May 23, 1907] 



NA TURE 



77 



nearly so suitable as some other substances for the 

 purposes of a laboratory exercise. 



Of the usefulness of the book as a laboratory guide 

 there can, however, be no doubt ; it should be in the 

 hands of every serious student of the science. 



(2) Dr. Pauli's volume is a collection of seven ad- 

 dresses delivered at various times by the author, and 

 deals with the application of physical chemistry to 

 various branches of medicine — physiology, pharmaco- 

 logy, and pathology — an application rendered possible 

 more particularly by the recent advances made in the 

 study of organic colloids. The problems discussed are 

 of fundamental importance, and even though it be true 

 that " life can perhaps be completely understood only 

 through life itself," yet the volume before us indicates 

 that many great advances may be expected by the 

 proper utilisation of the instruments afforded by 

 physical chemistry. In the separate chapters an 

 account is given of the physical chemistry of cells 

 and tissues, the colloidal state and the reactions in 

 living matter, the relations between ions and their 

 medicinal and therapeutic effects, the changes effected 

 in pathology by recent chemical work, and the signifi- 

 cance of the electrical charge of protein. The 

 entire omission of literature references to the large 

 number of investigations by authors whose names are 

 quoted is most unfortunate. The translation is good, 

 although it is not difficult to recognise in it the work 

 of a medical man rather than that of a physical 

 chemist. In medical circles the book should be of 

 general interest. 



(3) A distinctive feature of the lectures on inorganic 

 chemistry is the authors' attempt to minimise the 

 number of chemical compounds described, and to 

 illustrate by carefully selected examples the most 

 important general phenomena and the laws which 

 regulate them. In the opinion of one who has had 

 some little experience in the chemical training of 

 medical students this is a distinctly gratifying 

 feature. Whether it is not possible greatly to improve 

 the training of the medical student by demanding a 

 smaller knowledge of isolated facts and a more ex- 

 tended acquaintance with general principles is a ques- 

 tion which demands serious consideration. In the 

 twenty-eight lectures, into which the subject-matter 

 is divided, the attention of the reader is continually 

 directed to general relationships in discussing par- 

 ticular facts, and this cannot but have a satisfactory 

 effect on the chemical aspect of the future medical 

 man. For 430 pages of elementary inorganic chem- 

 istry fifteen marks is a singularly high price to have 

 to pay, and may be prohibitive to many would-be 

 purchasers. H. M. D. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 

 Practical Coal Mining. By Leading Experts in 



Mining and Engineering. Edited by Prof. \V. S. 



Boulton. Divisional, vol. i. Pp. vii -I- 160. 



(London : The Gresham Publishing Company, 



1907.) Price 6s. net. 

 This is the first instalment of a work which, when 

 completed in six volumes, is intended to cover the 

 whole ground of modern coal-mining practice. 

 Each of the sections into which the work is divided 



NO. i960, VOL. 76] 



will be written by a different author, fourteen lead- 

 ing authorities cooperating with the editor in his 

 task. This division of responsibility among many 

 contributors, and the fact that orders are accepted 

 for complete sets only, render it difficult to judge 

 from the first volume what the value of the work 

 as a whole will be. 



In the first volume there is undoubtedly a certain 

 want of harmony in treatment of the subject-matter. 

 There are three sections and part of the fourth, deal- 

 ing respectively with the geology of the Coal- 

 measures, the composition anil analysis of coal, trial 

 borings, and shaft sinking. The section on geology, 

 written by the editor, covers sixty-six pages, and 

 contains much useful information. It is question- 

 able, however, whether, in a treatise on practical 

 mining, it is possible to deal usefully with so compre- 

 hensive a subject or to give sufficient detail to render 

 the geological manuals superfluous, .^s an illus- 

 tration, the information regarding foreign coalfields, 

 which has had to be compressed into a single page, 

 is not nearly so full as that contained in Geikie's 

 "Text-book of Geology." 



The editor's literary style, too, is far from faultless. 

 His opening sentence, for example, cannot be re- 

 garded as elegant in composition. It reads as 

 follows : — " While some knowledge of geology is 

 necessary for all mining engineers and others con- 

 nected with coal mining, and esoecially the ability to 

 construct and interpret geological plans and sections, 

 there are certain branches of the science which bear 

 upon coal mining only very indirectly, and which at 

 present are of theoretical rather than practical import- 

 ance, and which, therefore, it has been thought 

 advisable to omit in the following pages." 



The second section, on the composition of coal, 

 has been written by Mr. C. A. Sevier. It describes 

 the author's new system of classification, or rather 

 of new chemical terms, and does not seem likely to 

 commend itself to practical men. who would probably 

 find such expressions as " sub-para-bituminous- 

 pseudo-anthracitic species " somewhat cumbersome. 

 The third section, on trial borings, which has been 

 written by Mr. H. F. Bulman, is admirable. It 

 contains as much practical information as could 

 possiblv have been compressed into thirty pages. 

 The fourth section, on shaft sinking, as far as pub- 

 lished, is equallv good, Written by Prof. H. Louis 

 in excellent literarv style, the information is clearly 

 given, and its value is increased by the introduction 

 of hitherto unpublished details of cost, and by the 

 fact that the illustrations, unlike others in the volume, 

 have in every case an indication of the scale to which 

 they are drawn. 



Morale de la Nature. By M. Deshumbert. Pp. 74. 



(London : D. Nutt, 1907.) Price is. net. 

 The first part of this essay is devoted chiefly to the 

 thesis that the object of all creation is to produce those 

 forms of life which are the most active, intelligent, 

 and moral possible, that is, life in its most complete 

 form. Good is that which contributes to the increase 

 of life in its high development, and evil is that which 

 has a contrary effect. The latter half of the essay 

 consists of ethical aphorisms which we commend to 

 the notice of the Moral Instruction League. 



Spring Harhingers and their Associations. By 



M. G. B. Pp. 62. (London : Elliot Stock, 1907.) 

 The writer of these six short essays on the snow-drop, 

 violet, daffodil, cowslip, daisy, and rose, not only loves 

 flowers, but evidently has made a practice of record- 

 ing references to her favourites made by the poets she 

 has read — and these are a goodly company. 



