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iiiasterj- of the subject and based on the ver!. extensive personal experieiice of Dr. \\'iley. -111 opinions ant1 conclusioiis tlra\vn "respecting a(1ulteratioiis. iiiisbrandiiig. nutritive value. ant1 \\-Iiolesonieiiess arc t!ie intlivitliial eslressions of the aiitlior a n t 1 arc not to lie consitlcrcti in any otlier 1iiaiiiier." A necessar!.. although pcrliaps not requiretl esplaiiation. on a c c w i i t oi tlie official position that l l r . \\vile!. liolcls. The revietver cannot agree \vith the author "that tlie inartistic treatnieiit of a subject of tliis kiiitl. is not one ivhich is calculatctl to excite any s!.nipathetic interest or appeal to tlic iiatural desire for literary antl artistic cxpressioii." The literar!. st!.le is siicli that Iiotli scientist antl la!.iiian arc liable to try to finish the manual from "cover to cover" at one reading. '1 lie artistic make 111) is excellent throughout, as to type'. tables aiid illustrntions antl the hook is exceptionall!- free from errors or imperfections. 1 I!e Table of Contents, Intlex antl I.ist of IllListratioiis ( i i colored platcs aiiil 86 others ) arc complete and splentlitlly arrangeti. The rcvie\t,er has 110 hesitation in stating that this latest manual froni ti-t. pen of Dr. Harvcy \\-. l\-ile!- is onc of tlie hest scientific antl popular atltlitions to food literature. antl that it can be recomiiiendetl tvithout qualfication. not alone to the specialist interested in the manufacture, tlistriIILitioii or control of food products. hut also to the pli!.sician. sanitarian, lqislator an(l to every coiisiiiner of f w t l products. ,>
EL)\\..\l. he called chemical methods, but they are the best ive have. I n his chapter OII adulteration. lie lias follo\vetl .Illen very closely from a chemical standpoint. bearing i n mint1 the necessit!. of having his method clear antl concise 011 each subject. T h e \v!iole value o f this Ivork to cheni-
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ists who have glue analyses to make, is the position the author takes that the physical tests must determine the value of the glues and there can be no question but that the author proves his thesis. Much credit is given the standards of physical tests, known as “Cooper grades,“ which depend greatly on the viscosity and jelly strength-by the latter is meant the resistance to pressure of a given glue when compared with other glues of known character. His book should be in the hands of all chemists who have glue work to do ant1 comes nearer to being a hand-book of the subject than anything yet printed, giving as it does all the chemical and physical tests of value and entering also largely into the commercial side of the subject. JOHS “
THE PEABODY ATLAS.”-SHIPPING MINES
H. Y o c v ~ .
COAL RAILROADSOF THE C E N Accompanied by Chetiiical, Geological and Engineering Data. By A. BEAMENT. Price $5.00. 149 pp , size 1634’ x 18 in. Peabody Coal Co., Chicago. 1906. AND
TRAL COMMERCIAL DISTRICT O F THE EXITED STATES.
This is a n exceedingly valuable compilation of coal information and represents a vast amount of labor as well as great expense. Three general maps of the United States are given with especial designations of coal fields. Twenty-five sectional maps 14”x16” give counties, railways, antl mines in detail. the latter niiiiibered for ready reference to the lists of coal, localities, coal operators and coal railroads arranged alphabetically under each head. T h e statistical antl geological data are concise and well arranged. Not the least valuable feature is a well illustrated description of the author‘s theories concerning the combustion of coal under the heading of “Smokeless Furnaces and Smoke Suppression.“ Few writers are so well qualified to tliscuss this antl related topics \\-here fuel of the bituminous type is involved. S.ItT.P.\RR. WATER SOFTE‘VING A N I ) T R E i T M E S r .
308.
Price,
$2.50.
I).
\’~ii
\~XLt.IiM
H.
BOOTH.
Sostrand B Co., New York, 1906.
8VO.,
pp. XVI
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T h e literature in English upon boiler \\-aters is meagre. Real contributions, therefore, to our information on this topic are welcome. Thirty pages are devoted to a discussion of the mineral constituents and reactions of possible reagents. T h e author is evidently an engineer rather than a chemist, and most of the chemical data are “said to be” as given in the text. This second hand characteristic of the descriptive matter probabls. accounts for the lack of discrimination in the topics introduced. Magnesium hydrate, for example, may be interesting, but hardly practical, while no mention is made of phosphates as reagents. T h e discussion of anaiytical methods covers six pages antl is devoted solely to a description of the use of soap solutions. A more pretentious discussion along these lines is contained in Appendix No. I , covering sixteen pages. This
