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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the time as a quartermaster, the last two 

 years being chief quartermaster on the Pacific 

 coast. In this service he won distinction for 

 his care, foresight, and good management. 

 General Walker represents him as having the 

 almost incompatible qualities of loving " pa- 

 pers," rejoicing in forms and regulations and 

 requisitions, while at the same time he had 

 the temperament that enjoys the clash of 

 battle with its excitement and danger. His 

 experience had prepared him most admirably 

 to cope with material obstacles, and very of- 

 ten it is material obstacles quite as much as 

 the efforts of the enemy that defeat armies. 

 In his first battle, Williamsburg, he was sent 

 with five regiments to execute a movement, 

 which he accomplished with consummate 

 skill. His conduct led McClellan to say in 

 his telegraphic report, "Hancock was su- 

 perb," and the adjective clung to him. By 

 what the author calls " one of those curious 

 fortunes which mark the course of war," the 

 brigade and its commander that had acted 

 so brilliantly and steadily at Williamsburg 

 were given scarcely anything to do in the 

 seven days' battles and other fighting that 

 followed on the peninsula, nor were they 

 more actively employed at Antietam. But 

 when Richardson fell on the last-named field, 

 Hancock was advanced to the command of 

 his division. 



The account follows Hancock through 

 Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the 

 three days of Gettysburg, setting forth the 

 tactics employed by the Union army on each 

 day and freely criticising them. The severe 

 wound received by Hancock on the third day 

 at Gettysburg took him away from the Sec- 

 ond Corps, which he then commanded, for 

 six months. After his return came the se- 

 vere campaign of 1864, in which Hancock 

 bore a prominent part, Grant being now his 

 chief. In the spring of 1865, after a winter 

 of recruiting service, Hancock was placed in 

 command of the Middle Military Division 

 whose operations were to begin from Win- 

 chester. The final crash at Petersburg came 

 earlier than Grant expected, so that Hancock 

 had no share in the operations which brought 

 it about. A single chapter is given to the 

 events of Hancock's life after the war. The 

 position that General Walker occupied on 

 Hancock's staff, of assistant adjutant general, 

 makes him exceptionally well qualified for the 



work he has here performed. It is no eulogy 

 that he has produced, for he does not conceal 

 the deficiencies nor the specific mistakes of 

 his subject. His incidental criticism of other 

 generals is equally outspoken, and adds much 

 to the interest of the volume. 



Meteorology. Weather, and Methods of 

 Forecasting, Descriptions of Meteorologi- 

 cal Instruments, and River Flood Predic- 

 tions in the United States. By Thomas 

 Russell. New York: Macmillan & Co. 

 Pp. 277, with Plates. Price, $4. 



The main object of this book is to explain 

 the use of the weather map, where it can be 

 of service for the purpose of making predic- 

 tions ; but the authoi''s expressions as to the 

 feasibility of making successful predictions, 

 even w ith the use of the weather map, are not 

 hopeful. There are not more than from six 

 to twelve occasions in the year when they can 

 be made, and for some places they are never 

 possible. The kinds of .weather that can be 

 foretold are the great changes. A fall of 

 temperature as great as forty degrees can be 

 foreseen to a certainty for most parts of the 

 country east of the Mississippi River. The 

 northeast rainstorms along the Atlantic 

 coast can be successfully predicted in most 

 cases. Floods along the lower Ohio and 

 Mississippi Rivers can be foreseen from one 

 to three weeks in advance of their occurrence, 

 and the height the water will reach can be 

 assigned within a foot or two. The course of 

 rains, which agrees as a rule with that of the 

 areas of low pressure that cross the country 

 from west to east and from southwest to 

 northeast, can be inferred in a general way, 

 but is subject to many irregularities. The 

 reader being thus warned of the uncertain- 

 ties connected with the matter, a summary 

 of what is known about the weather, its ap- 

 parent laws, and its somewhat erratic move- 

 ments, is given in a series of chapters which 

 are broken up into crisp, pertinent, and in- 

 telligible paragraphs distinguished by their 

 conspicuous headings. First, the influence of 

 the moon, sun spots, and periodicity are dis- 

 cussed ; we have no satisfactory knowledge 

 on either point. Next, the properties and 

 functions of the air are described, with more 

 definite conclusions. Then meteorological in- 

 struments are enumerated, and the principles 

 involved in their construction and their uses 

 are explained. The succeeding chapters are 



