158 Scien tific In telligen ce. 



Professor Woodward gives a very interesting account of the 

 careful means taken to arrive at the best conclusion in regard to 

 the proper development of the Institution, with the aid of advice 

 from many scientific men in the country. The decision reached 

 that the Institution should not attempt to enter the fields occu- 

 pied by existing colleges and universities is certainly wise, as 

 also that it should strive not to scatter its resources top much in 

 the many possible fields of research. He adds, that " while it 

 appears desirable to limit the range of activity of the Institution 

 at any epoch, it appears still more desirable to insist upon a high 

 standard of efficiency, determined by the quality and quantity 

 jointly of the results obtained. To secure this end, the Institu- 

 tion must not only seek to aid mainly eminent investigators, but 

 it must seek to aid them for such periods and to such an extent 

 that their best efforts may be enlisted." 



Following the reports of the President and of the Executive 

 Committee, this volume contains a Summary of the work accom- 

 plished during the past year both by the larger departments 

 enumerated above and also in connection with the numerous 

 minor investigations. 



2. Report of the Librarian of Congress and Report of the 

 Superintendent of the Library Building and Grounds for the 

 fiscal Year ending June 30, 1906. Pp. 1 75, with 6 illustrations. 

 Washington, 1906. — This report by Mr. Herbert Putnam in 

 regard to the Library of Congress will be read with especial 

 interest by all concerned with this line of work. The total num- 

 ber of books and pamphlets at the end of 1906 (inclusive of the 

 Law Library) was 1,379,244, a gain for the year of 34,626 ; the 

 total expenditures for the year 1906 amounted to 587,415 dollars. 



3. Physikalische Chemie der Zelle und der Geioebe ; von 

 Rudolf Hoebek. Zweite, neubearbeitete Auflage. Pp. 460, 

 mit 38 Textfiguren. Leipzig, 1906 (Wilhelm Engelmann). — This 

 book is intended for those who desire to gain some insight into 

 the aims and tentative results of modern physico-chemical inves- 

 tigation in its application in the domain of biology and medicine. 

 For those to whom the introduction to physical chemistry 

 through the larger works, like those of Nernst and Ostwald, is 

 too difficult or unattractive, the smaller book of Dr. Hober, in 

 its second, revised edition, will be found helpful. The subject 

 of osmotic pressure, the theory of solutions, the ionic theory, 

 equilibrium in solutions, colloids, the action of electrolytes and 

 ferments, among other topics, are succinctly presented. A large 

 number of biological phenomena and processes are discussed in 

 terms of the physico-chemical hypotheses. It must be admitted 

 that in many instances these attempts at interpretation are 

 merely a paraphrase of older explanations. Thus in the chapter 

 on the permeability of membranes various phenomena of mus- 

 cles, blood corpuscles and other cells are described. The difficult 

 subject of colloids is presented in some detail. As examples of the 

 action of electrolytes the behavior of protoplasm towards ions is 



