REVIEWS MTHE BRDTISHA contributors includes most of the names best known in British chemistry. Each monograph gives a short review of important recent work in its subject, and also a few selected references. The articles are arranged in alphabetical order, and the first volume covers the first half of the alphabet. The dictionary embraces the whole of chemistry, but it is interesting to note that a large proportion of this volume is devoted to subjects of biochemical or pharmacological

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... For example, there are relatively long articles on carbohydrates, enzymes, fermrtentation, and feeding materials, and on organic arsenicals, cinchona alkaloids, and digitalis. The prominence of such subjects is interesting evidence of the remarkable advances that have been made in organiic chemistry and biochemistry during the last decade. This supplement will be found of great value by all who want a means of quick reference to new work in chemistry, and the liberal treatment of biochemical subjects makes it of special interest to those concerned with chemical aspects of medicine and biology. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANUAL SKILL The volume on Manual Skill, its Organization and Development,6 by Dr. J. W. Cox, is concerned with problems relating to manual operations which involve the manipulation and adjustments of objects to one another. Such operations are perfortned for many hours every day by hundreds of thousands of our industrial workers, and it is therefore of great practical importance for us to ascertain how skill in these operations is best acquired, and whether skill acquired in respect of one operation is transferable to other manual operations which may be substituted. The investigations described by Dr. Cox are practically confined to the operations involved in the assembly of the eighteen component parts (rings, screws, porcelain base, etc.) of electric-lamp holders. They were tested very thoroughly on a group of seventy.adults, and in less detail on about 200 boys and girls. A number of conclusions were arrived at which should, if confirmed, be of very great advantage to industry. The main conclusion related to the differences induced by practice and by training. It appeared that skill developed by the repetition of one manual operation a large number of times conferred but little advantage in the performance of other operations undertaken subsequently. WNhen, on the other hand, repetition is replaced by instruction consisting of talks, exercises based on the operation in question, and a limited number of repetitions of it, the skill thereby developed at no additional cost in time is transferable to other operations over a fairly wide range of manual activity. Moreover, the limits of proficiency attainable by training may far exceed those attainable by uninstructed repetition. These results indicate the wastage of effort produced by the customary practice of allowing beginners in assembly rooms to pick up their work as best they can, and suggest the advantages of substituting a short course of systematic training. In other chapters of the book Dr. Cox shows that manual ability is to a small-extent dependent on general intelligence, but chiefly upon the factors of mechanical aptitude and manipulative skill, and upon factors specific to the particular operation involved. Finally, he discusses in detail the subjective experiences involved in carrying out the operations of assembling, but he is too analytical in his treatment, and a more synthetic attitude might help in elucidating the theoretical basis of these valuable experimental results. 6 Manua4l Sktill. Its Ovrcanizationl anld DevJelopmsenzt. Byr J. XV . Co.x, D).have written a book entitled Textbook of Abnormal Psychology,7 the purpose of which is to fill the needs of advanced students of psychology, pre-medical students, and medical students who desire more psychological information. Throughout the authors have attempted to approach the discussion of abnormal phenomena by means of consideration of the normal ; for, as they point out, the symptoms and behaviour of abnormal individuals are not seen as new or mysterious ways of reacting, but are recognized as exaggerated manifestations of normal functioning. A vast amount of matter has been collected in this book, and some problems are discussed which have been somewhat neglected by psychopathologists. It is interesting, for example, to find an admirable discussion by the writers of this volume of the psychopathology of handedness in relation to stammering and stuttering. This voluminous work would seem to be rather a heavy meal for pre-medical students to digest. The little work entitled ' Healthier and Longer Life,"'8 by EMILIO J. PAMPANA, contains excellent advice for the lay public concerning cleanliness, exercise, diet, ventilation, sleep, periodical visits to the doctor and dentist, the most important social diseases, prevention of acute infections, hypertension, rheumatic fever and heart disease, latent infections, especially of dental origin, and accidents. In his short monograph on The Atom9 Dr. TUTIN propounds yet another view of atomic structure. However much physicists may differ about precise details, it is generally held that the atom consists of a massive nucleus surrounded by electrons. Dr. Tutin's alternative view reverses this: he regards the main mass as being arranged peripherally and the nucleus as being relatively light. The book is fairly entitled to the praise of being concise and short, but we think it need not seriously disturb those who hold-as most chemists and physicists do-that the main mass of the atom is in the nucleus. Mr, ARTHUR BRYANT is well known for his researches into the history of the Restoration period in England. He has written King Charles II, and is producing an admirable Life of Mr. Samuel Pepys, the diarist. The volume on The England of Charlos II°is clearly a parergon or by-product of these studies, for they contain in narrative form the information which he has gathered in his reading. He tells of the sights and sounds which would have struck a foreigner on his arrival in England when the Commonwealth was giving place to Royalty; of the appearance of London and the country and of the habits and pastimes of the people. It is a book easy and pleasant to read, but as one reads it is remarkable to note how little the country life of England has changed in two hundred and fifty years, and how the English character and habit-s remain as they have always been. Love of travel is predominant in the English. The pilgrimages gave place to visits to Bath, Epsom, Harrogate, and countless small(er spas; these in turn have been displaced by hiking, aimless motor trips, and, more recently, by pleasure cruises. Vestiges of the old village life still remain in many parts of the country. The women work in the fields as they used to do; the saddler mends the harness with his own hands, the wheelwright and the smith work in the open, churchyards are overfull, sanitation is still rudimentary, and the water supply is scanty and bad. All this Mr. Arthur Bryant tells about, and his book gives much room for thought. The more things change in rural England the more they remain the same. Textbook of Abnormal P'sycliology.