May 28, iqo8] 



NATURE 



87 



175° of long-itude, and differences of altitude amounting 

 to 3600 metres, is subject to great contrasts of climate, 

 e.g. at Pamirski Post, in the south-east, the mean yearly 

 temperature is 29°-8 F., and at Termez, in the south, 

 63°-9 ; the mean yearly variation (difference of warmest 

 and coldest months) is 68°-2, at Kasalinsk, in the north- 

 west, and 40°-q, at Prschewalsk, in the north-east. The 

 whole country has a very small rainfall, averaging from 

 about 5 inches on the Steppes to 145 inches in the districts 

 of the Naryn and Lake Issykul. The author states, with 

 reference to the cultivation of the land, that the small 

 rainfall and rapid evaporation give rise to the gravest fears 

 for the future of the country. 



Dr. .a. Stock announces in part ii. of the Vevhanil- 

 iiiigen dcr deutschen physikalischen Gescllschaft for igoS 

 that he has succeeded in producing a material which, 

 while porous to air and other gases, will not allow mercury 

 to pass through it at pressures less than i atmosphere. It 

 is composed mainly of clay, water-glass, and gum burnt 

 together, and'' can be substituted for the taps and other 

 appliances used in the manipulation of gases. The material 

 withstands acids and boiling water, can be fused directly 

 to glass, and is about five times as porous as that used 

 by Dr. K. Pritz for the same purpose two years ago. 



In France the Soci^t^ d'Encouragement granted a sub- 

 vention for a research on the gases occluded in steels, 

 and the results of the work, by Dr. G. Belloc, of the 

 University of Caen, are published in the current issue of 

 the Bulletin (vol. ex., No. 4) of the society. The gases, 

 he finds, consist of mixtures of carbon dioxide, carbonic 

 oxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen, and the liberation of the 

 gases is in intimate relation with the critical points of 

 iron. Carbon dioxide is liberated first at about 550° C, 

 and forms the great bulk of the volume present. Nitrogen 

 begins to appear at 550°. More gases are given off by 

 the steel taken from the centre of an ingot than from 

 samples nearer the surface. 



The Physical Reviem for -April contains a study of the 

 changes of the electrical resistance of selenium cells by 

 Messrs. F. C. Brown and J. Stebbins, of the University 

 of Illinois. They find that pressure diminishes the resist- 

 ance at a rate nearly constant up to about 400 kilos, per 

 sq. cm., and that the cells are somewhat less sensitive to 

 light at high than at low pressures. Increase of tempera- 

 ture in the neighbourhood of 20° C. produces a rapid 

 decrease of resistance, which becomes less marked as the 

 temperature gets higher. The sensitiveness to light de- 

 creases as the temperature rises, and appears to be a func- 

 tion of the resistance of the cell, whether that resistance 

 is determined by the temperature, pressure, or illumination 

 of the cell. Radium and hydrogen peroxide both decrease 

 the resistance of a cell to a remarkable extent. 



Messrs. Macmill.^n .^nd Co., Ltd., have published the 

 forty-fifth annual issue of " The Statesman's Year-book," 

 that for 1908. Its character is described excellently by its 

 subtitle — " Statistical and Historical Annual of the States 

 of the World for the Year." The volume has been enlarged 

 again ; more space is devoted to the British Empire and 

 the United States. An account of the changes in the 

 organisation of the British Army has been included, and 

 the returns of the recent French census of 1906 are given. 

 Some thirty pages of additions and corrections contain the 

 most recent available statistics, among others those of 

 public education in England and Wales. The maps and 

 diagrams are, as usual, a very attractive feature. Three 

 diagrams deal in a luminous manner with important 



NO. 2013, VOL. 78] 



matters in connection with the British Navy, and some 

 interesting comparisons with the naval strength of other 

 countries are shown graphically. It would be valuable and' 

 instructive if next year the editor. Dr. J. Scott Keltie, 

 could provide similar diagrams comparing the United 

 Kingdom with Germany, the United States, and other 

 great countries, so far as the provision of higher education 

 is concerned. We know of no subject in which statesmen 

 stand more in need of instruction ; and we are sure that 

 a graphical comparison of the expenditure on higher educa- 

 tion and scientific research, of the percentage of the popula- 

 tion receiving higher technical instruction, and similar 

 matters would show that while we apply the two-power 

 standard to the arts of war, we are behind other pro- 

 gressive nations in the provision made for the arts of peace 

 through higher education and science. 



.A FOURTH edition of Prof. E. Hammer's " Der logarith- 

 mische Rechenschieber und sein Gebrauch " has been pub- 

 lished by Mr. Konrad Wittwer, of Stuttgart. The volume 

 deals with methods of using logarithms and the slide rule, 

 and their application to various forms of calculation. No 

 tables arc provided. The price of the book is one mark. 



We are glad to see a column devoted to science of the 

 week in the Standard of Empire^ tlie first number of 

 which appeared on Saturday last. The new periodical, 

 which is published at the Standard office, will appear as a 

 gratis supplement every Thursday in that newspaper, and 

 will also be issued separately as a weekly journal devoted 

 to Imperial affairs. 



We have received from Mr. Robert Sutton, 43 The Ex- 

 change, South wark, S.E., the fourth part of the first 

 volume of Dr. E. Howard Adye's " Studies in Micro- 

 petrography." This fasciculus contains pages 29-36 of the 

 first volume, and two full-page plates. The rocks dealt 

 with are ophitic diabase, andesitic dolerite, fine olivine- 

 basalt, and ophitic olivine-dolerite. 



Messrs. .A. and C. Bl.ick are publishing a second 

 edition of "Studies in Fossil Botany," by Dr. D. H. 

 Scott, F.R.S. The work, the first edition of which was 

 reviewed in N.wcre of November 15, 1900 (vol. Ixiii., 

 p. 53), will in future appear in two volumes. The first, 

 dealing with the Pteridophyta, is now ready, and its price 

 is 65. net ; the second vohnne will be published, it is 

 expected, next autumn, wlien we propose to review the 

 complete work. 



Messrs. Cassell and Co., Ltd., have commenced the 

 publication, in twenty-four fortnightly parts, price yd. net 

 each, of " The Nature Book." The work is to be a 

 popular description by pen and camera of the beauties of 

 outdoor nature. Among numerous contributors we notice 

 the names of Messrs. Walter Crane, Richard and Cherry 

 Kearton, and Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer. The first part reaches 

 a high standard of excellence. The letterpress is interest- 

 ing and accurate, while the illustrations are abundant and 

 beautiful. The publication should secure a wide popularity, 

 and prove of real service to teachers of nature-study. 



The first volume of the fifth edition of Prof. Wundt's 

 " Grundzuge der physiologischen Psychologic " appeared 

 in 1902, and was noticed in Nature of November 6, 1902 

 (vol. Ixvii., p. 2). The second and third volumes of the 

 same edition were reviewed in 1905, with Prof. Titchener's 

 translation of the work (vol. Ixxi., p. 529). The first 

 volume .of the sixth revised edition of this elaborate work 

 has now been received from the publisher, Mr. W. Engel- 

 mann, Leipzig. Nearly two himdred pages have been 



