December 16, 1922] 



NA TURE 



805 



The book represents a large amount of work, not 

 merely on account of its actual contents but also on 

 account of the number of original papers which had to 

 be consulted. This is evidenced by the copious refer- 

 ences at the end of each chapter. The authors are to 

 be congratulated on the success with which they have 

 accomplished their task. 



Artificial Limbs and Amputation Stumps: A Practical 

 Handbook. By E. Muirhead Little. Pp. vii + 319. 

 (London : H. K. Lewis and Co., Ltd., 1922.) 185. net. 

 No surgeon who may be called upon to amputate 

 a limb can afford to disregard the problem of fitting 

 a prosthetic appliance to the resulting stump. Mr. 

 Muirhead Little has recorded his conclusions, based 

 on a wide experience in fitting artificial limbs, and his 

 book will undoubtedly take its place as a standard 

 work of reference on the subject in English surgical 

 literature. 



The chapter on amputation stumps is of great 

 importance : in it the author describes the character- 

 istics of a good stump, the conditions which prevent 

 or delay the fitting of prostheses, and the best methods 

 of dealing with such, conditions. The actual descrip- 

 tions of artificial limbs are mainly those of the British 

 Official Prostheses, i.e. appliances supplied by the 

 Ministrv of Pensions. Arms are classified according 

 to the work required to be done, and again according 

 to the amputation region. Lower limbs are grouped 

 corresponding to the site and type of amputation. 

 The book is very well illustrated and is complete in 

 its attention to details outside the actual fitting of the 

 limb, e.g. the preservation and repair of the artificial 

 leg. and the re-education of the patient. The appendix 

 contains specifications of artificial limbs, and directions 

 for making certalmid sockets and for fitting the light 

 metal leg. 



Industrial Nitrogen : The Principles and Methods of 

 Nitrogen Fixation and the Industrial Applications of 

 Nitrogen Products in flic Manufacture of Explosives. 

 Fertilizers. Dyes, etc. By P. H. S. Kempton. (Pitman's 

 Technical Primer Series.) Pp. xii+104. (London: 

 Sir I. Pitman and Sons, Ltd.. 1922.) 2s. 6d. net. 

 Mr. Kempton has provided a very brief but readable 

 account of an important industry which has grown up 

 within the last ten years. The descriptions of the 

 processes are necessarily verv sketchy, but enough 

 information is given to enable one to form a reasonably 

 accurate picture of the present state of affairs — one 

 which, it may be mentioned, is by no means to the 

 credit of this country. Several minor inaccuracies were 

 noted. The yields of the various arc furnaces given on 

 p. 15 are not the real figures. The Claude process is not 

 the onlv one largely used lor the manufacture of 

 nitrogen (p. 32). Copper formate, not chloride, is used 

 for the purification of hydrogen in the Haber process 

 (p. 45). " Rev. A. Milner, 1871 " should be " Rev. I. 

 Milner, [788 " (p. 64). The " Ostwald-Barton system " 

 of ammonia oxidation (p. 67) is quite adequately 

 ied bv the first of the two names, and the state- 

 ment that in it "a catalyst of secret composition is 

 used instead of platinum.'' although it appears to have 

 been spread abroad for the information of the credulous, 

 is wholly without foundation. 



NO. 2772, VOL. I TO] 



The Beloved Ego : Foundations of the New Study of 

 the Psyche. By Dr. W. Stekel. Authorised Trans- 

 Iation bv Rosalie Gabler. Pp. xiv + 237. (London : 

 Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 

 6s. <»/. net. 

 Different aspects of life, such as the fight of the 

 sexes, psychic opium, the fear of joy, the unlucky dog, 

 to select but a few, are some of the topics of the series 

 ol 1 ssays which constitute this book. Each chapter 

 discusses special symptoms which, in particular ca es, 

 reveal that the personality has been thrown out of 

 perspective, and the proffered solution is that love of 

 the self is the fundamental cause of the disturbance. 

 Love at first sight is love of the self as reflected in 

 another, and even the person who is always dis- 

 proportionately unlucky is so, because his self-love 

 demands that he must lie unique in some one direction. 

 The author admits his indebtedness to the work of 

 Freud, and regards it as a step towards a new psycho- 

 therapy, but believes that sexuality has been over- 

 emphasised bv Freud's followers. He aims at showing 

 the part played by the self. The essays are in popular 

 form and are certainly interesting and embody much 

 sound advice. 



A Textbook of Organic Chemistry. By Prof. J. S. 

 Chamberlain. Pp. xliii + 959. (London: G. Rout- 

 ledge and Sons, Ltd., 1922.) 16^. net. 

 Prof. Chamberlain's textbook follows the usual lines. 

 Onlv important compounds are described, and attention 

 is directed to the general relationships between groups 

 of compounds. The style is clear and the matter well 

 arranged, so that students beginning the serious study 

 of organic chemistry should find the book of value, 

 especially- if supplemented by lectures, as the author 

 intended. The printing and paper are good. From 

 the large number of elementary textbooks on organic 

 chemistry which have appeared recently one might be led 

 to infer that some new methods of teaching the subject 

 had been evolved. This does not seem to be the case. 



(1) Industrial Motor Control : Direct Current. By A. T. 

 Dover. (Pitman's Technical Primer Series.) Pp. xi 



+ 110. (London: Sir I. Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 

 1922.) 2s. 6d. net. 



(2) Switching and Switchgear. By H. E. Poole. (Pit- 

 man's Technical Primer Series.) Pp. ix+ 11S. (Lon- 

 don : Sir I. Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1922.) 25. 6d. 

 net. 



(3) The Testing of Transformers and Alternating Current 

 " Machines. By Dr. C F. Smith. (Pitman's Tech- 

 nical Primer Series.) Pp. xi + 91. (London: Sir I. 

 Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1922.) 25-. 6d. int. 



(1) Me. Dover's object in his book is to discuss the 

 principles involved in the starting and speed control 

 of direct current motors. The principles are applied 

 subsequently to typical control apparatus. The dia- 

 grams are well drawn and the descriptions are 1 lear. 



(2) The elementary considerations which have to be 

 taken into account when designing apparatus for the 

 switch-control of electric circuits are well described in 

 Mr. Poole's book. It will form a useful introduction 

 to more technical tre: 



(3) Dr. Smith's book will prove useful to students, and 



ant to revise their knowli d 



