i873-] Notices of Books. 531 



that of several excellent electrical works, published, most of 

 them, in Germany; and it may appear that scant justice is done 

 to the speculations of several eminent electricians and mathe- 

 maticians. One reason of this is, that before I began the study 

 of electricity, I resolved to read no mathematics on the subject: 

 till I had first read through Faraday's" Experimental Researches 

 on Electricity." I was aware that there was supposed to be a 

 difference between Faraday's way of conceiving phenomena and 

 that of the mathematicians, so that neither he nor they were 

 satisfied with each other's language. I had also the conviction 

 that this discrepancy did not arise from either party being wrong. 

 I was first convinced of this by Sir William Thomson, to whose 

 advice and assistance, as well as to his published papers, I owe 

 most of what I have learned on the subject. 



As I proceeded with the study of Faraday, I perceived that 

 his method of conceiving the phenomena was also a mathematical 

 one, though not exhibited in the conventional form of mathe- 

 matical symbols. I also found that these methods were capable 

 of being expressed in the ordinary mathematical forms, and thus 

 compared with those of the professed mathematicians. 



For instance, Faraday, in his mind's eye, saw lines of force 

 traversing all space where the mathematicians saw centres of 

 force attracting at a distance. Faraday saw a medium where 

 they saw nothing but distance. Faraday sought the seat of the 

 phenomena in real actions going on in the medium ; they were 

 satisfied that they had found it in a power of action at a distance 

 impressed on the electric fluids." 



The portions of this work relating to the construction of gal- 

 vanometers and other electrical instruments show the author to 

 be as much at home in the workshop as the scientific world knows 

 him to be in his study. 



The Year-Booh of Facts in Science and Art. By John Timbs, 



London : Lockwood and Co. 1873. 

 Year after year Mr. Timbs continues with praiseworthy industry 

 to collect all kinds of scientific scraps, and to piece them together 

 in the shape of these handy little volumes. The year-book for 

 1872, like its predecessors, contains an interesting collection of 

 extracts which are generally well chosen ; and though one may 

 have met with most of the paragraphs elsewhere, it is convenient 

 to have them at hand in a form easily available for reference. It 

 is, however, to be wished that the compiler would extend his 

 labours to the original sources of information offered by the 

 Proceedings of our learned Societies ; for the reader who con- 

 sults his annals often craves for some higher authority than the 

 daily and weekly journals which form the great repository whence 

 Mr. Timbs draws most of his information. Still we have to 

 thank the editor for taking the trouble to preserve in these annual 



