232 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXIX. No. 736 



wMcli changed the refining practise as did 

 the Arents siphon tap the blast-furnace work, 

 and the systematization of the complications 

 in the Parkes process, which is more largely 

 due to E. F. Eurich than to anybody else, and 

 which forms the basis of the modern Ameri- 

 can practise. We miss also any record of 

 some early eastern refineries, as, e. g., the 

 Delaware Lead Works at Philadelphia, and 

 other smaller plants around New York. 

 Chapters V.-XII. give a detailed history of 

 the mining and metallurgical operations of 

 the several states and territories. The pro- 

 duction of metal at different periods is usually 

 given, although in some cases, e. g., in Mon- 

 tana, the data are missing. The remaining 

 55 pages of the 255 given to lead deal with 

 the statistics of production, consumption and 

 prices, with the conunercial conditions, the 

 tariff on lead, the labor conditions and with 

 trade agreements and combinations. 



The second part, which takes up 90 pages, 

 treats of the history of zinc according to the 

 same general plan as followed with lead. 

 The mechanical concentration of zinc ores, 

 which plays such an important part in the 

 treatment, receives a separate chapter. The 

 chapter on the metallurgy of zinc, the au- 

 thor's specialty, contains a critical review of 

 the different types of distilling furnaces 

 which have been and are used in this coun- 

 try; it is a chapter which every metallurgist 

 will study with profit and pleasure. 



The book, as a whole, is most satisfactory, 

 as it is replete with valuable information pre- 

 sented in an interesting way. Last, but not 

 least, it has a full index which enables the 

 student to look up points upon which he de- 

 sires enlightenment. 



H. O. HOFMAN 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES 

 The American Naturalist for January be- 

 gins with the first part of a paper by Kobert 

 F. Griggs, on " Juvenile Kelps and the Re- 

 capitulation Theory." J. Stafford describes 

 " The Larva and Spat of the Canadian Oys- 

 ter," giving special attention to the micro- 

 scopic stages mostly omitted in the work of 

 W. K. Brooks. Waldemar Joehelson presents 



some interesting notes on " Traditions of the 

 Natives of Northeastern Siberia about the 

 Mammoth" and there are other notes on 

 " The Age of Trotting Horse Sires " and " The 

 Influence of Environment upon Animals." 



The American Museum, Journal for Jan- 

 uary has articles on " The Duck Hawk, 

 Hackensack Meadow, and Egret Groups," 

 " Two Noteworthy Museums " (the Congo 

 Museum, Brussels, and Senckenburg Museum, 

 Frankfurt), " The International Tuberculosis 

 Exhibition " and " An Ethnological Trip to 

 Lake Athabasca," besides notes, lists of mem- 

 bers elected since the last issue, and the lec- 

 ture announcements. 



The Bulletin of the Charleston Museum for 

 December gives an account, with plan, of 

 " The New Building " which contains the col- 

 lections, library and lecture room. A note on 

 " The History of the Museum " shows that 

 so late as 1843 it was still under the auspices 

 of the Literary and Philosophical Society of 

 Charleston. 



The Museum News of the Brooklyn Insti- 

 tute for January contains an article on " The 

 Hoatzin," by Geo. K. Cherrie, which gives a 

 very full account of this interesting bird and 

 includes a considerable amount of new infor- 

 mation gathered by Mr. Cherrie. A note on 

 the leather-back turtle given by the New York 

 Aquarium, states its weight to have been a 

 little over 840 pounds ; extreme length, follow- 

 ing curve, 6 feet, 10 inches, from flipper to 

 flipper over shoulders, 8 feet, 9 inches. The 

 Children's Museum section gives " Some Evi- 

 dences of Progress in 1908 " in the matters 

 of increased attendance by both children and 

 teachers, and an increasing use of the collec- 

 tions and library. 



BOTANICAL NOTES 

 PHYSIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY 



Alfred Dachnowski's brief paper on " The 

 Toxic Property of Bog Water and Bog Soil " 

 (Bot. Gaz., Aug., 1908) is an attempt to con- 

 tribute something to the solution of the prob- 

 lem of bog conditions so far as vegetation is 

 concerned. Studies were made of a bog island 

 in Buckeye Lake in central Ohio which ap- 



