BOOK REVIEWS own informed judgment to hear on the opinions put forward!' Other chaptern are entitled Lipids snd Water, Chemical Structure of Lipids, Digestion and Absorption of Fats, Ahsorption and Metabolism of Sterols, Oxidative Breakdown of Fats, and Biosynthesis of Lipids. I t seemed to this reviewer that the hook is extremely well written and informative, and that many chemists and biochemists mill enjoy reading it. Of unusnal interest is Chapter 1, Lipids and Water, which is brief and informative.
J. B. BROWN The Ohio Slate Uniuersity Colunhrs
The Soil m d Its Fe.lili+y
H. Teuscher, Montreal Botanical Garden, Montreal, Canada, and R. Adler, deceased, with the collaboration of Jerome P. Sealon, Pnrdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. Reinhold Publish446 ing Cow., New York, 1960. vii pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm.
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$12.
For the amateur agriculturalist, this hook provides some interesting reading. The general lack of references makes the hook of limited value for the trained agriculturalist. The reviewer would disagree with some of the proposals and explanations made by the authors. In their attempt t o provide a complete picture of the soil and its fertility, the authors have only lightly treated many aspects. This leaves the reader wit,h a. foeling that the soil is s. complex substance, and that our knowledge of it is only a collection of miscellaneous facts. The hook seems to be disjointeddifficult a t times to follow from one topic t o another. In many instances, vsrioua topics are discussed under headings which hearly hint of association. The authors dwell upon the organic fraction of the soil and its importance in crop productian. The emphasis seems unfounded due to the lack of sufficient suo~ortine scientific .. data. The seetian entitled The Laws of Soil Fertility seems out of place in s. baok of this kind, since the authors go into cansiderahle detail. The discussion of fertilizers and their use is quite limited and examples given in many instances are not typical. One of the most important aspects of crop production, water, is only lightly touched. By comparison t o othrr hooks an the same subject this baok fails to improve upon that which is already in print.
J. BENTON JONES Ohio Agieultuml Ezperimenl Station Woosler, Ohio
A286
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Journal of Chemical Education
