Mat 19, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



717 



given showing the diurnal variation of temper- 

 ature at Mollendo, Arequipa, Vincocaj'a and 

 the Chosica station ; the diurnal variation of 

 pressure for the Chosica station, and the annual 

 range of the afternoon oscillation of pressure at 

 the Chosica station. Beyond some general re- 

 marks in explanation of the tables, there is no 

 discussion of the observations. 



Besides the meteorological portion proper, 

 this volume contains a very attractive account, 

 by Professor Bailey, with some excellent illus- 

 trations, of the volcano El Misti (19,200 feet), 

 and of the establishment of the now famous 

 Misti meteorological station on its summit. 

 There is also a carefully compiled account of 

 The Configuration and Heights of the Andes, 

 which will be of distinct value to geographers. 



We presume that Professor Pickering may 

 receive some rather severe criticism in certain 

 quarters for the publication of meteorological 

 data which are so incomplete and which, doubt- 

 less, have very many inaccuracies. But we 

 agree with him in believing that, considering 

 the interest of the region in which these obser- 

 vations were made, and the lack of information 

 concerning its meteorology, such results deserve 

 publication, provided careful statement is made 

 in regard to the circumstances under which the 

 data were collected. Professor Pickering and 

 Professor Bailey have both made these condi- 

 tions perfectly clear, and we believe that the 

 results, when viewed in the light of these 

 statements, will prove not only of great interest, 

 but also 'of great value. 



E. Dec. Ward. 



The Elements of Physical Chemistry. By J. Liv- 

 ingston R. Morgan, Ph.D., of the Depart- 

 ment of Physical Chemistry, Columbia Uni- 

 versity. First edition, first thousand. New 

 York, John Wiley & Sons ; London, Chap- 

 man & Hall, Limited. 1899. Pp. 299. 

 This little book deals with the gaseous state, 

 the liquid state, the solid state, solution, the 

 role of the ions in analytical chemistry, thermo- 

 chemistry, chemical change, including equilib- 

 rium and chemical kinetics, phases and electro- 

 chemistry. 



The aim of the author is to present the 

 elements of physical chemistry in brief form to 



those who do not have the time or opportunity 

 to go more extensively into the subject. An 

 examination of the work will bring out much 

 that is of interest and importance, and a care- 

 ful study of it will help a beginner to obtain 

 an insight into the subject. But the objec- 

 tion might be raised to the work as a whole 

 that it seems to deal rather with conclusions 

 and generalizations than with the evidence 

 upon which such are based. Further, there are 

 many omissions which it is difficult to account 

 for. Thus, under liquids no mention is made 

 of Kopp's work on atomic volumes; of the work 

 of Pulfrich, Landolt, Gladstone, Briihl and 

 others, on the refractivity of liquids; of the rota- 

 tion of the plane of polarized light and the Le 

 Bel- Van't Hofif hypothesis; of the work of Per- 

 kins, and of Rodger and Watson on magnetic 

 rotation; of Thorpe and Rodger on viscosity; of 

 Ramsay and Shields on the surface-tension of 

 liquids as applied to the determination of molec- 

 ular weights. It would seem that such impor- 

 tant work as the above ought to be referred to 

 briefly even in an elementary treatise designed 

 to cover the whole field of physical chemistry. 

 An examination of the book will show, further 

 that much of the more recent experimental 

 work has not been taken into account, indica- 

 ting that text-books which have been published 

 several years, rather than the original literature, 

 have been drawn upon as the source of material. 

 As in most text-books, so here, an occasional 

 statement is not quite accurate. But what book 

 is perfectly logical, thoroughly comprehensive 

 and rigidly exact throughout ? 



Harry C. Jones. 



books received. 



The Anatomy of the Central Nervous System of 3Ian and 

 of Vertebrates in General. LUDWIG Edinger. Trans- 

 lated from the fifth German edition by Winpield 

 S. Hall, assisted by P. L. Holland and E. P. 

 Carlton. Philadelphia, F. A. Davis Company. 

 1899. Pp. xl + 446. 



Marriages of the Deaf in America. EDWARD ALLEN 

 Fay. Washington, Gibson Bros. 1898. Pp. 

 vii + 527. 



A Century of Vaccination. W. Scott Tebb. Lon- 

 don, Swan, Sonnenachein & Co. 1899. Second 

 Edition. Pp. 452. 



