XETT BOOKS C o n d u c t ~ o nof Electrzcity Through Gases. By SIR J. J. THOMSOK AND G. P. THOMSON. Third edition, Volume 11. 608 pp. Cambridge: Cambridge I'niversity Press, 1933. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1933. Price: $6.50. The volume treating ionization by collision and gaseous discharge completes the third edition of this well-known work originated by Sir J. J. Thomson. I n spite of, or rather because of, the vast amount of material dealt with, the reviewer gets the impression t h a t this, the third edition, cannot occupy the commanding position which the first edition did thirty years ago in the then much newer and ' narrower field of electrical discharge in gases. This is not meant as a criticism of the admirable compilation. The field presents so many possibilities and complexities that it has expanded enormously in various directions, experimental and theoretical. It is no longer possible t o give equally adequate treatment t o all the phases of the subject in the compass of two volumes. The task is not rendered easier by the fact that physics has been making major advances along a broad front with such rapidity t h a t the conquered terrain has not yet been properly cleared up and unified in a way t h a t makes a complete survey possible. The volume is written in a clear readable style. The figures and tables are well presented. The first two chapters are devoted to cathode rays, the second t o their wave properties, the third t o electron collisions, the fourth and sixth respectively t o ionization by positive ions and by x-rays, the fifth t o reflected and secondnry electrons from solids, the seventh t o ionization by chemical reaction, the material of which is little changed from the earlier edition. Chapter VIII, of more than one hundred and fifty pages, deals with the various phenomena of gaseous discharge a t low pressure. Chapters I X and X deal with the spark and the electric arc. s. c. LIXD. T h e Physico-chemical Properties of Plant S a p s in Relation to Phytogeography. D a t a o n Natike Vegetation in i t s Natural Environment. By J. ARTHURHARRIS,late Head of the Department of Botany, University of Minnesota. Formerly Resident Botanist, Station for Experimental Evolution, the Carnegie Institution of Washington. 13.5 X 23.5 cm.; vi 339 pp. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press, 1934. Price: $4.50. From about 1912 until his death in 1930 one of Dr. Harris' major projects was t h e investigation of the relationship which existed between the physicochemical properties of the leaf tissue fluids of plants and the ecological environment characteristic Qf the plants. He devised methods and apparatus suitable for the carrying out of physicochemical technics in field laboratories, and established his laboratories in t h e field where plants could be studied in their native habitats. Extensive studies ere carried out on the mesophytic plants of Long Island, N. Y., the coastal plains a n d sand dune areas of North and South Carolina and the Island of Jamaica, the Dismal. Swamp in Virginia, the Everglades and coastal swamps of Florida and Georgia, t h e rain forests of Jamaica and Hawaii, and the deserts, mountain slopes, arroyos, salt flats, lava fields, dunes, etc., of Arizona, Utah, California, Colorado, Washington, and Hawaii. Altogether sixteen seasons were spent in the field studies. Fragments cf the data were published by Dr. Harris from time t o time but the great masses of 987
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data were kept for later monographic treatment. Accordingly a t the time of his death many thousands of original records remained unpublished. A committee of his colleagues, consisting of Dr. C. 0. Rosendahl, Dr. G. 0. Burr, and the reviewer, were charged by President Codman of the University of Minnesota with the task of examining the various papers of Dr. Harris and bringing t o the point of publication such data as could be salvaged. The present volume is the first result of this undertaking. After mature deliberation it was decided by the committee t o publish only the “raw data” and not t o attempt a n analysis of the interrelationships of the various constants or to formulate a n interpretation of the data in relation t o the problems of phytogeography. This conclusion was reached partly because of the lack of close familiarity of the members of the committee with the plant associations w-hich Dr. Harris had studied, and more especially because of the difficulty which the committee would face in attempting a discussion of such an enormous mass of varied data. It was felt that science might better be served by presenting the data in such form that they would be readily utilizable by other workers. The volume opens with a reprint of a paper by Dr. Harris on “Physical Chemistry in the Service of Phytogeography” i n which he discusses the types of problems toward the solution of which the data were collected. This is followed by a detailed “project outline” which he had prepared while soliciting funds for the intensive prosecution of the project, and which is accompanied by a bibliography of the forty-four papers which he had published in this field. This bibliography is followed by a contributed paper by Dr. H. L. Shantz on “The Importance of Phyto-chemical Studies in the Field of Plant Geography.” This section of twenty-four pages introduces “The Experimental Data,” which is essentially a single table occupying one hundred and seventy-six closely printed pages. The data are arranged alphabetically by states and within each state by the botanical names of the plants which were studied. Thus no botanical index to the volume is necessary. Physicochemical constants on more than 12,000 series of plant collections are tabulated in this section. The items recorded in the various columns are: (1) botanical name of the plant studied; (2) chemical number (a code number showing year of collection and other essential data); (3) the “station number” (a code number referring t o a later “station description;” (4) the depression of the freezing point of the sap in degrees Centigrade; ( 5 ) the osmotic pressure of the sap in atmospheres calculated from A; (6) the specific electrical conductivity of the plant sap expressed in mhos; ( 7 ) the chloride content of the sap expressed as grams of chloride ion per liter; (8) the sulfate content of the sap similarly expressed; and (9) the p H of the sap. Following this tabulation there are seventy-seven pages of “station descriptions,” in which the geographical and botanical characteristics of the locality where the collections were made are noted. These descriptions are sufficiently exact so t h a t another worker visiting the region should have no great difficulty in locating approximately the spot where collections were taken. These descriptions, many hundreds in total, are accompanied by a notation of the “chemical numbers” of samples taken for analysis. The volume closes with a “chemical number” index through which those interested are enabled t o find the various chemical data listed for all plants which may be growing together in any selected ‘Lstation”or habitat. The entire volume may be regarded as one enormous table of physicochemical data on plant saps. Unquestionably it contains more original data on this subject than may be found in all the rest of the literature. The data are presented without any discussion of their interrelationship. The volume should become a part of all
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reference libraries and all physiological libraries. Nost ecologists and many physiologists will find it a mine of information, Ross AIKEX GORTNER. T h e Chemistry of Antigens and Antibodies. By J. R. MARRACK.Medical Research Council Special Report No. 194. 16 x 25 em. London: H. M. Stationery Office, 1934. Price: 2s. 6d. net. During the last decade there has been an ever-growing volume of literature dealing with the basic problems of immunity in terms of the fundamental sciences. Dr. J. R. Marrack has brought together in the small space of one hundred and thirty-four pages a fairly complete collection of the most important physicochemical researches which have directly contributed t o modern views concerning the nature of antigens, antibodies, and the antigen-antibody reaction. The first chapter is devoted t o certain physicochemical considerations and consists of a short and well-Iqritten survey of current views on the shapes and sizes of molecules, intermolecular forces, the structure of proteins, and the stability of suspensions. The recent evidence for and against the protein nature of antibodies is carefully reviewed in chapter 11, and later in the book the specificity of artificial protein antigens, which contain “determinative” chemical groupings, is lucidly discussed in terms of structural organic chemistry. To the chemist entering the field of immunology this monograph can be heartily recommended, for it gives a clear account of the physical and chemical studies which have served t o elucidate certain immunological reactions. To the more experienced immunologist i t ho has already realized the value of chemical concepts in the study of immunity, Dr. Marrack’s book will be especially acceptable since it contains, besides a thorough survey of the recent literature, many stimulating suggestions which will doubtless form the basis of future investigations. W. T. J. MORGAS.
A Textbook of Inorganic Chemistry. By FRITZ EPHRAIM.Second English edition by P. C. L. THORXE.24 x 16 cm.; xii 873 pp. London: Gurney and Jackson, 1933. Price 28/-. In the first English edition of this work, of eight hundred and five pages, the translator made some additions t o take account of English and American needs. The present edition includes much more material from the new German edition and some additions by the translator. The latter do not always go far enough. The section on Werner’s theory is very valuable and satisfactory, but the reference t o the new theory of the coordinate link is far too brief. The discussion of the hydrogenpalladium system leaves the subject with Hoitsema, and the newer work of Gillespie and Hall, Hanawalt, and others, is not mentioned, so that the section is quite out of date. A similar criticism could be made of the section on silicic acids, where only van Bemmelen’s work appears. The phase rule diagram of silica does not include two @-tridymites;only the old methods of preparing boron hydrides are given; and in many other places the text could usefully have been brought up t o date. The translation is satisfactory, although the names of Neumann and Hauck, correctly given in the German, appear as Wennann and Hanck on p. 325, hlayer instead of Mayes on p. 528, etc. The section on the thionic acids is too sketchy. The “very interesting addition compounds (nitro-metals)” of Sabatier and Senderens mentioned on p. 611, like the compounds NO: and H,O, on p. 637, have long since passed out of existence. . The book is one A hich advanced students will find very useful, but it is to be re-
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