ISO 



5 CIENCE- GOS SIP. 



The Arithiiielii of Elctiriial Measurements. By 

 W. R. P. HoBBS, R.N. 112 pp. 7iin x sin., with 

 • diagrams. (London : Thomas Murby, 1899.) is. 



The general idea of Mr. Ilobbs' little work is to 

 be commended and the book is useful as far as it goes, 

 especially as regards the more important applications 

 of Ohm's law and the numerous examples giving very 

 good practice in the different measurements of 

 current, etc. It is a pity, as this is a new edition, 

 that some loose points in the book were not revised 

 as they should have been, as also one or two incorrect 

 statements. It would have been better had more 

 explanator)' matter been given upon various points, 

 as the work is intended for young students. The 

 tendency is to give examples w'ithout explanation of 

 various terms. For instance on the first page 

 the resistance of a conductor is stated to be directly 

 proportional to its length, and inversely to its cross- 

 section. This is certainly an incomplete definition, 

 as nothing is said about the resistance depending upon 

 the material of the conductor, i.e., "Specific Resis- 

 tance." It is not, apparently, until p. S3 that the 

 term specific resistance is used, and then it is inserted 

 without the slightest explanation. On pp. 49 and 51 

 reference is made to PoggendorfiTs method, and 

 Clark's Potentiometer without any explanation. The 

 worked example at bottom of p. 52 is obviously wrong 



E, tan ^0° ,, t , -c \ tan 40° 



since :=J- = ^-^ t-= cannot be = E, + 5_ 



E,, tan 40' tan 30° 



but is 



El X tan 40- ^ I X '8391 



I '4. The 



tan 30" -5774 



author gets the same result, but his working is wrong. 

 Still, as we have said, there are many good points 

 about this work and it is worth its pubhshed price. 



Essays and Nature Studies. By W. J. C. 

 MiLNER, B.A. XV. -I- 220 pp., 9jin. y Sjin., with 

 portrait. (London : Eliot Stock, 1899.) los. 6d. net. 



This is a reprinted collection of essays and articles 

 written by their late author, and now edited with an 

 introduction by Mr. H. Kirke Swann. They have 

 been collected from various sources, and are of a 

 popular, chatty nature, appealing more to the lover 

 of country lore than to the student of science. In 

 addition to articles of thai character, others are 

 included dealing with literary subjects. 



Directory of Booksellers. Edited by James Ci.EGt;. 

 367 pp., 7iin. X 5in. (Rochdale: James Clegg, 

 Aldine Press, 1S99.) 



This useful little book of reference was fcjunded in 

 1886 with seventy-two pages, and has gradually 

 grown to its present proportions. In addition to the 

 more important booksellers of the world ranged 

 alphabetically under the towns of residence, the 

 • book contains much useful information, including 

 the addresses of some publishers at home and 

 abroad, a list of public libraries in Britain, North and 

 South .\merica, Africa, Asia, Australasia, and 

 Europe, a bibliography of works of reference, of 

 book plates, and Ex-Libris Societies. There are also 

 notes on copyright, instructions for cleaning old 

 prints, and much other general information. 



Nursery Handbook. By J. Maclean Car\-ei.i., 

 M.R.C.S. 70 pp., S|in. x 5fin. (London : George 

 Barber, 1S99.) is. 



This work consists of a variety of "hints, plain, 

 homely and practical for the nursery and for the 

 rearing and hygienic directions of precautionary 

 treatment amongst young people." The pages are 

 full of practical advice for young parents. There is 

 an appendix of recipes which will also be useful. The 



book has been beautifully produced, printed on one 

 side only on superfine paper with gilt edges, making 

 a pretty gift book for a young mother. 



The Logic of Vegetarianism. By Henry S. .Salt. 

 121 pp. 7j^in. :<5in. (London: Ideal Publishing 

 Union, Ltd., 1S99. ) is. 



This is a series (jf papers reprinted from the 

 " Vegetarian." In the preface the author confesses a 

 doubt as to the general acceptance of the book, for he 

 says : — " If this book were some strange tale of out- 

 landish cannibalism one might not despair of its 

 acceptance : but when the cannibalism is the every- 

 day habit of the reader himself, can one hopefully 

 invite liim to discuss it?" We may answer him in 

 saying " By all means.'" Although he has not yet 

 converted us, we having still the memory of uncom- 

 fortable feelings of vacua after vegetarian meals, the 

 theoretical arguments contained in the pages before 

 us are well W(_irth the expenditure of a shilling. 



.-i Practical Int7'odicction to the .Study of Botany. By 



J. Bretland Farmer, M.A. viii.-l-274 pp. 7iin. 



•;5in.,with 121 illustrations. (London, New York, 



and Bombay: Longmans, Green and Co., 1899.) 



2s. 6d. 



Professor Farmer deals in this volume with flower- 

 ing plants only, and he does so in a very practical 

 manner, as may be expected from a Professor of 

 Botany in the London Royal College of Science. 

 The author divides his work into four parts, dealing 

 with general morphology, internal anatomy and 

 minute structure, physiology, and examples of Natural 

 Orders. The figures, which have been specially drawn 

 for this work b\' Mrs. P'armer and Mr. W. C. 

 Worsdell, are well chosen and excellently drawn, 

 even if a little diagrammatic. As a guide for any 

 person wanting a knowledge of structural botany, 

 there could be no better beginner's book. 



The Floivering Plants, Grasses, Sedges and Ferns 

 of Great Britain. By Anne Pratt. New edition 

 revised by Einv.-VRii Step, P'.L.S. Vol. I. xiv. -r 

 269 pp., loin. X 6jin., with seventy-seven coloured 

 plates. (London: P~rederick Warne and Co. , 1899.) 

 In IS. parts net. , 



In re-issuing Anne Pratt's well-known popular 

 description of the British Flora, Messrs. Warne and 

 Company have taken the opportunity of examining 

 and revising the coloured plates. We observe much 

 improvement in many of them, which have been 

 redrawn for this edition. The work being now 

 published at weekly intervals, at the low price of one 

 shilling, the publishers are placing before the lovers of 

 our wild flowers an excellent opportunity for obtaining 

 an illustrated work with coloured plates. Pait I. 

 contains a numljer of descriptive outline drawings for 

 the better explanation of such technical terms as will 

 be found in the descriptions. There are four plates 

 of these sketches bearing English inscriptions. Each 

 nine parts constitute a volume to which title page 

 and index are appended. The text of the total work 

 will occupy about eleven hundred pages and has been 

 reset in new, and larger type. The book will be 

 complete in thirty-six parts, or four volumes, 

 including three hundred and fifteen coloured plates. 



Glossary of Popular Names of British Birds. By 

 Ci-iARLEH Lewis IIett. xiii. -(-26 pp., iiVm. x 4in. 

 (Brigg : Jacksons, 1899.) 6d. 



This is the glossarial portion of Mr. Hett's 

 "Dictionary >if Bird Notes" which we noticed, 

 .S. -G. , \'ol. v., p. 120. The author does not claim 

 that his list is absolutely complete and invites further 

 additions, although he has given some two thousand 

 names. 



