780 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVrn. No. 987 



" Animals of the Past," of which the last edi- 

 tion was published in 1902, with the addition 

 of a prefatory note bearing a picture of the 

 mounted skeleton of Allosaurus on the reverse 

 side of the leaf, and a final chapter containing 

 a retrospect of the last twelve years, and sum- 

 marizing the latest additions to our knowledge, 

 especially such as have been gained through 

 the medium of exploration. 



The printing is from the original plates, 

 which ultimately became the property of the 

 author, and the general appearance of the book, 

 the paper cover of which bears Gleeson's 

 spirited restoration of Tylosaurus, is of the de- 

 gree of excellence which one is led to expect in 

 publications of the American Museum. 



EiCHARD S. Lull 



Yale TJnivebsitt 



A History of Chemistry from the Earliest 

 Times to the Present Day. By the late 

 James Campbell Brown, D.Sc, LL.D., Pro- 

 fessor of Chemistry in the University of 

 Liverpool. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's Son 

 & Co. 1913. Octavo. Pp. 558, with 107 il- 

 lustrations. Cloth. $3.50 postpaid. 

 As stated by the editor (a cousin of the au- 

 thor) the present work comprises a course of 

 lectures which the late Dr. Campbell Brown 

 was accustomed to deliver before the chemis- 

 try students of Liverpool University. The lec- 

 tures were left as manuscript notes which the 

 author intended to revise for publication, but 

 his sudden death in 1910 prevented the execu- 

 tion of this plan. Notwithstanding the imper- 

 fect shape of some of the material, the friends 

 of the author considered that it would be a 

 cause for regret if the information, which rep- 

 resented years of patient research and study 

 were not made available to former students and 

 to any^ others who might be interested in the 

 history of chemistry. The lectures have, there- 

 fore, been printed, in much the same shape as 

 delivered, the editor making such changes and 

 revisions as seemed necessary for proper pre- 

 sentation in book form. 



Following the example of Kopp (whose 

 monumental " Geschichte der Chemie " must 

 form a basis for every historian of chemistry) 



the author has divided his subject into five sec- 

 tions — the Prehistoric, the Alchemical, the 

 latrochemical, the Phlogiston and the Quanti- 

 tative Periods. The lectures upon the first four 

 of these periods cover their ground most mi- 

 nutely, and indicate that the author must have 

 had a particular fondness for ancient chemical 

 lore. This section of the book is profusely il- 

 lustrated with old drawings of alchemical 

 apparatus, mystical diagrams and specimen 

 pages of Greek, Syriac and Arabian texts. 

 The lists of writers and of bibliographies are 

 very full, making the book of service, both to 

 those who wish to consult the old authors as 

 well as to the collector of rare books. For the 

 abundance of material supplied in this par- 

 ticular branch of chemical history, we know of 

 no other book in English with which it can be 

 compared. 



In discussing the work of the ancient Greek 

 and early medieval alchemists the author has 

 made extensive use, as every historian of chem- 

 istry must, of the invaluable researches of 

 Berthelot. The lecturer cautions his students 

 to distinguish carefully between the genuine 

 works of Democritus, Geber, etc., and those of 

 their pseudo-namesakes; it seems that the edi- 

 tor has not heeded this caution in revising the 

 late author's notes. The story told on page 30 

 of the miraculous opening which Democritus 

 saw in the pillar of the temple at Memphis 

 and the two prescriptions for making gold on 

 page 31 are found in sections 3, 4 and 5, of the 

 " Physica et Mystica," a work which belongs, 

 as the author correctly states elsewhere (pp. 

 43, 182), to the pseudo-Democritus and not to 

 the founder of the atomic school. 



We fear that the remarks of the author 

 upon page 14 regarding the chemical knowl- 

 edge of the Hebrew law-giver Moses may 

 cause considerable perplexity. The statement 

 that Moses comminuted the golden calf and 

 '■ rendered it soluble by fusion with an alka- 

 line or alkaline-earthy sulphide " revives a 

 strange speculation indulged in by the ancient 

 alchemists. The verse in Exodus 32 : 20, 

 which states that Moses took the golden calf 

 " burnt it in the fire and ground it to powder 

 and strewed it upon the water and made the 



