872 



NA TURE 



[December 30, 1922 



misleading a book should not only find a publisher 

 but also reach a third edition, is disquieting. A teacher 

 should be teachable, and the serious student of phona- 

 tion will find sound information as to the parts played 

 by the sinuses and the glottal lips in the production of 

 vocal tone in Musehold's " Akustik und Mechanik des 

 menschlichcn Stimmorgans," 1913, which gives excel- 

 lent laryngo-stroboscopic photographs of the mis- 

 railed " vocal cords " in action, confirming and sup- 

 plementing Manuel Garcia's famous communication 

 to the Royal Society in 1855 on tne differing laryngeal 

 mechanism for chest and falsetto registers. The kine- 

 matograph might do good service here. 



The exhibition of a slow-motion film, such as that 

 prepared by Prof. Panconcelli-Calzia and Dr. Hegener, 

 of Hamburg, showing the lips of the glottis producing 

 a definite note of chest register by periodically parting 

 and meeting, parting and meeting, letting out as mam- 

 tiny puffs of compressed air per second as there are 

 double vibrations in the note sung (quite in agreement 

 with what R. Willis, of Cambridge, wrote in 1828), and 

 finally opening very wide for the singer to draw breath, 

 would give in one minute a clearer idea of their double- 

 reed action than pages of careful description may con- 

 vey. Few misnomers, surely, have wrought so much 

 pseudo-scientific havoc as Ferrein's chorda: vocales 

 (i/4i). W. P. 



An Introduction to Psychology. By S. S. Brierley. 

 Pp. viii+152. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 

 1921.) 55. net. 



Unlike many writers for non-professional students of 

 psychology, the author of this work does not attempt 

 to minimise the difficulty of the subject, nor does she 

 seek to evade problematical conclusions" by specious 

 dogmatism. The book consists of two parts, the first 

 dealing with the scope and method of psychology, and the 

 second with some of the general problems of the subject. 

 This latter part brings before the reader the fascinating 

 but bewildering array of problems with which the 

 modern psychologist is confronted. The reader is not 

 left with the idea that having perused this book he 

 knows everything about psychology, but he will feel 

 that he has an excellent basis for continued study. 

 The general plan is original, and while incorporating 

 much of the work of such writers as James, McDougall, 

 Freud, and Jung, yet it is much more than a mere 

 compilation of the work of others. It will be of the 

 greatest value not only to the beginner but also to any 

 reader who wishes to get a clear survey of the state 

 of psychology at the present time. 



Physiology and Biochemistry in Modern Medicine. By 



Prof. ]. }. R. MacLeod, assisted by Rov G. Pearce, 



A. ('. Redfield, and N. B. Taylor, and by others. 



Fourth edition. Pp. xxxii + 992. (London: EL 



Kimpton. 1022.) 42s. net. 



The first edition oi this valuable text-book was 



reviewed at some length in Nature of December 1 8, 



1919 (vol. 104, p. 389), so that little remains to be 



-aid except to congratulate the author on the rapid 



appearance of successive editions. This fact is good 



evidence thai the work fulfils a want. It will be 



remembered that it is especially directed to satisfv the 



requirements of the student and the practitioner of 



NO. 2774, VOL. I IO] 



medicine, so that it is natural to find certain branches 

 of physiology more fully discussed than others. It is 

 perhaps open to question whether, for the class of reader 

 contemplated, the common practice of treating such 

 questions as osmotic pressure and the colloidal state 

 apart from that of the physiological processes in which 

 they play an important part, is to be recommended. 

 Prof. MacLeod has kept the book well up-to-date, and it 

 has received valuable improvements and additions since 

 the appearance of the first edition in 1919. 



The Conquest of the Ne?v Zealand Alps. By Samuel 

 Turner. Pp. 291. (London : T. Fisher Unwin, 

 Ltd., 1922.) 215. net. 

 Mr. Turner is a mountaineer of varied experience 

 extending over a quarter of a century. His latest book 

 describes six seasons' climbing in the New Zealand Alps, 

 including ascents of Mounts Cook and Tasman, the two 

 summits of the group. It is mainly a climber's record 

 of difficulties and triumphs, but incidentally it contains 

 much description of the peculiarities of the New Zea- 

 land Alps and the ice conditions encountered there. 

 On the whole, the climbs in most cases were not of 

 exceptional difficulty, but there seems to be a tendency 

 for the snow slopes to hang steeper than in most 

 countries. This is due possibly to the nature of the 

 rock, but more likely is the outcome of the snow 

 falling frequently and at relatively high temperatures, 

 which gives it greater binding power. The snowfall 

 at low altitudes even in midsummer is an additional 

 difficulty. 



La Separation Industrielle des Solides en Milieu Liquide, 

 Par Prof. Leonce Fabre. Pp. v + 227. (Paris: 

 G. Doin, 1922.) 16 francs. 



The treatment of filtration from the point of view of 

 chemical engineering forms the principal subject of 

 this book. The various types of apparatus, including 

 immersion and rotary filters, are fully dealt with, and 

 the auxiliary apparatus, including pumps, thickeners, 

 and classifiers, are also described, and methods of 

 decantation are considered. The book is up-to-date, 

 and the numerous illustrations add considerablv to 

 its interest and value : it is a most useful contribution 

 to the literature of chemical engineering. As is usual in 

 French books, the absence of an index takes away 

 practically half the value of a work of this kind. This 

 may seem a small point to the author, but English and 

 American readers of technical books will consider it a 

 very serious defect. 



Seven Ages of Childhood. By Ella L. Cabot. Pp. 

 xxxiv+321. (London: Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd.. 

 1921). 12s. 6d. net. 



Mrs. Cabot divides the period from coming into the 

 world to coming of age into seven sub-periods which she 

 names the dependent age (0-3). the dramatic age (,;-;), 

 the angular age (7-1 1 ), the paradoxical age (12-14). the 

 age of the gang or team (11-16), the age of romance 

 (15-18), the age of problems (16-21). On all these she 

 writes pleasantly and sympathetically. There ma\ be 

 little of striking originality in her pages ; but there is a 

 touch of serene wisdom which may perhaps be found 

 move helpful. 



