278 



NA TURE 



\Feb. 12, 1874 



"The Royal Commission on Science, presided over by 

 the Duke of Devonshire, has, for nearly three years, been 

 most assiduously engaged in collecting a body of informa- 

 tion of infinite value, and they will no doubt forward 

 many important recommendations on the evidence they 

 have taken ; but for my part, as one deeply interested in 

 their proceedings, to which I have contributed largely as 

 a witness, I do not hesitate to say that if they only 

 succeed in obtaining the creation of a Science Minister, 

 that result alone will amply repay the country for the 

 cost of their investigations. 



" Let this be done, and we should cease to witness the 

 farce of consulting the Chancellor of the Exchequer about 

 observing eclipses of the sun, the Prime Minister about 

 scientific Arctic expeditions, and the Treasury about 

 tidal reductions. We should perhaps, too, then perceive 

 that overworked Law Officers are not the best managers 

 of a great, or what should be a great, technical Museum, 

 and that fifty irresponsible gentlemen, however eminent 

 individually, ought not to be entrusted with the grandest 

 collection of Art and Natural History in the world. Nor 

 would a wise statesman like Lord Derby fail to perceive, 

 with all science concentrated under one view for his in- 

 spection, that a private local Society will prove no match 

 for the complete and powerful State systems of Germany, 

 France, and other Continental nations." 



PINK AND WEBSTER'S "ANALYTICAL 

 CHEMISTRY" 



A Course of Analytical Chetnistry [Qualitative and Quan- 

 titative). By William W. Pink and G. E. Webster. 

 (London : Lockwood & Co., 1874.) 

 "T^H IS work forms a volume of Weale's Rudimentary 

 -!- Series, and is advertised " as specially adapted for 

 the use of those students who intend competing in the 

 Advanced or Honours Stage Examinations (Inorganic 

 Chemistry) of the Science and Art Department, also for 

 preparing those intended to sit for the higher class exa- 

 minations at Colleges, Public Schools," &c. The success 

 which several well-known serial publications of a simi- 

 larly special nature have deservedly had, appears to have 

 stimulated the publishers of Weale's Series to embark in 

 this enterprise. As the excellence of most of their 

 former publications will be generally admitted, we 

 can only regret that a literary (.') production displaying 

 such deplorable ignorance should ever have found a 

 place in their series. It has rarely been our duty to pass 

 judgment on a more carelessly got-up book. Had it not 

 been advertised as specially adapted for the use of the 

 Science Classes under the Science and Art Department, 

 we might have put it aside with a hearty laugh over the 

 many absurd blunders it contains. Since a practice has, 

 however, sprung up of late to cater for the wants of 

 Science Classes, by printing books (sometimes obtained 

 on comiTiission) privately, and advertising them by 

 means of post-cards, at so many postage stamps a copy, 

 whereby these books manage to escape the eye of the re- 

 viewer, and as we fear that much mischief is being done by 

 certain cheap cram-books, strung together with a view to 

 save the teacher as much trouble as possible, our readers 

 will perhaps bear with us if \Te examine the book before 

 us somewhat closely. If rumour speaks true, some 

 teachers manage to teach chemistry — even analytical 



chemistry — without ever touching a test-tube or perform- 

 ing the simplest experiments. Questions from preyious 

 exam.inations are eagerly collected and " worked " in the 

 belief that the examiner is sure to give, if not the same 

 questions, at least others of a similar natyre. We need 

 not fear giving offence to those earnest and hard-working 

 men, engaged, often on a mere pittance and under most 

 adverse and discouraging circumstances, in imparting a 

 sound knowledge of chemistry in places which would not 

 otherwise be reached by any educational efforts, if we 

 conclude from the course of analytical chemistry Ijefore us, 

 that some teachers (Mr. Webster styles himself Lecturer 

 on Metallurgy and the Applied Sciences, Nottingham) are 

 deplorably ignorant of the science they profess to teach. 



Beginning on p. 4, we are tuld that " the term atom is 

 sometimes applied to a compound as well as simple 

 radicals, such as ammonia, h) droxyl, &c." : that " for 

 fixed solids which do not vaporise, the atomic weights 

 are referred to the element lithium, the atomic weight 

 being determined by the amount of heat which any 

 body contams, when it is at the same temperature 

 as lithium, both being the same weight, lithium 

 being considered as seven." On p. 7, " difference 

 of attraction is called the bond affinity, that is, it is 

 assumed that the different atoms possess power, lines of 

 force, or points of attraction, called by Dr. Frankland 

 bonds." On p. 12, we are informed, that " there are four 

 different forms of notation, or formute in present use, two 

 of which are grapliical, viz. the glyptic and graphic for- 

 mula. The other two, viz. the empirical and the consti- 

 tutional or rational, are the symbolic representations." 

 We give it upon the authority of our joint authors, that 

 " Dr. Crum Brown was the first to introduce this form of 

 formula;, and that it has now been adopted by Dr. Frank- 

 land, and generally throughout the kingdom." And on 

 p. 14, we are told, that " students who do not already 

 understand the constitutional formula: are strongly ad- 

 vised to obtain a complete knowledge of them, not only 

 as an addition to their knowledge, but because the other 

 is now not recognised by many colleges, or allowed in 

 many examinations." For fear our authors' inadvertence 

 should lead to further mischief, we may at once state 

 that, to our knowledge, such is not the case, and that 

 the authors are as much in the dark about what is recog- 

 nised by many colleges or " allowed in many examina- 

 tions " as they are about chemical analysis. 



We can only pick out some of the choicest specimens from 

 the authors' anahtical bouquet. Beginning on p. 26, we 

 are told that " deflagration is the arrangement of the crys- 

 tals of a substance, and is, in ordinary terms, the crack- 

 ling of a body when exposed to heat ;" on p. 28, that 

 " hardly any amount of reading or lecture-hearing can 

 produce a practical analyst, as only practice can make 

 perfect, and therefore the student is strongly recommended 

 to make the experiments himself." We lor once entirely 

 agree with the theory, but strongly object to the "prac- 

 tice" of our joint authors. The information on p. 30, 

 that " melted lead cannot be poured even in a cold pla- 

 tinum crucible without spoiling it, and that a drop of lead, 

 tin, or bismuth, faUing upon a red-hot platinum vessel 

 invariably makes a hole in it," we owe probably to the 

 sad experience gained by the metallurgical partner in the 

 joint-authorship, and science-students possessing platinum 



