NEW BOOKS Oedema and Nephritis. By Martin H . Fischer. 2nd Ed. 16 X 23 cm; 695. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1915. Price: $5.00.-This is practically a new and enlarged edition of the author’s two books on Oedema (15, 414)and Nephritis (16,424, 620). The subject is treated under the following headings: the argument; absorption and secretion in individual cells and tissues; oedema; absorption and secretion in the complex organism; the colloid-chemical theory of water absorption, and some problems in biology, physiology, and pathology; nephritis; glaucoma. When discussing the possible existence of semi-permeable membranes in living cells, p. 156, the author says: “But aside from these physicochemical facts which stand so immovably against any belief which sees in living cells a replica of the artificial osmotic cells of our laboratories, biological considerations make the whole conception impossible. To have the laws of osmotic pressure tenable for living cells we must have semi-permeable membranes about them. Only as this is the case can changes in osmotic pressure become available for the movement of water into and out of the cells. If now, for the sake of argument, we grant this assumption, then no dissolved substances can get into or out of the cells. Such a conception of the cell is impossible, for how under such circumstances could it get its necessary food, or how could it rid itself of its various metabolic products? Both processes are absolutely indispensable for the continuation of life. To get around the difficulty various observers have made these osmotic membranes permeable t o some or many dissolved substances. But the moment we grant this, then the dissolved substances can diffuse from regions of higher to regions of lower concentration, and so differences in osmotic pressure are equalized and no forces remain available for the movement of water. The adherents t o the view that “osmotic” membranes exist about cells can take their choice, they can either utilize their conception to make water move or they can make their membranes permeable and so have dissolved substances move, hut they cannot have both. Yet for life to go on in the cell both processes must be able to go on interruptedly.” The author makes a good point here. though exception might be taken to some of the details. For years the reviewer has pointed out in his lectures that it was easy t o see how osmotic pressure can raise the sap in a tree provided one has the tree; but that is not easy to see how one can carry through the low-er cells the salts necessary t o give the upper cells the osmotic pressure which we assign t o them. It is possible t o assume that the sap rises between the cells; but then the osmotic pressure is superfluous. It is also possible t o assume that the cell walls are permeable t o two sets of salts which react and form a salt which does not pass through the membrane. This has never been shown t o be the case and until it is shown t o be so, Fischer’s view is unquestionably the most plausible one. The reviewer would have liked to have seen a paragraph t o the effect that semi-permeable membranes are colloidal and that we are, therefore, dealing with selective, negative adsorption. On p. 7 1 , the author says: “Were we a t this point to sum up our conception of the structure of protoplasm as thus far developed, we could liken it fairly
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accurately to a mass of protein intimately mixed w-ith more or less fat-like material (the fats and lipoids), the whole being under physiological conditions immersed in a liquid (pond water in the case of a n ameba, or lymph and blood in the case of our body cells) from which the protein-fat mixture soaks up a certain amount of water as well as a certain amount of the various dissolved substances found in the water. The water absorption is governed by the state of the (hydrophilic) emulsion colloids. The absorption of dissolved substances is a matter of equilibrium between the concentration of those found in t h e medium outside of the cell and that of the same substances found in the cell itself. We have indicated how solubility characteristics, phenomena of adsorption, and chemical combination influence the point a t which equilibrium is reached. This simple picture of the cell furnishes to our minds an adequate conception of its main structure.” When discussing transudation, the author says, p. 242 : “The accumulation of fluid in the serous cavities and in the so-called tissue spaces in oedematous states represents the separation of a dilute liquid protein colloid from the more solid, heavily hydrated ones making up the oedematous tissues themselves. It is the analogue of syneresis as observable in hydrated colloids. As degree of hydration and the time element are of importance in determining the amount of fluid that is thus squeezed off from laboratory colloids, so also do the high hydration characteristic of oedema and the time element, as determined by the chronicity of the agencies leading to the oedema, play important parts in the development of its accompanying transudations.” I n the subdivision on the absorption of water by spermatozoa, epithelial cells, and white blood corpuscles, p. 356, the author says: “In the attempt t o establish the validity of the laws of osmotic pressure for certain physiological and pathological manifestations of water absorption, biologists have been particularly eager t o work with material which on experiment was found t o approximate most closely the behavior demanded by theory. It is for this reason that certain plant cells and the red blood corpuscles have been the subject of more exhaustive study, so far as their behavior toward water absorption is concerned, than any other cells. The reason why just these cells should have approximated obedience to the laws of osmotic pressure more perfectly than most others that have been studied may appear later. But even these chosen cells show such great exceptions to the behavior demanded by theory that it is impossible t o escape the experimentally well-grounded conclusion that most, if not all, cells do not follow the laws of osmotic pressure. The attempts that have been made to harmonize the observed behavior of various cells with that demanded on the theory that cells represent osmotic systems are ingenious, but we can scarcely believe sufficiently supported by experiment to be convincing. For the most part the explanations given are complicated, which constitutes in itself a threatening feature when the explanation of any natural phenomenon is hazarded. What strikes one as particularly encouraging about the colloid idea of water absorption is its simplicity, and the breadth of water absorption phenomena to which it may be applied without apparent experimental or theoretical objection. “In a preceding part of this book we tried to show how the absorption of water by the cells of muscle, the eye, the central nervous system, the kidney, and the liver is essentially a function of their colloid state. What was said re-
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garding these cells is also true regarding spermatozoa, white blood corpuscles, and the epithelial cells of the bronchi, intestine, bladder, and esophagus. We need not enter into the detailed experimental findings on this subject which may be found in H. J . Hamburger’s excellent work. \Ire again encounter no difficulty in explaining the experimentally observed facts when we call to mind the effect of acids, alkalies, salts, and these in mixture upon the swelling of (hydrophilic) protein colloids. All the cells mentioned swell if placed in distilled water. This fact, which has always been interpreted as due to differences in osmotic pressure, is really to be explained by remembering that, under the conditions prevailing in these experiments, the cells produce acids which increase the capacity of their colloids for holding water. A second factor is found in the diffusion of a t least some salts out of the cell, for the higher the concentration of the neutral salts in a colloid, the less does it swell.” It is quite likely that the author’s enthusiasm has given him a slightly distorted perspective. I t is quite likely that he has erred occasionally in statement of facts, as in regard t o the molecular weights of colloids, p . 40. I t seems t o be certain, however, that his general point of view is sound and t h a t he is opening up a very fruitful field. It is only by taking into account the phenomena of colloid chemistry that one can hope to make permanent progress along physiological lines. The author is to be congratulated on the excellent work that he is doing. It’dder D . Bancroft Genetic Theory of Reality. B y James X a r k Baldxiin. 22 X 15 cm; p p . York: G. P . Putnam’s Sons, 191j. Price: $z.oo.-This book xuii 333’. forms the author’s fourth contribution to genetic logic and contains his doctrine of Pancalism, or, as he calls it, his contribution to the theory of reality. The problem of interpretation, or the reaching of objective meaning of things, is first treated. I n individual interpretation, practical and emotional interest determines the character of one’s decision, and these decisions pass through prelogical, logical and immediate stages, giving intuitive, perceptive, discursive and over-discursive moods. I n racial and social interpretation there is a tendency t o force the individual t o follow generally accepted customs. An extension of such interpretation can, therefore, never cause development. This can only come when some individual breaks away from conventional methods of looking a t things. These values are then worked back into the social fabric and development is occasioned. Religious interpretation, being both logical and teleological, forms a connecting link between the actual and the ideal. I n the development of these types of interpretation, the growth of imagination is of great importance and comes with the process of mediation. In further development from the mediate back t o immediacy the interpretation by philosophers has led t o mysticism, dogmatism, etc. The author, therefore, proposes t o consider reality from the standpoint of aesthetic experience. The author’s theory of reality may be stated thus: Reality exists because the summation of aesthetic experience, interpretation, and interest points to this existence as an ideal apart from one’s self. According t o this, a consideration of aesthetic beauty is looked upon as all important, all-inclusive, and universal. Art and beauty must, therefore, be considered as self-sufficient, unrelated, and all-inclusive.
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The author has developed this theory practically entirely from the immediate or intuitive standpoint. “We realize the real in achieving and enjoying the beautiful.” Take the question of music, for instance. The sound is perceived, but there would be no sound unless the human ear were present. There would be vibration but no sound, hence we cannot ascribe reality t o sound separate from, or without consideration, of the human ear. The author’s postulate of non-relativity is not warranted. The theory is, therefore, a statement of belief only. Making experience the criterion of reality reminds one of the classical proof of immortality from simplicity. I t is wholly unwarranted. The author’s style and diction in this book is of such a nature that it is hard reading. For that reason it will probably not be widely read. C. W . Bennett Handbuch der Mineralchemie. B y C. Doelter. Vol. 111: Parts 111-V. 18 X 2j cm; pp. 160 (each part). Dresden: Theodor Steinkopff, 1914. Price: 6.50 marks (each pari).-In these numbers are taken up the phosphates of magnesium, calcium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, lead, and alumina; the double aluminum or iron phosphates; the arsenates and antimoniates. I n spite of the fact t h a t blue, green, yellow, and red apatites are known, p. 344, we are very far from a knowledge of what the coloring matter is. Doelter does not accept the view of K’ohler t h a t the color is due t o a n organic substance, nor the view of Pupke that the color is due to manganese. On p. 359 is pointed out that large deposits of phosphorites occur in the ocean wherever a cold current meets a warm current. The sudden temperature change kills both the warm-water and the cold-water fauna, the bodies sinking to the bottom. I n some places the bed of the ocean is covered six feet deep with bones of fishes and other sea creatures. One large deposit occurs on the Agulhas Bank off the Cape of Good Hope where a warm equatorial current coming down between the island of Mozambique and the mainland meets the cold antarctic current. There is an interesting account of the preparation and properties of Thomas slag, p. 3 7 0 ; and another on the treatment of the monazite sands, p. j67. The various modifications of arsenic and of antimony are discussed in detail, pp. 601, 754; so are the inter-relations of the arsenic oxides, p. 619. There is apparently some work still to be done on the crystalline modifications of antimony oxide, senarmontite and valentinite, p. 7 6 2 , According to Henglein, who writes this portion of the book, the two oxides precipitate together from melts and solutions, while the direct change of one into the other has not been observed when neither fusion nor solution took place. Of course, this is merely a proof of careless work, but it is another one of the innumerable details which somebody must straighten out. Wilder D . Bancroft De la Pirotechnia. B y Vannoccio Biringuccio. Edited by Aldo Mieli. 13 x 21 cm; pp. lxxvi f 198. Bari: Societd Tipografica Editrice Barese, IgI4. Price: 3 francs.-This is the first of a series of scientific and philosophic classics which the enterprising publishers are going t o bring out. Biringuccio was born in 1480. He travelled much in Italy and Germany studying metallurgical processes. H e was exiled several times from Siena and died in Rome in 1539. Biringuccio does not use the word “Pirotechnia” t o denote fireworks b u t rather
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t o include all arts requiring the use of fire. The present volume includes only the first volume and part of the second volume of Biringuccio’s ten volume treatise. This first instalment contains the chapters on the ores of gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, iron, mercury, sulphur, and antimony; and those on the preparation of iron and brass. I n those days zinc itself was not known and brass was obtained direct from mixed ores of copper and zinc. Biringuccio was a contemporary of Paracelsus and his book is essentially a scientific treatise, one of the earliest t o which this name could apply. We are, therefore, grateful to the publishers R,’ilder D . Bancroft for making this truly classic work available to us.
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170. Molecular Association. B y W , E . S.Turner. zz X 15 cm; p p . viii Ne~il York: Longmans, Green and Co., I9I.f. Price: 51.40 net.-The headings of the chapters are: introductory ; the molecular complexity of dissolved substances; the influence of the solvent; molecular complexity in the liquid state; surface tension methods of determining molecular complexity in the liquid state; molecular complexity in the liquid state-some other methods and a review; the molecular complexity of water and the theory of dynamic allotropy; the selection and use of molecular formulae; molecular association and physical properties; molecular association and chemical combination. The compilation has been made somewhat uncritically. On p. 30 the author tabulates a molecular weight of over 5000 for ferric hydroxide based on freezingpoint measurements of colloidal ferric oxide solutions. On p. 4j i t is stated explicitly t h a t the theoretical osmotic pressure of a dilute aqueous solution will change if the degree of polymerization of the water is changed by the addition of the solute, in spite of the fact that theory and experiment shox t h a t the molecular weight of the solvent as vapor is what counts and not the molecular weight of R‘ilder D . Buncroft the solvent as liquid. Food Industries. B y H . T . Vult6 and S. B . Vandevbilt. 16 X 22 cm; p p . Easton: The Chemical Publishing Co., 1914. The subject is treated under the headings: food principles; water; the king of cereals-old milling processes; modern milling and mill products; cereals; breakfast foods and coffee substitutes; utilization of flour-bread making; leavening agents; starch and allied industries; the sugar industry; alcoholic beverages; fats; animal foods; the packing house; milk; milk products; preservation of foods; the canning industry; tea, coffee and cocoa; spices and condiments. I n regard to the cost of living, the authors say, p. 3 : “Foods may be roughly divided into permanent and perishable material. Among the permanent foods, the cost has decreased, as sugar and flour. The great advance in prices of our food material is found entirely in the perishable foods. Such material is now often brought from a long distance, thus adding cost of freight and many times the cost of preservation during transportation. The many hands through which food material must pass also increases the cost.” There is an interesting paragraph on p. 190 as to the reasons for cooking meat. “In great contrast to the carbohydrate group, protein does not become more digestible on cooking. In fact, meat fiber subjected t o high temperature or prolonged heating becomes toughened and more difficult of digestion. It is obvious, therefore, t h a t we must look for other reasons for the almost universal custom of cooking meat. Sterilization is the reason usually given, but this is
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only true to a limited extent As meat is not a good conductor of heat, the interior of large portions, such as roasts, frequently does not reach the temperature when all pathogenic bacteria are killed. Neither can we hope that harmful ptomaines will be affected if by any chance such compounds have been developed. Our real reason for cooking is probably the development of desirable flavors, largely due t o the extractive creatin, which yields creatinin on heating. This is importa n t as it is now a well known fact, that we do not derive as much benefit from food that we do not relish.” There is a curious lack of perspective about this. The authors seem to have forgotten that meat was cooked thousands of years before anybody knew anything about digestibility, sterilization, or ptomaines. On p. 104 we read that “in the world’s food products made from wheat, macaroni has occupied a n important place in the diet of several nations. The Japanese claim t o be the original manufacturers but whether this be true or not, the Europeans first heard of it from the Chinese who had been using it for a long period. Although the Germans were the European discoverers of macaroni, it was the Italians who early learned to appreciate its virtues and t o adopt it as a national food. By the fourteenth century, Italy was the only European nation that understood its preparation, and for nearly four hundred years she Wilder D . Bancroft held the secret of the method of manufacture.”
Foundations of Chemistry. B y Arthur A . Blanchard and Frank B . Wade. 14 X 19 cm; p p . 446. New York: American Book Co., 1914. Price: $1.25.I n the preface the authors say: “Formerly, the study of the classics occupied a very prominent position in educational training, and many of the ablest men of our times owe their efficiency largely to the excellence of the mental discipline thus acquired. The essential mental training can, however, be furnished in the study of subjects that possess vital interest and present day usefulness, provided these subjects are as well taught as were the classics. A tendency is now evident to depart from the study of the classics and t o substitute therefor a multitude of vocational and informational subjects. It is extremely likely that this type of study will not only fail t o prove as practically useful as its advocates hope, but that it will fail t o impart that sturdy independence of thinking-that ability to apply what has previously been gained-which is so essential to success in all walks of life, and which can be imparted in large measure by a thorough study of the underlying principles of science in their applications to wellselected cases. “With the ideal in mind of teaching the scientific method of thought while considering the facts and principles of chemistry, the authors have striven t o write a book, the intelligent study of which will develop both the power of the pupil to think originally and his appreciation of the relation between the subject matter of chemistry and his daily life. In illustrating the principles of chemistry, very many important industrial processes and applications to daily life have been chosen, but the greatest effort has been made to keep the idea uppermost that the principles concerned are of universal application, whereas the individual processes are transient and of relatively less importance to the general student of chemistry.” It is a good programme and such paragraphs as those on the kindling point, Wilder D . Bancroft p. 45, are instances of the book a t its best.
S e w Books Das Lebensmittelgewerbe.
B y K . tion Buchka:
V o l . I , Parts I and 11,
pp. 48, each part: 18 x 25 cnz. Leipzig: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft m. b. H., 1913. Price: 2 marks per part.-This hand-book deals with foods and beverages from all points of view; but with special reference to the legal restrictions which have been found necessary and to the reasons for them. The volume opens with a chapter on human nourishment by Dr. Kreutz of Strassburg, after which comes an introductory section by Professor von Buchka of Berlin. The first special chapter deals with foods and drinks containing alkaloids. This is to include sections on coffee and coffee substitutes; tea; cocoa and chocolate; tobacco. Only the opening pages of the section on coffee and coffee substitutes are included in the second number, The book is an interesting one and deals with a field Wilder D . Bancroft which has never been covered in the same way.
A Manual of Oils, Resins, and Paints. B y Harry Ingle. Irol. I . 14 X 20 cm; p p . 129. Philadelphia: J . B . Lippincott Co., I 9 I 5 . Price: S~.zj.--The manual is to consist of three volumes, each one complete in itself and sold separately. The first volume deals with analysis and valuation, the subject being treated under the headings: introduction to the chemistry of the oils, gums, etc. ; physical tests; chemical tests ; qualitative tests for oils; the classification of oils; the systematic examination of oils, fats, and waxes; technological analysis. Wilder D . Bancroft DonnBes num6riques de Spectroscopie. B y L. Bruninghaus. 22 X 28 cm; 73. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, I 9 I 4 . Price: I O francs. --This is a reprint of a portion of Volume I11 of the Annual International Tables (19,Z j I ) . I t contains the data for 1 9 1 2 on emission spectra, absorption spectra, and the Zeeman effect. There is a preface by H. Deslandres. The publication of the reprint has been made possible by the co-operation of the French Department of Public Instruction. U'ilder D . Bancroft
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Donn6es num6riques de l'electricit.6, magndtisme et 6lectrochemie. B y P . Dutoit, W . C. McC. L m i s and A . Mahlke. 22 X 28 cm; pp. ix $- 159, Chicago: L'niversity of Chicago Press, 1914. Price: I O francs.-This is a reprint of a portion of Volume I11 of the Annual International Tables (19,2 5 1 ) . The collection and publication of the data have been made possible by the co-operation of the French Department of Commerce, Industry, and Posts, of the Society of Civil Engineers (Paris) and of the International Society of Electricians (Paris), There is a preface by hlaurcie LeBlanc, president of the International electrotechnical commission, in which he points out that only a few years ago an electrician would have laughed a t the thought of being interested in data on the viscosity of rubber or on the action of light on selenium. Wilder D , Bancroft Donndes numkriques de radioactivit.6. B y J . Saphores and F. Bourion. X 28 cm; p p . viii 1 2 . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1914. Price: 2 . 5 0 francs.-This is a reprint of a portion of Volume I11 of the Annual International Tables (19, 2 5 1 ) , and is published with assistance from the Institute of Radioactivity of the University of Paris. The subheads are: atomistics, electronics and ionization, radioactivity, atmospheric electricity, atomic weights. 22
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Donnies numiriques de cristallographie et de miniralogie By L. J . Spencer. 22 X 28 cm; p p . iii -t 21. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1914. Price: 4 francs.-This is a reprint of a portion of Volume I11 of the Annual International Tables (19, 2 5 1 ) . Funds have been furnished by the German Mineralogical Society, the rZew York Academy of Sciences, the French Mineralogical Scciety, the Imperial Russian Mineralogical Society, the Mineralogical Society, the Vienna Mineralogical Society. In the preface M. A . Lacroix says that “all who are interested in minerals and in the science of crystals will find here precious new data on: chemical composition; crystallographic properties (especially the enumeration of recently discovered forms) ; optical, thermal, and electrical properties, hardness, density, and specific heats; temperatures of fusion, decomposition, transformation, etc. ; minerals occurring in nature and also innumerable organic or inorganic compounds prepared in the Wilder D . Bancroft laboratory.” Donnies numiriques de biologie. B y Emile F. Wrroine. 22 X 28 cnz; 20. Chicago: C’nioersity of Chicago Press, 1914. Price: 4 francs.This is a reprint of a portion of X-olume I11 of the -4nnual International Tables (19, 2 j I ) . The subdivisions are: biometrics, biological physical chemistry, W . D. B. biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacodynamics, physiology.
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B y S. L . Archbutt, G. Fieck, W . Hinrichsen,
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X 28 cm; p p . oiii 92. Chicago: Cniversity of Chicago Press, 1914. Price: I O francs.-This is a reprint of a portion of Volume I11 of the Annual International Tables (19,2 5 1 ) . It is published with assistance from the French Department of Public Works, the Committee of French Ironmasters, the Franco-Belgium Group of the International Association for Testing Materials, the Iron and Steel Institute, the French Society of Civil Engineers, the Eastern Section of the Industrial Society (h’ancy). Under engineering the subheads are : mechanical constants of materials of construction, textiles, etc. ; thermal constants of refractories and combustibles. Under metallurgy the subheads are: various technical data on metals and alloys; mechanical Wilder D. Bancroft constants.
E . Nusbaumer and A . Portevin.
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