ic6 



NA TURE 



[July 2, 1908 



for which there is no justification. It must lead to 

 confusion, and the authors liave fallen into their own 

 trap, for instance, in writing- Jonidium for lonidium 

 Clov-i^-mv). And why Rhaphanus instead of the Lin- 

 na?an " Raphanus," arid on the other hand Raphia 

 and Rigiostachys (paipis and piyios, araxvi) instead 

 of Rhaphia and Rhigiostachys? There is everv- 

 Ihing- to be said in favour of rendering p through- 

 out by " rh "; but if this rule is not adopted, it would 

 be better to adhere to the original spelling of the 

 .•luthors. 



Those who have watched the nomenclatoric move- 

 ment of the 'nineties and the first years of the 

 present decade with some apprehension lest the con- 

 tinuity and uniformity of botanical nomenclature 

 should be seriously impaired will be greatly relieved in 

 finding on the examination of the " Genera Siphono- 

 gamarum " that this danger is practically averted. 

 The book was finished up to the " Index," when, in 

 1905, the Vienna Congress adopted the new rules con- 

 cerning the nomenclature of phanerogams; but in as 

 far as these rules coincide in all essential points with 

 the so-called Berlin rules which governed the nomen- 

 clature of the " Natiirliche Pflanzenfamilien," the 

 generic nomenclature of the " Genera Siphono- 

 gamarum " may well be considered as a practical and 

 comprehensive test of the working of those rules. 

 This being so, it is highly gratifying to see that the 

 concord in generic nomenclature of the two leading- 

 schools of systematic botany, the older Kew school 

 and the younger Berlin school, is practically absolute. 

 Out of the total of, roundly, lo.ooo genera, there are 

 only 86 in regard to which the nomenclatoric standard 

 of the " Genera -Siphonogamarum " and the Kew 

 practice, judged by Rontham and Hooker's " Genera 

 riantarum " and the " Index Kewensis," differ, and 

 most of them are small genera, with few exceptions 

 affecting none but purely scientific interests. More- 

 <iver, most of these discrepancies admit of easy correc- 

 tion, and where there is any serious doubt it may be 

 left for the next International Botanical Congress to 

 decide. This surprising concord in the generic 

 nomenclature of the phanerogams is a veritable 

 triumph, of common sense which, it may be hoped, in 

 the interest of science, will in time also conquer the 

 opposition of the American school, which still holds 

 out for a nomenclature of its own. 



Otto Stapf. 



SCIENCE IX THE TEXTILE IXDLSTRIES. 

 The Siriictiirc of the Cotton Fibre in its Relation to 



Technical Applications. By Dr. F. H. Bowman. 



Pp. xx+470. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 



1908.) Price 8i. 6rf. net. 

 'T'HE manufacture of a textile fabric mainlv con- 

 -1- sists of a series of mechanical processes wherebv 

 the raw fibrous material is transformed first into a 

 coherent thread and finally into a complex structure. 

 As might be expected, therefore, the introduction of 

 scientific method into the textile industries has mainly 

 shown itself on the mechanical side, that is, in the 

 improvement of the machinery used in the various 

 NO. ,Wl8, VOL. 78] 



stages of manufacture, much of which has been 

 developed to a high state of perfection. 



There are, however, many other directions in which 

 scientific investigation can be directly brought to bear 

 in textile manufacture, and the author of the book 

 under review was a pioneer in one such direction 

 thirty years ago, when he first investigated the micro- 

 scopical structure of the cotton and wool fibres in 

 relationship to the various processes of spinning, 

 weaving, dyeing, and finishing. 



The present volume, dealing with the cotton fibre, 

 is the first of a series of three, and those to be sub- 

 sequently issued will deal with wool, silk, &c. It 

 comprises a very full account of the origin and de- 

 velopment of the cotton fibre, its microscopical struc- 

 ture, and the chemistry of cotton cellulose and itsi 

 derivatives. These chapters are followed by others 

 giving details regarding the strength and variatiorv 

 of the fibre and of spun yarns of various counts and 

 twists. Other less satisfactory sections deal with the 

 various theories of dyeing and with dyeing processes, 

 and in a final chapter the methods of detecting various 

 fibres and of analysing a mixed fabric are described. 

 Of the eighty illustrations and diagrams with which 

 the book is illustrated, many are coloured, and, like 

 the paper and type, are excellent. .An exhaustive table 

 of contents and trustworthy index add to the value of 

 the book, and the introduction of a glossary shows 

 that the author has spared no trouble to make the 

 book complete. Some of the definitions in the latter 

 would, however, bear revision, e.g. " Complementary 

 colour — the remaining colours in a beam of light 

 which are necessary to make white light." 

 " Hydroxyl — the substance produced by the union of 

 a single atom of hydrogen and oxygen." 



One of the first duties of a reviewer is considered 

 to be that of pointing out errors and omissions in 

 the book with which he is dealing. This at any rale 

 'nas the advantage of indicating that he has read the 

 book with some care; and it may be mentioned there- 

 fore that there are misprints on line i, p. 57, and on 

 line 4 of the table on p. 150. .\lso that incorrect for- 

 niulse are given for cellulose on pp. 144 and 145, and 

 for nitrobenzoic acid on p. 407. 



Perhaps the most valuable feature of the work is to 

 be found in the record which it contains of the 

 author's laborious and long-continued investigation of 

 the microscopical structure of cotton both during 

 growth (for which purpose he cultivated cotton plants 

 in a greenhouse), when fully matured, and at all 

 subsequent stages of manufacture. Dr. Bowman's 

 sketches showing the structure of fibres have been 

 long accepted as standards, and have been reproduced 

 in nearly all modern works on spinning, dyeing, &c. 



.-\nother highly commendable feature is the insist- 

 ence upon due regard being paid to the inter- 

 dependence of the various processes of manufacture. 

 This is a point the importance of which is frequently 

 overlooked, but one which, as the author states, is 

 essential to perfection of result. 



The issue of the remaining two volumes of the 

 series will be looked forward lo with much interest. 



Walter M. Gardnek. 



