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railroads. A large number of the unmarked items, however, are specifications in name only. They have been prepared for some purchasing agency t h a t demanded a specification, whether it could be made or not. The result is something that reads rather like a specification, but leaves requirements and methods of inspection and test quite indefinite. Others have been prepared t o look like general specifications, while really requiring a particular brand or make of the article described. A number of obsolete specifications are also included. Listing of such specifications is necessary in a publication like the directory. They will doubtless be omitted from the proposed encyclopedia which is t o be issued in loose-leaf form and include actual specifications or abstracts. Those of the 27,000 that get into the encyclopedia will probably approach the standard of the 339 United States Government Master Specifications promulgated by the Federal Specifications Board up t o October 1, 1925. W. D. COLLINS Chemistry and Civilization. BY ALLERTON S. CUSHMAN.2nd edition. 171 pages. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1925. Price, $2.50. Those who have read ihe previous edition of this brief sketch of the progress of chemistry need now read only the last chapter of the new edition. The first six chapters are reprints-and although some of them might well have been revised to include the developments of the past five years, the book is, after all, for the layman, and for him the latest development has not of itself special significance. The volume as a whole makes a very readable and interesting story. While the scope of the discussion does not permit the presentation of any theories or explanations other than those generally accepted, the rather dogmatic presentation is a bit unfortunate. The intelligent layman should not be given the impression that any of the theories of chemistry, or of science in general, are so completely developed and so universally accepted as to be no longer subject t o revision. The fate of the phlogiston theory would have served admirably t o illustrate what may some day happen to many of our present-day theories. A new chapter, entitled Modern Concepts of Matter and Energy, constitutes the principal difference between the former and present editions of the book, and much may be said in commendation of it. The clear presentation of so intricate a subject as “the astronomy of the atom” is difficult a t best and when one does this in nontechnical language so that the intelligent layman can follow and understand “what it is all about,” it is no mean accomplishment. At the top of page 138 a typographical error ascribes t o the average electron a period of 2 X 10‘6 seconds in which to revolve around its proton. HARDEECHAMBLISS The Bureau of Standards. Its History, Activities, and Organization. Service Monograph 35 of the United States Government. BY GUSTAVUS A. WEBER. Compiled and issued by the Instixv pp. Johns tute for Government Research. 299 Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1925. Price, $2.00.
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The history, activities, and organization of the Bureau of Standards constitute the subject matter of this monograph and considerable detail is condensed from the many sources listed in the bibliography. The history begins with the old office of Standard Weights and Measures of the Treasury Department and traces in a n interesting manner the development of this important bureau down to the date of publication. Under the discussion of the activities of the bureau, care has been taken to describe, not only the principal divisional enterprises, but many of the individual problems and instances of cooperation with business organizations and with individuals. In the section on organization the purposes of the various divisions and sections are outlined, together with a statement of the number of employees engaged in such special work, the number and grade of personnel in each unit, and the annual salary rate. Further, there is a classification of activities, a chapter on publications, and a useful compilation of laws which apply t o the Bureau of Standards, beginning with those applying to the Bureau of Weights and Measures and including the act to establish a national Bureau of Standards and such supplementary acts as apply to its work. The act of March 3, 1901, states in Section 2: That the functions of the bureau shall consist in the custody of the standards: the comparison of the standards used in scientific investigations. engineering, manufacturing, commerce, and educational institutions with the standards adopted or recognized by the Government; the construction, when
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necessary, of standards, their multiples and subdivisions; the testing and calibration of standard measuring apparatus, the solution of problems which arise in connection with standards; the determination of physical constants and the properties of materials, when such data are of great importance to scientific or manufacturing interests and are not to be obtained of sufficient accuracy elsewhere.
This monograph would seem t o fulfil the purposes of this series, which are to give the history of the establishment and development of the several branches of government service, outline the functions of each, indicate the organization and character of plant, compile laws and regulations governing its operation, present the financial statement showing appropriations and expenditures, and finally present a full bibliography of sources of information, official and private, bearing on the service and its operations. Volatile Solvents and Thinners. BY NOBL HEATON. Oil & Colour Chemistry Monographs, edited by R. S. MORRELL.154 pages. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1926. Price, $4.50. The enormous development in the lacquer industry in America during the last few years has stimulated Considerable interest in the manufacture and use of organic solvents. Up to six months ago there was practically no book covering this field published in English. Two books have appeared in a monograph series from England. One of these books is “Volatile Solvents and Thinners.” On reading this delightfully written little treatise, the reviewer was impressed with the fact that the lacquer industry has not been developed in England to anywhere near the extent that i t has been developed in this country. Furthermore, the English writers do not seem to be thoroughly familiar either with the manufacture on a commercial scale or the use of the more modern solvents. This book has very excellent chapters on Coal Tar Hydrocarbons and the Terpene Group. The subject matter concerning the Alcohol Group, Ketones and Ethers, and Esters is far from complete, and in some cases, from the reviewer’s standpoint, is inacciirate. The author seems to have made a rather thorough literature search through the trade journals and quoted statements presumably written by salesmen who are desirous of throwing the most favorable light upon their products. This has naturally given him a rather biased viewpoint, and apparently these statements were not checked by the author by personal investigation. This, of course, detracts from the value of the book and will probably cause it to become obsolete as other and more accurate informatiop is published in the near future. The reviewer would suggest that it might be beneficial for English writers who are contemplating publishing books on the subject of organic solvents and lacquers to make a trip to America and see first hand most of the processes for the manufacture of these solvents and also their utilization in lacquers. Information obtained in this way would be much more accurate than that obtained by conversation with promoters and salesmen or given in articles found in trade journals. Furthermore, a trip to this country and an investigation of this new lacquer industry would probably mean much to the development of the lacquer industry in England, and it certainly would prevent a duplication of research and development work. In spite of the lack of authentic information, this book is a very attractive and readable treatise and should prove of interest to the technical man not only in England but also in this country. D. B.KBYES Manuel du Chimiste de Laiterie Analysis de Lait et de ses Sous-Produits. BY F. LABARRE. 168 pages. GauthierVillars & Cie., Paris, 1925. Price, 20 francs. This small book covers various phases of the analysis of milk and milk products. The book is very much condensed. The methods are given in but very slight detail and consequently are of no great value to one who is unfamiliar with the chemistry of milk and its by-products. To those familiar with this subject the book affords nothing of very great value. There are many books in the English language which are preferable. There are practically no references to original sources of the methods and the analyses quoted are mean analyses with very few references t o the extremes. The Babcock method, universally used in the United States, is conspicuous by its absence, although the Gerber method is described in very good detail. Most of the up-to-date methods, however, are mentioned, but very little of value is given on the interpretation of results. H. C. LYTHGOE
