RECENT BOOKS CHEMICAL MACHINERY. Emil Raymond Riegel, Professor of nitrogen, colorimetric methods for vitamins, chemical tests for Industrial Chemistrv. Pnh- hormones, and supplementary directions in the appendix far the - - Buffalo - ~~-. .. Rdnhnld - - ~ .-.. Universitv of lishing Corporation. New York. 1944. vii 583 pp. 436 use of newer types of apparatus. The chapter on hydrogen-ion figs. 98 tables. 15 X 22.5 on. 55.00. activity and pH has been extended and modernized. It is painAs stated bv the author. this book is of infnmatinn ~- a collection .---~ -~~...~ --...- ful to report that in the pracess of these insertions and revisions concerning machinery and instruments used in chemical manu- there was a heinous lapse in proofreading. There are a t least 50 facturing. In deciding what material to include, the author has errors in cross references and in the numbering of tables of data. used three criteria-general application, availability in stock sizes The wrong references perpetuate the now obsolete page-, table-, from the manufacturer, and large-scale operation. Laboratory and experjment-numbers of the previous edition. There are two equipment is excluded. The material used was obtained from different tables numbered "25," so that from there onward each the manufacturers, and several engineers of various companies table is wrongly numbered. Just enough of these moss referhave collaborated on CeItain chapters. The types of machinery ences have been corrected so that the reader never knows whether discussed can be judged from a partial list of chapter headings. or not he will 6nd what he is after. This lessens faith in the- ac-. Some of these are: "Devices for Reducing the Size of Solid Ma- curacy 01 the whole book, and severely dccreajes its value for class use. It is hopcd that by the datc of this writing the conditerials"; "Screening and Grading Equipment"; "Tanks"; tion has been remedied in a printing more recent than the review "Devices for Propelling and Elevating Liquids"; "Pumps, Blowcases, Ejectors"; "Weighing and Proportioning Solids and COPY. Although divided into "parts" and ''chapters," the ape+Liquids"; "Equipment for the Propulsion of Gases"; "Devices far the Cleaning of Gases"; "Mixing, Kneading and Blending m a t s are conveniently numbered in a single order for the entrre Equipment for Pastes and Solids"; "Separation of Solids from volume. The titles of experiments are often so worded that they tell what the experiments are intended to show or why they are Liquids. I. Settias and Thickeners"; "Evaporators"; "Crysimportant. This manual further lives up to its titleof "practical" tallizer~"; "Driers"; "Distilling and Fractjoning Equipment'; "Vacum-Producing Devices"; "Condensers, Steam-Jet Ejec- by omitting experiments and methods which are now of only tors, Vacuum Pumps"; "Heat Exchangers"; "Devices for the historical interest, and which have been replaced by simpler and more accurate techniques. For example, for urea plus ammonia Application of Heat and Cold"; "Gas Conditioning"; "Hydraulic Pressure Equipment"; "High-pressure Equipment (Heavy- in urine the urease direct Nesslerization method is given, and for Wall Vessels)"; "Instruments. Part I. Temperature, Auto- ammonia alone, the zeolite micromethod. Again, total phosphorus in urine is measured by the Neuman-Pembertan method matic Potentiometers, Controllers." The procedure in each chapter is to illustrate by diagrams and in two alternative forms, or by the modified Fiske and Subpictures the types of equipment for a certain purpose and discuss harrow method. The latter also serves, of coune, for estimating their performance. Operating dats are given in many cases. inorganic phosphates in blood, plasma, or serum. Each proIt vould be hard to obtain general agreement on the apparatus cedure begins with a clear statement of the principle involved. to be discussed in such a hook; a complete coverage would Footnotes provide references to the biochemical literature. With probably necessitate a large reference work of more than one all their practicality, especially in the excellent chapter on quanvolume. The uninitiated reader will have the feeling that the titative blood analysis, the authors fail to heed their own warning writer has emphasized equipment made in his lmality and though about glycalysis in Folii-Wu filtrates to which the sodium tungthis may be justified, the result is that the hook seems more state but no sulfuric acid has been added. Why not put in the acid first, and the tungstate last? Besides, this modification limited in its coverage than it really is. makes a coarser precipitate which is easier to filter, and which This mint does not alter the fact that the chemical endneer ~~~" and industrial chemist will obtain a large amount of vnluabie in- always yields a clear filtrate on the first attempt. Again. in the formation horn the book. It ,hould he required rcading for all titration for free acidity in gastric juice by Topfer's method, a senior rhcrniral cnginrcring studcnts and in nn indurtrini chern- yeilow end point is described, instead of the intermediate orange color which appears in the lower pH range where recent workers believe that really free acid is all neutralized. Apparently with the desire to save space and materials, the publishers have used thin paper printed on both sides, small type for the large amount of explanatory matter, and this same PRACTICA~. METHODSIN BIOCHEMISTRY. Frederick C. Koch, small type for the entire appendix of general directions and reProfessor Emeritus of Biochemistry. University of Chicago, cipes for reagents. The helpful list of reagents and amounts and Director of Biochemical Research, Armour & Co.,Chicago, needed for the experiments, which followed the appendix in the and Martin E. Hankc. Associate Professor of Biochemistry, third edition, has been omitted. Nevertheless, there are more Universitv of Chicago. The Williams & Wilkim Co.. Balti- pages in this fourth edition, a t no increase in price. The sub-~~ more. ~ & t h ~ d i t i o n ,1943. vii 353 pp. 41 tahies. 20 ject index has been retained, but is not entirely free of errors. The binding appears sturdy, and allows the pages to lie flat configs. 16 X 23.5 cm. 52.25. veniently. This laboratory manual is intended primarily for medical students a t the graduate level of intelligence, which reliably existed before the days of accelerated programs and lowered standards. Thus, knowledge and experience are assumed as to chemical SYSTEMS. G. Masing. Translated by B . A. Rogers. mathematics and quantitative analysis, so that few elementary TERNARY Reinhold Publishing Corporation. New York, 1944. v 173 details about making calculations are given. However, because pp. 166 figs. 15 X 23 cm. $4.50. of its wealth of other explanatory material, the hook will be a great aid as a reference to any student of biochemistry. Its exThis is an introduction to the theory of three-component syscellent selection of practical qnantitati~emethods will aid pro- tems. Its avowed purpose is to furnish a detailed discussion of fessional biochemists. The writers have retained all but one of a few representative types of three-component systems, both in the helpful features of the senior author's third edition (1941). solid models and isothermal sections. There is no discussion of and have added quantitative determinations for 10 of the amino the experimental methods used to secure data, since these are acids. Other additions are the nitrous acid method for amino rather generally known. However, three actual systems are dis-
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