124 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 865 



can be shown that stone of the various hori- 

 zons possess characteristics of their own it 

 would seem that the question of position in 

 the geological scale was wholly of minor im- 

 portance. Kind, quality and accessibility are 

 the only questions in which the man of affairs 

 is interested or need concern himself. 



In the appendices is given a list of the prin- 

 cipal quarries, together with a bibliography, 

 the latter confessedly incomplete and contain- 

 ing no reference to the important reports pub- 

 lished in America by the geological surveys of 

 Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New York and 

 North Carolina. 



The work represents a laudable attempt to 

 make certain information available to stu- 

 dents of architecture. Whether successful or 

 not the future must decide. At present the 

 average architect seemingly contents himself 

 with the purely decorative feature regardless 

 of climate and incidental or consequential 

 durability. Witness the proposed construc- 

 tion of one of the most elaborate ecclesiastical 

 structures in America from one of the cheap- 

 est and least durable of natural materials. 

 And this for no other reason than that the 

 elaborate detail of ornamentation, the effect 

 of light and shade, can not be produced in a 

 better stone at what is considered a reasonable 

 outlay of time and money! 



Geo. p. Merrill 



Crystallography and Practical Crystal Meas- 

 urement. By A. E. H. TuTTON, D.Sc, M.A. 

 (Oxon), F.E.S., A.K.C., Vice-president of 

 the Mineralogical Society; Member of the 

 Councils of the Chemical Society, and the 

 British Society for the Advancement of 

 Science. New York, The Macmillan Com- 

 pany; London, Macmillan & Company, 

 Limited. 1911. 8vo. Pp. xiv + 946, 720 

 figures in the test. $8.50. 

 This work aims to present a complete sur- 

 vey of the science of crystallography from the 

 most modern point of view, including both the 

 theory and practise of the study of crystals 

 and their manifold properties. Avoiding the 

 forbiddingly mathematical treatment of his 

 English predecessors in the field the author 



has succeeded admirably in giving a living 

 interest to crystallography such as is to be 

 found elsewhere, if at all, only in von 

 Groth's " Physikalisehe Krystallographie." 

 The method of presentation differs however 

 widely from von Groth's in that theoretical 

 considerations g-enerally follow on detailed de- 

 scriptions of actual crystallographic investi- 

 gations drawn from the author's wide experi- 

 ence. These practical details occupy a large 

 part of this large volume and in many respects 

 are its most distinctive and valuable feature. 

 Tutton's work has been remarkable for the 

 careful attention to detail which has rendered 

 his results extraordinarily accurate; and for 

 the completeness of his studies, made chiefly 

 on artificial crystals. So that in the detailed 

 records of measurement and the full descrip- 

 tion of structure and use of instruments and 

 methods employed we have the best guide- 

 book to actual crystallographic practise 

 which has yet appeared. Concerning the 

 actual measurement of crystal angles little 

 that is new is claimed for the book ; and indeed 

 it is much to be regretted that the author 

 treats so slightingly the use of the two-circle 

 goniometer. But the descriptions of methods 

 in density, optical, thermal and elasticity in- 

 vestigations form a most welcome contribution 

 to the scanty literature in this domain of pe- 

 culiar difficulty, and the author speaks here 

 with the authority of an undoubted leader. 



The chapters in which are traced out the 

 historical development of the theory of homo- 

 geneous crystal structure are particularly well 

 done and are of the greatest interest. The 

 idea of molecular distance ratios is also fully 

 worked out and its application abundantly il- 

 lustrated. 



The illustrations of the book are abundant 

 and good; the crystal drawings almost all 

 new, the figures of instruments very clear 

 wood-engravings and the interference figures 

 reproductions of the author's photographs. 



In all respects the work is to be regarded as 

 of unusually high excellence and of the first 

 importance in the field of crystallography. 

 Charles Palache 



Hakvakd University. 



