Abstract
THIS work may be considered as consisting of two parts, namely, a description of coal, its origin and structure on one side, and the application of coal in the service of mankind on the other. The former is of great interest and contains much novel matter, as might be expected from so distinguished a botanist as Dr. Jeffrey. The second theme is, however, very indifferently handled and forms a sad contrast to the former. Dr. Jeffrey has evidently failed to appreciate the real effect of coal upon the history of civilisation; thus he repeatedly urges that British supremacy in the eighteenth century was due to the application of mineral fuel to the smelting of iron, but entirely overlooks the far greater issue, namely, that almost simultaneously the steam engine was developed in Great Britain, thus for the first time pressing latent energy into the service of mankind, which had up to then been forced to rely upon kinetic energy only. The author's technical knowledge of the subject is also not so sound as it might be. For example, he states that brown coals are treated “by briquetting with suitable binding media,” whereas the chief value of brown coal lies in the fact that it is capable of being briquetted without the use of a binder.
Coal and Civilisation.
By Prof. Edward Charles Jeffrey. Pp. xvi + 178. (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1925.) 10s. 6d. net.
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Coal and Civilisation . Nature 116, 93 (1925). https://doi.org/10.1038/116093b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/116093b0