C assell's Cabinet Cyclopaedia. (Cassell and Co. 12s. 6d. net.) —This
work is " based on 'Casaell's Concise Cyclopaedia,' " it contains a fifth more matter, and this matter is, for the most part, brought up to date. We say "for the most part" because there are some omissions which it would be well to supply. " Saccharin " is an article so important dietetically and economi- cally that it ought to have been noticed at some length. It is used extensively in the case of certain predispositions to disease, and its highly concentrated form, some five hundred times the sweetness of sugar, makes it a difficult substance from the Customs' point of view. The article " Earthquakes " is insufficient. Some account should have been taken of the old and new seismology ; if this was impossible, a list of the historic earth- quakes would have been useful. In " Prehistoric Man " we see no notice of the Eolithic stage. It is true that this has not yet won the universal recognition accorded to Palaeolithic
and Neolithic, but it certainly claims some notice. " Vase- line " is a substance so frequently employed in medicine and in the toilet that it deserves a place. Under the headings of "Apple" and " Pear " some of the best varieties might have been conveniently given. We do not forget the cogent necessities of space ; but if there is to be a choice, let the preference be given to the useful. A volume of this size, even though it has between fourteen and fifteen hundred closely printed pages, cannot hope to be scientifically complete, while it may well supply the information that the average reader wants. The articles on "Golf," "Photography," &c., may serve as examples of what is wanted. A supplement of not very large proportions would, we imagine, suffice.
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