 regardless of their relative importance, as a fair state- 

 ment of the changes, his method is ludicrously 

 fallacious. 



Signor Colajanni's knowledge of England is prob- 

 ablv limited ; we learn (p. 27c)) that our distinguishing 

 traits are rudeness, lack of sociability, and pitiless- 

 ness, and that these are due to fagging at school. 



NO. 1874, VOL. 72] 



Our lack of generosity and sweetness {douceur) are 

 due (p. 124) to our games and violent exercise — foot- 

 ball, of course, and perhaps lawn tennis, or, at an 

 earlier age, battledore and shuttlecock. Of Signor 

 Colajanni's logic we may judge when we read (p. 

 174 ct seq.) of Anglo-Saxon decadence as visible in 

 U.S..\., and later (p. 302) that only one-fourth of its 

 citizens are Anglo-Saxons. 



Signor Colajjinni's book, though inaccurate, is not 

 without its good points, but it leaves little permanent 

 impression. The translator has little knowledge of 

 English and German to judge by the strange words 

 that often meet the eye. N. W. T. 



Machine Construction and Drawint;. Bv Frank 



Castle, M.I.M.E. Pp. viii + 275. (London: Mac- 



millan and Co., Ltd.) Price 4s. 61/. 

 In the study of machine construction and drawing 

 the assistance to be derived from books can never be 

 more than of secondary importance. The acquire- 

 ment of a thorough knowledge of the subject depends 

 principally upon the opportunities which a student 

 may have of coming into daily contact in the work- 

 shop with varied examples of good engineering 

 practice, and the use which he makes of these oppor- 

 tunities. Assuming that a youth is fortunately 

 circumstanced, he will be busy at suitable moments 

 compiling a book of miscellaneous notes, containing, 

 amongst other things, many fully-dimensioned 

 sketches taken from machine details lying around 

 him. Along with this work, and very appropriately 

 in the drawing class, he will make working drawings 

 to scale of some of the things sketched in his note- 

 book, and additional examples for sketching and 

 drawing will be provided in the class. 



The student will also consult text-books for further 

 information, and the book under review will be found 

 very suitable indeed for the purpose. The author 

 first describes the necessary drawing instruments, and 

 explains their use. He then sets out in detail, with 

 proportional dimensions, various forms of common 

 fastenings, such as rivets, bolts, keys, &c. Then 

 come chapters containing examples of mill work, 

 followed by others dealing with steam-engine details. 

 The final chapter gives a short account of the physical 

 properties of materials used in construction. Sets of 

 useful exercises occur at intervals, and a few calcu- 

 lations of strengths are given ; but the latter are 

 wisely kept in strict subordination. 



The drawings which abound throughout the work 

 represent good practice, are fully dimensioned, very 

 dearlv printed, and will be appreciated by teachers 

 and students alike. 



\\'hile not free from minor defects, the book can 

 be cordially recommended for use in drawing classes, 

 and to voung engineers who are seeking after know- 

 ledge on which to base subsequent work in machine 

 design. 



Graplis for Beginners. Bv \V. Jamieson, A.M.LE.E. 



Pp. 64. {London: Blackie and Son, 1905.) Price 



IS. 6rf. 

 In order to teach and illustrate the subject, the author 

 in this small volume makes use of a number of 

 interesting graphs relating mainly to technical and 

 commercial subjects, many of them discontinuous, 

 algebraical curves being given only a secondary 

 place, though the logarithmic or compound interest 

 law is dealt with. The significance of the slope at 

 any point of a graph is enforced by simple and 

 effective examples. The treatment is suggestive and 

 interesting, and the author is justified in hoping that 

 the book will tend to cultivate the observation and 

 stimulate the reasoning powers of the young readers. 



