188 Notices respecting New Books. 



work has been successful in making his subject interesting and 

 intelligible to a large class of readers. The new edition is modelled 

 on precisely the same plan as the old one, there being no changes 

 in the arrangement of the subject-matter ; but the work has been 

 considerably enlarged by the inclusion of much interesting infor- 

 mation derived from investigations carried out since the appearance 

 of the first edition. Among the special subjects deserving attention 

 in the new edition may be mentioned the effects of forests on 

 temperature and rainfall, the temperature distribution and currents 

 in the higher strata of the atmosphere, the size and shape of rain- 

 drops, and electrical disturbances in the atmosphere. The number 

 of illustrations has also been increased, and in its new form the 

 work is sure to prove even more popular than when it first made 

 its appearance. We could certainly recommend no more attractive 

 or simply and clearly written introduction to meteorology. 



Some Founders of the Chemical Industry. By J. Fenwick Allen". 

 Sherratt & Hughes, London & Manchester. 1906, Pp. xxiv 

 + 289. 



This volume contains biographical sketches of William Gossage, 

 Josias Christopher Gamble, James Muspratt, Andreas Kurtz, 

 Henry Deacon, James Shanks, Christian Allhusen, and Peter 

 Spence. The biographies originally appeared in the ' Chemical 

 Trade Journal/ from which they are republished without alterations. 

 The method of treatment varies a great deal, for while in some 

 cases the author deals mainly with a record of inventions, without 

 any vivid presentation of the personality of the inventor himself, 

 in others the human interest is given a generous share of attention. 

 On the whole, these biographies will form interesting reading for 

 the general public, and will be greatly appreciated by all who are 

 directly or indirectly connected with the great alkali trade of 

 Lancashire, of which the present volume is in some sense a history. 



Die Gescliwindiglceit der llontgenstrahlen. Experimentaluntersuchung 

 von Erich Marx. Mit 6 Figuren im Text. Leipzig : B. G. 

 Teubner. 1906. Pp. 52. 



In this interesting memoir, which is reprinted from the trans- 

 actions of the Konigl. Sachsische Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, 

 the author gives an account of an ingenious experimental method 

 devised by him for determining the velocity of the Hontgen rays. 

 Full details of the apparatus are given. The result of the in- 

 vestigation has been to establish the identity of the velocities 

 of the Rontgen rays and of light, with a probable error in the 

 determination of about 1 per cent. The author is to be congratu- 

 lated on the skill, patience, and ingenuity which he has displayed 

 in carrying out an extremely difficult experimental investigation. 



