68 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
to any, cannot be too mucb admired by those who have any knowledge of 
the tendency which some scientific men have to frame generalisations — and 
swear by them. 
ELEMENTARY MECHANICS.* 
M ESSRS. GROOMBRIDGE have lately commenced the publication 
of a series of scientific manuals for university students and men in the 
higher schools, which, so far as we have seen of them, surpass in comprehen- 
siveness, simplicity and cheapness those of other series as yet issued. The 
volume on mechanics is no exception to the rule, but is a very carefully 
prepared introduction to the principles of statics and dynamics, by a gentle- 
man who, himself a medallist in natural philosophy of the University of 
London, understands distinctly what it is the student requires, and has 
sought to make his path through the “ Matriculation ” and “Preliminary ” as 
easy a one as possible. The plan of giving a number .of exercises for the 
pupil to work out himself is a very good one, as is the method of stating 
the several mechanical facts in a set of definite propositions. The publishers 
have done their part as well as the author, and with clear, easily read type, 
good woodcuts, and cut edges, have left the student nothing to desire. 
CHEMICAL NOTES. f 
D R. ODLING’S object in issuing this volume has been to put before the 
student the notes or headings of subjects upon which he himself has 
been in the habit of lecturing. Whether the idea be a happy one we shall 
not wait to enquire. For the lecturer the book will be most useful, since in 
the briefest possible space it gives him those facts which he should expand 
and expound in his discourse to his pupils. It need not be said that the 
work contains everything which the ordinary student should know, as of course 
the author’s reputation is sufficient guarantee for that. But we must confess 
that, save for reference, the ordinary student is not likely to favour this work, 
from the fact that its contents are of so “ cut-and-dry” a character. Any 
sentence in the work might stand by itself as a sort of chemical aphorism, 
having indeed no grammatical relation to its neighbours. This renders the 
book very useful to the lecturer or to the working chemist, who wants to 
hit upon a particular statement with the least possible trouble ; but it is a 
quality which will ever prevent this otherwise excellent treatise from 
becoming popular with class-men. Wherever we have dipped into its 
pages the same idea occurs to us, i.e. that the book is a huge “ syllabus of 
lectures,” and therefore generally unreadable. Take the following para- 
graph for example : — “ Alkali-silicates with variable excess of silica, known 
• “An Elementary Course of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.” By 
Richard Worniell, M.A., B.Sc. London : Groombridge, 1809. 
t “ Outlines of Chemistry, or Brief Notes on Chemical Facts.” By Wil- 
liam Odling, M.B., F.R.S., Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal 
Institution. London: Longmans, 1870. 
