RECENT ROOKS T n s CONSTITU~NTS OP WHEATAND WHEATPRODUCTS. C. H. Bailey, Professor of Agricultural Biochemistry and Director of the Agricultural Station, the University of Minnesota. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York, 1944. 332 pp. 17 figs. 115 tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $6.50. As the author states in the introduction this monograph. Number 96 in the American Chemical Society Series, is a compilation of the significant facts and data relating t o the chemical substances present in wheat. The first chapter gives a remarkably comolete review of the earlv researches on wheat nroteins and gow into far mure detail than Oshorne or other earlier writers attempt~dto do. A particularly valu~blefeatureof thechaptcr is the tahle in e,hich are given the names npplicd to the numerous preparations of wheat proteins described by early workers, together with sufficient information about their solubility t o permit the reader t o form some sort of judgment as to what these preparations were. No one who has not tried t o read this early literature can appreciate the confusion in which the nomenclature was a t the time that Osharne began his researches nor fully grasp the value of the relatively simple system that he set up. The author has emphasized the clarification that Osborne made by dividing the main discussion into two parts, Wheal protcin research 1728-1895, and Osborne's researches on wheal proteins. It cannot he claimed that before Osborne all was dark and that after him all was light. But it is true that before his work was done there was little with which the student could feel satis6ed. whereas since his time research on the wheat proteins has progressed with ever-increasing effectiveness. On page 1, in the discussion of Beccari's classical paper on wheat gluten there is what the reviewer believes t o be a mistranslation of the original Latin. A translation of this paper was made either by Osborne himself or by one of his friends many years ago, the manuscript of which is preserved in the files of the reviewer's laboratory. Beccari's phrase concerning the behavior of gluten when kept in a warm moist place, somewhat delicately translated by Loenholdt and Bailey and quoted in the present chanter as "nutreiied strikinelv like a dead bodv." is found- in osdorne's t r k a t i o n to he, "rots and very stinkingly putrefies like a dead body,"-decidedly a more vigorous and memorable statement! The subsequent chapters deal successively with (2) the prolamins of wheat, (3) the glutelins, (4) the water- and salt-soluble proteins, (5) crude protein and crude gluten, (6) nucleic acid, (7) nonprotein nitrogen, (8) starch, (9) sugars, (10) gums, pentosans,hemicelluloses, and cellulose. (11) lipids, phmpholipids. and sterols, (12) minerals, (13) the halogens, sulfur, and selenium. (14) acidity. (15) wheat and flour pigments, and (16) vitamins of wheat and wheat products. Each chapter contains a digest of the more important papers that have appeared during the past two or three decades, with occasional briefer reference t o older literature where this seemed desirable mainly for historical reasons. Quantitative data are quoted liberally in tabular form and the progress of research is told in a narrative style illustrated by the work that is being described. The references to the literature are given as footnotes on each page, thus assisting the reader by making it unnecessary to turn repeatedly t o a collected bibliography a t the end of the chapter. The author has resisted the temptation t o include discussion and description of the analytical and other methods used, leaving these t o be looked up in the original by the student. The amount of scholarship and study that has gone into the preparation of this monograph is astonishing. As a rule, a specialist may be expected to have exhaustive knowledge of his field hut usually this field is restricted in subject matter. Dr. Bailey. however, proceeds from proteins t o lipids, t o carbohydrates, and to the inorganic components and the vitamins with apparently equal facility and grasp of the fundamentals. There is little reason to doubt that he is likewise a t home with the genetics, the agronomy, and the technology of the wheat plant.
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Certainly he has produced a volume well worthy t o take its place beside Osborne's monograph on the wheat proteins and one that will for many years serve as the point of departure for future students of the subject. I t is a reviewer's privilege t o point out things that he does not like. I n the present case these are few and of no great importance; however, there are real objections to the use in a modern book of the old-fashioned term "amid nitrogen" and "amid fraction" (in Chapter 7) without specific explanation of the meaning of this term as employed by the early investigators. To be sure, the term is enclosed in quotation marks when it first appears, and, in most other cases, the author is clearly quoting the usage of the investigator whose work is being discussed. But reports are included of studies in which substances other than asparagine have been identified in the protein-free aqueous extract and since by no means all of these are even amino acids, a student might well be puzzled. One may also object t o the frequent use of a figure followed by the plus-and-minus sign apparently to suggest the idea of "approximately." I t would be unfortunate if this practice became common. There is an accasional failure t o translate into its correct English equivalent the French term "dosage" (e. g., on p. 33). But with so much that is of permanent value included, these points are of little significance. None of the occasional printer's errors that were noted could lead to misunderstanding. The hook as a whole is not easy reading. I t is, as it should be, highly technical, and will doubtless find its chief use as the source of fundamental information for those concerned with the biochemistry of the wheat plant. The fa-ilure to include attempts t o interpret the occasionally contradictory results that have appeared was deliberate on the part of the author, as he states in the introduction, and is perhaps a wise measure since it throws upon the new investigator the responsibility for forming his own judgments of the achievements of others. He is thus encouraged t o assume an unbiased point of view in the interpretation of his own results. H. B. VICKERY CONNBCT~CVT AOPJCVLTORILEXPBRCIBNT STATION Nsw HAVBN.CONNHCT~CUT
GENERAL COLLEGE CHEMISTRY.M . Cannon Sneed, Professor of Chemistry, and J. L a i r Maynard, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, in the School of Chemistry, University of Minnesota. D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1944. viii 861 pp. Illustrated. I l l tables. 15 X 21 cm. $3.75.
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According to the preface, "This text differs from 'General Inorganic Chemistry'by thesameauthorsin that thesubject matter is presented moresimply and in less detail; the text is designed for a first-year course in college chemistry, and should be readily assimilated by high-school graduates of average ability. I t consists of 44 chapters, several of which may be omitted without breaking the continuity of the treatment, notably thechapters on organic chemistry, colloids, and the transitional elements. Because of the outstanding importance of organic chemistry, two chapters are devoted to this subject; these serveonly t o point out its extent and usefulness. The chapters are designed for nanmajors rather than for majors in chemistry." Disregarding for the moment the merits of the book, the reviewer would like to point out that he feels the above quotation t o he misleading. The statement would lead one to believe that this hook, "General College Chemistry," is a much easier and toned-down version of the more voluminous "General Inorganic Chemistry." Actually, as a page-by-page comparison revealed, the chief difference between the two volumes is that with minor revisions the older book has been reset in smaller type and printed an thinner paper. Most of thefigures and illustrations have been retained. Up to Chapter 19 (the first 316 pages) the twovolumes are almost identical. I n same instances a few paragraphs have
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been alter&, a few new exercises have been substituted and the references brought up t o date, hut so far as "majors in chemistry" and "high-school graduates of average ability" are concerned the changes would appear to be insignificant. I n chapters 19 and 20 the discussion of "Modern Ionic Theories" and "Applications of Ionic Theory" is somewhat less complete than that given in chapters 17, 18, and 19 of the earlier text, hut would still he considered a rather heavy assignment by many teachers. After thisshort divergence the two volumescontinue to he closelysimilar up to the section an organic chemistry, which has been entirely rewritten. The next major change is the removal of chapter 34 on coordination compounds in a condensed version t o chapter 43 ("Iron, Cobalt, and Nickel"). I n the later chapters the changes consist of a condensation in the discussion of electrochemistry and less emphasis on metallurgy. The descriptive chemistry. except for that of the transitional elements, remains essentially unchanged. Thechapter on alloys bas been omitted. The earlier text had no appendix and in the new text a few tables which had previously been printed in the body of the volume have been put a t the end. These are: the tables on weights and measures, color scale of temperature, solubilities of inorganic substances, and the long table of stable isotopes. Thus the present volume appears to the reviewer to he more accurately described as a revised edition rather than a new and simplified textbook. These remarks, however, are not intended to be derogatory of either volume. Few texts have appeared which so completely meet the ideals of those who have been filling the pages of THIS J o u n ~ u with . pleas for a moremodern treatment in the freshman course. Unlike many texts which pay lip service to modern theoretical developments in the earlier sections and lapse into the obsolete traditional viewpoint in the later chapters on descriptive chemistry, "General College Chemistry" is from start t o finish consistently modern and up to date. I n the chapters devoted t o the chemical elements and their reactions the theories elaborated in theearlier sections areused consistently t o explain the ohsemations, thus affording greater opportunity for genuine understanding. While the hook may seem excessively long t o many teachers, it should serve the student adequately as a reference book for his courses in qualitative and quantitative analysis and as a permanent additon to hischemicallihrary. Thereferencesfollowiug the chapters have been carefully selected and it is gratifying to supporters of THIS JOURNAL t o note how many have been selected from its pages. The reviews of "General Inorganic Chemistry" were very favorable and teachers may feel no hesitancy in selecting the present volume, "General College Chemistry," for students of hetter-than-average ability. LAURENCE S. FOSTER
Barnett F. Dodge. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING THERMODYNAMICS. Professor of Chemical Engineering, Yale University. McGraw-HillBook Company, Inc., NewYork, 1944. xviii 680pp. 182 figs. and 1chart. 25 tahles. 15 X 22.5 cm. $6.00.
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Professor Dodge dedicates this baok t o his wife "who mites more exciting books." And, the present reviewer would add, hooks that are much easier to read. This h w k has been long in the making. Professor Dodge confesses t o 15 years; a t least 10 years ago he ventured a promise t o write the hook. Now he apologizes for having written it, hoping that there is r w m for this onemore text on chemical engineering thermodvnamics. , - ~ So far as the oresent reviewer and teacher of chemical engineering is concerned, them is still plenty of room in the field. Particularly there is neded now a textbook which will prepare the undergrnduntc to tackle Professor Ihdge's book in his senior year. I f a competent chemical engineer could be prevailed upon t o write a first-class textbook of physical chemistry for chemical engineering students the latter might then indeed be familiar with those "fundamentals that are in the curriculum of the first three years of any good undergraduate course in chemical ~
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engineering." Perhaps a "gwd undergraduate c a m e in chemical engineering" could be defined as one which adequately prepares a student t o use Professor Dodge's thermodynamics text in his senior year. I n any event, the senior who wades through this hook in the course of a year will know that he has gone places. The plan of the hook is set forth clearly in the Preface, from which the following excerpts are quoted: "The &st two chapters are devoted to developing the fundamental concepts and definitions and especially the ideas underlying the two great laws of thermodynamics." . "Once the concepts are presented, their development into usable tools becomes a purely mathematical problem, and this is themethod of approach adopted in Chapter 111.". ."The next logical step was to extend the development t o more complex systems, and that is the business of Chapter IV.". . "After developing differential equations relating thermodynamic properties to the variables of state, the equations must he integrated. This requires put data, and so the neat logical step is t o review suchdataand the equations of state for expressing them. Thisis the task of Chapter V. Chapter VI then brings thedifferential equations and the means of integrating them together and develops the numerical calculation of the thermodynamic properties. The first six chapters have laid the foundations far the applications t o specific operations and processes that constitute the subject matter of the remaining seven chapters." The plan above outlined has been executed with care and precision. The inclusion of 135 solved problems will he extremely helpful to the student (perhaps even t o the teacher). One could wish that the author had included another 135 prohlems, formulated but not solved in the book. Correct answers to hastily formulated prohlems are often an embarrassment t o a lazy teacher. The ahundant references t o original articles constitute a valuable feature of the book. There is little that one may criticize in this book. I t is not evident t o the uresent reviewer that there is anv compensatlnp advantage fur tile au kward srhrmc adopted in n;rnherinp the figwe, and equations. Here and there in the text the language used is not as crisp as it might be. For enample, in the &st paragraph of the book, the phrase "may he said" in lines one and eight serves no useful purpose. On page 13 why say "This simply means"? And why say "the well-known equation of the di5erential calculus"? On page five the author might well h a v e indicated that the identity of the ideal gas temperature scale and the thermodynamic temperature scale is not accidental. I f Professor Dodge can predict what a nowd or large group of individuals will do, as he sugpegts on page 9, he is swely wdsting his time teaching chemical engineering. The abovementioned criticisms, and many similar ones which might he made, are trivial. Professor Dodge has produced a very excellent hook, one which will he useful both as a textbook and as a reference in chemical engineering. May its kind increase! HARRYA. C m s
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T s a c n ~ n saon OUR Tlaa~s. A Statement of Purposes by the Commission on Teacher Education. American Council on 178pp. 15 X 23 Education, Washington, D. C., 1944. xix em. $2.00.
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The purpose of this baok is t o show the kind of teaching schools and kind of teachers the country needs. To this end the Commission makes three surveys: the existing conditions surrounding the teaching profession, including types of teachers and types of preparation; the social and economic trends of the country; and the types of students. The conclusion is "that the purpose of teacher education is to produce good teachen, that excellence in a teacher is relative t o the tasks that he ought t o perform, and that those tasks should he determined with reference to the changing needs of children and thesociety in which the teaching is t o be done."
