262 



SCIENCE. 



l^. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 581. 



Radio-activity. By E. Eutherford, D.Sc, 

 P.R.S., etc. Second edition, 1905. Cam- 

 bridge, The University Press; New York, 

 The Macmillan Co. Cambridge Physical 

 Series. Edited by E. H. Neville, F.E.S., 

 etc., and W. C. D. Whetham, F.R.S., etc. 

 8vo. Pp. xiv + 580. Price $4.00. 

 It is but a short time ago since the first 

 edition of this work (1904) was reviewed at 

 length in these columns. The rapid appear- 

 ance of a second edition is characteristic of 

 the energy of the author; but it also bespeaks 

 the intense interest which the subject has 

 aroused and the adequacy with which the de- 

 mand has been met by Mr. Rutherford. The 

 new treatise gives evidence of the same skilful 

 presentation and arrangement as the old, 

 though there has been expansion in bulk from 

 389 to 580 pages. Among the more conspicu- 

 ous novelties are the chapters on the trans- 

 formation products of uranium, thorium, ac- 

 tinium, radium and on the rate of emission 

 of energy. In other chapters the recent 

 growth of our knowledge of the alpha rays is 

 noteworthy. The book is provided with an 

 excellent index. 



The present very carefully edited work of 

 Professor Eutherford, together with the two 

 ponderous volumes of original papers just 

 issued on behalf of the French Physical So- 

 ciety by MM. H. Abraham and P. Langevin, 

 not to mention other sources, places the whole 

 domain of radio-activity within easy reach of 

 the student. All this information is virtually 

 given at first hand. What remains to test his 

 endurance is the ever-growing mass of re- 

 search with which the subject is barricading 

 itself, and the increasing difficulties of treat- 

 ment. 



C. Barus. 



f^CIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 



The American Naturalist for January is an 

 unusually interesting number, being devoted 

 to' live, or living, subjects. The first article 

 on ' Elying-fish Flight, and an Unfixed Law 

 of Nature,' by C. D. Durnford, brings forward 

 evidence to support the views of those who 

 believe that the flight of this fish is active and 

 not purely a sail. It may be said that this 



view is held by many good observers and that 

 additional testimony may be found in Forest 

 and Stream for January 27. G. IT. Parker 

 discusses ' Double Hen's Eggs,' concluding 

 that they are due to the retention of an egg 

 in the oviduct and its surrounding by a second. 

 W. A. Cannon treats of the ' Biological Rela- 

 tions of Certain Cacti,' including their root 

 structure and adaptations for the absorption 

 and storage of water. H. Drexler and L. 

 Freund present some welcome ' Contributions 

 to [our knowledge of] the Physiology and 

 Biology of the Dugong,' a common but little- 

 known animal. There is a notice of a congress 

 of oceanography to be held this year at Mar- 

 seilles. 



The Journal of Comparative Neurology and 

 Psychology for January contains an article 

 ot 109 pages, with 16 plates, on ' The Struc- 

 ture of the Teleostean and Selachian Brain,' 

 by Dr. C. IT. Ariens Kappers, of Amsterdam, 

 comprising as complete a description of ' the 

 microscopic anatomy of these brains as could 

 be made from Weigert sections, together with 

 full digests of all important literature. Such 

 a comprehensive study has long been needed 

 and will probably serve as the point of de- 

 parture for more special studies in the neurol- 

 ogy of fishes for a long time. 



Popular Science Monthly for February con- 

 tains the following articles : 



Charles Keyser Edmunds : ' The Passing of 

 China's Ancient System of Literary Examinations.' 



Joseph Jastrow : ' The Lapses of Speech.' 



Edwin W. Bowen : ' What is Slang ? ' 



S. Tetsu Tamuka : ' Recent Advances in Meteor- 

 ology and Meteorological Service in Japan.' 



Ernest W. Brown : ' With the British Associa- 

 tio in South Africa.' 



C. A. Miller : ' Some Recent Tendencies in 

 Mathematical Instruction.' 



A. C. Lane : ' The Wealth of the Commonwealth, 

 its Consumption and Conservation.' 



W. Lb Conte Stevens : ' The Honor System in 

 American Colleges.' 



The Bulletin of the South Garoliria College 

 for January, the most recent addition to mu- 

 seum publications, deals with the rehabilita- 

 tion of the museum of that institution and 

 includes articles on various branches of mu- 



