September 12, 1907] 



NA TURE 



491 



MOTOR ENGINEERING. 

 A Manual of Petrol Motors and Motor-Cars, comprising 

 the Designing, Construction, and Working of Petrol 

 Motors. By F. Strickland. Pp. ix+376. (London : 

 C. Griffin and Co., Ltd.) Price iSs. net. 



MR. STRICKLAND has produced a very original 

 and useful work on the modern motor-car. 

 There is no padding"; the book is filled from cover to 

 cover with the practical remarks of a man who knows 

 his subject. The matter is conveniently arranged, and 

 the reader, whether he be manufacturer, designer, c.r 

 user, is able to follow the author, and in almost every 

 case to obtain his very decided opinions on many of 

 the controversial points which have arisen during the 

 development of the car of to-day. 



First we have a short but very readable chapter on 

 the power required, and a second chapter on the 

 general arrangements of an up-to-date car. Then 

 follow nine chapters on the details of the engine, and 

 the remainder of the book is devoted to the other 

 details taken seriatim. 



It is refreshing to find the author in his chapter on 

 general arrangements taking the bold line cf 

 prophesying that the present type of motor-car will not 

 long endure. Most thoughtful engineers will agree 

 with him that this is the right view to take, and 

 in spite of the repeated assurances of those who have 

 the car of to-day to sell, that finality of design has 

 already been reached, and that little remains to be 

 done to pleasure cars beyond perfecting details and 

 cheapening modes of manufacture, it is probable that 

 Mr. Strickland is right in saying that the present 

 design, with its long engine sticking out in front 

 necessitating a long wheel base, has been made neces- 

 sary by the requirements of the engines, which up to 

 the present are found in practice to need frequent 

 attention on the road. He points out that when the 

 engines become more trustworthy they will be rele- 

 gated to their proper position underneath and nearer 

 to the centre of the car. He gives strong reasons for 

 showing that this position, although it does not give 

 such facilities as at present for the chauffeur to make 

 hi-, repairs in public, will undoubtedlj' improve the 

 car in many important respects, not least being that 

 of the comfort and ea'-e of the occupier. 



The chapters devoted to the consideration in detail 

 of the various parts of both pleasure and commercial 

 motor vehicles are very complete ; every important 

 organ is considered and discussed separatelv, the 

 various modes of construction are clearty explained, 

 the drawings are real drawings and not process 

 blocks, and are consequently far clearer than is unfor- 

 tunately now too often the case. 



The important features of the book are the tables of 

 the principal dimensions of the best known cars of 

 the day. These tables are accompanied by verv full 

 notes, which make them additionally valuable. It 

 is the first time that anyone has attempted to collect 

 together such a mass of useful information as is con- 

 tained in these tables with their accompanying notes. 



While there is so much to praise in this book, it is 

 curious to note the peculiar error that the author 

 falls Into on p. 309 when he discusses the compar.i- 

 NO. 1976, VOL. 76] 



tive llexibility of the steam engine and the internal- 

 combustion engine. He seems entirely to ignore the 

 extraordinary range of power without change of gear 

 that has been rendered possible in the steam engine 

 by the use of flash boilers. When with such boilers 

 it is possible to give effective mean pressures varying 

 from 100 lb. up to 1000 lb., it is evident that even for 

 heavy commercial vehicles the use of change gearing 

 is no longer necessary when steam is employed as 

 motive power. 



A few other dicta laid down by the author may be 

 challenged in a similar manner to the above, but on 

 the whole his work contains, in addition to the valu- 

 able tables and data above mentioned, an unusually 

 large number of carefully reasoned and valuable con- 

 clusions which will render it almost a necessity for 

 everyone who is closely interested in the modern 

 motor-car to keep this book in his librar^^ 



THE FAMILY AND THE FUTURE. 

 Population and Progress. By Montague Crackan- 

 thorpe, K.C. Pp. viii+131. (London: Chapman 

 and Hall, Ltd., 1907.) Price 2s. 6d. net. 



THIS volume contains a series of five essays, of 

 which the first three were published originally 

 in the Fortnightly Review, the earliest in 1872 and 

 the two later ones in 1906 and 1907. As is stated 

 in the preface, the thread that binds them is the 

 "Voluntary Principle," that is to say, the principle 

 that married people should for the good of society 

 exercise voluntary control over the size of their 

 families. Together they form a connected and 

 forcible argument in support of this principle. The 

 author sees in it, if not a panacea for all social ills, 

 at any rate the most effective of prophylactic 

 measures. Some space is occupied in reasoning, 

 probably without avail, with those who would oppose 

 it on religious grounds ; but this we will pass by, 

 mentioning only the very pertinent reminder to those 

 who urge the biblical precept "be fruitful and 

 multiplv " that there were at the time at which this 

 injunction was given, according to the very record 

 on which its authenticity is based, only eight persons 

 living on the face of the earth. 



Dealing with masses, one may recognise two kinds 

 of limitation of family, the one general or non- 

 selective, the other eugenic or selective ; each is re- 

 garded by the author as conducive to social sanita- 

 tion, but the class of disease which may be pre- 

 vented by the former is somewhat different from that 

 on which the latter puts a check. The possibility 

 and desirabilitv of eugenic limitation of families has 

 been much discussed recently, and most people 

 recognise that society suffers if epileptics, degenerate 

 and feeble-minded persons, or those suffering from 

 inheritable disease are allowed freely to propagate 

 their kind. In this connection Mr. Crackanthorpe 

 does not relv on the " Voluntary Principle " only, but 

 advocates that anti-eugenic marriages should be 

 prohibited by law, and he gives instances, quoted 

 from the writings of Dr. Rentoul, of Liverpool, of 

 laws of this nature in force at the present time in 

 .\ustria, Servia, and some American States. 



