March 11, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



237 



stars were shining brightiy to the north. 

 The moon, which was very low in the west 

 (about 15° south of west, with an altitude of 

 some 5° or 6°), was hidden from view by 

 buildings, where I stood; and, because of the 

 street lights, I was not even aware that the 

 moon was out until the rainbow in the east 

 caught my eye. None of the prismatic colors 

 could be detected, the bow being merely a 

 yellowish arch of light very well defined at 

 the southern end — rather an odd thing to see 

 at that time of night. 



Frank L. Griffin 

 Ebed CJollege, 

 Portland. Orb. 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



on Scienziati lialiani, daU'inizio del medio 

 evo ai nostn giorni. Bepertorio hiohihlio- 

 grafico dei filosofii, matematici, astronomi, 

 fisici, chimici, naturalisti, medici, e geografi 

 Italiani. Diretto da Aldo Mieli, e compiuto 

 con la collaborazione di numerosi scien- 

 ziati, storici, e bibliografi. Vol. I., Parte I., 

 Eome, 1921. Pp. viii + 236. A. Nardec- 

 chia, publisher. 



In the issue of Science of August 30, 1919, 

 pp. 213-214, I called attention to Italian 

 activity in the field of the history of science, 

 evidenced by the new publication Archivio di 

 Storia della Scienza, edited by Aldo Mieli, 

 which journal has now completed its first 

 year. The present work indicates the con- 

 tinued and growing interest in Italy in the 

 history of science. 



The first part of this biographical diction- 

 ary presents the biographies of thirty-three 

 Italian scientists from the fifteenth to the 

 present century. The list of contributors to 

 the volume shows that the great scholars of 

 Italy are devoting themselves to assure the 

 success of the present work under the able 

 editorship of the distinguished historian of 

 science, Aldo Mieli. 



One peculiarity of the work is that neither 

 chronological nor alphabetical order of treat- 

 ment is pursued in selecting the scientists in- 

 cluded. Eventually, of course, the completed 

 work will be provided with all necessary in- 



dices. Each volume includes also the alpha- 

 betical index of names. 



The order of treatment of each biography 

 consists of the following: Life; Works, in- 

 cluding a critical discussion of the historical 

 and scientific significance; Bibliography, in- 

 cluding complete catalogrue of all works, with 

 place and date of printing of published works, 

 editions, and translations with precise biblio- 

 graphical descriptions and also some state- 

 ment of location in Italian libraries of 

 volumes mentioned; Literature, giving lists of 

 works which discuss the work or life of the 

 scientist in question. 



The mathematician will welcome the fine 

 biographical statement (pp. 4-12) concerning 

 Leonardo Fibonacci, written by Gino Loria; 

 the astronomer will appreciate the excellent 

 accoimt (pp. 45-67) of Schiaparelli, by Elia 

 Millosevich; the geographer and the astrono- 

 mer will find much of interest in the account 

 (pp. 101-111) of Giovanni Antonio Magini 

 (1555-1617) by Antonio Favaro, who lists no 

 less than 47 printed works (and editions) by 

 Magini; the student of medical history, the 

 botanist and naturalist and the physicist will 

 enjoy a whole series of illiuninating articles. 

 Particularly noteworthy is the fact that a 

 photograph and a facsimile of handwriting 

 is given of each scientist, wherever possible. 



This publication promises to be a work 

 comparable only to the English Dictionary of 

 National Biography; for America, France or 

 Germany there is no work of this nature. 

 When completed on present plans libraries 

 will find it as indispensable as the above 

 mentioned dictionary. 



With the present state of exchange the price 

 of 45 liras for Part I., viii plus 236 pages, is 

 extremely low. Every effort should be made 

 by American scientists, historians, and li- 

 brarians to encourage the continuation of this 

 publication on the present scale. The effec- 

 tive way to do this is by subscription to the 

 publisher, A. Nardecchia, Via dell' IJniversita 

 11-14, Rome, Italy. 



The alphabetical list of articles follows: 

 Acri, Francesco (1834-1913), philosopher, by 



E. P. Lamanna. 



