NATURE 



[March 4, 1909 



chapter on instruction in the science will probably 

 possess the greatest interest ; it certainly deserves to 

 be most carefully studied, as it is replete with stimu- 

 lating suggestions. Most welcome will also be the 

 abundant literary references, constituting the first 

 bibliography of pharmacognosy. 



Pharmacozoology is very briefly dealt with, and 

 stands in sharp contrast with the rest of the work. 

 Considering the success that has attended the develop- 

 ment in recent years of org-anotherapy, it is difficult 

 to understand why such widely used parts of animals 

 as the thyroid gland, suprarenal capsule, &c., and 

 such products of animals as pepsin, pancreatin, wool 

 fat, &c., have been excluded from the animal drugs 

 enumerated by the author. 



All the parts of the handbook that have appeared are 

 n-.ost profusely illustrated, and Prof. Tschirch must 

 be congratulated on the excellence of his work. 



Henry G. Greenish. 



SCIENCE IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRIES. 

 The Structure of the Wool Fibre and its Relation to 

 the Use of Wool for Technical Purposes. By 

 Dr. F. H. Bowman. Pp. xx+475 ; with many 

 coloured and other illustrations. (London : Mac- 

 millan and Co., Ltd., 1908.) Price Ss. 6d. net. 



THIS is a companion volume to the one on " The 

 Structure of the Cotton Fibre," which was 

 reviewed in these columns in July, 1908, and is to be 

 followed by a third volume dealing with the silk fibre. 

 The subject-matter is treated in a very thorough 

 manner, commencing with a description of the struc- 

 ture of the skin and the genesis of the hair or wool 

 fibre which clearly indicates the mode of its subse- 

 quent development. The physical structure of the 

 fibre determines its behaviour during the various 

 mechanical processes of spinning and weaving ; and 

 this important point is well brought out in the 

 valuable and interesting portion of the book devoted 

 to it. 



Thirty-two distinct varieties of sheep are described, 

 of which four are inhabitants of Europe, fifteen of 

 Asia, eleven of .Africa, and two of America; but 

 there appear to be at least thirtyone subvarieties 

 of the common sheep (Ovis aries), some of which 

 differ to a greater extent than certain sheep which 

 are regarded as distinct varieties. It is considered 

 probable that all varieties were originally derived 

 from two — the long- and the short-tailed sheep — both 

 of which in the wild state grow an outer covering of 

 hair and a softer, finer inner covering of wool, the 

 latter increasing and the former being gradually 

 eliminated by domestication. 



The domestic sheep was first produced in Asia, 

 and spread thence to Europe with advancing civili- 

 sation, its introduction into Greece being probably 

 enshrined in the legend of the golden fleece. 



The scientific breeding of sheep was first systemati- 

 cally carried out in England, but is now practised in 

 all the important sheep-rearing countries. In this 

 connection it is interesting to note the effect of the 

 frozen-meat trade on the production of wool. Before 

 NO. 2053, VOL. 80] 



the introduction of cold-storage transit, the carcase 

 of the sheep at the .'\ntipodes was of much less value 

 than it is to-day. Sheep farmers therefore confined 

 their attention to breeding for wool, but now have 

 to pay more regard to the production of good mutton, 

 the fleece being relatively less important. 



In dealing with the question of sheep-dips, which 

 are necessary on account of the parasites which infect 

 all animals with a hairy or woolly covering, the 

 author very properly condemns all compositions con- 

 taining tar, or lime and sulphur, and advocates 

 arsenical dips. The important question of the 

 preparation of wool for the market receives, as it 

 deserves, full attention, and the recommendations of 

 the Wool Trade Committee of the Bradford Chamber 

 of Commerce are given in full. Briefly, the trouble' 

 is caused by the presence of vegetable matter in 

 wool, which may arise from want of care in packing 

 or lack of cleanliness in the shearing house. The 

 importance of this matter arises from the fact that 

 the vegetable matter may accompany wool fibre 

 throughout the whole of the manufacturing opera- 

 tions, and, on account of its very differing d\'eing 

 properties, may greatly detract from the appearance 

 of the finished material even when present in very 

 small amount. 



The investigation of the mechanical structure of 

 the wool fibre is traced back by the author to 1664, in 

 which year a Dr. Hook read a paper before the Royal 

 Society on the structure of various hairs, but, of 

 course, the power of his microscope was very limited. 

 .About 1690 Leeuwenhoek published several illustra- 

 tions of the microscopical structure of wool, and in 

 1742 H. Baker also read a paper on the subject before 

 the Royal Society; but a Mr. Youatt, in 1835, using 

 a compound microscope with a magnification of 

 300 diameters, claimed to have been the first to 

 discover the true nature of the surface of the wool 

 fibre. 



The author of the present volume was, however, 

 the first to make a systematic and comparative study 

 of the microscopic structure of wools of various origin 

 and at various stages of growth, and his illustrations, 

 which are reproduced in the book, have for many 

 years been considered as standards, and have been 

 reproduced in most text-books dealing with wool 

 manufacture or dyeing. 



The description of the chemical nature and pro- 

 perties of wool is not so exhaustive or quite as satis- 

 factory as that portion of the book dealing with the 

 mechanical structure, but the chapter on the strength 

 and testing of worsted yarns is excellent, and empha- 

 sises the importance of spinners and manufacturers 

 making full use of such scientific aids as are now 

 available. 



The chapter on the theory of dyeing and colour is 

 the least satisfactory in the book, and the excellent 

 coloured diagrams represent the only feature which 

 warrants inclusion. 



The book is one of considerable importance, and 

 will doubtless take the position of a standard work 

 in the libraries of all connected with the te.xtile 

 industries. 



Walter M. Gardner. 



