BOOK REVIEWS 757 as well as being of assistance to firms wishing to expand or to develop new processes. In its present form, it is doubtful whether it will be of much use to anyone not already possessing a fair knowledge of the industry or of surface chemistry. B. COOK PRACTICAL MANUAL OF CHEMICAL PLANT EQUIP- MENT. R.G. Schmidt. Pp. xi + 147 + Ill. (1967). Chemical Publishing Co., New York. $9. This manual is designed to explain the types of equipment, principles of plant operation, and other useful information to chemists, engineers, and operators in the chemical industries. Although written primarily for the newcomer who might be confused by unfamiliar apparatus and special "jargon", it will be helpful to experi- enced personnel who may be concerned with the instruction of others. The book is copiously illustrated with flow diagrams, cutaways of vital equipment and performance charts. As would be expected, it is mostly American equipment which is described in American phraseology, but this in itself should prove very useful to those in contact with both American and British concerns. A.H. THE ALKALOIDS. Part II. K.W. Bentley. Pp. 260. (1965). John Wiley • Sons, New York/London/Sydney. 51s. For the serious student of natural products, a source is desirable that is inter- mediate between general textbooks giving superficial and disjointed reference to a selected few alkaloids and comprehensive monographs, such as the classical work of Henry or the multivolume treatise edited by R. H. F. Manske, which provide a wealth of circumstantial chemical and physiological detail. This new series provides the essential degradative evidence necessary for elucidation of structure, and proof by synthesis where reported, together with indication of stereochemical and relevant relations with other substances. These summaries tend to read like undergraduate notes but they are none the less instructive for that. The representation of structures have been photoset from neatly hand drawn originals they give the impression of pages from a thesis but nevertheless are entirely clear and unambiguous. One is glad to see the adoption in Part II of a serial notation of structures with Arabic numerals rather than the Roman used in the earlier volume. Part II aims to remedy criticisms of omission of several important--but in 1957 insufficiently explored--groups of alkaloids, and to this extent the two books should be judged as a whole. Nevertheless one gets the impression that this new volume is a maturer work. It covers eight new groups plus three alkaloids and a highly appropriate discussion of alkaloid biogenesis. Relatively few known alkaloids have structures derived from imidazole and quinoxaline and these chapters are correspondingly brief the molecular formulae take up as much space, or more, than the supporting narrative. The alkanolamine and acid components of the Senecio (pyrollizidine) family are ex- tensively examined and illustrated with partial syntheses but there is only passing reference to spectrometric evidence of structure. The amaryllidaceae are responsible for an enormous number of alkaloids and a corresponding number of papers in the literature, and thus one is glad to see Dr. Bentley devote his second largest chapter

JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS to them. He distinguishes seven classes and refers to more than 40 alkaloids, and their correlation both theoretical and feasible in vitro and in vivo. Curiously, almost as many pages appear necessary to describe the structures and inter-relationships of the comparatively limited variation of those alkaloids formally derived, with or without cyclisation, from 20- or 22-amino steroids there is in- cluded some outline description of total synthesis and rearrangements. The indole alkaloids constitute possibly the most fecund family: since 1957 there has been a better appreciation of both their diversity and their correlation and a wider utilisation of physical techniques. In the new volume Bentley presents introduction and then describes 15 less familiar sub-groups that were not included in the very limited (5 type) coverage of Part I. It is regrettable that he has not taken this opportunity to update the earlier indole section, for instance the number and structure of ergot alkaloids. Part II concludes with t•vo smaller groups--lycopodia and diterpenoids (atisines and lycoctonines)--and three miscellaneous alkaloids, together with a final chapter briefly discussing alkaloid biogenesis. Regarding the indole D/E rings, it is unfortunate that the text was written just before the flurry of radiotagging studies supporting Wenkert's mevalonoid hypothesis, but at least the equally fruitful field of morphine and amaryllidaceae biogenesis is foreshadowed. G.F. PHILLIPS. THE CHEMISTRY OF THE CARBONYL GROUP. Editor: S. Patai. Pp. xii q- 1027 q- Ill. (1966). John-Wiley © Sons, New York/ London/Sydney. 220s. This treatise closely follows the pattern of the even more massive previous volume*--which exhaustively reviewed the properties of,the alkene system as the first in a series of functional groups. Professor Patai has again harnessed the assistance of a broad spectrum of international contributors and he has been equally s•:rict in settling for incomplete compilation in preference to delaying publication of the remainder. On this occasion the t vo missing chapters should have covered 'Equilibrium addition to the carbonyl group' and 'Syntheses and uses of isotopically labelled carbonyl compounds': the latter is a somewhat specialised topic but the absence of the former does slightly detract from comprehensive coverage in the treatise. The theoretical study of the carbonyl group is a good deal shorter than that afforded the alkene, partly by making extensive cross-references to Professor Coul- son's dissertation on general quantum mechanical principles in the first volume. Physical properties of the CO system include a summary of the effect of substituents on vibration spectra and the very important topic of the various electronic transitions contributing to carbonyl uv spectra and optical properties. Six chapters are concerned with the origin of CO groups arising, consecutively, from oxidation, hydrolysis, via carboxylic functions, by acylation, through organo- metallics and by biological processes and pathways. The last of these chapters conveniently includes a further 13 pages summarising the reactions of CO groups in metabolic systems naturally both the syntheses and the reactions refer particularly to numerous enzyme complexes but no serious attempt is made to review the enormous J. 17 675 (1966).