Notices respecting New Boohs. 547 



necessary and the method of using it, for most of these determi- 

 nations. The formulae for calculations are also quoted ; and in 

 the case of several determinations the working- out of results is 

 facilitated by tables given in the A ppendix to the book. The author 

 indicates the use in chemical research of each physical constant 

 whose evaluation he describes, and in so doing he suggests several 

 new fields for research. 



The methods of determining the surface-tension of a solution 

 are mentioned, although they have not yet rece Ved much attent : on 

 from chemists. We believe, with the author, that an investigation 

 of the capillary constants of liquids containing known quantities 

 of organic bodies in solution would amp'y repay the time spent 

 upon it. In the volume before us the methods descrbed only 

 serve to determine the component of the surface-tension res o 1 ved 

 along the plane to which the liquid surface clings. If T be the 

 surface-tension and a the ang ] e of contact, they only give T cos a. 

 By measuring the size of large globules of liquid on a horizontal 

 plane, or of bubbles of air in the hquid, T and a can be obtained 

 separately, as Quincke has shown. The size of a globule of liquid 

 formed in another liquid with which it does not mix furnishes a 

 -simple means of obtaining the surface-tension between the two, 

 which may possibJy be of value in chemical investigations. For 

 those who desire fuller details on the subjects of the experiments, 

 the author gives copious references to text-books and original 

 papers. James L. Howakd. 



Arbeitsmethoden fur Organisch-chemische Laboratorien ; ein Hand- 

 buck fur GhemiJcer, Mediziner und Pharmazeitten. By Dr. 

 Lassar- Corns - , Privatdocent in the University of Konigsberg. 

 Hamburg and Leipzig : Leopold Voss, 1893. 



Although not a large volume, considering the wide scope of 

 the subject dealt with, the present work will be found most 

 valuable by the practical worker in organic chemistry. Its y, ery 

 terseness is, in fact, a point in its favour. That it has been found 

 serviceable may also be inferred from the fact that the present is a 

 second edition, the first edition having been enlarged and improved 

 by the incorporation of much new matter representing the more 

 recently discovered processes for bringing ahout the transformation 

 of organic compounds. As is so generally the custom with German 

 writers, the author divides the work into a general and a special 

 part. The former troats of the operations generally carried on by 

 those who are engaged in practical organic chemical work, such as 

 extraction, distillation, decolorizing solutions, filtering, crystal- 

 lizing, sublimation, and the determination of molecular weights and 

 melting-points. 



The special part is divided into what may be considered eleven 

 divisions or sections, the scope of which will be gathered from 

 their headings : brominating, chlorinating, &c. (methods of halo- 



