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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVI. No. 937 



so-called unit character can not readily be re- 

 garded as something located originally in a 

 chromosome or chromomere. ... It may be 

 argued, therefore, in criticism of the Mendel- 

 ian conception of unit characters, that it takes 

 little or no account of the metabolism of the 

 organism as a whole." How great a heresy 

 to proceed from Cambridge! The book is in- 

 deed a mine, but the function of the reviewer 

 can not be to extract the ore. 



It is pleasing to fiud the volume dedicated 

 to Mr. Walter Heape, to whom we owe so 

 great a part of what is known of the physiol- 

 ogy of the oestrous cycle, as well as much be- 

 sides that is pertinent to this volume. More 

 pleasing still is the style in which the whole 

 work is written. In reading this volume one 

 never tires, and there is little chance of get- 

 ting lost. Adequate reference to an enormous 

 literature and a comprehensive index add 

 value to the book. 



Dr. Marshall's pioneering treatise brings 

 abundant help and inspiration to investigators 

 within the several divisions of its field, and 

 will ably and authoritatively serve the needs 

 of the practical breeder and gynecologist. 

 Oscar Eiddle 



Methods of Organic Analysis. By Henry C. 

 Sherman, Ph.D., Professor of Food Chem- 

 istry in Columbia University. Second edi- 

 tion. Rewritten and enlarged. New York, 

 The Macmillan Co. 1912. $2.40 net. 

 The author has collected in this volume the 

 methods of analysis of the more important 

 organic compounds especially as applied to 

 plant and vegetable substances and their 

 manufactured products. They include such 

 subjects as alcohols, aldehydes, sugars, oils, 

 fats, waxes, soap, milk and preservatives. 

 The best recognized methods have been se- 

 lected and attention called to precautions nec- 

 essary to secure satisfactory results. 



One who wishes to know the best methods 

 of analysis can not do better than consult this 

 book, as the author has increased its value by 

 adding, at the end of each chapter, a list of 

 reference books and journal references for the 

 past ten years. The use of this book by stu- 



dents would certainly give them practise in a 

 considerable variety of analyses and make 

 them capable of handling any ordinary prob- 

 lem presented. 



J. E. G. 



A College Text-hooJc on Quantitative Analysis. 

 By H. R. Moody, S.B. (M.I.T.), A.M., 

 Ph.D. (Columbia), Associate Professor of 

 Analytical and Applied Chemistry, College 

 of the City of New York. New York, The 

 Macmillan Co. 1912. 165 pages. $1.25 

 net. 



This book, as the author states, is designed 

 to be used by those who may be taking up 

 quantitative work by themselves or with an in- 

 structor whose classes are too large to admit 

 of much individual attention. It contains 

 very explicit directions regarding every detail 

 and is intended to make obvious the unneces- 

 sary pitfalls that consume time. For the pur- 

 pose for which it is designed and for use in a 

 brief course in a high school or college this 

 book should be of great value in training the 

 student in exact methods of procedure; but it 

 seems too mechanical to put in the hands of 

 a graduate student who is making a specialty 

 of chemistry and is approaching the subject 

 in a broad and comprehensive manner. 



J. E. G. 



Qualitative Organic Analysis. By F. B. 

 Thole, B.Sc. (London), F.C.S., London 

 University Exhibitioner in Chemistry, Lec- 

 turer in Organic Chemistry, East Ham 

 Technical College, with an introduction by 

 H. E. DuNST.\N, D.Sc. (London), Head of 

 the Chemical Department, East Ham Tech- 

 nical College. London, Methuen & Co., Ltd. 

 In the introduction attention is called to 

 the fact that "no royal road exists for the 

 identification of an organic compound." The 

 aim of this book is to afford a concise treat- 

 ment of the subject on simple and logical 

 lines, proceeding from the determination of 

 the elements present in each case to the final 

 characterization of the compound. The au- 

 thor has given a description of the common 

 operations in practical organic chemistry, de- 



