quote literary critics, professors of rhetoric, and literate scientists in amplification of their own discussion. Much as the reviewer detests wall mottoes, and much as he should therefore hesitate to inflict them uDon others, he would like to oost a iudicious selection of quotations on the study walls of many contributors to scientific journals. A few samples are presented here. Adams Sherman Hill,' professor of rhetoric a t Harvard University from 1876-1904 and afterward professor emeritus, gives the three following rules for good writing:
own copy and hopes in consequence to lead a better literary life hereafter. OTTOR E ~ ~ J T H THENEXTHUNDRED YEARS. C. C. Furnns, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Yale University. The Williams & Wilkins Company. Baltimore, 1936. xiv 434 pp. 14 X 21.5 cm. $3.00.
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After visiting "The Century of Progress" the author decided to write a hook on what we do not know in science. This hook "is fundamentally interested in the discoveries yet unmade, the developments not completed, the things that must still he done before we can advance to any marked degree." The subject is discussed under the five headings of hiology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and social consequences. "In a plant that manufactures its own food, the carbon dioxide is taken in principally through the leaves and the water is sucked in principally through the roots. These two chemicals get together by simple diffusional processes and in the presence of light and chlorophyll they unite to form the familiar compound, farmaldehyde. . .So far, nature is ahead of men in this photosynAnatole Francea writes: thesis game and has the best catalyst on the market." A simple style is like white light. I t is complex, but not to outward seem"The common cold costs o w nation two billion dollars per year. ing. In language a beautiful and desirable simplicity is but an appearnee, The productive time lost hecanse of colds amounts to about 100 order and sovereien economy of the various nnd i t resvlts onlv from the eood million working days per year." parts of speech 6.53). "The Eskimo is said to be shorter-lived than most races. He Concerning "proper repetition," Clifford Allhutt8 is quoted. ages very rapidly and often becomes an old man a t fifty. Perham this is due to overworked kidneys because of the hieh nro=~ A nation is oreaslent that the renetition of a leadin..word or words in a tein d m , perhaps it is caused by t h e severc dimate The strict scntcnce or short period constitutes nn offense called "fautology." In this false sense of tautolow the mathematician might incur censure for the vegetarian on the uthcr hard, is generally considered to have less repetition of symbols in an equation. If the word first accepted be precisely resiannre to infections. .with accompanying weakcned digestive the word wanted, to vary it is to vary the sense, to confuse the argument. organs and a tendency toward diarrhea." and to vex the reader (p. 63). "A century and a half ago a sixty-year old American living in Regarding the misuse of "cases" and "instances" Fawler%says: Massachusetts had an expectancy of life of almost fifteen yean. Now, the sixty-year old male resident of Massachusetts has an expectancy of only a little more than fourteen years." "Long ago quarantines entered politics. Idaho is very proud of the fact that it can raise apples in certain spots; but Washington also raises apples and wants to sell them everywhere, including Idaho. The sovereign rights of the states are not broad enough to enable Idaho to put up a state tariff against Washingnot avail: the,. murt rend their heart and not their garments and ieam to ton apples; but there is nothing to prevent the imposition of a write directly instead of in periphrasis (p. 69). quarantine." I n further illustration of the unnecessary use of "cases" (and. qayon has hecome a reasonably but we may add, as a pointed argument for economy of expression) it has never been good enough to send silk off the market. I n the following original and edited passages are presented: America, a t any rate, silk consumption has gone up during all the ascendancy of rayon." In the great majority of earea where coal exists hut has not bcen found to "In *OSt honepowered of eras we have made hut two quality, thickness, or seeerbe workable i t l a e b one of three things-ither rihitity. fundamental advances over primitive man. We have invented Most unwarknble coals are deficient in quality, thickness, or aeecssibilit~ the steam engine and the water wheel. We still depend upon (P. 70). the methods of a very temperamental and insufficient terrestrial nature to supply our demands far calories and B.T.U.'s." Other bugbears of the editor are discussed-among them: has never an.American light car that was "along these lines," "former" and "latter," "a number." "this" with an eye for the best possible quality; hut there is no reason and "these," "like" and "such as," "due" and "owing." for this except the whims of the market. The light car has alThe section on "Grammatical errors and problems" (PP. 9 W ways the car. we Americans seem to buy the offers much sound counsel and is adequately illustrated by expound rather than hy mileage,,, amples. "The farm is a vast organic chemical factory; but there are "Tmographic style" (PP. 103-11). "Correction of proof" people who still judge the time for the phases of the (PP. 1124). and "Directions to tmists" (PP. 117-20) are in moon, For that matter, there are those who feel that the sslvapart specific to geological subject matter and to the Style Manual tion of agriculture resides in politics instead science and engiof the Government Printing Ofice, but also contain much generally neering,,, applicable advice. WCT~DER D.BANCROPT I n all humility the reviewer recommends this inexpensive pamphlet to authors. He intends to make constant use of his ~~$"~~&N
1. The rule of prcdsion: Of two form* of expression which may be used in the same sense that one should be ehooen which is surceptible of but one interpretation. Observance of this rule tends to give each word a meaning of its own. 2. The rvle ofsimplicify: Of two forms of expression which may be used in the same sense the simpler should be ehosm. The simplera word or phrase the more likely it ir to be understood, and simplicity in language, like rimplicity in dress or maonem, belongs to the best society. 3. The rule of euphony: Of two forms of expression which may be used io the same sense thatone should oe chosen which is the more agreeable to the ear. I t is of eovrse wrong to give undue weight to coo.iderafions of euphony, but when no sacrifice is involved i t is desirable t o avoid an erprer sion that ir vnurually difficult to pronouoee or to substitute for an extremely disagreeable word one that is agreeable to the ear (p. 52).
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S., "The principles of rhetoric," pp. 18-22, 1895. FRANCE,ANATOLE, "On life and letters," trans. by A. W. E v m s , 1914. ALLBUTT, CLIFFORD,"Notes on the com~ositionof scientific papers," 2nd ed., 1923, pp. 127-8. 4 F o m ~ n ,H. W., "A dictionary of modem English usage;' pp. 54, 277. 1930. 1 HILL,A.
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CKEMICAL ANALYSIS. Louis A BRIEFCOURSEIN QUALITATIVE 3. Curtmen, Professor of Chemistry, College of the City of NW York. The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1936. viii 249 pp. 13 figs. 15 X 22 cm. $2.25.
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I n the preface the author states that "this hook contains com-
prehensive material for a one-semester course in qualitative analysis. Theory and laboratory work have been closely mordinated t o provide a sound scientific foundation for the prospective student of chemistry, medicine, dentistry, agriculture, and engineering." pa* I comprises 70 pages and is devoted to the discussion of Theory, which is handled thoroughly and adequately. I t would seem that possibly an unnecessary amount of space and attention is taken up with these theoretical considefations if any previous training in chemistry has preceded the use of the book. However, no adverse criticism is offered. Part 11, 50 pages, is taken up with the Reactions of the Metal Ions and of the Acids or Anions. This is also a satisfactory treatment of the subject matter, especially the statement of the conditions under which the reactions take place and the solubility of the products formed, etc. One omission was noted on page 108. where the best conditions far the reaction between nickel wits and dimethylglyuximc wcrc not given. P a n 111, O d pages, on Laboratory Work, takes up the analytical processes, a n d this is a n excellent piece of work. The directions are full and the reasons for the various steps are given with remarkable clarity. Doubtless one reason for this is the fact that the author has given much time t o the study of the processes of qualitative analysis, as his many papers along these lines of investigation show. The reviewer has yet t o see any book on this subject which excels in this particular. Possibly a few slight criticisms are in point. It would seem that hydrocyanic, ferrocyanic, and ferricyanic acids should not be omitted and thiocyanic acid be the only member of this quartet included. The test for nitric acid seems somewhat inadequate considering its importance. On page 170 the reference t o the precipitation of rubianic acid under Reaction 4 Cadmium seems t o call attention t o an omission. On page 180 the fact that a paper filter may reduce permanganic acid is not mentioned. While the author states in a footnote on page 77 that the student is referred to other texts for a study of the rarer elements, the reviewer cannot but feel that any text which omits a certain number of these must often involve the student in serious analytical difficulty. The time has come when such elements as, for example, Be, Ce, Ti, V, Ta, Mo, W, and Se are no longer so rare as not to be met with frequently; and a statement as to haw they may affect the analytical procedures becomes almost necessary if the object is to teach one how t o make a qualitative analysis. As a treatise on the analytical method the book is excellent and its treatment of the limited field of the more common elements is worthy of high praise. ~
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THE C H E M C R IRUBBER L~ CHEWSTRV MANUAL. Jermain D. Porter, Cornell University. The Porter Chemical Co., Hagerstown, Md., 1935. 77 PP. 12 X 2 0 cm. Paper-hound, $0.50. Chapter I, "The World Discovers Rubber" (pp. 1&9), tells of the early history of rubber howledge and, in some detail, of the experiments of Charles Goodyear. Chapter 11, "How We Get Our Rubber" @p. 20-8), describes modern plantation rubber growing and the gathering and treatment of the latex. Chapter 111. "What Rubber Is and How I t Is Used" (pp. 29-44), discusses the properties of rubber in the light of modem physical and chemical knowledge, but in simple language, and includes directions for the performance of numerous experiments. The titles of Chapters N."Making Tires" (pp. 45-56), V, "Wearing Apparel" (pp. 57-61), and VI, "Bathing Caps, Fire Hose, and Other Things" (pp. 62-71), are sufficiently indicative of their contents. Chapter VII is devoted t o a discussion of "Sulfur" and to directions for experiments illustrating the chemical and physical properties of the element. In all, the booklet contains directions for fifty-two experiments. A price list of materials and equipment for experimental use is included. OTTO REINMDTH
ORGAN~C CHEWSTRY. F. Shemood Taylor, Ph.D., M.A., B.Sc.. Assistant Master a t Reptan School. William Heinemann Ltd., Landon, 1933. Chemical Publishing Co. of N. Y. Inc., exclusive agents in North and South America. xii 586 pp. 14 X 22 cm. 56 f i s . 86.W.
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This organic chemistry is "new" only in the sense that it has been recently brought t o this country for distribution; it was first published in 1933, and apparently has not been revised or brought out in a second edition. I t is the claim of the author that "the chief novelty. . .of the book lies in the treatment of the carbohydrates as cyclic compounds." Certainly there was nothing novel in such a treatment as late as 1933. The book provides a fairly complete survey of organic chemistry with rather more emphasis on alkaloids, carbohydrates, terPenes, proteins, and plant pigments than one would expect in a volume of this size. These sections are well done with the object of offering additional material for the medical student. This end is attained, but other more elementary subjects are not so adequately treated. Olefins, di-olefins, and acetylenie hydrocarbons are dismissed in about twenty pages, of which three are devoted to laboratory experiments. The discussion of alkaloids and plant pigments, on the other hand, occupies thirty-seven pages. Such important processes as the preparation of ethanol and other alcohols from a l e h s , and the polymerization of acetylene t o vinyl acetvlene and of the latter t o a mhher substitute. ~.find no mention. Imt we learn on an earlier page (p. CO) that iwlmpyl nlcohol "is usunlly preynrcd by reducing acetone with sorl~umamalgam" Such a statement, nirhwt qualification. l ~ s r c -thr srudent in this country a t least, with an entirely erroneous impression. On page 68 we read, "The chemical properties of primary alcohols closely resemble those of ethyl alcohol. With the exception of isopropyl alcohol, they do not, however, give the iodoform reaction." The thoughtful student studying this statement will wander whether his conception of primary alcohols is wrong, or whether the author means that all alcohols other than isopropyl alcohol and ethanol do not give the iodoform test. Isopropyl alcohol is not a primary alcohol, nor is it the only alcohol other than ethanol which responds t o the haloform test. Numerous laboratory experiments are described, illustrating the preparation and properties of important compounds. These experiments follow the discussion of the compounds to which they refer. The book is intended, therefore, to serve as a combination laboratory manual and textbook. By far the majority of the figures describe apparatus used in preparations, in analytical work, or molecular-weight determination. The first thirty pages are devoted t o a very complete discussion of qualitative and quantitative analytical procedures and methods of molecular-weight determination. The treatment of these subjects is far more extensive than one would anticipate in a book of this character. A student who has learned that phosphorus' pentachloride converts sliphatic primary alcohols into chlorides with fairly satisfactory yields will doubtless be disappointed when he tries the same reaction on phenol after reading "chlorobenzene can be prepared by the action of phosphorus pentachloride an phenol. . Some qualifying statement as to the unsatisfactory yield of chlorobenzene should be given. No mention a t all is made of the preparation of phenol from chlorobenzene. Aside from the eight errors in f m u l a s or context noted s t the beginning of the book, we were able to find only two others which were not self-evident. The formula of purine (p. 313) and that of etioporphyrin (p. 550) are incorrect. After a rather careful reading of the text, we believe that the author has attempted to include in a relatively small book too complete a survey of the v q broad subject of organic chemistry, with a consequent lack of attention t o accuracy of detail. The result is a rather unbalanced volume which contains some chapters of a high degree of excellence and others which are decidedly mediocre. Print and paper and binding are excellent. U m n a s m OF MARYLAND NATHANL. D ~ K E COCL~OB PAEX.MARYLAND ~
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