October 29, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



601 



Professor Lee's book' is written for begin- 

 ners. There are many experiments, most of 

 which are those performed in most laboratories 

 during the iirst years. Many however would 

 come under the head of preparations, while 

 others are quantitative or physical-chemical. 

 The experiments are well chosen; the only ad- 

 verse criticism to the book is that while the 

 text is generally very clear and simple. Profes- 

 sor Lee has introduced matter from chemical 

 journals, some of which would be out of place 

 even in a text-book for advanced students. A 

 few omissions and some minor revisions would 

 remove the defects from this otherwise excel- 

 lent manual. 



Professor Stoddard's book' is a collection of 

 rough quantitative experiments illustrating the 

 gas laws, gas densities, specific heat, analysis 

 of gaseous compounds and of a number of 

 metal derivatives. The experiments are well 

 selected and are intended for beginners. 



The remaining books on our list are two 

 manuals of qualitative analysis, one for col- 

 leges the other for schools ; the first is by Pro- 

 fessor Tower;' it is a clear, thorough yet brief 

 exposition of qualitative analysis explaining 

 reactions with help of the theory of electrolytic 

 dissociation. The methods of separation given 

 are very good, ISToyes's method of separating 

 antimony and the separation of strontium from 

 calcium by amyl alcohol being the only ones 

 not generally Icnown. The present reviewer 

 has used the Xoyes method from the time of 

 its publication and can join Professor Tower 

 in commending it. 



° " A Text-book of E.xperimental Cliemistry with 

 Descriptive Notes for Students of General Inor- 

 ganic Chemistry," by Edwin Lee, Professor of 

 Chemistry in Allegheny College. Philadelphia, P. 

 Blakiston's Son & Co., 1908. 



' " Quantitative Experiments in General Chem- 

 istry," by John Tappan Stoddard, Professor of 

 chemistry in Smith College. New York, Long- 

 mans, Green & Co., 1908. 



' " A Course of Qualitative Chemical Analysis 

 of Inorganic Substances, with Explanatory Notes," 

 by Olin Freeman Tower, Ph.D., Hurlburt professor 

 of chemistry, Adalbert College of Western Re- 

 serve LTniversity. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's 

 Son & Co., 1909. 



Mr. Segerblom's" book is much fuller in de- 

 tail than that of Professor Tower's. It con- 

 tains no physical-chemical explanations, and 

 no new methods of separation. The separa- 

 tion-methods are arranged in tables and there 

 are many pages of equations; in short the 

 method employed in the more conservative 

 German laboratories forty years ago. The 

 contrast between methods as shown in these 

 two manuals is striking, though doubtless — 

 given a good teacher and a bright student — 

 good results are attained by both. 



E. Renouf 



Allgemeine Physiologie. Ein Orundriss der 



Lehre vom Lehen. By Max Verworn. 



Fifth edition, revised. Jena, G. Fischer. 



1909. Pp. 742; illustrations 319. 



Fifteen j'ears after its first appearance the 

 fifth edition of Verworn's valuable book is 

 now issued. It has here received the most 

 extensive of its successive revisions. The final 

 result of the elimination and addition of mat- 

 ter represents an increase of 158 pages over 

 the first edition and of 90 pages over the 

 fourth edition. 



In discussing the method of physiological 

 investigation the author makes an interesting 

 presentation of the logic of causation. Long 

 ago John Stuart Mill said that, philosophically 

 speaking, the cause of a phenomenon is the 

 sum total of its conditions. Yet physiologists 

 are constantly guilty of the logical sin of 

 selecting a single condition and setting it up 

 as the cause. Verworn rightly inveighs 

 against this, but goes to the extreme of elim- 

 inating altogether from his book the idea of 

 causes of physiological facts. He also takes 

 occasion to rewrite his section on the physical 

 world and mind, and to hammer the vitalists 

 anew. The newer views regarding proteins 

 are presented, following especially Emil Fisch- 

 er's work. A new section is devoted t'? the 

 functions of membranes and the osmotic char- 

 acteristics of cells, while osmotic pressure is 



' " Laboratory Manual of Qualitative Analysis," 

 by Willielm Segcrblom, A.B., Instructor in chem- 

 istry at the Phillips Exeter Academy. New 'Vork, 

 Lonfrmans, Green & Co. 



