chemistry d o not take this murse, and therefore
get little or no organic ehemiptry. I n any course in high-school chemistry, the compounds of carbon are very important. A great deal of the theory; %.e.. atomic theory. atomic and molecular weights, valence and equation writing has been grouped in a number of conoecutive chapters. T h e arrangement is questionable. Will i t not tend t o give mental indigestion on theory? Is i t not better t h a t the theory be introduced where i t explains facts arrived a t by experiment as they are learned? A very ~ q r n m ~ ~ d feature, ~ b k compared with other books, is t h a t much less space has been given t o the different metals. Thin .is justified in t h e words of the author in "that the principles of m e t a l l w w cam he taught better by means of a few typical metals than by a great variety of them. Thus t h e redvetion of iron ores with carbon is typical of the proresses used in extracting the ore of copper, tin, and ~ i n c . In like manner, t h e electmlysis of bauxite illustrates another important method of extracting metallie elements. The m e t a l l w w of magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium is too similar t o need much further detailed study." Two interesting chapters on colloids and the chemistry of the w a r have been introduced which emphasize the modern aspects of t h e uses t o which chemirfry is being put. A very great improvement has been made in
teaching the pupil t o write equations, especially those involving oxidation, in t h a t difficult equations are worked out by the partial equation method. A feature of great value i. the summary at the end of each chapter, followed by a series of qvestions and problems, some of which are practical application. of the mntent of the chapter. Dull's High School Chemistry. taken as a whole. has few objectionable, and many omm mendable feature., and is one of the best modern tertbooks oubiihed within the last several "cars. I t will repay careful ~nvesttgationby any chemistry teacher. SAHPOBDSWBBT TO B E REVIEWED LATER. Qualitative Anabsis-NOYHS l e c t u r e and Laboratory Experience in Physicd Chemistry-VAN K ~ o o s r a s S ~ I p h u t Acid i ~ Concentrations-PAIIPI~~ A N D SNELLING Couege Chemistry-NBWSLL Madern Inorganic Chemiatry-Msr~oa The Effects of Ions i n Colloidal SytemaMICHABLIS Phyalcal Chemistrg-Pn~u? Second Year College Chemistry--Cuprrr Barteriology-A Text Book on Fundamentals
-THOMAS Early Steps in Science-Wsaa
AND
Drococr
Fish-Poisoning Plants Now M a y Be Insecticides.-That the age-old custom of intoxicating or poisoning fish so that they may be easily caught, as practiced in Madagascar, India, Ceylon, the Ivory Coast, Centdl and South America, and other tropical parts of the world, may he the forerunner of a very heneficial discovery for the same peoples, is the prediction of Monsieur Anguste Chevallier, in presenting his recent findings on the subject t o the Academy of Sciences in Paris. For many centuries the natives of these lands have been in the habit of using certain plants for capturing fish. The method of using these narcotic growths to catch fish is by taking the leaves and bruising them in a mortar. Thus crushed, they are put in sacks, which are thrown in the ponds where fish are known t o exist. Several natives go out and stir up the water around this "belt" of narcotic material, while the others chase the fish toward the poisoned area. As the fish pass through the poisoned zone, they become intoxicated or are killed, and float t o the surface, where it becomes only necessary to gather them in. So far as has been discovered, this poisoning does not make the fish harmful in any manner t o the natives. As these plants drop out of use one way, they seem to be turning toward another and even more beneficial service to mankind. A chemical called "tephrosine" has been isolated from the tephrose group of plants by M. Hanriot, a chemist. A small dose of this compound kills instantly the fish that come in contact with it. Lately three English investigators, Tattersfield, Ginningham, and Morris, have showed that this drug can also be used to kill harmful insects. And here the plants of this group, which are still under cultivation, may play an important part in the warfare of man against insects.-Science Service.
