Technology and Culture

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 477 Lombe, early cold-blast iron furnaces and steam engines such as the beam winding engine at Middleton, which was built by the Butterley Company in 1825. For any visitor to Derbyshire with an interest in the history of technology, Frank Nixon’s book is an essential and' most rewarding companion. L. T. C. Rolt* Acta Museorum Agriculturae. Nos. 1-2. Prague: Zemedelske Museum, 1968. Pp. 77; drawings, photographs, map. These first two numbers (combined in one issue) of Acta Museorum Agriculturae (Latin for Journal of Agricultural Museums} mark a be­ ginning. This professional periodical is to be published semiannually by the recently organized International Association of Agricultural Mu­ seums (affiliated with the International Council of Museums). Its stated purpose is the reciprocal exchange of knowledge and coordination of research. “Agricultural museums” are broadly defined as including mu­ seums of agricultural technology, the food processing industry, forest­ ry, fisheries, horticulture, grape growing (viticulture) and hunting (including dogs). The editorial office is located in the Czechoslovakian Agricultural Museum, Slzska 7, Prague-Vinohrady, Czechoslovakia. Although the four official languages of the association are French, English, Russian, and German, all of the nineteen articles in the journal are in German or French except one, three pages long, in English. Most of the articles relate to Czechoslovakia and neighboring Com­ munist countries. An article by Vratislav Smelhaus, editor of the jour­ nal, views the agricultural museum at Prague as an institute for scien­ tific documentation of the history of agricultural production. A his­ torical perspective, in his opinion, is invaluable in its application to forestry, to cattle and forage crops, etc. The historical experience un­ der different economic systems (feudalism, capitalism) can also be in­ structive. In general, history can contribute to an understanding of ecology, or the relation between man and his environment. It would seem that Smelhaus and also other contributors are under the necessity of justifying the study of history as relevant to current problems. Other articles discuss the construction of an exhibit on lumbering and log transportation along the Moldau River, the technology of fish­ ing in Czechoslovakia (carp and pike in rivers and lakes) since medieval times, the use of archival materials (reproductions of documents or parts of documents) in connection with exhibits, and how to preserve museum objects. In an article entitled “Brief Overview of Significant Collections of Agricultural Implements in the U.S.S.R.” over ninety museums are listed. * Mr. Rolt is a vice-president of the Newcomen Society and the author of many books on the history of technology, particularly the biographies of great figures in the Industrial Revolution. 478 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE The last thirty pages are devoted to contributions from eleven schol­ ars at a symposium of the International Work Group for Paleoethnobotany , held at Castle Kacina in Prague October 14-18, 1968. A loose organization was formed to continue the working relationship in this, new and highly specialized scientific area. An interesting article con­ cerns the morphology and taxonomy of prehistoric grains (barley, emmer, wheat, etc.) with two pages of photographs of carbonized kernels retrieved from archaeological diggings. A map of Poland shows numerous sites of such diggings. The cover illustration is a sketch of a type of legume dating from 1562, and the frontispiece reproduces rural scenes from an illuminated manuscript, circa 1600, both from Prague. The serious scholarly approach of this journal, intended to make museums valuable adjuncts to historical and scientific research and not merely antiquarian curiosities, is most commendable. Fred W. Kohlmeyer* Fire Fighting Appliances. Descriptive Catalogue of the Science Mu­ seum Collection. By K. R. Gilbert. London: Her Majesty’s Sta­ tionery Office, 1969. Pp. 47. $2.30. This illustrated catalog complements Gilbert’s Fire Engines (1966). Essentially it is a description of some 101 items of fire-fighting appli­ ances in the collection of the Science Museum (London). Forty-one items are illustrated, with some duplication of the 1966 booklet. The full story of the technology of fire fighting is cataloged here, from the fire squirts of the 17th century to the motorized appliances of the 20th century. Fire extinguishers, escapes, and alarms as well as pumps and engines...