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INDUSTRIAL AND EIZ'GINEERI~'GCHEMISTRY
thetic fibers rivaling silk, most of which are comprised under the name of "rayon." Within about ten years the textile industry, which is one of the oldest known t o man, has been revolutionized by synthetic chemistry in producing a form of fiber made from wood pulp which is rivaling the ancient materials-wool, silk, and cottonout of which the clothing of the human race has been woven for the last ten thousand years. EDWINE. SLOSSON Blacks and Pitches. BY H. M. LANGTON. Oil and Color Chemistry Monograph. 179 pages. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1925. Price, $4.50. The scope of the book is not adequately covered by its title. It includes the organic black pigments, except dyestuffs, with the emphasis on bone black, carbon black, and lampblack. Graphite is given about equal consideration. Under Pitches the author describes bituminous materials in general, such as natural asphalts, asphaltites, and petroleum asphalts, as well as the real pitches from coal tars of various types, from the wood tars, and from fatty acid residues. There are also several chapters on the uses of blacks in paint, ink, and rubber, and the use of bitumens in roofing, waterproofing, paving, and paints. The book is rather unusual in that, written by a British author, it recognizes so fully the work done in the United States. The subject is a very broad one-too broad, in fact, t o be more than outlined in a book of some 173 pages. The author has merely assembled in readable form a bibliography of the most recent developments in the various fields, and the volume will prove useful t o the reader who wants t o get a very sketchy picture of the subjects treated, with the necessity of referring back t o the cited literature t o obtain any details a t all. As a bibliography the book is by no means complete. This is not a fault, as rather complete bibliographical references are available elsewhere for most of the matters treated, and t o have attempted a complete treatment of the individual subjects would have made each chapter a volume. The book is well indexed a s to subjects. The placing of literature references at the end of each chapter is, however, inconvenient, especially where a duplicated reference in a later chapter is found a t the end of a previous one. It would have been better had all references been collected a; one point. The book will be of value t o those in the paint, varnish, ink, and rubber industries as giving a general picture of some of the materials they use, but is not detailed enough t o interest the producing industries t o any great extent. J. M. WEISS First Report of the Pabrics CoBrdinating Research Committee. Made t o the Advisory Council of the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1925. Price, 1 s. 9 d. net. This report covers a period of about three years from the time of the appointment of the committee in 1921 t o July, 1924. The significance of this report t o chemists does not lie in the light t h a t has been thrown on the problems involving textile chemistry, but rather as an example of the recognition of the value of industrial research and the need of cooperative effort embracing a wide field of related endeavor, and the necessity of covering the related fields with completeness and at the same time with a minimum of overlapping and otherwise wasted endeavor. The committee is essentially a government service committee for coordinating the research work on fabrics used in the government service, and is composed of two members from the War Office, two members from the Air Ministry, one member from the Admiralty, and one each from the British Research Associations for Cotton, for Woolen and Worsted, for Linen, and for Rubber and Tyre Manufacture, and one from the National Physical Laboratory; and in the subcommittees are members from the Rothamsted Experimental Station, the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Testing House, the Bradford Conditioning and Testing House, and other members of special knowledge as consulting members. The titles of the Special Reports, covering about fifty pages, indicate the kind of researches which the committee has attempted t o coordinate through these various agencies. These reports are given as appendixes numbered as follows: (1) Deterioration of Fabrics by Light; (2) Deterioration of Fabrics by Microarganisms; (3) Mechanical Testing of Fabrics ; (4) Fire
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Proofingof Fabrics;and ( 5 ) Summary of Report of the War Office Committee on Tentage and Textiles on Specially Treated Linen and Cotton Duck Exposed under Different Climatic Conditions. The textile interests in this country would do well to give this example careful study as a n illustration of the possibility of coardinating all the research work in the various textile branches by having a directing body of competent men with expert knowledge, and also t o discover whether the textile interests in this country can afford t o drift along as individuals while other countries forge ahead by developing the cooperative spirit and mass action.
W. F. E. Autoclaves and High Pressure Work. BY HAROLD GOODWIN. Chemical Engineering Library. Second Series. 166 pages. 27 illustrations. 5 X 7.5 inches. Ernest Benn, Ltd., London. Price, 6 s. net. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1925. Price, $2.00. This is a practical book for the chemical engineer and has real values for any one not fully familiar with autoclave work. Indeed, many of us who have had much experience in such work can no doubt derive worthwhile hints from its pages. The book treats of autoclaves, from those of laboratory size up through the semi-works scale t o the large ones needed for tonnage manufacture. The feature of the book consists of the detailed directions for the design of autoclaves and their accessories, as well as how to carry on autoclave reactions. For example, the necessity of having a carefully designed furnace for the autoclave, as well as proper emergency and working tanks, is emphasized. Besides listing t h e details of the engineering connected with autoclaves, the economic task of getting t h e most production out of a dollar invested in plant is recognized and emphasized. A better index, referring in much more detail to both the mechanical and chemical subjects treated, would have made the book more usable. R. NORRISSHREVE Bacteria in Relation to Soil Fertility. BY JOSEPH E. AND ETHELYN 0. GREAVES. xviii 239 pages. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1925. Price, $2.50.
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The aim of this most interesting book on soil bacteriology can best be stated by a quotation from t h e preface. This little book is an effort to present in nontechnical language the fascinating story of the class of micro8rganisms which inhabit the soil. It is hoped that it will prove valuable not only to the high-school student but also to the general reader, and especially to the agriculturist. If to these it furnishes a faint glimpse into this wonderful realm and creates interest for knowledge in this vital subject, the authors will feel that their labors have not been in vain.
As one reads the book he feels t h a t these aims will be fully attained. The first eight chapters, or 70 pages, are devoted t o general bacteriology and the remaining thirteen chapters, or 157 pages, t o soil bacteriology, with a n index of 11 pages. By reading i t t h e layman, young student, or intelligent farmer can get a very excellent conception of the meaning and methods of bacteriology and t h e contribution this science has made t o human welfare. The book is just as interesting as a novel and much more instructive. It would be fortunate if all our sciences were written up in a similar way and the books were put into the hands of laymen generally. Such books would go far toward accomplishing the much needed education of t h e public on the significance and methods of science. Although the book is elementary, it contains an enormous amount of exact information. This is made possible by its simple, direct style. Many of the technical terms of the science are also introduced and accurately defined, but this is done in a way to make them an essential part of t h e interesting story. The book is full of human touches that will increase its interest to the casual reader, of which the following quotation is an illustration: PIGMENTS-All have heard of the miracle of the bleeding host. The consecrated bread left overnight in the moist bacteria-laden air of the chapel appears on the morrow besprinkled with bright red drops. What could it be? Blood! From whence did it come and what did it indicate? Various were the interpretations placed upon it, and numerous the lives and homes which were sacrificed through this delusion. The mystery, romance, and tragedy disappear when one sees a tiny organism, Bacillus prodigiosus, in the laboratory growing in tubes of starchy food and producing a blood-red pigment.
