July i, 1922] 



NA TURE 



5 



J. Hamill, Dr. C. A. Browne, Dr. C. A. Barber, Dr. 

 E. J. Butler, and Mr. J. P. Ogilvie. 



It is impossible to deal in detail with such a volumin- 

 ous work as the one before us ; it must suffice there- 

 fore to point out that it deals with all phases of the 

 subject — botanical, agricultural, chemical, and techno- 

 logical. 



We cordially recommend the volume to all engaged 

 in the sugar industry, as well as to students who 

 intend entering that industry. 



(2) The first edition of Messrs. Jones and Scard's 

 treatise was published in 1909, and the fact that a 

 second edition has now appeared is a fitting testimonial, 

 if one were needed by two such eminent and well-known 

 technologists, of its utility as well as of its apprecia- 

 tion by technologists. Mr. Aspinall in the introductory 

 chapter tells us that the first impression of the work . 

 was soon sold, and that the authors preferred to pre- 

 pare a new and revised edition instead of issuing at 

 once a reprint of the first edition. 



The work as now presented is in its original form, 

 but it has been thoroughly revised with some 27 

 additional pages of text and 26 further illustrations. 

 The volume is a welcome addition to the litera- 

 ture, more especially from the technological point of 

 view. A special feature is the large number of well- 

 executed drawings and plans, numbering in all 270, 

 for which the authors are indebted to the leading 

 engineering firms. 



The work will be found indispensable to all engaged 

 in the industry, and we welcome its appearance at a 

 time when it behoves sugar-cane technologists, more 

 especially in the British Dominions, Dependencies, 

 and Protectorates, to cultivate the highest efficiency 

 in their subject, and so make the Empire self-support- 

 ing as regards sugar. This is a matter which in the 

 writer's personal knowledge one of the authors at 

 least, Mr. F. I. Scard, has long had at heart. 



(3) Dr. Murke's little book was written in 1903-5, 

 but was not published. Recently the author found 

 that it could be brought up to date with very few 

 alterations and additions. While it contains much 

 valuable information, the text is of a sketchy character, 

 the sequence is not well chosen, and some important 

 processes find no mention. This being so, it is scarcely 

 to be recommended as an elementary textbook on 

 the subject. However, the author states that it has 

 been written for " superintendents, engineers, and 

 foremen of the beet sugar factory." and such readers 

 would doubtless be able to follow the text without 

 the aid of illustrations, of which there are none. 



If we may be allowed to make a few comments, 

 we would point out that while a concise account is 

 given of Stephan"s process of recovering sugar as 

 NO. 2748, VOL. I 10] 



calcium trisaccharate from molasses, no mention is 

 made that the trisaccharate may be used instead of 

 fresh lime for defecating beet juice. We should have 

 expected to find some reference to the strontium 

 process, but the chapter on the osmose process was 

 scarcely needed ; indeed the author himself states 

 that it is almost exclusively an historical one. Most 

 English technologists will prefer the French word 

 " massecuite " instead of " fillmass," the translation 

 of the German " Fullmasse." 



Now that we have at least two beet sugar factories 

 at work in the United Kingdom, the demand for works 

 on the subject has naturally increased. 



Arthur R. Ling. 



Geology and Tin Resources of the 

 British Empire. 



(1) The Geology of the British Empire. By Dr. F. R. C. 

 Reed. Pp. viii + 480. (London: Edward Arnold, 

 1921.) 40s. net. 



(2) The Tin Resources of the British Empire. By 

 N. M. Penzer. (The Raw Materials of Industry.) 

 Pp. x + 358. (London: William Rider and Son, 

 Ltd., 1921.) 155. net. 



THE geology of our overseas dominions has been 

 described in a host of publications, man}- of 

 which are difficult of access and full of local and 

 technical detail. A compact volume, such as the one 

 under notice, in which the outstanding facts concerning 

 the several regions are presented in brief but readable 

 form, cannot fail to meet with a warm welcome. It 

 will appeal not only to students faced with the difficult 

 task of acquiring a general knowledge of world strati- 

 graphy, but also to all who wish to know the larger 

 geological facts of our Empire abroad. 



The subject-matter is based upon a course of lectures 

 which the author has given annually for more than a 

 decade. It has not been hastily compiled, therefore, 

 but is the result of many years of wide reading and 

 judicious condensation. Only those who have tried 

 to assemble within a small compass the salient infor- 

 mation concerning the geology of countries like Canada, 

 India, or South Africa will be able to gauge the extent 

 of the author's labours or to thank him adequately for 

 placing the results of them at the disposal of the public. 



No description is given of the geology of the British 

 Isles, numerous works on this subject being available. 

 The first region dealt with is the Mediterranean, 

 including Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus. Egypt 

 follows, reminding us of the rapidity of Empire chi mgi 

 in these days of awakened national aspirations. In 

 the next chapter, dealing with East Africa, an account 

 is given of the geology of Somaliland, Kenya Colony, 



A I 



