66 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 576. 



it may show whether or not the water is 

 polluted, does not give information regard- 

 ing the amount or condition of the pol- 

 luting matter; that with ground and ar- 

 tesian waters it often gives very little in- 

 formation, and that an opinion regarding 

 the character of such waters must, as a rule, 

 depend on the sanitary analysis. 



Leonard P. Kinnicutt. 

 WoECESTEB Polytechnic Institute. 



fiCIENTIFIO BOOKS. 

 Handbooh of Metallurgy. (In two volumes.) 

 By Dr. Carl Schnabel, Professor of Metal- 

 lurgy at Berlin. Second edition. Volume 

 I., Copper, Lead, Silver, Gold. Translated 

 by Henry Louis, Professor of Mining at 

 Armstrong College, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Eng- 

 land. 8vo, cloth covers, 715 illustrations. 

 Pp. 1,123. Contains a geographical and 

 a general ' index. New York and London, 

 The Macmillan Company. Price, $6.50. 

 This volume, which is the English transla- 

 tion by Professor Louis of Dr. Schnabel's 

 classic work, needs but the mention to declare 

 its excellent merit, so widely known are both 

 author and translator. The first German edi- 

 tion of Dr. Schnabel's admirable work of two 

 volumes appeared in 1898, and was shortly 

 afterward translated into English by Professor 

 Louis. Both works were so well received that 

 Dr. Schnabel issued a second edition. Vol. I. 

 in 1902 and Vol. 11. in 1904. The present 

 book under review is Professor Louis' English 

 translation of Vol. I. . The English transla- 

 tion of Vol. II., which will also be made by 

 Professor Louis, is expected to be published 

 in 1906. 



The translation of Dr. Schnabel's great 

 work furnished the first complete treatise on 

 metallurgy (except for iron) that has appeared 

 in the English language, although many small 

 text-books, covering the entire field but making 

 no claim to thoroughness of detail, have been 

 published ; as have also several excellent mono- 

 graphs dedicated to the metallurgy of indi- 

 vidual metals. 



Dr. Schnabel's object has been to give a 

 complete description of the metallurgical 



treatment of all the metals, (except iron), 

 pointing out the underlying chemical prin- 

 ciples, and for each case, giving examples 

 drawn from actual practise. His broad 

 knowledge of the subject has rendered him 

 eminently fitted for this herculean task, and 

 he has supplemented his personal knowledge 

 by full reference to and abstract from the 

 works of that well-known trio of American 

 metallurgical writers — Egleston, Peters and 

 Hofman. So excellent was his work that the 

 first edition received well-merited praise 

 throughout the metallurgical world. A few 

 adverse criticisms were made, but these were 

 directed mainly to the mechanical features of 

 the books — for instance, a collective index for 

 both volumes was given at the end of volume 

 II. and no index whatever in volume I. This 

 objectionable feature of the first edition has 

 been removed in the second edition, each vol- 

 ume of the latter having its individual in- 

 dexes — an improvement of great value in re- 

 ferring to the books. 



Another criticism of Dr. Schnabel's work 

 was that too much space had been given to the 

 history of active processes and the description 

 of obsolete ones; but knowledge can not be 

 too thorough for the earnest student or in- 

 ventor who needs a reference work that will 

 cover the entire subject. A knowledge of 

 both past and present practise is needed in 

 order to know not only ' what to do ' but also 

 ' what not to do.' The chemical principles 

 which underlie a metallurgical process remain 

 fixed and constant, but the application of new 

 forces, the development of mechanical appli- 

 ances for handling raw materials and part or 

 wholly finished products (indeed, in many 

 cases, for the physical action of the furnace 

 itself) are important factors bearing on the 

 proper conduct of metallurgical treatment of 

 ore or metal. Frequently, metallurgical proc- 

 esses are of such rapid development that the- 

 ory to-day becomes practise to-morrow; and, 

 as a corollary to this fact, g-ood practise to-day 

 becomes merely historical record to-morrow. 

 For this reason a comprehensive treatise on 

 the subject should contain not only a descrip- 

 tion of present practise, but also a record of 

 the developments which have led to it. In 



