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By Prof. ANDREW JAMIESON, M.Inst.C.E.

SEVENTH EDITION. JUST PUBLISHED. IN FIVE VOLUMES. A TEXT-BOOK OF

APPLIED MECHANICS

AND

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING.

In Large Crown 8vo. Cloth. Pp. i-xviii+382. Price 6s.
VOL. I.-APPLIED MECHANICS.

Applied Mechanics.-The Principle of Work and its Applications; Friction, Power Tests, with Efficiencies of Machines. Velocity and Acceleration. -Motion and Energy.-Energy of Rotation and Centrifugal Force.

In Large Crown 8vo. Cloth. Pp. i-xviii+264. Price 5s.
VOL. II.-STRENGTH OF MATERIALS.

Strength of Materials.-Stress, Strain, Elasticity, Factors of Safety, Resilience, Cylinders, Shafts, Beams and Girders, Testing Machines, and Testing of Materials of Construction.

In Large Crown 8vo. Cloth. Pp. i-xviii + 232. Price 5s. VOL. III.-THEORY OF STRUCTURES. Theory of Structures and Graphic Statics, with Applications to Roofs, Cranes, Beams, Girders, and Bridges.

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THE "STUDENT'S" STANDARD BAROMETER.

(Registered Design No. 420,207.)

Designed to meet the requirements of Students and others who find the need of a Barometer which will give exact readings, and cost but a moderate sum.

Used for demonstration purposes in all the principal Science and Technical Colleges, and adopted by the L.C.C. for use in their Classes.

The construction is on that of the well-known "Fortin" principle. The level of the cistern mercury is reducible to zero, in exactly the same manner as in the more expensive forms. The diameter of the mercurial column is 25 inch, and affords a bold, well-defined reading. The scales, by means of the double vernier, are capable of being read to or inch and 1 milimetre. It is mounted on a well polished, solid oak or mahogany board, with opal glass reflectors for reading off, and screws for vertical adjustment. The metal portions are all well bronzed and lacquered, and the scales are opal glass. A thermometer, graduated on stem F. and C. scales, is fitted to the brass

frame.

We confidently recommend this Instrument for use as a "Standard" in Colleges and Schools, private Observa. tories, and by Gas and other Engineers.

Price, complete, mounted as illustrated,

£3 7 6.

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FULL SIZE STANDARD BAROMETER of same design, bore o'5" diameter, inches and millimetre scales, verniers reading to o'002 inch and o'r m/m, on polished oak or mahogany board with brackets and opal glass reflectors, 7 10 0

Sole Manufacturers and Proprietors of the Regd. Design:

PASTORELLI & RAPKIN, Ltd. (ESTAB.

46 HATTON GARDEN, LONDON, E.C. ACTUAL MAKERS OF ALL KINDS OF METEOROLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS. Contractors to H.M. Government. ILLUSTRATED PRICE LISTS POST FREE. We pay carriage and guarantee safe delivery within U.K. on all our instruments.

PURE FUSED SILICA WARE

A SUBSTITUTE FOR PLATINUM :

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1909.

SOME BOTANICAL BOOKS. (1) Die Pflanzenwelt Deutschlands. By Dr. P. Graebner, mit Zoologischen Beiträgen von F. G. Meyer. Pp. xi+374. (Leipzig: Quelle und Meyer, 1909.) Price 7 marks.

(2) Pflanzenbiologie. Schilderungen aus dem Leben der Pflanzen. By Dr. W. Migula. Pp. viii+352. (Leipzig: Quelle und Meyer, 1909.) Price 8 marks. (3) Unsere Zierpflanzen. Eine zwanglose Auswahl biologischer Betrachtungen von Garten und Zimmerpflanzen sowie von Parkgeholzen. By P. F. F. Schulz. Pp. viii+216. (Leipzig: Quelle und Meyer, 1909.) Price 4.40 marks.

(4) Phanerogamen. Blütenpflanzen. By Prof. E. Gilg and Dr. R. Muschler. Pp. 172. (Leipzig: Quelle und Meyer, 1909.) Price 1.25 marks. (5) Kryptogamen. By Dr. M. Möbius. Pp. iv+164. (Leipzig: Quelle und Meyer, 1908.) Price 1.25 marks.

(6) Zimmer- und Balkonpflanzen. By P. Dannenberg. Pp. vi+160. (Leipzig: Quelle und Meyer, 1908.) Price 1.25 marks.

(7) Clay's Successful Gardening. Fourth Edition. Pp. 275. (London: Clay and Son, Stratford, n.d.) Price gd. net.

(8) Botany for Matriculation.

By Dr. F. Cavers. Pp. viii+568. (Cambridge: University Tutorial Press, Ltd., 1909.) Price 5s. 6d. (9) Beginners' Botany. By Prof. L. H. Bailey. Pp. ix+208. (New York: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1909.) Price 3s. 6d.

(10) Elementary Practical Botany. By W. E. Clarke. Pp. xii+311. (London: The Normal Press, Ltd., n.d.) Price 3s. 6d. net.

(1)DR.

R. GRAEBNER deals with the plant-world of Germany from an ecological standpoint, and thereby provides one of the first works on ecology confined to the limits of a single country. The subject of ecology is still in its infancy, and it is probable that it may gain stability when it is considered from a national rather than an international outlook. The difficulty in reducing ecological facts to a system, as the author points out, arises from the complexity of factors which influence the being of a plant. Dr. Warming bases his classification on soil conditions, but Dr. Graebner selects a more arbitrary standard, as his main divisions depend primarily upon the favourable or unfavourable characters of natural conditions, and, secondarily, on the modifications produced by special agencies, such as seasons or man. The arrangement works out better than might be expected. The first section is that of tropophilous formations found on sunny hills, on rocks and inland dunes. The second comprises formations on cultivated land. The succeeding sections refer to meadows, woods, river banks, plankton and aquatic vegetation. Finally, the author relegates heath and halophytic formations to separate categories. The two most prominent sections are those devoted to formations on

cultivated land and to woods or forests. Under the former are gathered the vegetation of waste places (Ruderalstellen), fields and gardens, lawns and roadside trees. The importance of this section is extremely great, not only because of its extent, but because it lies immediately at our doors. Obviously the effect of human influence does not stop here, but the limit is that of man's most determined struggle to turn nature to his immediate purpose.

Under each section the author discusses the predominant factors, also any well-marked modifications, and describes the typical plant-formations with reference to their adaptations for nutrition and reproduction. The notes on animal life contributed by Mr. F. G. Meyer are added as postscripta to the sections. The book is a very desirable acquisition to the scanty literature on ecology, and can be recommended both for the philosophic argument of principles and causes, and also for the details. It also suggests the thought that there is a good opportunity for preparing a book on similar lines dealing with vegetation in the British Isles.

(2) The scope of Dr. Migula's "Plant Biology" is considerably wider than the preceding. It treats of bionomics as exemplified by reproduction and dissemination of plants, protective modifications and adaptations to external conditions; this leads to plant associations, and biology of nutrition precedes the description of federations between different plants, or plants and animals. It is, of course, impossible to deal comprehensively with these various subjects, and the author has merely endeavoured to present interesting sketches of plant-life. There is no striking originality in the early sections, but the author imparts his information in a clear and effective manner, notably in the introduction dealing with development, or, to put it more popularly, Darwinism. The chapters on adaptations of plants to climate and soil are in some respects the most attractive, as the author has elaborated these themes more fully. Plant communities are described under the divisions of forest, grass vegetation, heath and moor. Reference should also be made to the succinct accounts of root tubercles in the leguminous family, and the relationship between plants and ants.

(3) The horticulturist who is a deep thinker must often be puzzled to understand the idiosyncrasies of many plants that come under his care, even of stock plants in cultivation. For instance, how many can offer an opinion on variegation in a begonia-leaf and say how far it can be modified, or can explain why a pelargonium thrown on the dust-heap will retain its vitality for a long time? Further, there are the manifold variations in stem and leaf, the devices for pollination, and many other biological features which are not readily explicable even by those who have received technical training. To those who are anxious to gain an insight into these problems the book by Mr. P. F. F. Schulz will certainly appeal. He has wisely limited his notes to about fifty kinds. Plants in general cultivation are represented by begonias, the dahlia, perennial lupines, Aspidistra, sunflowers, and common ferns. Sauromatum, and Aristolochia,

various cacti are included because of their peculiar character, while the tulip tree and tree of heaven recall the plantations which beautify so many German

towns.

(4, 5, 6) The next three volumes of which the titles appear above are units in a series of neat brochures dealing with all branches of knowledge. The publishers are entitled to great credit for bringing out such a series at the modest price of one mark per volume, as they have enlisted competent authors to deal with the various subjects. It may, however, be suggested that some of the volumes deal with subjects of too extensive a nature to be satisfactorily compressed within the limits permitted. The account of phanerogams, a systematic compendium, prepared by Drs. E. Gilg and R. Muschler, provides a case in point. About 120 families are dealt with in as many pages, with the result that there is only a bare reference to the botanical characters of each family, while the space is occupied by a mere enumeration of the more important plants and their properties. The same criticism applies to the volume on cryptogams, in which Dr. Möbius has made good use of the space at his disposal, but it is evident that each of the four groups of algæ, fungi, mosses, or ferns might with advantage have been taken separately. The cultivation of plants in living rooms and on balconies is a subject better suited to these small volumes, on which Mr. P. Dannenberg provides an interesting and useful book, essentially German as regards the minuteness of detail. Advice is given on methods of arrangement, ornamental pots, watering, pruning, transplanting, and propagation; also a useful list is supplied of plants suitable for growing at different seasons and under different conditions. Precise, accurate, and well arranged, the book admirably fulfils its purpose.

(7) A different type of floricultural book is that issued by Messrs. Clay and Son, primarily intended to advertise their special manures. The list of contributors includes Messrs. J. Hudson, J. Douglas, J. Udale, H. J. Wright, and E. H. Jenkins, who contribute articles on fruit-culture, carnations, begonias, sweetpeas, daffodils, and lilies. Sections are devoted to vegetable cultivation, indoor gardening, rock gardens, and garden pests. The volume contains much practical information for the cultivator, and more particularly for the grower of produce.

The

(8) It is not very long since Dr. Cavers produced a very successful elementary botanical text-book under the title of "Plant Biology," in which he indicated the methods adopted with his classes, and outlined a large number of experiments intended to instruct the student by his own personal observation and experiment. success of this book and of "Life-histories of Common Plants" has presumably led to the compilation of the volume now under notice, which in many respects resembles the carlier books. Physiology is made the groundwork of preliminary study and explanatory of morphology; classification is dealt with in the descriptions of selected families, and a chapter is devoted to ecology. The range of the book is very much wider than is necessary for a matriculation course, although

this is no disadvantage, as a teacher can select the portions immediately necessary. At the same time, many of the chemical and physical paragraphs might have been omitted, also the final chapter on the uses of plants. Apart from these criticisms, the book deserves the highest commendation, chiefly because the author conveys his information in a precise and wellordered manner. The numerous experiments scattered through the text are admirably chosen to illus trate the points under discussion or observation, and for the most part require only simple apparatus.

(9) There is always a fund of originality in any book written by Prof. L. H. Bailey, and teachers will meet with not a few fresh ideas in his latest production. The opening is original, although Darwinian, that no two plants or parts are alike, that there is a struggle for life, and that the fittest survive; then follow chapters on plant societies and the plant body, after which ensues the ordinary gamut of elementary morphology, but treated in a fresh and inviting fashion. Another essential feature, also characteristic of the author's style, is the concise method of indicating facts or points without superfluous details; and finally it will be observed that the author introduces practical examples, so far as possible, as in the excellent chapter on bud propagation. The illustrations are bold, practical, and artistic. The studies in cryptogams, forming almost an appendix, do not make a very desirable addition, as they are perforce scrappy and introduce facts altogether beyond the scope of a beginner.

(10) The elementary practical book prepared by Mr. Clarke begins with external morphology and passes on to physiology, with the inclusion of chapters on soil, garden vegetation, distribution and cell structure. The experiments are collated in a separate part, and some account is given of selected flowering plants. Appendices are devoted to hints on the microscope and certain principles of chemistry and physics. It is apparent that the author has attempted to compress too much material into the book, more especially as he does not display that happy faculty of expression which combines conciseness with brevity; further, the information is somewhat ill-assorted, and there is a tendency to introduce ideas which are only partially relevant to the subject under discussion. There are also some inaccuracies, as in the use or explanation of various terms, such as pollarding, block, sucker, ivy root-tendrils and monosexual.

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products. Every advance in the quality of these products has been followed by advances in other indusEries. The raising of the refractory qualities of ire-bricks, for example, gives the metallurgist greater Dower and scope, and the success of the electrohemical industries is to a large extent dependent upon the capability of the potter.

Considering the importance of the subject, the list of books with trustworthy information is surprisingly small. We therefore turn with pleasure to the preent work, which is a history of the various branches of the clayworking industry in the United States, from the building of the brick houses by the early colonists up to the close of 1907. Consequently, there s no more than a passing reference to the very curious pottery fashioned by the aboriginal Indians. The book is compiled from statistics collected in the main by the United States Census Bureau and the United States Geological Survey. The first portion of the history is a general résumé of the various stages in the development of the industry through the manufacture of common bricks, glazed bricks, erracotta, tiles, and pottery. In the second portion of the work, these stages are discussed State by

State.

66

The author can seldom be charged with diminishing the value of his facts by entangling them in the meshes of hypothesis. Statistics are given showing the yearly value of the products made in the United States, and also imported. Using the word conumption" with its broadest connotation, it is posible to calculate from the authors' tables the approxmate proportion of the total yearly consumption of 'pottery which is actually manufactured in the States. We thus obtain 57 per cent. for 1870, and 68 per cent. for 1907. The influence of the ceramic schools is said to be a strong factor" (pp. 6-7) in the evolution of the industry. The first of these was started in Ohio in 1894, under the capable hands of Prof. E. Orton; the fifth, in Iowa, in 1907. Quoting rom Mr. J. Moses' "One Hundred Years of Ameriin Commerce" (p. 53), the authors state that it was not, indeed, until the first real protection by the tariff ever accorded the potters was enacted, as a war neasure, that the American maker found himself able to enter the field against the English potter. The influence of imported workmen, on whom there s no tariff, is not indicated, although we find some curious evidence pointing in that direction from Messrs. Ries and Leighton's tables. In 1897, 41 per cent. of he total china clay consumed in the States was mined here, and in 1907, 68 per cent. The remainder was Imported. This might be attributed to the dearth of china clay, but the Americans have splendid clays, better, indeed, than our own. The greater probability is that the "secret" recipes of the imported workmen are compounded with raw materials from Cornwall, &c., and a mysterious virtue is supposed to reside in a recipe for an "English" body or glaze. The workmen have not always the courage and skill to adapt imported recipes to local materials. The recipe is thus master of the situation.

J. W. MELLor.

A JOURNEY ACROSS VENEZUELA AND
COLOMBIA.

The Journal of an Expedition across Venezuela and
Colombia, 1906-7. An Exploration of the Route
of Bolivar's Celebrated March of 1819, and of the
Battlefields of Boyaca and Carabobo. By Dr.
Hiram Bingham. Pp. viii+287. (New Haven,
Conn. Yale Publishing Association; London: T.
Fisher Unwin, 1909.) Price 10s. net.

THE expulsion of Spanish power from the present

State of Colombia was effected by Bolivar, who in the year 1819 conducted an army from near Caracas to Bogotá, across country that had been deemed to be impassable. All the saddle and pack animals, and many of the soldiers, succumbed to the hardships of the march, a distance of about 700 miles, traversed in about seven weeks. Spanish-American historians have compared this feat with the marches of Hannibal LatinDr. Bingham, lecturer on and Napoleon. American history at Yale, wanted to form a proper estimate of the actual obstacles that were overcome

by the army of liberators, the backbone of which was the foreign legion of British veterans from the

campaign of Waterloo. He therefore undertook the spirited and difficult task of following up the route of Bolivar through regions not easily visited and scantily known.

There is a regular overland route from Caracas to Bogotá which leads over the high plateau between the Central and the Eastern Cordilleras. The author and his companion, Dr. Hamilton Rice, however, went, like Bolivar, broadly speaking, parallel with this road, along the foothills of the Eastern Sierras, where they join the vast Llanos, at an average altitude of 600 feet to 700 feet above sea-level. The greater part of this route has been scantily described by but few travellers, and some districts were known locally only. The travellers left Caracas at the beginning of January, 1906, and crossed the great Llanos with mules, and an ox-cart for the baggage. In time the cart had to be discarded. There were many rivers to cross, tropical forests, and the Llanos. These, never pleasant to traverse, were rendered more than difficult by the rains which set in about the middle of March, and continued with increasing force. The stiffest part of the journey began with the ascent to the plateau, to gain which the Paramo, a pass of 13,000 feet elevation, had to be negotiated.

For reasons only known to themselves, the travellers did not carry a tent. Consequently the diary is full of the troubles of getting accommodation in the wretched villages or occasional so-called towns, in rest houses kept by suspicious Indians or disobliging white men, often without sufficient food. The Western Venezolanos (why are they persistently called Venezuelans in the book?), white, mixed, and brown alike, are apparently not a very prepossessing people, and local officials were, of course, worse. The Colombians seemed to be more amenable, as being less beyond the reach of civilisation.

The whole journey took 115 days, more than twice the time required by Bolivar's army. The book is adorned with numerous photographs of characteristic

scenery and scenes, e.g. Yaruro Indians between the Apure and Araura rivers. Although the travellers do not profess to be naturalists, they mention a good many birds and beasts which they came across. There are also some most interesting pictures of Iabiru storks on their nest, and of half-a-dozen Capybaras on the bank of a stream.

The reader will get a very good idea of the kind of country and its inhabitants.

THI

A STUDY OF CHILD-life. Children in Health and Disease. A Study of Childlife. By Dr. David Forsyth. Pp. xix+362. (London: John Murray, 1909.) Price 10s. 6d. net. HIS volume should appeal to a large number of readers, medical and lay, and its publication at the present time is opportune, for it brings a sane and experienced judgment to the assistance of those who in a public or private capacity are striving to solve the problems with which it deals. The vitality of the country depends on the health and training of the children, and while the duty of supervision rests with the physician, success can only be obtained through intelligent cooperation of parents and teachers.

The early chapters deal with the physiology of childhood. The food consumption of the infant, relatively to body weight, is considerably greater than that of the adult, but only one-fifth of the ingesta is used for purposes of growth, while the rest serves to maintain the temperature of the body. In proportion to bulk, the surface area is greater in a small child than in a man, hence increased loss of heat and more need for heat production. In early life appetite waits on surface area, and in the recognition of this fact lies the clue to the proper feeding of children. The amount of food should be determined by the weighingmachine rather than the calendar, and it should contain plenty of carbohydrate, the heat-producing ingredient in diet.

By the end of the second year a child's mind has acquired, in an elementary form, most of its principal faculties, so that its further progress consists in perfecting them rather than in the acquisition of new ones. Habit clusters round the lines of least resistance, and education is an attack on natural indolence.

From the medical point of view school-life stands by itself. Opportunities for the transmission of infectious and contagious diseases are greatly increased, and the problem of class-room hygiene offers special difficulties. The evils of the examination system, defective ventilation, bad feeding arrangements, and insufficient hours of sleep exist in many higher-grade schools, as they do in elementary schools. The hygiene and curriculum of both require supervision. Medical inspection of schools is now recognised as a branch of public-health work. It has shown the prevalence of ill-health, much of which is preventable. The author notes with approval the value of invalid and "open-air" schools, and he also discusses the difficult question of the training and care of the mentally deficient.

Not the least interesting section of the book is that

which deals with the causes of infant mortality. Most diseases of childhood are preventable, and yet 20 per cent. of children die before their fifth birthday. I fancy must always remain a critical period of life, bu it should be relieved of many dangers which now decimate it. The statistical value of death certificates will not be great until they become confidential and cease to be framed so as to meet the susceptibilities of parents. Syphilis is scarcely mentioned in death cer tificates, although it is recognised as a potent cause of premature birth and death in early childhood.

The value of the volume is enhanced by the index, which is well arranged and adequate.

OUR BOOK SHELF.

Lehrbuch der Pharmakognosie. By Dr. George Karsten and Dr. Friedrich Oltmanns. Second edition. Pp. vi+358. (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1909.) Price 9 marks.

In the first edition of this work, published in 1903, Prof. Karsten explained his object to be the provision of a text-book that should treat pharmacognosy from a botanical point of view, and, considered in this light, it must be admitted that his object was successfully attained. But the second edition has more ambitious pretensions; it is intended to present a "clear survey of pharmacognosy and to introduce the young pharmacist to the varied provinces of that science."

The arrangement and treatment of the subjectmatter are similar to those that were adopted in the first edition. The classification is on strictly botanical lines. Each drug is separately described, the description including the botanical and geographical sources. the morphology, anatomy, and constituents. In almost all instances the lion's share has fallen to the morphology and anatomy, these usually occupying some three-fourths of the entire description, but occaonly twenty lines out of six pages are devoted to the sionally more, as with white hellebore rhizome, where other points. This part of the descriptions is excellent, and doubtless many pharmacognosists will frequently refer to the very complete, detailed, and well-illes trated accounts of the morphology and anatomy of the drugs.

This, however, is all that can be said in favour of the work. The constituents of the drugs, for the young pharmacist a most important branch, are di missed in three or four lines, in which sins of omission and commission are frequent and great. Take, for instance, gentian root and chamomile flowers, in which the bitter principles are entirely forgotten; opium, ipecacuanha, aconite, hydrastis, colchicum, and conium, all of them most important drugs. in which the proportion of the constituents is sadly inaccurate; ergot, liquorice, senna, euphorbium, in which they are not brought up to date. Indian and Turkey opiums are said to be made into balls about the size of the fist, and covered with Rumes sticks! Seldom is any sufficient account given of the fruits, while. Persian opium is usually made irto diagnostic characters of the genuine drug, of the adulterants, changes on keeping, preservation, preparation for the market, commerce, &c. Such a work fails to give a "clear survey of pharmacognosy," and cannot be recommended as a means of introducing the young pharmacist "to the varied provinces of pharmacognosy." It relegates that science to the position of a subordinate department of botany, and shows once more that the author of a work on

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