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bad qualities arc pretty evident and will probably impress the reader adversely a t the outset. Its good points will appear when the hook is read. The reviewer has found that a careful examination dulled greatly, or almost neutralized, the first unfavorable impression and convinced him that the book is very much better than it a t first appears to be. The fourteen collaborators have done their part and have chosen their material wisely and well, hut their contributions have plainly suffered from too much editing. The effort t o unify the whole account bas mangled i t in many places. It would undoubtedly have been a better hook if i t had been written by one man, or, lacking that, if the reader had been offered the clear exposition of one expert, then the clear exposition of another--and had been allowed t o synthesize the various opinions far himself. The intelligent reader will probably insist upon the latter alternative anyway. The baok covers the whole realm of general science and supplies a textbook for an orientation course in which the, student is given a broad survey of man's knowledge about nature and about man individually, and in the group. The original manuscripts of the chemistry sections were prepared hy Lyman C. Newel1 and by Ralph N. Maxson, both well known to the readers of THIS JOUR~ f i . That on astronomy was prepared by Harlow Shapley, perhaps the most distinguished of living astronomers. Some of the other collaborators are well-known and distinguished specialists in their various branches of science. Each chapter is followed by a "Questionnaire with Reading References" which seems a needless irritation-for most of us have had enough of questionnaires. Each question is followed by a list of books which bear upon it. and the particular page upon which a discussion of the question may he found is generally noted-a detail which is distinctly unfavorable t o productive scholarship. The hwk contains many paragraphs which
will make the student wish for more, and a number which do not contain enough to insure a proper understanding of their meaning. It is supplied with a really excellent index. TBNNBY L. DAVIS MASS&CBUSBTTS INSZlTUTB
OI
TGCANOLOCY,
CArssrocn, MassAcHussrrs
Practical Chemistry with Experiments. Ph.D.. Professor of LYMANC. NEWELL, Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Mass. Revised edition. D. C. Heath and Ca.,New York City, 1929. Part I. Practical Che~mistry. viii 513 pp. 24 tables; 139 drawings; 95 photographs. Part 11. Experiments in Practical Chemistry. viii 168 pp. 114 drawings. 12.5 X 13.19 cm. $2.24.
+
+
The text (Part I) and the manual (Part
II) are bound in one volume. This second edition is more attractively bound than was the first (1922) one. The quality of the binding of the new book is good; however the cloth part spots somewhat. The thickness (3.6 im.) of the baok is, perhaps. too great far the other dimensions. The paper stock will withstand very well the cus%omary usage accorded a first-course chemistry baok; i t allows too free a flow of fountain-pen ink. The paragraphing is well done; the section heads show excellent composition, both from the standpoint of directing the reader's attention and also for purposes of ready reference. These headings are printed in 11-12 point, hold-fa- type; the main body of the text in 11-12 point; and the less important section of the text, exercises, problems, and themain body of the manna1 in 8-point. The type is neat and easily read, i t being prohably monotypc modern or monotypc Caslon. The reviewer found no typographical errors but he was slightly disconcerted by an avoidable amount of broken type. I n the main the drawings are very well executed. Conventional perspective outline shading would have added t o the reality of the threedimension drawings. The customary broken section conventions
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RECENT BOOKS
are almost totally ignored. In some instances the ends of open glass tubes are closed and in others are left open. These are minor considerations, but the observation of them would add t o an otherwise well set-up book. The photographs are well chosen and excellently printed. It is unusual t o find an inorganic text and manual combined under one cover. This arrangement has the merit of a greater assurance that the student ,will have the text available for reference purposes while in the laboratory. The comhination cannot, however, be satisfactorily used in the elimination from the text proper of the partial description of certain of the laboratory experiments. The reviewer had access to the first (1922) edition of the text but not to the previous edition of the laboratory enperiments. A hasty comoarison shows: (1) tllat certain paragraphs in Chapters X X V I I3fetals and Non 3Ictnls-l'crtodic Classification) and XXXVIII (Radium and Radioactivity) were revised and extended; and (2) the addition of Chapter XXXIX (Electrons)-these changes and additions being in conformity t o more recent fact and theory relative to the nature of matter. The index is increased accordingly. The Appendix lists 53 (an addition of nine) sources of related and detailed outside reading. The text is "intended for the first year of chemistry." The author states, "it is a Practical Chemistry-practical in several ways." The author is modest, as his statemen leaves the impression that his treatment of the subject is devoid of theory. Such is not the case, far there are in the hook brief hut adequate presentations of: (1) the atomic, kinetic, and ionization theories; (2) valence; (3) structure of the atoms, etc. Of the 421 exercises and 274 problems, quite a few deal with theoretical chemistry. The general sequence of topics is excellent. The student is quite early but very unostentatiously introduced to such suhjects as symbols, formulas, equations, and atoms. These terms and abbreviations
725
constitute some of the fundamentals of the language of chemistry-hence why not this early introduction of them? The displacement (chemical activity) series is briefly used in the chapter on hydrogen (p. 42). and there is no particular reason for not utilizing this series as early as the chapter dealing with oxygen. The pages concerned with molecular weights, formulas,atomic weights,and valence are masterpieces of clarity and simplicity. The extensive lists of the practical uses of the various substances lend a wholesome pandemic tenor to the subject. Solutions and c$loid chemistry are given scanty space in the chapter on water. The dangerous nature of definitions is well recognized by the author as exhibited by the fewness of them. The chemistry of condensed acids and their salts is not mentianed. Earlv in the book. chemical changc is discussrd without reference to the occomtnn\,ine . . - mere7 -. chnn~es: - . a little later chemical change is extended in the light of the electron theory. The use of electronics is avoided in the sections dealing with oxidation and reduction. The hetallurgy and refining of copper is presentedrat some length. The doublearrow (%) is used in the sections pertaining t o equilibrium reactions, hut thereafter avoided. The statement "about 85 elements'' is t o be found on p. 7; 85 elements are listed in the "Table of and atomic weights;" and only 70 are included in the "Periodic Classification." The reviewer regrets that the Chemicd A bdrocts' spelling of alumiflzrm, sulfur, and buret is not followed. Part Il (Experiments in Practical Chemisby to Accompany the Text) contains 238 exercises. According to the author, "Several experiments have been revised and minor corrections made in this edition." The first experiments are given in ample detail, while the later ones are more abbreviated. Attention is also given to the selection of experiments involving the lesser costs for materials. The technic in pouring liquids (Figures XV and XVI) could be improved. The other general in-
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structions in the "Introduction" are excellent except that "carron-oil" for burns is no longer on the favored list of first-aid treatment. The absence of apparatus supports in the diagrams may leave tw much t o the ingenuity of the student. The title "Effect of Shape on the Solubility of a Solid" is misleading. Hydrated sodium acetate is probably a more interesting substance for the study of "super-saturation" than is sodium thiosulfate. The familiarizing of a first-course student with a hydrometer is commendable. Some of the analytical determinations are worthy of an excellent first-course manipulator. The manual a5ords a wide latitude in the choice of experiment and is a veritably exceIlent accompaniment for the text. I n conclusion, the reviewer recommends the volume for the use of students who have not had any previous training in chemistry. JESSE E. DAY THBO H ~ O STATEU N I Y B R S ~ Y CoLauaus, Onro
BULLETINS Record of Current Educational h b l i c a tions. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1929, No. 24. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washinpton, D. C. 128 pp. 10.15. This bulletin comprises publications received by the Bureau of Education, January-December, 1928, with index. Statistics of Private High Schools and Academies, 1927-1928. Prepared in
the Division of Statistics by Frank M. Phillips, Chief. Dept. qf the Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletin,
1929, No. 19. U. S. Government Priuting Office, Washington, D. C. 61 pp. $0.10. The Saline Springs of the Rio Salado, Sandoval County, New Mexico. J o n ~ D. CLARK,Professor of Chemisw, University of New Mexico. Univ. of New Mexico Bulletin, Univ. of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1929. 29 pp. A complete desaiption of these springs with numerous excellent illustrations. Optical Rotation and Ring Structure in the Sugar Group. The Optical Rotation of the Various Asymmetric Carbon Atoms in the Hexose and Pentose Sugars. H. S. ISBELL, Assodate Chemist, Bureau of Standards. U. S. Dept. of Commerce Puhlicatia. Research Paper No. 128. Reprint from Bureau of Standards, Journal of Research, Vol. 3, ' Dec., 1929. Supt. of Documents, Wa$ington, D. C. 12 pp. $0.05. The Detection and Investigation of Poisons by Spectroscopy. Adam Hilger, Ltd., 24 Rochester Place, Camden Road, London, N. W. 1, England. Dec., 1929. 17 pp. The material in this pamphlet is divided into three parts: I. Applications; 11. Equipment; 111. Method of Working.
Professor A. F. Holleman Honored. Professor A. P. HoUeman, the eminent Dutch organic chemist, attained his seventieth birthday on August 28th, and a special volume of the Recueil des Trameux Chimipes des Pays-Bas has been dedicated to him in honor of the event. The volume contains numerous papers, from Dutch, British, American, German, French, and Italian authors. Much of Professor Holleman's published work deals with the diredive effect of substituents in the benzene nucleus an new substituents entering therein. He is also widely known for his Tezt-Book of Organic Chemistry, which has been used by many generations of students. Originally written in Dutch, it has run into six English editions, and has also been translated into German, Italian, French, Russian, Polish, Spanish, and Czechoslovak.-Chem. Age
