Mémoires Scientifiques: Vol. XII: Comptes rendus et analyses. 1896-1904. by Paul Tannery;Mémoires Scientifiques: Vol. XIII: Correspondance by A. DièsReview by: George SartonIsis, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Dec., 1935), pp. 162-163Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/224852 .

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i6z ISIS, XXIV, I

of geranium and Lathyrus palutrus which are not native Japanese plants are found in Ibukiyama.

Soon after TOKUGAWA IYEYASU became Shogun, he showed a keen interest in medical science, and in I607 he sent D6SHUN HAYASHI, a famous Confucian scholar, to Nagasaki to obtain Chinese books on this branch of science. Upon HAYASHI's return, IYEYASU inaugurated a course of lectures on materia medica. Its primary purpose was first to educate and train inore herbalists, and secondly to check the influx of false herb medicine from China. Soon through the suggestion of HAYASHI, the government appointed a few official examiners of the imported medicine. In I638, the government purchased 36 rare specimens of herbs from China and transplanted them in the two gardens of the court. The Imperial household in Kyoto followed the example. and two gardens were established in the suburbs of the ancient city. Within the next half century practically all the famous feudal lords came to have herb gardens of their own.

Although the number of herbs and gardens increased, the method of cultivation and preparation of herbs was still primitive. In the beginning of the i8th century TOMONOSHIN ABE who was carried away to China by a storm on his way to Osaka and came back to Japan after i8 years of study in China, wrote a petition to the government urging them to improve the work of the Bureau of Herb Medicine. ABE was employed by the government and at once introduced more efficient and scientific methods which he had learned in China. During this period such distinguished scholars as RANZAN ONO, IKKEN KAIBARA,

GENJo NORO, and many others appeared. At the close of the Yedo period when practically all the herb gardens were destroyed, there were YOKUSAI IINUMA, KEISUKE ITO, and others who carried over the work to the modern period.

The present work is the first scholarly work on the herb gardens, and Mr. UYEDA spared no effort in gathering old documents, determining the sites, the tools used to prepare drugs, and the various plants cultivated in various localities. The book is abundantly illustrated and excellently documented.

Library of Congress. SHIO SAKANISHI.

Paul Tannery (I843-I904).-Memoires scientifiques publies par J.-L. HEI- BERG et H.-G. ZEUJTHEN. VOl. XII: Comptes rendus et analyses. I896-I904. Vol. XIII: Correspondance. Editee par A. DiiES, XXIII-+5I8 P.; XXXI4-V503 p., 6 pl. Toulouse, EDOUARD PRIVAT, I933-4.

Every previous volume of this invaluable collection was reviewed in

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REVIEWS I63

Isis, the first (1912) in our first volume, the eleventh (1931) in our nineteenth (515-I6). The remarks which we then made apply to the two latest volumes, XII and XIII: their contents are so varied that a complete analysis is out of the question.

Vol. XII is the continuation and completion of vol. XI. It contains the reviews written by TANNERY during the last eight years of his life (I896-1904). It will suffice to indicate a few of the authors discussed: H. G. ZEUTHEN, NEPER, F. RITTER, C. DE

FREYCINET, J. T. MERZ, F. CAJORI, M. CURTZE, M. CANTOR, G. SCHIAPARELLI, A. N. WHITEIIEAD, BERTRAND RUSSELL, J. L. HEIBERG,

HUYGENS (CIEuvres, vol. 8), W. SCHMIDT, N. BUBNOW, E. WOHLWILI, G. LORIA, G. MILHAUD, P. BOUTROUX, H. SUTER, S. GU1NTHER, M. WELLMANN, CARRA DE VAUX, etc. A precious index to vols. XI-XII fills

PP. 415-57. Vol. XIII is the first of many volumes to be devoted to TANNERY'S

correspondence. The editor, the learned canon A. DiiEs, has decided to classify the letters by correspondents, the latter being put in alphabetical order. The present volume contains the letters A to C, thirty three scholars being represented by 225 letters. I shall name only those concerning whom there are more than five letters: GEORGE ALLMAN

(56 letters), ROBERT ALMAGIA (6), HENRI BOSMANS (7), HENRI BROCARD (27), MORITZ CANTOR (40), MAXIMILIAN CURTZE (26). The classification by correspondents is somewhat justified because it is to a certain extent a classification by subjects: e.g., the ALLMAN letters deal largely with Greek mathematics, the CURTZE ones with mediaeval mathematics. And one should bear in mind a remark made by Madame TANNERY in her preface

"11 n'est pas inopportun d'observer que ces lettres ne sont pas celles d'un savant de profession, uniquement consacre a la recherche, mais d'un ing6nieur des Manufactures de I'Itat, charge d'une lourde direction, ct d'un conducteur d'hommes, qui s'occupait avec sollicitude d'un important personnel ouvrier. 11 ne pouvait donc consacrer a ses travaux scientifiques que peu de temps, le temps de ses veilles. Les lettres que nous publions ont toujours 6t6 ecrites hative- ment, pour r6pondre a une question, dclairer un point obscur, transmettre les leqons notables d'un manuscrit, proposer ou discuter une hypothese, essayer de resoudre objectivement quelque probleme, dans le dessein tout desint6ress6 d'obliger ses correspondants et de servir la Science."

Canon Dits announces his intention of adding a general index to the last volume of letters. Let us hope that that index will not be restricted to the letters but will cover the whole collection the usefulness of which will thus be enormously incteased.

GEORGX SARTON.

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