NEW BOOKS Edited by Harry h’. Holmes. 24 x 16 em; pp. v i i 1925. Price: 55.00. This monograph contains the twenty papers presented a t the second National Colloid Symposium held a t Sorthwestern University in June 1924. The programme was: general principles of ion effects in colloids, by Leonor Michaelis; the electro-viscous effect in rubber sols, by G. S. Whitby and R. S. Jane; determination of particle size, by W. J. Kelly; an improved method of sedimentary analysis, by F. F. Renwick and V. B. Sease; sols with non-spherical particles, by Herbert Freundlich; studies w t h the kinoultramicroscope, by E. 0. Rraemer; a new method for the determination of the distribution of size of particles in emulsions, by A. J. Stamm; properties of clays, by A. V. Bleininger; bentonite, by Jerome Alexander; plasticity in colloid control, by E. C. Bingham; the theory of adsorption and soil gels, by N. E. Gordon; the rBle of colloids in soil moisture, by G. J. Bouyoucos; polar emulsifying agents, by H. N. Holmes and H. A. Williams; iodine as an emulsifying agent, by H. p\T. Holmes and H. A. Williams; the orientation of molecules in the surfaces of liquids, by W. D. Harkins; the supercentrifuge, by L. H. Clark; the effect of surface energy on colloidal equilibrium, by €1. 0. Halvorson and R. G. Green; bacteria as colloids, by A. I. Kendall; the effect of ammonium salts upon the swelling of colloids and upon the growth of yeast, by E. I. Fulmer; physico-chemical studies of proteins, by W. A. Hoffman and R. A. Gortner. The paper by Gortner is by far the longest and the most important. Gortner claims to have proved that the proteins which he has studied do combine in stoichiometrical proportions with alkali and with acid, forming sodium caseinate and casein hydrochloride for instance; but that thes- substances then adsorb alkali or acid as the case may be. There is no evidence that the caseinate ion is in true solution. The reviewer would have liked to have seen some rather more definite statement in regard t o this point and also in regard to the alleged sodium caseinates. Most people have titrated casein with three indicators and have consequently got three caseinates. By this met’hod one can find as many caseinates as one has indicators. Robertson made an electrometric study and found more caseinates. One would like to know whether Mr. Gortner believes in more than one sodium caseinate or whether his method is not sensitive enough to distinguish between them. It is to be hoped that we shall get this information in the second paper. Gortner’s results are very important; but they are presented in such a curious way that they are not convincing. Gortner does not plot acid or base taken up against final concentration of acid or base which he should do. He does not draw any curves, in Fig. 3 for instance, t o show what the values would be in case of no adsorption. He works with one gram per IOO cc which seems inadequate. He assumes that there is no protein error and he apparently ignores hydrolysis. I t does not seem to the reviewer that this paper proves anything, one way or the other. A systematic and complete study of casein or of durumin would have been more helpful than accumulating data on a large number of proteins. It would help the reader a good deal if the aut’hor had been more specific as to just what he means by equal, equivalent, normal, and molar phosphoric acid. Wilder D. Bancroft Colloid Symposium Monograph.
4- 368. N e w Yorlc: Chemical Catalog Company,
The Recent Development of Physical Science. By W . C. D. Whetham. Fifth edition. l 4 em; pp. mi 313. Philadelphia: P . Blakiston’s Sons and Co., 1924. Price: $3.00. The previous edition of this book appeared in 1909 and consequently many sections have been rewritten so as to include the new work on radioactivity, the structure of the atom and the molecule, the quantum theory, and the principle of relativity. After a discussion of atomic structure, the author says, p. 244: “Hitherto, wonderful as are the results described, they involve no breach with the old and well-tried principles of Sewtonian dynamics. The paths of alpha particles, deflected by atoms of a gas, show the law of inverse squares, and the atomic corpuscles whirl round in their orbits as the planets round the sun. But, if we push our analysis further, we find that a-e are forced to assumptions which are not in accord with this familiar scheme of science. We are 20 X
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brought to contemplate conditions which we cannot explain on any known principles, conditions which, in the present state of knowledge, seem not only inexplicable but inconceivable to our minds. I t may be that future years will see these difficulties resolved by human insight as so many others have been. But we must not overlook the possibility that the orderliness we perceive in nature mag be merely the rediscovery of conventions we have ourselves inserted when framing the problems to be investigated. We choose mass and energy as convenient fundamental physical quantities. But, all unconsciously, this choice is made because mass and energy happen to remain constant throughout a series of physical and chemical changes-and then triumphantly we rediscover the persistence of matter and the conservation of energy. As Professor Eddington disturbingly suggests, every law of nature which seems to us rational may be a concealed convention which we have ourselves unconsciously inserted. Hence an unavoidable conclusion which yet seems to us irrat,ional may be the sign of transcendent importance--the sign of a real law of nature at the last. If so, we seem almost brought back to Tertullian’s credo quia impossible.” On p. 295 there is a paragraph which contains a distinctly new point, of view. “Not only does the radiation from the sun cause a repulsion of small objects, but their radiation to each other will, as Professor Poynting has shown from the theory, lead to a mutual repulsion when the bodies are placed in a region of space where the effective temperature is lower than their own. Two meteorites at ordinary temperatures, say at 300’ on the absolute scale, will in cold space repel each other with a force equal to t,heir mutual gravitative attraction when their radii are about 3.4 centimetres, and, in the caee of smaller bodies, the repulsion will overcome the gravitative effect. In this case, when the gravitational force is that between bodies of small mass, instead of that between some small body and the gigantic sun, a result,ant repulsion is reached at much larger dimensions than those of the case formerly considered. I t is evident that a swarm of meteorites of the right size might continue to revolve round a planet or sun without mutual forces and independently of each other. I t is possible that this result has some bearing on the problem of Saturn’s rings .” Wilder D. Bancroft Introduction to General Chemistry. By William Foster. 21 X 1.6 c m ; pp. 649. Prineeon University Press, 1924. In the preface the author says that this textbook is the result of more than fifteen years of experience in teaching General Chemistry to large classes of college students. The chapters are entitled: some terms used by chemists; changes in matter; elements and compounds-the composition of the earth’s crust; combination by weight-the atomic theory; nomenclature, symbols, formulae and equations; oxygen-combustion; the measurement of gases; hydrogen-calculations; valence-nomenclature; the kinetic theory of matter; water hydrates; molecular weights and atomic weights --molecular formulae; solutions; hydrogen peroxide-oxidation and reduction; chlorine; hydrogen chloride; energy and chemical change-thermochemistry ; chemical equilibrium; ionization and electrolysis; some applications of the ionic theory; acids, bases, and saltsneutralization; the halogen family; the oxides and oxygen acids of chlorine; the classification of the elements-structures of matter; sulphur and hydrogen sulphide; oxides and oxygen acids of sulphur, selenium, and tellurium; the atmosphere-the helium family; nit,rogen and ammonia; the oxides and oxygen acids of nitrogen; the phosphorus family; carbon and its oxides-carbides-cyanides; hydrocarbons-fuel and illuminating gasesflame; carbohydrates, alcohols, organic acids, esters, and soap; the food of plants and animals; silicon and boron; colloid chemistry; metal and alloys-metallurgy ; the alkali metals; the alkaline earth metals; radioactive metals; copper, silver, and gold; the magnesium family; the aluminum and rare earth group; the tin family; the chromium family; manganese; the iron family; the metals of the platinum family. The author says that the book is “teachable” and he ought to know. Other people who teach general chemistry have written testimonials saying that t,he book is “teach-
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able” and they ought to know. The reviewer has never taught general chemistry and he probably does not know what is “teachable” or even what the word means. Speaking, however, as an interested outsider, it seems t o him that metals should not come last, though that does happen practically everywhere except a t Syracuse University. From the viewpoint of the student it seems foolish to put iron which he does know about on p. 578 and the oxides of chlorine on p. 254. One would be justified in saying that there is an enormous amount of information in this book; but that is not the highest praise. It seems to the reviewer that the information is presented as a mass of facts. No ordinary student could read this book for pleasure and it is doubtful whether anybody could read it and come out with any clear mental picture. The reviewer questions very much the wisdom of putting in as much physical chemistry. Something should be left for later courses. The chapter on thermochemistry might well be omitted and is it worth while to talk to freshmen about osmotic pressure? As the reviewer has said before, it is absolutely essential that the teacher of general chemistry should know his physical chem’stry; but it is not essential that he should put all he knows into the introductory course in chemistry. This book is really the author’s modification of Alexander Smith’s views and Alexander Smith had a great reputation as a teacher; but some of us are glad to admit his teaching ability without accepting his judgment as t o what should be taught. A few errors caught the reviewer’s eye in the parts with which he was familiar. Electrolysis of cupric chloride solution gives cuprous chloride a t the cathode and not copper, p. 208. While the author does not say, p. 216, that potassium is set free in the electrolysis of potassium nitrate and reacts with water, the strain is too great and on the next page he says that nitrate is set free and reacts with water. It seems hardly adequate to define flame as the evolution of light when two gases combine, p. 389. The student would have profited by a few words as to the difference between the luminous and the non-luminous Bunsen flame and on the difference between these and the colored salt flames. The reviewer is sceptical as to the existence of sodium chromite, p. 559. W i d e r D. Bancroft Lehrbuch der heterogenen Gleichgewichte. B?/ Gustav Tammann. p p . zii X 568. Bmunschuwig: Friedr. Vieweg und iSohn, 1924. Price. 17 marks, bound. The above book is frankly a digest of Roozeboom’s “Lehrbuch der heterogenen Gleichgewichte” which, after his death, was continued by Buchner, Aten and Schreinemakers, and is issued by the same publisher. Prof. Tammann has succeeded in including all the essential matter and a t the same time has impressed it pleasantly with his own distinguished personality. I t is a pity that a chapter upon the reciprocal salt pair has not been added. If this book is translate’d into English-and it certainly should be-the reviewer ventures to suggest that the above omission should be rectified. The diagrams are numerous and, on the whole, are excellent. There are a few, like Fig. 132, page 162, which could be improved, “complexing” the whole diagram. This book will, undoubtedly, take its proper place as the leading short text book on the subject. F . -4. Freelh Principles of Electroplating and Electroforming. B y Wzlliam B l u m and G. B. Hogaboom. 23 X 18 em; p p . zii+356. New York and London: McCraw-Hzll Book Company, 1924. Price: 84.00. The authors have introduced the new word “electroforming”. It may be defined as the production or reproduction of articles by electrodeposition. It includes electrotyping, the reproduction of phonograph record matrices, and the manufacture of tubes and other objects by electrodeposition. The chapters are entitled: introduction; methods of expressing conditions of operation; principles of chemistry; elementary principles of chemical analysis; principles of electricity; principles of electrochemistry; factors governing the character of the deposits; selection,
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specification and inspection of electrodeposits; preparation for electroplating; preparation for electroforming; electrical equipment: tanks and their equipment; copper deposition; nickel deposition; cobalt and iron deposition; deposition of zinc and cadmium; lead and tin deposition; silver deposition; gold and platinim deposition; deposition of alloys; experiments in electrodeposition. This is of course the best book of its kind that has ever been written. I t was a pleasure to find the authors emphasizing the importance of significant figures, p. 7 , because many chemists err in this respect. If we desire to adjust the composition of a plating solution to within two percent, “it is just as accurate and far more convenient to state that the volume of a plating solution is 2 3 5 gallons as to call it 235.36 gallons, even though the calculations might indicate the latter volume.” One doubts whether the authors will succeed in getting people to say resistivity, p. 74, when they should. On p. 84 the authors give the reviewer’s “axioms of electroplating” and on p. 106 is an admirable paragraph on throwing power. “Throwing power may be improved by increasing either the conductivity or the cathode polarization. The total drop in potential between the anode and the two parts of the cathode must be equal. If, however, the polarization is greater upon the near than upon the far point, this is equiralent to an increased resistance to the near point. The lower the primary resistance to the near point ( i e . , the better the conductivity of the solution), the greater will be the relative effect of the polarization. An increase in conductivity will not, however, improve the throwing power unless there is appreciable polarization. Any given change in operating conditions may produce opposite effects upon these two factors, and the actual results will depend upon which effect predominates. Thus, e.g., warming a solution increases the conductivity but decreases the polarization. T l k latter effect is more pronounced, hence an elevation in temperature generally decreases t,hrowing power.” On p. 104 we read that in numerous instances “defective plating could be traced very directly to an abnormal or undesirable structure of the steel or brass used in the base metal. In recent experiments it has been shown that when copper is deposited from the sulphate bath upon either cast or rolled copper which has been cleaned with nitric acid, the deposited metal consists of crystals which are extensions of the crystals present in the base metal.” Gold coatings may yield satisfactory service when the thickness is only 1.25 p j p. 119, and in the dip-gold process the thickness may be only 2 5 pp, p. 310. In chromium plating of dies the thickness is only about 2 . 5 p and this stands up under hard service. I t has been noticed, p. 129, that the powders which are most effective for cleaning electrodes are those which go into the interface between grease and water. “The use of electrodeposited negatives is customary only when the original or “master” is of metal; or when it is necessary to go through several stages of reproduction. I t is the most accurate method of reproducing a metallic surface. Unpublished experiments conducted at the Bureau of Standards have shown that it is possible to reproduce faithfully by the electrodeposition of nickel not only those engraved lines on a steel scale, which are about 0.0005 mm. in width, but also smaller scratches just a t the limit of visibility with present microscopic methods. Electrolytic production of negatives is relatively slow and expensive and is therefore used only when accuracy is the prime consideration. “The most important example of the use of electrodeposited negatives is in the phonograph industry. The original wax record is first coated with graphite, upon which copper is deposited to form a “master plate,” which is a negative. From this plate one or more “mother plates” are made by electrodeposition. The plates are positives, and serve as the forms on which the final matrices or “stamping plates” are deposited. The fact that satisfactory results can be obtained even after several “generations” of plates have been made is good evidence of the accuracy of reproduction, “In the use of metal forms, the principal difficulty is that of treating the surface so as to permit subsequent separation. The problem resolves itself into the production of a surface which will still be conducting, but which is not “clean”, i.e. the deposited metal is not in sufficiently intimate contact with the metal of the mold to cause permanent adherence,” p. 141.
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On p. 91 the authors adopt the view-point of Briggs that a copper anode in sulphate solution forms cuprous ions and they show that a great increase in anode efficiency occurs if one bubbles in air a t the anode so as to oxidize the cuprous ions chemically as fast as formed. On p. 222 it is stated that nickel plating can be done best a t a pH of j.5-6. When the British Association stopped a t Sudbury last year, the man in charge of the electrolytic nickel refining told the chemists that the process was run a t a p H of 5.5 and then asked us if we knew what was meant by pH. There is an interesting paragraph on ageing on p. 232. ‘(With many plating solutions, especially those of nickel, it is frequently found by platers that satisfactory results cannot be obtained until the solutions have been operated for one or more days. No definite explanation of this effect of (‘aging” has ever been established. In the case of cyanide plating solutions, the aging is undoubtedly connected with the formation of carbonates or of compounds intermediate between the cyanides and carbonates. No such explanation holds for nickel solutions, as there are no marked chemical changes produced during their normal operation. It seems a t least probable that the beneficial effects of aging nickel solutions may be due to (a) an adjustment of the acidity (pH), ( b ) the formation (or precipitation) of colloids in the solution, or (c) a reduction in the content of dissolved air. It has been claimed by some that even an “aged” nickel solution, freshly filtered, does not operate well, but can be improved by the addition of a small amount of nickel hydroxide. Such an effect, if confirmed, may be due either to a neutralization of free acid or to the formation of a colloidal suspension of the basic nickel compound.’’ The reviewer is a little sceptical about “black nickel” being nickel sulphide, p. 250. The fact that there is sulphur in the deposit is hardly sufficient to warrant drawing this conclusion. “In view of the cheapness and availability of iron, some surprise has been expressed that its deposition has not been more extensively applied for purposes other than refining. The reasons for this apparent neglect of iron deposition are not, however, difficult to find. Iron plating is not deserving of consideration for either protection or appearance, because of the ready corrodibility of iron, especially the electrolytic iron. Since a large part of the plating industry involves the coating of iron or steel with other metals for decoration or protection, there is little field for iron plating for such purposes. I n the manufacture of printing plates there has been a demand in recent years for a surface more durable than copper. This demand has been met so successfully by the use of nickel that it is now not unusual to secure as many as 2,000,000 impressions from a nickel electrotype, a number which is greater than is usually desired except in unusual cases, such as the printing of government securities, cartons, bread wrappers, etc. For such demands or for printing on leather or rough cardboard, etc., it is admittedly desirable t o secure harder surfaces. If this can be accomplished by means of iron deposition, possibly followed by case-hardening, there will be a distinct field for the process. Any such development must depend, however, upon a definitely superior service of the iron, and not upon its cheapness. On an ordinary nickel electrotype the actual cost of the nickel surface (which is usually less than 0.025 mm., or 0.001in. thick) is much less than I per cent of the cost of the finished plate, so there would be relatively little economy in the substitution of iron for nickel,” p. 2 j6. The discussion of the electrodeposition of alloys, pp. 317-323 seems inadequate to the reviewer because it is apparently based on the assumption that the two metals deposit as two phases. This is true for lead and tin, p. 318; but it is not true for brass which is the only alloy made commercially in this way. Wilder D. Bancroft Chemistry to the Time of Dalton. By E. J . Holmyard. 19 x I S cm; p p . 165. London and N e w York: Oxford University Press, 1965. Price: 81.00. “An attempt has been made in the following pages to construct an intelligible account of the development of chemistry in its main outlines from the earliest times to the establishment of the Atomic Theory by John Dalton a t the close of the eighteenth century. . . . My guiding principle through-
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out has been to emphasize the continuity of chemical thought and to show that the theory of evolution is applicable to the development of science no less than to the world of birds, beasts, and flowers,” p. 5 . The chapters are entitled: chemistry in Greece, Egypt and Islam; chemistry in Europe until the fifteenth century; from Norton to Glauber; the phlogiston theory; Royle and his contemporaries; Black, Cavendish, Scheele and Priestley; Lavoisier; Dalton. “The technical operations of the ancient world-metallurgy, dyeing, glass-making, perfurery and the like-were eapiiical. In Greece they were carried out by the despised artisans and craftsmen, and in Egypt by the priests-eternally secretive-as well. The knowledge of nature which they implied came to the philosophers only by indirect paths and in fragments. The problem of the constitution of the Cniverse, with its irresistible appeal to Greek thought, had therefore to be attempted with the scantiest materials, and the theories which they elaborated bore no sort of relation to the slender basis upon which they were raised,” p. 1 2 . “We shall find that Aristotle’s theory of the prima materia and its corollary the mutual transmutation of the four ‘elements’ exercised an overwhelming influence upon chemical thought throughout the Middle Ages, until the bold spirit of Boyle broke free from its trammels. After Aristotle’s death in 322 B. C. our centre of interest passes to the city of Alexandria in Egypt under the Ptolemies. Here for several centuries chemistry was studied mainly as an off-shoot of magic, although it is possible that advance was made in descriptive knowledge. I t is to t’he Neo-Platonists of Alexandria that must be assigned most of the blame for transforming chemistry into a mystical science and for promulgating the syncretism and obscurantism which made the development of scientific method a matter of the utmost difficulty,” p. 14. Geber “has many claims to be considered the first to whom the title of chemist may legitimately be applied,” p. 1 5 . “The last Muslim chemist of importance is the versatile Aidamir-al-Jildaki, who died in Cairo probably in the year 1361 . . . In general 81Jildaki was a compiler and his books show little originality, although they are a rich mine of information on the development of chemistry in Islam. “Meanwhile chemistry had passed into Europe through Spain and had already gained some celebrated disciples, so that we may now pause and briefly estimate the state of the science as it entered upon its conquest of a new cont,inent. Out of the inchoate body of mystical doct,rine which represented chemistry in the Alexandrian school the Muslims had extracted a definite scientific system in which experimental fact and theoretical speculation were for the first time brought into their true relationship. On the practical side a clear scheme of classification had been evolved and a wide range of substances had been carefully investigated and systematically characterized. The common laboratory methods of distillation, sublimation, calcination, solution, crystallization, and reduction had been improved and their general purposes mere well understood. The chemistry of organic substances had been valiantly attacked and understood and the preparation of many of them had been des_cribed,including the extraction of essential oils by a primitive method of steamdistillation. “On the theoretical side, chemistry had been raised to the dignity of a true science, on a level with those of mathematics and astronomy, and no longer confined t,o the basement as in the ‘University’ of Alexandria, where the different subjects of learning were lodged, in descending order of merit, a t various levels in the building. The main theory of the period was that of the transmutation of the metals-a theory which had the great merit of unifying the science and which was, of course, scientifically true a t the time and had not yet outlived its usefulness. “Finally, the practical applications of chemistry were acknowledged to be an important factor of the whole, so that Europe was able to start its chemical studies with a firm basis of fact, a coherent body of doctrine, and a realization of the value of chemistry to everyday life, ready to hand. For this privilege of our ancestors let us haste to pay our homage to the followers of the prophet,’’ p. 29.
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In the chapter on “Boyle and his Contemporaries” the author says, p. 78: “Scientific method, not the product of any one age but always implicitly, if not explicitly, followed by most of the leaders of chemical thought, was beginning to be more clearly understood and more frequently applied by the rank and file Although it must be admitted that many of the great discoveries in science appear t o have been the result of happy accident or flash of genius, the laborious development of these discoveries in all their aspects and ramifications require a disciplined army of workers trained in the school of the so-called Baconian system.” “Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) was a man fortunately not blessed with too logical a mind. Passionately devoted to the study of chemistry, he made experiments hap-hazard, but was sufficiently accurate to appreciate the value of his results and to explain them in terms of current theory. As an experimenter he was brilliant, but he seems t o have had no working plan, and strayed whither the fancy took him,” p. 87. Thomson gives some interesting details as to the opposition which Dalton’s atomic theory encountered a t the outset, p. 118. “There were, however, some of our most eminent chemists who were very hostik to the atomic theory. The most conspicuous of these was Sir Humphry Davy. In the autumn of 18o7 I had a long conversation with him a t the Royal Institution, but could not convince him that there mas any truth in the hypothesis. A few days after, I dined with him a t the Royal Society Club, at the Crown and Anchor, in the Strand. Dr. Wollaston was present a t the dinner. L4fterdinner every member of the club left the tavern, except Dr. Wollaston, Mr. Davy, and myself, who stayed behindand had tea. We sat about an hour and a half together, and our whole conversation was about the atomic theory. Dr. Wollaston was a convert was well as myself; and we tried to convince Davy of the inaccuracy of his opinions; but, so far from being convinced, he went away, if possible, more prejudiced against it than ever. Soon after, Davy met Mr. Davis Gilbert, the late distinguished president of the Royal Society; and he amused him with a caricature description of the atomic theory, which he exhibited in so ridiculous a light, that Mr. Gilbert was astonished how any man of sense or science could be taken in with such a tissue of absurdities. Mr. Gilbert called on Dr. Wollaston (probably to discover what could have induced a man of Dr. T5‘ollaston’s sagacity and caution to adopt such opinions), and was not sparing in laying the absurdities of the theory, such as they had been represented to him by Davy, in the broadest point of view. Dr. Kollaston begged Mr. Gilbert to sit down, and listen to a few facts which he would state to him. He then went over all the principal facts a t that time known respecting the salts; mentioned the alkaline carbonates and bicarbonates, the oxalate, binoxalate, and quadroxalate of potash, carbonic oxide and carbonic acid, olefiant gas and carburetted hydrogen; and doubtless many other similar compounds, in which the proportion of one of the constituents increases in a regular ratio. Mr. Gilbert went away a convert to the truth of the atomic theory; and he had the merit of convincing Davy that his former opinions on the subject were wrong. What arguments he employed I do not know; but they must have been convincing ones, for Davy ever after became a strenuous supporter of the atomic theory.’’ Wilder D. Rancrojt Taschenbuch fur Gerbereichemiker und Lederfabrikanten. By H . R. Procter. Translated by George Grasser. Third edition: 16 x 11 cm; p p . x v f 2 6 3 . Dresden and Leipzig: Theodor Steinkopff, 1924. Price: 90 cents. The first German edition was a translation of the English edition; the second German edition was an anastatic reproduction of the first. The present edition has been revised and enlarged by Dr. Grasser who is therefore a good deal more than a translator. Wilder D. Baneroft
