64 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 211. 



but it also gives very many illustrations of 

 actual cases of adulteration, and of diflBcult 

 problems in analysis which have come under 

 the observation of the author and of others. 

 These features of the worli make it almost in- 

 dispensable for any chemist who has occasion 

 to make analyses in this field. Any one inter- 

 ested in organic chemistry, indeed, will find 

 very many things in the work which are valu- 

 able and useful. 



In a work of such extent, and especially in 

 one which has grown to its present form during 

 many years under the hands of a busy ana- 

 lyst, it would be impossible that there should 

 not be some things which do not correspond to 

 the best present knowledge. Thus, the same 

 principle which led the author to give Victor 

 Meyer's air-displacement method for the deter- 

 mination of molecular weights should have been 

 the occasion for giving the freezing-point and 

 boiling-point methods, which would be much 

 more generally useful for analytical purposes. 

 On p. 210 arsenic (from the red phosphorus 

 used in its preparation) should have been given 

 as an impurity to be looked for in ethyl bro- 

 mide. On p. 247 arabinose is incorrectly given 

 as a hexose. On p. 342 ' alumina cream ' is 

 given as a reagent with a reference to p. 357, 

 but directions for its preparation cannot be 

 found on that page or by means of the index. 

 Some other criticisms of a similar sort might be 

 made, but it would be a thankless task for a 

 reviewer to select, among thousands of state- 

 ments which are correct and valuable, a few 

 which might be improved. 



The fourth volume is the last of the second 

 edition. It discusses the analysis of proteids 

 and albuminous principles. The first portion 

 of the book gives the classification and general 

 analytical reactions of the proteids. Then fol- 

 low directions for the analytical examination 

 of the proteids of eggs, blood plasma, urine, 

 plants, milk, meat, of digestion ( pepsin, pep- 

 tones, etc.) and of blood. Under the head of 

 proteoids or albuminoids, such substances as 

 gelatine, glue, silk, hair and wool are consid- 

 ered. The following statement from the preface 

 is especially significant: "I may here repeat 

 that I am fully conscious that much of the mat- 

 ter of Volume IV. is scarcely such as might be 



expected to be contained in a work purporting 

 to treat of Commercial Analysis, but I have 

 thought it better to include all facts possessing 

 for me an analytical or practical interest, be- 

 lieving that what I find useful myself will also 

 be of value or interest to others." It is just 

 because Mr. Allen has made these books in- 

 clusive rather than exclusive that they prove so 

 useful to the experienced chemist. 



W. A. NOYES. 



Sewerage: The Designing, Consiniciion and 

 Maintenance of Seiverage Systems. By A. 

 Peescott Folwell. New York, John Wiley 

 &Sons. 1898. 8vo. Pp. x+372. Price, $3.00. 

 The whole subject of sewerage is naturally 

 divided into three parts: first, the plumbing and 

 drainage of houses ; second, the street con- 

 duits and their appurtenances ; third, the dis- 

 posal and purification of the sewage. This 

 volume deals with the second part of the sub- 

 ject almost exclusively, only seven pages being 

 devoted to the first and sixteen pages to the 

 third. The facts and discussions are hence 

 mainly from the point of view of the construct- 

 ing engineer rather than from the sanitary side, 

 and the object is to give directions for building 

 an efiicient plant for the removal of sewage 

 from a town and maintaining it in proper re- 

 pair and cleanliness. This object is accom- 

 plished in a very satisfactory manner. 



The use of cesspools as a receptacle for the 

 refuse of houses is severely condemned ; the 

 author has found the soil of a city street col- 

 ored black by the liquid from a cesspool 75 feet 

 distant, which must have passed under or 

 around the cellar of a house. The pail sys- 

 tems of removal, used somewhat in France and 

 England, as also the earth-closet system, are re- 

 garded as vastly preferable to the cesspool and 

 privy methods which are so generally used in 

 villages, and it is recommended that towns 

 without a water suj)ply should introduce them 

 as a temporary measure. Towns having a good 

 supply of water should introduce a water-car- 

 riage system in preference to all other methods 

 on account of its great sanitary advantages. 



The two water-carriage systems in common 

 use, called the combined system and the sep- 

 arate system, are described and compared, and 



