September 2, 1922] 



NA TURE 



305 



matter introduced have naturally made the book both 

 bulky and expensive to produce. It is to be feared 

 that the consequent high price will place it out of the 

 reach of the ordinary student, to whom, if we may 

 judge by the long section on one-circle goniometry, it 

 would seem mainly to be addressed. Had Dr. Tutton 

 resisted the temptation to figure and describe every 

 piece of elaborate and expensive apparatus which 

 aroused his interest, and had he omitted all the para- 

 graphs which have nothing to do with crystals, the 

 length and cost of the book might have been very 

 considerably reduced, and its accessibility to the student 

 thereby increased, without in the least diminishing its 

 value as a compendium of all that is worth knowing 

 about crystal measurement as practised to-day. 



New Editions of Chemical Works. 



(1) A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry. By Sir Edward 

 Thorpe. Vol. 3. Revised and enlarged edition. 

 Explosives — Kyrofin. Pp. viii + 735. (London: 

 Longmans, Green and Co., 1922.) 3/. net. 



(2) Metallography. By Prof. Cecil H. Desch. (Text- 

 Books of Physical Chemistry.) Third edition. Pp. 

 xi + 440. (London : Longmans, Green and Co., 

 1922.) 165. net. 



(3) A Concise History of Chemistry. By Dr. T. P. 

 Hilditch. Second edition, revised. Pp. xi + 276. 

 (London : Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1922.) 65-. 



(4) An Introduction to the Principles of Physical 

 Chemistry from the Standpoint of Modern Atomistics 

 and Thermodynamics. By Prof. E. W. Washburn. 

 Second edition, revised, enlarged, and reset. Pp. 

 xxviii + 518. (New York and London: McGraw- 

 Hill Book Co., Inc., 1921.) 20s. net. 



(5) Die Wasserstoffionen-Konzentration : ihre Bedeu- 

 tung fiir die Biologie und die Melhoden ihrer Messung. 

 Von Prof. Dr. Leonor Michaelis. (Monographien 

 aus dem Gesamtgebiet der Physiologie der Pflanzen 

 und der Tiere, Band I.) Zweite, vollig umgear- 

 beitete Auflage. Teil 1 : Die theoretischen Grund- 

 lagen. Pp. xi4-262. (Berlin: J. Springer, 1922.) 

 Germany, 69 marks ; England, 8s. 6d. 



r I ^HE reviewing of new editions is a difficult and 

 J_ somewhat thankless task, jf only on account of 

 the detailed comparison which is needed in order to 

 discover the novel features which alone call for com- 

 ment or criticism. The four works in English of 

 which new editions are here noted are all well known, 

 and it would be superfluous to refer to their obvious 

 merits, except in so far as they have been enhanced 

 by the revision which they have undergone. 



(1) The first two volumes of the new edition of the 

 " Dictionary of Applied Chemistry " have received 

 no. 2757, VOL. no] 



adequate notice in these columns. The third volume 

 covers the letters F to K, but begins with an article 

 on " Explosives," which has obviously been carried 

 over from the preceding volume on account of its length 

 and importance. In revising this article Mr. Pern- 

 has expanded it to nearly 100 pages by including notes 

 on a large number of new explosives which have come 

 into use during the last few years. The article thus 

 continues to fulfil in its own field the main purpose for 

 which a dictionary exists, namely, to provide some 

 information in reference to every topic which may give 

 rise to inquiry. The main lines of development of the 

 manufacture on a very large scale of a few principal 

 explosives during the war are, however, also adequately 

 dealt with, and useful information is given on points 

 such as the preparation, purification, and properties of 

 T.N.T., and its use in the manufacture of amatol. The 

 portion of the dictionary which is included in the 

 present volume has been expanded by nearly one- 

 quarter from 602 to 735 pages, and a somewhat careful 

 comparison of the old and new editions has' shown that, 

 almost without exception, each of the important 

 articles has contributed to this expansion. Fresh' 

 features of the new edition include an article on the 

 interferometer by H. H. Robinson, and an article on 

 hardened or hydrogenated oils by C. A. Mitchell, while 

 gas warfare forms the subject of a short unsigned 

 article. A completely new article on glass, by Prof. 

 W. E. S. Turner of Sheffield, has replaced the article 

 on the same subject which appeared in the old edition ; 

 the illustrations given in the new article of the auto- 

 matic machines used for the manufacture of bottles 

 are remarkable as suggesting something even more 

 complex than the engine-room of a submarine. Through- 

 out the volume there is evidence of adequate revision, 

 which fully justifies the issue of the new edition. 



(2) The third edition of Prof. C. H. Desch's " Metal- 

 lography " retains all the valuable features on which 

 the reputation of the book has been built. Sub- 

 stantial additions have been made in the chapter on 

 the physical properties of alloys, where important 

 developments which had taken place since 1913, 

 especially in the study of magnetic and electrical 

 properties, are described. Additions have also been 

 made to the chapter on corrosion, in which the recent 

 work by Dr. J. N. Friend in the Journal of the Chemical 

 Society, is now incorporated, together with other work 

 which has appeared in the Journal of the Institute of 

 Metals and the Transactions of the Faraday Society, 

 where a general discussion on this subject is reported. 

 The chapter on the metallography of iron and steel has 

 also been revised, one important new feature being an 

 equilibrium diagram for iron and nickel, in which the 

 changes that take place in the solid metal as it passes 



K I 



