668 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVni. No. 984 



is but the culmination of a long series of 

 changes which have been taking place both 

 within and without the nucleus. All of these 

 changes are ascribed by Professor Hartog to 

 the operation of other physical and vital forces 

 ■which are finally succeeded by the " new 

 force " which comes into operation upon the 

 establishment of the spindle-shaped figure. The 

 efforts of many who would explain the process 

 of mitosis through the action of various chem- 

 ical and physical laws have failed through in- 

 adequacy of the explanations to meet all the 

 conditions of the process. It does not seem 

 that the author has been more successful by 

 first proclaiming an absolute divorce between 

 nuclear division and cell division and then 

 invoking a new force to complete the broken 

 contract. 



For those who enjoy philosophical debate 

 and formal explanations there will be much of 

 interest in Professor Hartog's discussion of 

 vitalism and of heredity through the operation 

 of universal and unconscious memory. Very 

 readable is his appreciation of the work of 

 Samuel Butler. The teacher will find sound 

 argument for natural as opposed to strictly 

 logical methods of teaching in the chapter on 

 " Interpolation in Memory." In the final 

 chapter on " The Teaching of Nature Study " 

 there is much sound pedagogical wisdom and 

 moral support for those who would have such 

 work taught in a way to make it worth the 

 while of the student. 



C. E. MoClung 



Modern Research in Organic Chemistry. By 

 F. G. Pope, B.Sc. (Lond.), F.O.S., Lecturer 

 on Organic Chemistry, East London College. 

 New York, D. Van Nostrand Company. 

 1913. 5JX7i. Cloth. Pp. xi4-324. 

 With 2,61 diagrams. Price $2.25 net. 

 This book is an attempt to bring before the 

 student of chemistry a brief account of the 

 development of some of the more important 

 chapters of organic chemistry. It is the Amer- 

 ican reprint of the English book with the same 

 title published by Methuen and Co. in Lon- 

 don in 1912. It contains an introduction by 

 Professor J. T. Hewitt and nine chapters which 



have no connection with each other. These 

 chapters are : I., The Polymethylenes ; II., The 

 Terpenes and Camphors; III., The Uric Acid 

 or Purine Group; IV., The Alkaloids; V., The 

 Relation between the Color and Constitution 

 of Chemical Compounds; VI., Salt Forma- 

 tion, Pseudo-acids and Bases; VIL, The 

 Pyrones; VIIL, Ketenes, Ozonides, Triphenyl- 

 methyl; IX., The Grignard Reaction. 



In each chapter methods of preparation, for 

 the most part synthetical, are given and the 

 reactions of some of the best known represent- 

 atives of the different classes of compounds- 

 are discussed, especially those which are used 

 to determine the structural formulas of the 

 compounds. Throughout the book structural 

 formulas are used almost exclusively. At the 

 end of each chapter there is a bibliography 

 containing a list of the more important papers 

 on the subject matter of the text, so that the' 

 student may consult the original articles if he 

 desires to do so. The book is very difficult 

 reading, but for those to whom the original 

 papers are not available and who wish a brief 

 resume of the researches on which the struc- 

 ture of these compounds is based, it will prob- 

 ably prove useful. 



In a book with such a title we should natu- 

 rally expect something to be said of th& 

 researches on the carbohydrates, on the syn- 

 thesis of indigo and of india-rubber, but no- 

 mention is made of these very important 

 chapters of organic chemistry. 



W. R. Orndorff 



SCIENTIFIC JOUSNALS AND ABTICLES 



The October number (Vol. 14, No. 4) of the- 

 Transactions of the American Mathematical' 

 Society contains the following papers : 



Maxime Bocher : ' ' Applications and generaliza^ 

 tions of the conception of adjoint systems." 



E. J. Wilezynski: "On a certain class of self- 

 pro j ective surfaces. ' ' 



G. A. Miller: "On the representation groups- 

 of given abstract groups." 



Dunham Jackson : ' ' On the accuracy of trigO' 

 nometric interpolation. ' ' 



G. D. Birkhoff: "On a simple type of irregulair 

 singular point." 



John McDonnell: "On quadratic residues." 



