and RAYMOND E. K ~ K ,Assistant Professor of Chemistry, U. of Minnesota. Ginn & Company, Boston. First edition, 1927. xvii+l81 pp. 61 figures. 13.5X20.5 cm. $1.20. A laboratory manual written to accompany "General Inorganic Chemistry," by the senior author, reviewed in a recent issue of TEIS JOURNAL. "More experiments are included than will normally be performed by any single class. Topics of a diversified nature have been selected to give the instructor choice of material suitable to the purpose of his course. Instead of adhering t o the customary practice of directing students t o use 'a little of this' or 'some of that' reagent, we have thought i t more in keeping with the tenets of an e'xperimental science t o give specific directions wherever possible." The manual includes a set of preliminary laboratory directions, 246 experiments and preparations, and an appendix consisting of 10 pages of necessary tables. The experiments are grouped under the chapter headings of the text which the manual is written to accompany, though in arrangement and subject-matter it is suited for use with any standard college text. The excellent figures should prove of material assistance t o the student in correctly setting up his apparatus. An adequate number of quantitative experiments is included, mostly in the first half of the manual. Each group of experiments is followed by a number of study questions and problems. The material is well arranged and carefully selected, the directions are dear and concise, and the manual, while differing in no essential respect from many another, is excellently adapted for use by beginning students. A. P. BLACK
The book is well divided into four parts, the &st listing the general properties and importance of cellulose, hemicelluloses, pectin and gums; the second consisting of brief descriptions of the micra6rganisms associated with the decomposition of these carbohydrate substances, and including Schizomycetes, Actinomycetes, and Eumycetes; the third dealing with the processes involved in the decomposition of these substances as found in flax and hemp (retting), manure, hay and straw, wood, fabrics, peat and coal, and in the plant destruction in the animal intestine; and the fourth briefly referring t o industrial applications not included in the first three sections. A wealth of information has been condensed into 350 pages, with a few illustrations to augment the brief descriptions of micrc6rganisms. These descriptions are frequently too brief t o serve the worker as the basis for the identification of unknown species, hut the classification can be of much value in dividing the field for the beginner. The. copious literature references will greatly aid the student of the subject and indicate direful and thorough work on the part of the authors. Many weaknesses in the work of the past and the manifold prablems yet unsolved are carefully pointed out. It is not a textbook, but is all that the authors claim, "a comprehensive account of the information available * * * * compiled from the point of view of the research worker who desires t o know in what direction his efforts may most profitably be directed." L. H. JAMBS
A Guide to the Literature of Chemistry. E. J. CXANE AND AUSTIN M. PATTERSON. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York, 1927. v 438 pp. 14.5 X Microbiology of Cellulose, Hemicelluloses, 23 m. 55.00. Pectin and Gums. A. C. TRAYSEN AND H. 1. BUNKER, Oxford UniverThe hook is not only a "Guide t o t h e sity Press, New York, 1927. viii + Literature of Chemistry," but has sign 363 pp. 13.5 x 22 cm. $8.50. posts along the way. One does not
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follow the. guide blindly but finds the way illuminated by appropriate subdivisions, the significance of which the authors have carefully explained. The plan of the book "(1) production, (2) distribution and (3) use of the literature of chemistry" is closely followed. Compilations under the headings: "Books," "Periodicals," "Patents," "Other Sources," "Indices," and "Libraries," include material originating in d l languages and compose the bulk of the book. Although the aim is t o aid one in the efficient use of the literature of chemistry, one cannot read it without becoming aware of the great mass of the literature which is available t o the chemist. Some of the bibliographies and compilations of data concerning this literature have previously been done, sometimes well and sometimes poorly, hut have appeared in various publications making
DECEMBER, 1927
any a c i e n t use of them impossible. The authors have brought allsuch material together, discarded that poorly done, eliminated duplication, extended that which was incomplete and organized i t into a very efficient tool. I n short, the chemist will find the hook a guide t o how t o obtain various publications, and will receive many helpful suggestions on how t o use the literature with which he is more or less familiar. After reviewing the book one's initial feeling of bewilderment a t the voluminous source of the literature of chemistry is somewhat appeased by a feeling that even that has its limit. The bringing together and organizing of such a mass of material has been an enormous task and the authors are t o be congratulated upon its masterful completion. CLIPPORDD. CARPENTER
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METERED COMBUSTION CONTROL Metered Combustion Control as used a t the Manchester Street Station of the Vnitcd Klrctrie K d r a y s Co.. Proridmce, K.1 , i\ deicrihrd in a paper by .\. S. Davis. S u n ~ n t r n r l c n tn, hich has h m n rrprintrd and i c heing distributed hy the L e d , & Northrup Co., 4901 Stenton Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. The rate of combustion is regulated according to the steam demand by a master controller connected to the steam header so that i t responds to drop in pressure due t o flow of steam and sets up an electrical control current proportional thereto. This current coaperates with control devices which actually meter the pulverized coal and the air supplied t o b u m it, to hold the two in a definite ratio and in proper amount t o meet the steam demand. It is stated that the use of this equipment has resulted in mare uniform steam pressure, and hence in more efficient operation of turbines, also in more uniform furnace conditions with lower excess air resulting in higher boiler efficiency and lower furnace maintenance. Finally, the operators have been relieved of practically all of the physical work of operating the boiler, with the result that they are now able to pay closer attention t o the finer details and to the better operation of the plant as s whole. Charts from recording instruments show a remarkably constant percentage of excess air and a uniform steam pressure, in spite of a rapidly fluctuating steam flow incidental t o load swings in a traction plant. The percentage of CO. is set t o be maintained as high as is campatible with economical operation of the furnaces, taking into consideration maintenance, combustible in ash and combustible loss up the stack, as well as heat lost in flue gases.
