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occupying a whole page and first printed in the 1926 edition, \rhicli is (escept for one or two unesplained blunders) in agreement with the thoroughly discrcditetl older measurenients and which disagrees with equatJionsgiven elsewhere in the treatise. On page 506 of Volume I they attempt t o discuss t,he effect of t h e stme error on the Eijtviis ccpation, but completely misunderstand the significance and effect of the error. The correct methods for calculation of surface tension from the lveiglits of carefully formed drops and from the inasimum pulls 011 rings have been inent#ioned. Yet, thc: test still contains stateiiients directly in conflict with 1he Imsic principles underlyiiig those methods. Since the relation between the pull on the ring and surface tension is kiiown t o be a function of the density arid the surface tension. of the liquid as well as of the dimensions of the ring, i t is not possible t o construct the direct-reading scale mentioned on page 527 of VoIuine I. This is especially important for interfacial-tension ineasurenients. For similar reasons it is not possible t o calculate surface tensions from drop tveights according t o the method described on page 815 of Volume 1. The method suggested by .J. I,. R . Morgan cannot give correct results because there is no single calculation factor. It is neither 3.8 nor 3.94; it is a variable, evelafor n single tip. Messrs. Reilly and Rae frankly state their inability t o master all of the subject8 included in their elaborate treatise. They have repeatedly requested t h a t readers inforin them of errors discovered as the books are used. The treatise now includes numerous sections contributed by specialists wlio have writt’en concise ant1 escellent espositions. The reviewer feels t h a t more cooperation is necessary. Every sect,ioii whose subject matter is not in .the realm of the reccnt and iminediate cxperience of the authors should be examined by a critical reader who is willing to coinplete and correct i t . If the ability of the authors t o select subject matter s i l d discuss i t clearly is adequately supplemented by the criticism of specialists in each subject, t,liis already admirable twatise will beconie a “standard work o n thc subject” such as the authors wish it to be. T. F. YOUNG. Hackh’s Chemical Dictionary. Third edition. Revised and edited by Julius Grant. 925 pp. Illustrated. Philadelphia and Toronto: The Blaltiston Company, 1946. Price: $8.50. Following the death of Ingo Hackh in 1938 the responsibility for the third edition has fallen to Dr. Grant, who has maintained the high standards set in the first two editions. Since thc work covers such a wide range of terms and principles not only of chemistry but t o some extent of physics, mineralogy, pharmacy, agriculture, biology, medicine, and engineering, i t is inevitable t h a t there should be some disagreement as t o statements and some inaccuracies which catch the eye of the specialist. And while there may be lacunae t h a t might R-ell be filled, one is more struck by the wealth of material, including many tabulations and elaborations of unusual relationships t h a t are compressed into one volume of less than 1000 pages. Also, t h e price has been kept commendably low in these days of inflation. The work can be highly commended. The omission of pronunciations in the present edition will not be unfavorably felt and was perhaps influenced by the otherwise commendable effort t o harmonize American and British usage. S. C. LINI).
Richter-Anschutz: T h e Chcmistrij of the Caibon Coijipoicnds. T‘olwne I I I . The Aromatic C o m p o u n d s . Third English edition, based upon the h e l f t h German edition. Translat8ion by A . J. NEE. sviii i 9 4 pp. New l’ork: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1946. Price: $15.00. This volume of the translation of Richter-hnschutz corresponds t o Volume 11, P a r t 2, of the German work, which was published in 1035. The translation was originally undertaken by Dr. T. W. J. Tavlor, \rho had planned t o revise the test as well. But Dr. Taylor, because of other duties in connection with the war, had t o abandon this work. It was then decided t o publish :I literal translation of the German work rather than t o incur the
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delay which would be necessary in order t o publish a revised and espanded volume, and tile translation has been made by .I.J. Mee. This volume is, therefore, a portion of the conventional Richter-Anschutz. The section on mononuclear aromatic compounds (pp. 1-492) mas written by F. Rochussen, A. Weissberger, and F. Arndt, with D. I,. Ilanimick, E. Hope, J. C. Smith, and T. W. J. Taylor listed as collaborators. The section 011 polynuclear aromatic compounds (pp. 493-713) was written by A. Butenandt and R.. Tschesche. The section on organic free radicals, which was incorporated into Volume 11, P a r t 2, of the German edition, has h e n shifted t o Voluinc IS’ of the English edition, which is scheduled t o appear in 1946. The book is the standard Richter-Anschuta, up-to-date as of 1935, and is so well known t o chemists t h a t comments upon the nature and make-up of the book arc superfluous. The section on “Structure of the Benzene Kucleus” (pp. 16-25) has been completely rewritten by Dr. Taylor in terms of modern theory. There is an adequate index of about 80 pages. The book making-paper, printing, binding, etc.-are good, though not outstanding. The price, $15.00 for this one part, is much too high, especially when i t is considered that, t o get the whole English edition, four volumes will have t o be purchased, a t a cost of presumably some $60.00. This reviewer feels that the prices of technical books in general, and of translations of German books in particular, have risen in the last few years t o outrageous heights, and the price of this book is but another instance of this. T o speak plainly, this book is good, but i t just isn’t worth the price except t o libraries which, in order t o maintain completeness of their collections, simply must purchase i t , and on slini budgets at t h a t . LEE IRVIN SMITH.
