Miscdlaneoits Sclcnli/ic Inlclligencc. 379 



with a inillioii or so of resources eould by no means be laid out 

 according to this elaborate plan, in fact the house could scarcely 

 store the forms. But for any banker whose institution is large 

 enough to require eight or ten separate departments, the book is 

 full of meat. The arrangement of subjects is orderly and pro- 

 gressive and tlie treatment clear enough to furnish a good work- 

 ing basis for the remodeling of such a bank's system of business. 



The book is an admirable text book for students of finance 

 because the facts given are real ones and the operations described 

 are actually in practice today in one of the best organized banks 

 in the world. A farmer may be cynical of the ' ' college profes- 

 sor" preaching with great confidence on the best methods of 

 agriculture; he calls it book learnin', not practical. No such 

 criticism applies to Mr. Langston 's production. 



The chapters on paying and receiving operations are worth the 

 price of the book to any ambitious teller who thirsts for knowl- 

 edge and proficiency and therefore advancement. More than 

 that, any head of departments might well spend his time on the 

 chapters touching his field, and then pass on the knowledge to his 

 own lieutenants. Not many banks will derive practical benefit 

 from the whole book because not many banks have occasion to 

 perform such a multitude of functions. One bank's business is 

 in the collection field, another specializes in foreign trade and 

 exchange, another in farm credit, one is in a manufacturing cen- 

 ter, another in a farming area, etc. 



The banker himself will read with interest and profit perhaps 

 one-half of the subject matter; the other half will be but the 

 recital of organization and administration, containing nothing 

 new for him, but the layman will skip but little. 



Trust functions are treated briefly but readably, colored some- 

 what by New York laws and practice and by the very newness of 

 the change by which National banks are now permitted to enlarge 

 their fields and enter the intricate ramifications and byways of 

 fiduciary business. 



All in all Practical Bank Operations is an invaluable addition 

 to banking literature. It is put together in an orderly way. 

 The operations are thoroughly and clearly described, the charts 

 and forms are many and helpful, and the whole is presented in 

 good readable English'. The man who reads these chapters and 

 then is unable to give you a pretty good definition of a bank, is 

 a hopeless case. dean b. lyman. 



5. First Pan Pacific Scientific Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, 

 Aug. 20-1920. Part I, Organization, Proceedings, Resolutions. 

 Pp. 46, Nov. 1920. — This report tells what was dOne by the one 

 hundred delegates (fifty from Hawaii) to the Conference, regard- 

 ing the scientific problems connected with the Pacific Ocean. A 

 sketch of the organization is given, followed by the proceedings 

 of the general sessions and the sections, and then by the resolu- 

 tions adopted. It is the hope of the Pan Pacific Union to repeat 

 these congresses every three years, and the personal contact of so 



