416 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 15. 



a mixture of metals, constituting a particular 

 group, accompanied by explanatory notes. 

 This order is preserved throughout the book, 

 which consists of sixty-one pages. We ti"ust 

 that the author and the reader will pardon 

 us when we declare that we think such 

 tabular schemes, so early in the coui'se of 

 analysis, are apt to make the student a mere 

 machine — ^precisely what the author, in his 

 introductory remarks, announces that he 

 wishes to avoid, for he writes, " A mere me- 

 chanical acquaintance with a working 

 scheme for separating ***** is at best 

 but a questionable accomplishment," etc. 

 And, for some unaccountable reason — per- 

 haps from natural, human depravity or per- 

 versity — the great majority of students, be- 

 ginning analysis, do wed themselves to such 

 a table or scheme and cling to it, despite 

 the rough handling they may receive from 

 an earnest and intelligent quiz-master. But 

 we are rambling. On retiu-ning to our sub- 

 ject we discover in it no new methods of 

 separation, no new characteristic test or 

 tests for the various elements ; the land- 

 marks in these directions remain unchanged. 

 This is pardonable, seeiag that " no pretense 

 is made to originality, either in matter or ia 

 method." 



Part II. considers the ' acid analysis ' and 

 commences with excellent advice for the 

 student, who must now, more than ever, 

 apply what knowledge he may have ac- 

 quired in regard to the metals and their 

 various combinations with acids. 



Brief chapters on ' preliminary examina- 

 tions,' the solution of solid substances, a 

 table of solubilities, and an appendix, deal- 

 ing with the prepai'ation of the ordinary 

 reagents, conclude the book. 



The little volume is well written and 

 nicely printed. Its chief merit seems to be 

 that it presents its author's particular 

 method of instructing students in this most 

 important branch of chemistry, upon which 

 many others have likewise prepared similar 



brochures. The same kindly welcome given 

 them must be accorded this latest arrival. 

 Each does some good, and together they 

 will doubtless do great good. 



Edgar F. Smith. ^ 



A Course of Elementary Practical Bacteriology, 

 Including Bacteriological Analyses and Chem- 

 istry. By a. a. Kanthack and I. H. 

 Drtsdale. XXII. 181pp. Sm. 8°. Mac- 

 millan & Co., London and New York. 

 1895. Price $1.10. 



This is a laboratory hand-book which 

 will be interesting to all practical workers 

 in bacteriology, since it gives the details of 

 methods used in the Laboratory of St. 

 Bartholomew's Hospital in London. Some 

 of these methods are not so useful as those 

 now employed in American Laboratories ; 

 as, for example, that given for the collection 

 and sterilisation of blood serum, while some 

 are probably more rapid and convenient. 

 As the authors remark, every laboratory 

 has its own ways and means, its ' short 

 cuts ' and ' tips,' which are not always 

 published, and it is necessay to work for a 

 little while in the laboratory to become ac- 

 quainted with them. The descriptions 

 given are simple and straightforward, and 

 well calculated to meet the wants of stu- 

 dents. The plan and order of the several 

 lessons will be found interesting by teachers 

 of the subject. The lessons in Bacteriologi- 

 cal Chemistry contain good matter not 

 usually found in a manual of this kind. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 

 TYPHOID INFECTION OF OYSTERS. 



The Medical News of March 23, contains a 

 paper by C. I. Foote, giving the results of 

 experiments with oysters, and with the 

 water in which they grow, to determine the 

 possibilities of their becoming infected with 

 the bacillus of typhoid. He found that 

 this bacillus will live in brackish water, 

 taken from just above oyster beds, for at 



