August 19, 1909] 



NATURE 



:i5 



as so many statements of fact. This seems unfor- 

 tunate, and students of education who take up the 

 booli in the hope of deriving guidance and inspira- 

 tion in their own class-room investigations will surely 

 feel some disappointment. The dogmatic spirit in 

 which the author treats certain fundamental issues is 

 not reassuring. He finds, for example, that the prime 

 motive power in the mental development of the young, 

 is their inborn tendency to play and to imitate. 

 Groos's interpretation of play is, in the main, accepted, 

 and we are led into a strongly-worded plea for " at- 

 tractiveness " as the sole principle in educational 

 practice. The plea is backed up with the " best 

 opinion," and ends thus: — 



"It is true that certain scholastic successes may 

 be obtained by the opposite method. But see later 

 what the effect upon the victims is ! Worked out 

 at school, they are left without initiative, and the 

 power of energetic action. They never become men 

 because they have never been chddren." 



This sweeping generalisation applies avowedly to the 

 whole school system. Not a word of evidence is put 

 ■forward in its support, though probably few of the 

 readers of the book would regard it as a self-evident 

 proposition. It is not a satisfactory method of laying 

 the foundations of a science of education. 



The author is more successful as an exponent of 

 •child-psychology pure and simple. He gives a brief 

 summary of the various sources of our knowledge, and 

 liis chapter on mental development is a useful intro- 

 duction to current views on the subject of play, imita- 

 tion, and interest from the standpoint of biology. The 

 student who is anxious to learn something of actual 

 methods of research will find references to special 

 monographs in the bibliographies appended to each 

 ■chapter. It is only when he treats the subject of 

 fatigue that the author himself gives detailed accounts 

 of experimental methods the value of which readers 

 -an test for themselves. The curves which are given 

 in the text of earlier chapters, showing the variations 

 in suggestibility &c., at different ages, embody results 

 of investigations the character and significance of 

 ■which are not in any way discussed. Perhaps in a 

 later edition the author may find it possible to strike 

 But what is mere dogmatism, and enlarge upon those 

 parts of his book which deal with scientific inquiry. 

 The value of the book might in this way be greatly 

 increased. J. A. Green. 



BOOKS OF REFEREXCE I.\ ORGANIC 

 CHEMISTRY. 

 /i) Analyse und KonstitHtionsermittelung orgariischer 

 Vcrbiiidungeit. By Dr. Hans Meyer. Second en- 

 larged edition. Pp. xxxii-l-1003. (Berlin: J. 

 Springer, 1909.) Price 28 marks. 

 .(2) V. V. Richter's Chemie dcr Kohlenstoffrerbiiid- 

 uiigen oder organische Chemie. By Dr. R. 

 .\nschutz and Dr. G. Schroeter. Erster Band, Die 

 Chemie der Fettkorper. Pp. xx -1-793. (Bonn : F. 

 Cohen, 1909.) Price 18 marks. 

 (i) nPHE study of structure may be looked upon as 

 *- the basis of all investigation in organic 

 chemistry. It is the fundamental distinction between 

 ithis and other branches of the science. 

 NO. 2077, VOL. Si] 



Whilst physical chemistry is chiefly concerned with 

 the mechanism of reactions, inorganic chemistry with 

 the conditions determining the formation of com- 

 pounds, organic chemistry is mainly directed to 

 synthetic processes, for which a knowledge of struc- 

 ture is essential. It is as an aid to this knowledge 

 that Dr. Meyer's book has been written. That it has 

 found favour with chemists and is regarded as a valu- 

 able addition to chemical literature is shown by the 

 fact that within a few years of its first appearance 

 the publication of a new and enlarged edition has 

 been called for. 



The volume before us has reached the respectable 

 bulk of one thousand pages. The chief addendum is 

 the second part, on the determination of the parent 

 substance, containing chapters on oxidation, reduc- 

 tion, and alkaline fusion ; many new methods have 

 also been introduced, and older and less trustworthy 

 ones discarded. 



The book is too well known to need anything in 

 the way of general description. It contains methods 

 of elementary analysis, methods for determining 

 molecular weights, for ascertaining qualitatively and 

 quantitatively the presence of certain groups, and for 

 breaking up the molecule into simpler fragments. 

 One may look in vain for any serious omissions. On 

 the other hand, the great variety of methods and the 

 long lists of references are rather bewildering, and 

 constitute^ perhaps, the chief defect of the book. 

 There has been, apparently, no attempt at critical 

 examination. Every method and every modification 

 of it seems to liave found a place. The reader is 

 left to make his own choice and to draw on his own 

 experience. 



We would take as an illustration the well-known 

 method of Zeisel. The original and obsolete form of 

 apparatus is described and pictured in detail, together 

 with modifications by Benedikt and by the author 

 (the latter being described as the simplest and most 

 convenient), whilst the method of Perkin, generally 

 adopted in this country, is only indicated by a refer- 

 ence along with five others. 



We would not press this criticism too far. It is 

 better to have too much information than too little, 

 and if the reader has not the luck to discover at once 

 the most suitable process, he will hit upon it in the 

 end if he only perseveres. 



It is needless to point out that the compilation of 

 so much detail must have entailed immense labour, 

 and has been carried out with painstaking German 

 thoroughness. The book is well printed and illus- 

 trated, and should serve as a standard work of refer- 

 ence in the library of an organic laboratory. 



(2) Twenty-five years ago Richter's " Organic 

 Chemistry " appeared as a small companion volume 

 to the one on inorganic chemistry. Since then each 

 succeeding edition has steadily increased in bulk. A 

 few years ago it was issued in two parts, and now it 

 has been found necessary to enlarge the format. 

 Nothing could illustrate more forcibly the growth of 

 this branch of chemistry. 



^^'hatever may have been the original purpose of 

 the book, it has long ceased to be a text-book for 



