Supplement to N A T U R E of March 11, 1939 425 abolition of the practice of removing the germ and diets suggested commence with a scanty one of only cortical layers of the wheat which at present are 178 calories and become progressively more and more given to cattle or poultry, and urges that millers generous. The information given should be very should be compelled to suppiy flour containing all useful to the sufferer from diabetes, and will alleviate the nutritious elements of the grain. some of his trials. The last three chapters, which have no obvious connexion with the rest of the work, are devoted Viscosity of the Blood to pernicious amemia, non-pernicious an::emia and The Cause and Cure of High Blood Pressure. By glycosuria and diabetes mellitus respectively. Major Vincent Nesfield. Pp. 96. (London: R. Cobden-Sanderson, Ltd., 1938.) 5s. net. The Medical Press and Circular, 1839-1939 N this work, which is based on eight years' research, A Hundred Years in the Life of a Medical Journal. I the author maintains that high blood-pressure is By Dr. Robert J. Rowlette. Pp. x + 127 + 10 plates. due to increased viscosity or thickness of the blood, (London: Medical Press and Circular, 1939.) lOs. 6d. for the measurement of which he has devised a HE Medical Press and Circular was founded in special instrument or viscometer. T Dublin by Dr. Arthur Jacob in January 1839 The chief cause of viscosity of the blood is stated under the title of the Dublin Medical Pre8s. The to be over-eating and lack of exercise, which account medical profession was entirely unorganized at for its rarity in farm labourers, among whom the the time of its foundation, and Jacob was one of the author had a practice for more than fifteen years, and first to recognize the need for organization. To mark its frequency among the well-to-do. Treatment of the its centenary (see NATURE, Feb. 11, p. 237) Dr. condition, therefore, should consist in a reduction of Robert Rowlette, for many years Irish editor, has diet and in bleeding, which though carried out to written this interesting history of the Journal and excess in the past has been too much neglected at its development, and has woven into his account the present day. the medical history of the times. The Medical Press was published in Dublin up to Miscellany 1866; but in that year it absorbed a London periodical, the Medical Circular, founded in 1852 by Essential Facts about the League of Nations Dr. James Yearsley, a well-known aural surgeon, and Ninth edition (revised). Pp. 349 + 9 plates. (Geneva: edited by Dr. George Ross during the fourteen years League of Nations; London: George Allen and of its existence. Unwin, Ltd., 1938.) 1s. Arthur Jacob was a prominent surgeon in Dublin, HIS admirable but lucid recapitulation of the and he was the discoverer of the layer of rods and T essential facts about the League of Nations pro­ cones in the retina of the eye. He was succeeded as vides an indictment of recent statesmanship which editor by his son, Dr. Archibald Jacob, and the is the more impressive because the book is wholly Journal then took a close interest in the betterment free from polemics. The bare statement of the of the profession employed under the Poor Law achievements of the League, the outline of its con­ system. In the 'nineties, in common with other tribution to human welfare in many technical fields journals, it pressed for reforms in the Army Medical as well as in the political, make it the more amazing Services, and in recent years has pursued an editorial that nationalist policies anywhere should have policy of providing concise and authoritative articles hampered that continued development and contribu­ upon the latest methods of diagnosis and treatment. tion. The immense amount of readable information Dr. Rowlette's "History" is attractively produced, provided here in pocket form and easy of reference being printed on cream antique laid paper, and bound in itself emphasizes the necessity of a return to the in crash canvas with green labels lettered in gold, League system and the evolution from within its and is illustrated with ten excellent plates. framework of a more perfect structure where re­ quired. Only as the principles upon which the League Diets for Diabetes is based are recognized can there be for any nation Arranged in Menu Form. By Dr. G. E. Beaumont. either the security or the amelioration of economic Pp. vi +49. (London: J. and A. Churchill, Ltd., conditions which in these last few years have been 1938.) 2s. net. sought increasingly but in vain by very different N this short booklet, diets for those suffering from methods. I diabetes are presented in menu form, so that the patient need not calculate equivalent food values Catalogue of Lewis's Medical and Scientific Lending from tables. Having been informed by his doctor Library of the amount of carbohydrate, etc., and number of New edition, revised to the end of 1937. Part 1 : calories appropriate to his condition, the patient may Authors and Titles. Pp. viii+ 550. (London: H. K. thus select meals suitable for him, and which appeal Lewis and Co., Ltd., 1938.) 16s. net; to Subscribers, 8s. to his appetite and his taste. First of all, tables are HIS new edition of Part 1 of the Catalogue of given of the carbohydrate, protein and fat content T Lewis's Medical and Scientific Lending Library and calorie value of fruits, vegetables, meats, etc., has been revised to the end of 1937. It contains after which a number of daily menus is set out, each the list of authors and titles, estimated to be some with its dietary constitution and calorific value. The twenty thousand in number, of the works in the © 1939 Nature Publishing Group 426 Supplement to N A T U R E of March 11, 1939 Library. All works of any importance, English, The Roof-Tree American and foreign (when translated), are to be By James Kenward. Pp. xxv + 124 +26 plates. found in the Library, as well as a number of journals, (London, New York and Toronto : Oxford Uni­ reports and annual reports and year-books. All versity Press, 1938.) 8s. 6d. net. those who have used this Library lmow how useful it "rHIS book traces in a popular and entertaining is, and the subscription rates are very moderate. style the structural development of the dwelling­ Part 2, which gives the classified index of subjects, house. The author has followed its growth from the is in active preparation, and is expected to be ready shelter of a tree, through pre-, proto-historic and his· early this year. toric forms to the multicellular erection of modern type as seen in the rural dwellings of Kent. Although his English for Students in Applied Sciences illustrations are drawn from a single English county, By Prof. S. A. Harbarger, W. R. Dumble, W. H. in which his interest centres, the principles exemplified Hildreth and Prof. Bert Emsley. Pp. xiii+260. are of general application. He shows how human (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Co., needs have been met by extension of the primitive Inc., 1938.) 12s. structure along lines determined by constructional HIS book outlines a course for American science possibilities and the character of the material avail­ T students in the writing of English. It is thought· able from local resources. As his title indicates, fully written and well produced. Though not entirely Mr. Kenward deals only with the northern form of suitable in structure or detail for students in Great European house evolved from a prototype in which Britain, it should be found stimulating by their the formative element was a wooden structure. His teachers. The average science student's technical book is written with an infective enthusiasm for knowledge of writing falls far short of his technical craftsmanship and the craftsman. knowledge of science, and the difficulty of getting results on paper in a lucid way is often a factor which limits his usefulness as a research man. Many Chemical Engineering Economics By Chaplin Tyler. (Chemical Engineering Series.) productive workers seem unconscious of the need to Second edition. Pp. ix+24l. (New York and examine the bases of composition, or consider the London: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1938.) 18s. vital relation between author and reader. A course in English directed to making clear the HE economic problems of chemical engineering principles underlying the writing of English, and T are those of industry in general, varied only in giving an opportunity for practice in drawing up so far as production is based essentially on chango reports and similar documents, should be of much in chemical form. The graduate entering industry value in the science courses of English universities. is very soon confronted with them, and finds them Everyone who has to deal with the preparation of to be of a different character and wider in their manuscripts for the press or with their subsequent ramifications than those he has studied for his degree. abstraction would be grateful if the universities gave It will como as a boon to many to have these economic the science student a more deliberate training in this questions concisely and clearly set out in book form. matter. In view of the vast annual output of scientific The author is qualified by his experience for this papers, and the endless labour involved in keeping task, which he has accomplished in a praiseworthy abreast of them, everything possible should be done manner : there can be few chemists who will not to make such papers as clear and understandable as profit by reading it, even though it applies to the subject allows.