Januaet 29, 1909] 



8GIENCM 



187 



is so important ia relation to the pure food 

 law. The various flavoring substances, such 

 as vanillin, saccharin, etc., are treated at 

 length, as are the medicinally important bodies 

 throughout the book. The main portions of 

 the volume, devoted to the essential oils, are, 

 in the opinion of the reviewer, well written 

 and up-to-date. The Extraction of Essential 

 Oils, Classification, General Characters, An- 

 alysis, Constituents, Hydrocarbons, Olefinic 

 Terpene Alcohols and Aldehydes, Cyclic 

 Terpene Alcohols, Phenols and Phenolic 

 Ethers, Ketones, Sulphuretted Constituents, 

 Special Characters of Individual Essential 

 Oils and Terpeneless Essential Oils are each 

 discussed in a separate paragraph. The ma- 

 terial given is quite full enough for practical 

 purposes and no serious errors were detected. 

 Especially useful are the tables of the im- 

 portant essential oils and of their constituents. 

 Rubber and the resins are thoroughly dis- 

 cussed as follows: Caouehouc and Gutta- 

 percha, Chemical Composition of Eesins, Gen- 

 eral Character of Eesins, Eesins, Oleo-Eesins 

 or Turpentines, Gum-Eesins. In general the 

 volume is quite satisfactory. 



Alfred Hoffman 



Las Plantas Usuales de Oosta Rica. By 

 Henri Pittier. Washington, H. L. & J. B. 

 McQueen. 1908. 



This work on the useful plants of Costa 

 Eica wiU be welcomed by students of eco- 

 nomic botany and tropical agriculture. Pro- 

 fessor Pittier has already produced several 

 works relating to tropical agriculture, con- 

 tributions to the flora of Costa Eica, mono- 

 graphs of certain Central American genera 

 of plants, and treatises on the ethnology and 

 languages of several aboriginal tribes of 

 Central and South America. The present 

 work is illustrated with thirty-one plates, 

 most of which are reproductions of natural 

 size photographs of fruits and plants made 

 by the author. An account of physical 

 features and climate of Costa Eica is given, 

 together with the characteristic plants of the 

 various zones of vegetation, a list of plants 

 grouped according to their uses, the etymology 

 of their common names, derived as they are 



from various sources, Nahuatl, or Aztec; the 

 language of the ancient inhabitants of Hayti; 

 various tribes of Central America; and even 

 from the Quichua of the Andes of South 

 America. In addition to these names those 

 of Spanish origin are given. Then follows an 

 alphabetical enumeration of the useful plants 

 of the republic, a tabulated list of the num- 

 ber of species belonging to each plant family 

 thus far known to occur within its limits, 

 and an index to the plants under their botan- 

 ical names. The work ends with a very com- 

 plete bibliography of works on tropical agri- 

 culture and the botany of Central America. 

 Professor Pittier's present work is the first of 

 its kind dealing with Central America. It 

 was published under the auspices and by the 

 direction of the government of Costa Eica. 

 W. E. Sappord 



Human Foods and their Nutritive Value. By 



Harrt Snyder. New York, The Macmillan 



Co. 1908. 



At last man is having his share of the 

 results of science applied to animal life. The 

 author clearly states the twentieth century 

 view when he says : 



It is believed that a better understanding of 

 the subject of nutrition will suggest ways in which 

 foods may be selected and utilized more intelli- 

 gently, resulting not only in a pecuniary saving, 

 but also in greater efficiency of physical and 

 mental eilort. 



This volume will not only supply a need, 

 but will satisfy a real want, a want becoming 

 acutely felt by the laity who are asking for 

 some comprehensible statements as to human 

 foods and their various qualities and relative 

 values. One feels instinctively the master 

 dealing out knowledge at first hand. Here is 

 no compiler sifting more or less ancient and 

 possibly outgrown material. 



Not only teachers and students but the 

 business man who has been warned by his 

 physician to take thought for his diet, the 

 club woman who has to " write up a paper " 

 will find sound science as well as useful in- 

 formation about the many kinds of human 

 foods. Such passages as the two quoted below 

 convey economic lessons of great importance. 



