Recent Books Chemistry in the Service of Man. ALEXANDER FINDLAY, Professor of Chemistry. University of Aberdeen, Scotland, Fourth edition. Longmans, Green and Co., New York City. 1932. xviii 355 pp. 74 Figs. 12.5 X 18.5 cm. $2.50.
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illustrations are well chosen and for the most part well reproduced. The author has made a real contribution t o the library of popular chemistry. The book will serve either as a source of information to the inquiring reader or as a textbook in a brief cultural survey of modern chemistry and its contributions t o life.
The author's original publication under B. S. HOPKINS this title, issued in 1910, was based upon U m v s e s m ~OF ILLINOIS a series of lectures which were delivered URBAN*, ILLINOIS before the United Free Church College, Aberdeen. Their purpose was t o present The Law of Patentsfor Chemists. Joss~n in a non-technical fashion the general ROSWN, Ph.D., M.P.L., LL.B., B.S. principles of chemistry, ss well as its inin Chem. Eng., Patent Examiner, U. S. dustrial applications and its contribuPatent Office,Member of the Bar of the tions to the well-being and uplift of manU. S. Court of Customs and Patent Apkind. The fact that in the short period peals and the U. S. Supreme Court, of its existence four editions of this book Editor of the Journal of the Patent Ofice have been demanded is in itself unmisSodety. The Inventors Publishing takable evidence that the author has sucCompany, Washington, D. C., 1932. ceeded admirably in producing a book xi 304 pp. 21 X 14 cm. 83.50. which is attractive, accurate, and popular. - The present edition has been carefully eve^ research chemist who is not revised and brought down to date; many already well informed in patent law should illustrations have been added for the have a copy0f this book. purpose of assisting the reader to visualize The chemist is a prolific inventor. As the practical applications of chemistry. the author points out, the number of The introductory chapter summarizes a applications awaiting action in the eight few of the notions of alchemy and gives chemical divisions of the Patent Office a brief introduction to the fundamental on April 25, 1931, was 17,058 or aptheories of the modern science. There proximately 18% of all pending applicafallow chapters devoted to (11) Radio- tions. Swner or later, the successful reactivity and Atomic Structure; (111) search chemist finds that he should he inGases of the Atmosphere; (IV) Combus formed on the subject of patents and may tion and Fire; (V) Fuels and Illuminants; wonder that he was not given an intro(VI) Matter. Energy. Explosives; (VII) duction to the subject while in college. Cellulose; (VIII) Metals; (IX) Velocity The author presents the technical subof Reactions and Catalysis; (X) Ferti- ject of patent law in language which can h e r s ; (XI) Glass, Soda, Soap, and Lime; be comprehended by chemists without (XII) Electricity and Chemistry; (XIII) legal training. Colloids; (XIV) Molecular Structure; After discussing the value of patents (XV) Synthetic Chemistry; and (XVI) to chemists, the relative desirability of Fermentation and Enzymes. patenting an invention or practicing i t The hook is fully up to the high standard in secret, the effect of prior publication for which the author is noted. The lan- upon patentability, and several examguage is non-technical, the descriptions are ples of chemical patents, the author devivid, the style is fascinating and the votes considerable space t o the more 1135
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technical features of patent law. Thus, there is a relatively Long chapter on what constitutes invention. This is followed by chapters on t h e prepastion and prosecution of applications, the essentials of a valid patent, and patent rights and their enforcement. There is a discussion of proper methods of keeping invention records. Finally, there is a glossary of 17 pages of definitions of terms frequently used in patent practice. The hook is dearly and interestingly written. Numerous decisions and authorities are quoted a t appropriate places. The ,author neither attempts to improve upon the language of the Supreme Court, for example, nor quotes decisions in a disconnected manner. Thus, he avoids two errors that are common in works of this kind and gives an orderly and logical presentation containing reviews of numerous cases to illustrate important points. The chapter dealing particularly with the enforcement of patent rights is somewhat more brief than its importance would justify. Thus, there is no mention of the important matter of limiting disclaimers, by which the scope of a claim may be limited without its being disclaimed as a whole. It is a pleasure to record that one who is so eminently qualified has presented a work that is worthy of him. RosEnr CALVERT 292 MADISON
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NBW Yon=, N. Y.
Construction of a Diagnostic Test in the Mechanics and Related Fundamentals of High-School Chemistry. JOSEPHE. MALIN. Williams BTOS.,Philadelphia, Penna., 1932. 261 pp. 15 X 23 cm. 81.50. This study of the "mechanics and related fundamentals of high-school chemistry" is confined to the "principle of valence; principle of writing formulas; principle of writing equations; principle of solving numerical chemistry problems; laws and theories directly related to the
aforementioned principles; and the properties of gases." The author selected a body of test material to be used in diagnosing the difficulties met by high-school students in their study of the features of these "principles" that are treated in the texts used in high-school classes. I n the selection of the items of the test, the author was guided by "the criterion of extrinsic use. criterion of errors, a composite of textbooks, a composite of requirements in courses of study, a composite of teachen' examinations, and the judgment of experts." T h e results of analysis of texts, laboratory manuals, and examinations, are given in detail. The results of the analysis were then submitted to chemistry teachers t o determine the extent to which the items selected by analysis were actually used by classroom teachers. Two tests were constructed, each of 50 items, and used with a large number of students. The tests were used twice during the year, but not with the same s t u d e n t s m c e near the middle of the school year and once a t the end of the school year. The results from the examinations were analyzed and tabulated to show in detail the types of errors t h a t were made. The original tests were revised on the basis of the results obtained from the analysis and printed as Forms X and Y. The tabulations show in considerable detail the types of errors made by highschool students. These errors suggest the kinds of difficulties encountered in study, and may therefore serve t o guide teachers in applying remedial measures. This reviewer feels some concern about the emphasis on "mechanics" in this and some other work that has been reported. Teachers who use this work should not conclude that equations and formulas should be learned in chemistry in the same way t h a t spelling and multiplication are learned. Students should use chemical equations t o describe chemical changes that they have studied and not as a sequence of symbols t o be memorized.
