702 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



is only equaled by his ignorance of the eti- 

 ology and pathology of disease. Contagion, 

 inoculation, and predisposition have to him a 

 meaning that is alien to that attached thereto 

 by the medical profession. 



Our personal experience in Norway and 

 the United States justifies our statement that 

 if the author's reference to other countries is 

 no more accurate than to these two, then, as 

 a work on leprosy, the book is useless. 



Its real purpose, however, is to promulgate 

 the theory that the leprosy that exists to-day 

 is perpetuated by vaccination. We can not 

 trespass upon the space of these columns to 

 discuss so unsubstantial a theory. One swal- 

 low does not make a summer, nor do one or 

 more cases of leprosy inoculated with sup- 

 posed vaccine sustain the author's thesis. 



General Thomas. By Henry Coppee, LL. D. 

 New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1893. 

 Pp. 332. Price, $1.50. (Great Com- 

 manders Series.) 



This volume of the series in no way falls 

 behind the previous issues, either in the in- 

 trinsic interest of the man and his career, or 

 in the style of treatment. General Thomas 

 was born on July 31, 1816, in the south- 

 eastern portion of Virginia. Little is known 

 of his early life. In his nineteenth year he 

 began the study of law, but shortly after- 

 ward was offered a cadet appointment at 

 West Point, which he promptly accepted. 

 He was graduated in 1840, twelfth in his 

 class. Thomas's first commission was that 

 of second lieutenant in the Thh-d Artillery. 

 He joined his regiment on Governor's Island, 

 New York Harbor, but was soon ordered 

 south to take part in the Florida War, where 

 he gained much distinction and slight pro- 

 motion. After this he served at several of 

 the Southern military posts. He was with 

 General Taylor during the Mexican war, and 

 was brevetted major for brilliant work. 



His personal a{)pearance, about 1850, is 

 thus described : " He was cast in a strong 

 and large mold, and had many of the per- 

 sonal traits of Washington, whom in his in- 

 tellectual and moral character he greatly re- 

 sembled." In 1851 he was detailed as in- 

 structor of artillery and cavalry at West 

 Point, and while serving here was promoted 

 to a captaincy. It was also during his resi- 

 dence here that he married Miss Frances L. 



Kellogg, of Troy. In 1355, while in Cali- 

 fornia, he was appointed a major. In 1861 

 he was advanced to a colonelcy after the 

 resignation of A. S. Johnston, Robert E. Lee, 

 and W. J. Hardee, all of whom joined the 

 Confederacy. General Thomas seems never 

 to have wavered in his allegiance to the 

 Union. 



He was appointed brigadier general in 

 1861. He played an important part in the 

 civil war, and his achievements in its various 

 battles form most of the bulk of the book. 

 He has been accused of being too slow and 

 ponderous in his military manoeuvres, but 

 the biographer emphatically denies this and 

 says that the foundation for these statements 

 was derived from his great caution and clear- 

 headedness in military matters. After the 

 war he was appointed commander of the 

 Military Division of the Pacific, where he 

 served only a year, his death occurring sud- 

 denly in 1870 from apoplexy. This series 

 has a double value for youthful readers, be- 

 ing really history, in the form of biograph- 

 ical story. 



Continuous-current Dynamos and Motors ; 

 THEIR Theory, Design, and Testing. By 

 Frank P. Cox, B. S. New York : W. J. 

 Johnston Co. (Limited), 1893. Pp. 271. 

 Price, $2. 



This is an elementary treatise on con- 

 tinuous-current dynamos and motors, which 

 deals not only with the theories and laws 

 governing their construction and action, but 

 also with the application of these to their 

 construction and running in the shop and 

 power house. The first four chapters treat 

 of the general principles of the machines, 

 and serve as an introduction and preparation 

 for the succeeding portions. Chapter V has 

 to do with the mathematics of the magnetic 

 circuit; and here the author has carefully 

 abstained from using the higher mathematics 

 and has only assumed for his student a 

 knowledge of algebra and elementary ge- 

 ometry. Chapter VI deals with the theory 

 of windings, losses, etc., and Chapter VII of 

 the special features in motor designing. 

 Chapters VIII, IX, and X relate to the 

 practical application of the previously stated 

 laws. In Chapters XI and XII, testing and 

 handling the completed machine occupy the 

 attention. The last two chapters deal with 



