Microbe Hunters. By P. DE KRUIF. (12s. 6d. net. Cape.)

We found it difficult to lay this book down until we had read to the finish. It is a highly dramatic account of the researches of Leeuwenhoek, Spallanzani, Pasteur, Koch, Roux, Behring, Metchnikoff, Theobald Smith, who cleared up the mystery of Texas fever, Walter Reed the vanquisher of yellow fever, and Ehrlich who, after much groping, invented compound 606 salvarsan. The author so graphically portrays these pioneers in the struggle against the worst enemies of mankind that the reader pictures them at work and follows the account of their failures and successes with vivid interest. In no sense is the book technical; on the contrary the language is popular, in places slangy even. And here we wish to enter a protest against the use of "hectic," the correct meaning of which is "habitual"the exact opposite of the sense in which it is ignorantly employed. Apart from this one criticism, we heartily commend this book to all, scientific or otherwise.

One Touch of Nature: A Literary Nature Study Reader for Boys and Girls. Arranged by Dr. F. W. TICKNER. (2s. 6d. University of London Press.)

We envy the boys and girls whose teacher selects for their class this delightful reader. It consists of brief biographies of Gilbert White, Fabre, Richard Jefferies, Hudson, Ward Fowler, and Edward Thomas ("Edward Eastaway"), and of characteristic well-chosen extracts from their writings. The whole forms a thoroughly enjoyable little volume.

Marvels of Pond Life. By R. PALMER. (6s. net. Butterworth.) This book should be useful to natural history and field clubs, and to those whose hobby is in the fauna of ponds and ditches. The treatment is light and superficial, but probably adequate for the amateur naturalist. The illustrations on the twentythree plates are very successful.

"

An Introduction to the Theory of Perception. By Sir J. H. PARSONS. (18s. net. Cambridge University Press.) Issued as one of "The Cambridge Psychological Library series, this fine work demands of the reader considerable knowledge both of psychology and of physiology and comparative anatomy, at any rate so far as this last concerns the nervous systems of lower animals and of man himself. The author rightly holds that progress in psychology depends on the stability of its biological foundations, and that" perception 'is the link between the primitive nerve processes (irritability) and consciousness. He is, in the main, in agreement with Ll. Morgan's theory of emergent evolution.

"

Treatise on Thermodynamics. By Prof. M. PLANCK. Translated

with the Author's sanction by Prof. A. OGG. Third edition : translated from the Seventh German Edition. (15s. net. Longmans.)

The third English edition of Prof. Planck's standard treatise on Thermodynamics follows as closely as possible the seventh German edition, and contains all the additions and corrections which the author has found necessary. Amongst these additions may be mentioned the theory of the lowering of the freezing point of strong electrolytes, which has been developed by J. C. Ghosh of Calcutta. Debye's equation of state for solid bodies, which explains the variation of the specific heat with temperature, has also been added. In connexion with the law for the thermal coefficient of expansion the early work of Sutherland should not be overlooked, for he anticipated the results given by several later investigators, although of course the work of Gruneisen is more complete. The reviewer has had occasion to compare this book with several other modern textbooks on the same subject, and has come to the conclusion that it is indeed the work of a master, being unsurpassed in clearness of exposition. It is perhaps somewhat advanced in its methods of treatment for a beginner, analytical processes being preferred to graphical methods, but for the student who has some previous knowledge it is to be recommended strongly.

A Treatise on the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity. By Prof. A. E. H. LOVE. Fourth Edition. (40s. net. Cambridge University Press.)

This large volume is the fourth edition of Prof. Love's classical treatise on Elasticity, originally published in two volumes in 1892-3. Seven years have elapsed since the publication of the third edition. Many researches published during the years 1914-8, which were not available for that edition, are now included. Amongst the most important additions in the text we find a discussion of the theory of a rectangular plate, clamped at the edges, and bent by pressure applied to one face: and that of the resistance of a plate to pressure, when it is so thin that the extension of the middle plane, due to deformation of that

I plane into a curved surface, cannot be neglected. It has been found possible to simplify the easier parts of the theory of the equilibrium of a sphere, and thus lead to some geophysical applications of great importance. In an extended and interesting note at the end of the book is given an account of the process by which stress-strain relations are deduced from the molecular theory of a crystalline solid. A structure theory of this kind is eminently desirable at the present time, when increasing attention is being paid to the arrangement of atoms in the crystal lattice. We cannot withhold our tribute of admiration for the extraordinarily complete and exhaustive treatment of the subject of elasticity which Prof. Love has given us. The book is produced in the admirable manner which we have been led to expect from the Cambridge University Press.

The Groundwork of Modern Science. I, A Two-Year Course of Experimental General Science. By J. M. MOIR. (3s. 6d. Longmans.) There is much to commend in this volume-aim, price, get-up, treatment all have their points. The author has been inspired by the report of the Committee on Natural Science in the Educational System that the customary course... has become too narrow. . . . Further, it is out of touch with the many applications of science." In some 230 odd pages, the author has packed a two years' course that includes force, measurement, hydrostatics, chemistry, biology, human physiology, heat, light, and mechanics. We are confident that, commendable as the course is, it cannot be done in two years under existing conditions. Also, with so much that is included, it is not clear why magnetism and electricity, astronomy and sound have been omitted. In a two years' course omissions are inevitable, but the principle governing omission is not clear. That the book does not appear to fit any particular examination scheme seems all to the good, but we fear that what is required simultaneously with (or preceding) revolutions in text-books is a revolution in examinations and in examining bodies.

Makers of Science; Electricity and Magnetism. By D. M. TURNER. (7s. 6d. net. Oxford University Press.)

We extend a hearty welcome to this attractively written and well-produced book. It is the second of a series planned to cover the history of science. The first of the series dealt with physics, mechanics, and astronomy generally, and further volumes will appear on chemistry and biology. The volume under notice gives a sound and interesting survey of the development of knowledge in electricity and magnetism, and it undoubtedly helps to fill a gap in the literature of the history of science. We think it should find a ready place on the shelves of all school libraries.

The Principles of Chemistry and their Application: a Text-book for Nurses. By ELEANOR H. BARTLETT and KATHARINE INK. (12s. 6d. net. New York: Macmillan.)

A Standard Catalogue of English Names of our Wild Flowers,
to which are added the Ferns and their Allies. By J. F.
RAYNER. (IS. 6d. Southampton : Gilbert. London:
Simpkin, Marshall.)

My Town Garden. By LADY SETON. (6S. net. Nisbet.)
Halley Stewart Lectures, 1926. Science and Human Progress.
By Sir OLIVER LODGE. (4s. 6d. net. Allen & Unwin.)
Evolution in Science and Religion. By R. A. MILLIKAN. (4s. 6d.
net. New Haven : Yale University Press. London:
Oxford University Press.)

The Daily Telegraph Guide to the Eclipse. By W. G. BELL. (IS. Benn.)

Science for Beginners. By J. A. COCHRANE. (2s. 6d. Arnold.) A Treatise on the British Freshwater Algae, in which are Included all the Pigmented Protophyta hitherto found in British Freshwaters. By the late Prof. G. S. WEST New and Revised Edition, in Great Part Re-written by Prof. F. E. FRITSCH. (21s. net. Cambridge University Press.)

Chapters from Everyday Doings of Insects. By EVELYN CHEESMAN. Episodes from Battles with Giant Fish. By F. A. M. HEDGES. (Is. 6d. each. Harrap.)

The Natural History of Ice and Snow: Illustrated from the Alps. By Dr. A. E. H. TUTTON. (21s. net. Kegan Paul.)

Readable School Biology. By O. H. LATTER. (2s. 6d. Bell.) Isaac Newton, 1642-1727: a Memorial Volume. Edited for the Mathematical Association by W. J. GREENSTREET. (Ios. 6d. net. Bell.)

Science Leading and Misleading. By A. LYNCH. (7s. 6d. net. Murray.)

Stars and Atoms. By Prof. A. S. EDDINGTON. (7s. 6d. net. Clarendon Press.)

TEN

EN French headmistresses have been the guests of the Association of Headmistresses from May 15 to 22 in England. They stayed at the University Women's Club, Audley Square, where they were received on Sunday evening, May 15, by Miss Sparks, President of the Association.

On Monday at noon the guests were welcomed by Lord Eustace Percy and officials of the Board of Education. The Chairman of the London County Council (Mr. J. M. Gatti, J.P.) entertained them to lunch at the County Hall, and in the afternoon the Duchess of Atholl gave an At Home at her residence, 84 Eaton Place.

Tuesday and Wednesday were devoted to visits to colleges and schools, including Bedford College, Furzedown College, the North London Collegiate School, St. Paul's School for Girls, Kensington High School, and the Streatham and Parliament Hill Secondary Schools under the London County Council. At Kensington High School the visitors were received by members of the Council of the Girls' Public Day School Company, and listened to a demonstration in the teaching of music. In all the schools opportunity was given for the visitors not only to see the building and equipment, but also to listen to lessons, if they wished, and see something of the normal life and work of the pupils.

Visits were also paid to Crosby Hall, to Chelsea Polytechnic, where an excellent programme of gymnastics and dancing had been arranged, and to the Barrett Street Trade School, where the skilled work in needlecraft and design excited much interest and admiration.

On Wednesday evening Dr. Brock, Chairman of the London Branch of the Headmistresses' Association, gave a reception to which principals and members of the French

staff of London colleges and schools were invited to meet the French visitors. There was a large and representative gathering. The new wing of the school was open for inspection, and a varied and delightful programme of music was given in the school hall.

On Thursday six of the French headmistresses visited Oxford and four paid a visit to Cambridge. At Oxford they were entertained to lunch by the Provost of Oriel and other members of the University, and to tea by the Principals of the Women's Colleges. At Cambridge they were entertained by the Mistress of Girton College and the Principal of Newnham.

The visitors then separated; those who had gone to Oxford to visit either Cheltenham, Bristol, or Brighton; those who had gone to Cambridge to visit Manchester or Leeds. In this way they had opportunity to see either one of the provincial universities, or one of the large boarding schools of the country. Those who went to Cheltenham were the guests of Miss Sparks at the Ladies' College, and those who went to Brighton, the guests of Miss Tanner at Roedean.

The names of the visitors and the schools they represent

are:

Mlle Marg. Caron, directrice du Lycée Fenélon; Mlle Anna Caron, directrice du Lycée Jules Ferry; Mile Baudeuf, directrice du Lycée, Lille; Mlle Wheatcroft, directrice du Lycée, Strasbourg; Mlle Bordenave, directrice du Lycée, St. Germain; Mlle Chabrat, directrice du Collège d'Arras; Mlle Vochelle, directrice du Collège du Dunkerque ; Mlle Trocmé, directrice du Collège de Douai; Mlle Garde, directrice de l'Ecole Primaire Sup. de St. Chamond; and Mlle Wyszlawska, directrice du Collège de Jeunes Filles, Soissons.

TO TEACHERS OF GEOGRAPHY LOCAL GEOGRAPHY. By C. G. BEASLEY, B.A., Lecturer in Geography at University College, Nottingham. 1s. net. The ideal guide for Schools undertaking Regional Surveys. GEOLOGY IN ITS RELATION TO LANDSCAPE. By JUNIUS HENDERSON, Professor of Natural History and Curator of Museum, University of Colorado. 12s. 6d. net.

"It may be warmly recommended, in particular to teachers and students of geography."-Nature.

A GEOLOGICAL CHART. By Col. F. G. TALBOT. Suitable for hanging in the Class Room. Gives in clear and simple form the main outlines of geological history. 1s. 4d. net.

AN INTRODUCTION TO STRATIGRAPHY.
DUDLEY STAMP, B.A., D.Sc., A.K.C., F.G.S. 10s. net.

By L.

By tracing the changes in the distribution of land and sea from period to period, this book imparts a general knowledge of the stratigraphical geology of the British Isles.

"This is a distinctly original work that will be of service to very many students."-Nature

TWO BROCHURES FOR TEACHERS OF GEOGRAPHY. By Dr. L. DUDLEY STAMP, Sir Ernest Cassel Reader in Economic Geography in the University of London.

NOTES ON COMMON ROCKS. 6d. net.

NOTES ON SOME ECONOMIC MINERALS AND
ROCKS. 6d. net.

Only rocks and minerals mentioned in text-books of geography and which are of importance in the teaching of geography have been included. The brochures have been written to describe the following sets.

SETS OF SPECIMENS FOR TEACHERS
MURBY'S SET OF THIRTY COMMON ROCKS;
SET OF THIRTY ECONOMIC MINERALS AND ROCKS
The set for the teacher in each case consists of specimens 5 in. x 4 in., a
specially large size, and thus adapted for class demonstration. Prices: Rocks,
£2 18s. 6d. for 30; Economic Minerals and Rocks, £3 7s. 6d. for 30.
The hand specimens in the set for use by the pupils are 3 in. x 2in.
Rocks, £1 3s. for 30; Economic Minerals and Rocks, £1 5s. for 30.

"—" ARTIFEX"

"I hope it will soon be in every school library in the Kingdom.". in Manchester Guardian. "This most valuable work should become a STANDARD BOOK IN EVERY SCHOOL."-Church Times.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

STUDIES in TEACHING and SYLLABUS. BY CHARLES KNAPP, D.D. R.V. text. Vol. I. Genesis to Ruth. 16s. net "The book rests on a wide knowledge of the contemporary criticism of the Old Testament; it is essentially constructive in spirit, it opens up many avenues of suggestion, and an eager teacher, who could retain his sense of perspective in reproducing its contents, would find it a veritable mine of information."—The Expository Times.

Vol. II will go up to the Exile, taking in the chief contemporary prophets up to and including Jeremiah, but not Ezekiel.

Prices:

REVISED VERSION EDITION. By G. W. WADE, D.D., and J. H. WADE, M.A. II SAMUEL .. net 4When ordering please say whether R.V. or A.V. is required and state price.

E.C.4

E.C.4

Sir Thomas More tells us that in Utopia the priests, who have full control of education, "use all possible use all possible methods to infuse very early into the tender and flexible minds of children such opinions as are both good in themselves and will be useful to their country; for when deep impressions of these things are made at that age they follow men through the whole course of their lives, and conduce much to preserve the peace of the government, which suffers by nothing more than by vices that rise out of ill opinions." The practice of the Utopian priests has been pursued by controllers of education in all ages. Never, however, has it been more widely and variously exemplified than in the century which has elapsed since the fall of Napoleon. For that has been the century of expanding democracy, when to a rapidly increasing extent the opinions which have dominated the schools one day have determined the course of national and international politics the next. Hence, as never before, have the devout, the patriotic, the militant, the pacific, the humane, the cosmopolitan, the ethical, the communistic, struggled promiscuously to capture the schools. For many years the schools of Germany with stentorian unanimity proclaimed the achievements of the House of Hohenzollern; the schools of AustriaHungary the advantages of the dual monarchy; the schools of France the merits of republicanism; the schools of Italy the blessings of national unity; and the schools of America the virtues of federalism. At the present time the schools of Russia are devoted to the exclusive propagation of Marxian socialism; while the

German schools are being retuned to the new note of democracy.

Great Britain, largely because of its superior indifference to education, has so far escaped any general attempt to capture the schools for propagandist purposes. Nowhere have the schools remained so free, and nowhere have teachers so energetically resented and successfully resisted such sectional efforts as have been made to use them for political or religious ends. At the present moment they need to be specially on their guard in view of the formulation by the Board of Education-in conjunction with the League of Nations Union, and with the consent of a number of scholastic associations of an extensive scheme for the impartation of knowledge respecting the League of Nations and its work. On June 8 a conference of some six hundred representatives of local education authorities was held at the Caxton Hall," to consider the question of providing instruction. for children and young people in the aims and objects of the League of Nations." After hearing an address by the President of the Board of Education, and after considerable discussion, the conference unanimously accepted the following resolution: "That this conference welcomes the steps which are being taken to give the children and the youth of this country a knowledge of the development of international relations, and of the work and aims of the League of Nations, and requests the Board of Education, the Scottish Education Department, and the Ministry of Education for Northern Ireland, to circulate to local education authorities a report of the proceedings of the conference in order that they may consider the matter further in consultation with the teaching profession."

So far this is fairly innocuous: it merely asks for the circulation of a report with a request for consideration and consultation. A knowledge of the development of international relations is admittedly of great educational importance, although it is a kind of knowledge which is beyond the capacity of all save the scholars in the highest classes. Similarly, an acquaintance with the work and aims of the League of Nations is essential to all who carry their historical studies into the period subsequent to the Great War.

It is evident, however, from a memorandum drawn up by the League of Nations Union and a number of educational organizations associated with it—a memorandum laid before the conference and now circulated with its report—that a good deal more than this is intended. It is intended that a definite League of Nations propaganda shall be carried on in and through the schools. Lectures are to be given in school hours; films are to be displayed; literature is to be circulated; junior branches of the League of Nations Union are to be established; study circles are to be formed; and, above all, the class lessons in history, geography, and other subjects are to be remodelled on League of Nations lines. Steps are being taken to ensure that no education authority fails in this business of making known the League and the Covenant to children in its schools," and a warning is issued that " unwilling or uninterested masters and mistresses must not be entrusted with presenting the new material until their own interest has first been aroused." The memorandum explicitly states that the object of its emissaries is not merely to impart information but, further, first, to effect a change of feeling," viz. a sense of world citizenship as distinct from a restricted British citizenship; and, secondly,