October 13, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



419 



single 5. Since tliere are not three of a kind, 

 there can not 'be formed a full-house. But 

 how are we to be certain that we can not make 

 five flushes and straights with these 25 cards? 

 We can not examine the more than 5,194 bil- 

 lions of ways of arranging the 25 cards into 

 five sets of five each, not distinguishing the 

 order of the cards in a set or the order of the 

 sets. We shall resort to the following con- 

 clusive analysis : 



Since there are only three diamonds, no one 

 of them occurs in a flush, and they are too far 

 apart for two of them to occur in a straight. 

 Hence 2d, 7d, Qd occur in three separate 

 straights. 



First, let both 3h and 4h occur in a straight 

 with 2d, and hence with 5e, the only 5. Since 

 there is no 5 left to go in a straight with 3c or 

 with 2s, there is a flush of clubs and a flush 

 of spades. These with the three straights men- 

 tioned must exhaust the 25 cards. But Qh is 

 too far from 2d or 7d to be in a straight with 

 one of them, nor can it be in a straight with 

 another queen, Qd, nor in a flush of clubs or 

 spades. 



Second, let either 3h or 4h <be not in a 

 straight with 2d, and hence not in another 

 straight (since a new 5 is lacking). Thus 

 either 3h or 4h lies in a flush, containing all 

 our five hearts. Since 2s can not occur in a 

 straight (5 lacking), there is a flush of spades. 

 Hence we have these two flushes and the three 

 straights containing 2d, 7d, Qd. But 7c can 

 not occur in one of these five poker hands. 



This completes the proof that the above 25 

 cards can not be arranged in five complete 

 poker hands. 



L. E. Dickson 



SCIENCE IN FICTION 



To THE Editor op 'Science: I am getting 

 up a little catalog of fiction on scientific 

 themes and should like the help of Science 

 readers. Such books belong mostly to four 

 classes : 



(1) Eanitastic and futuristic fiction, such as 

 Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues 

 Under the Sea" (submarine) or "A Voyage to 

 the Moon" (astronomy) and Wells's "The 

 Food of the Gods" (hormones) or "The Story 



of Davidson's Eyes" (fourth dimension). This 

 seems to be the largest and most popular 

 group. 



(2) Novels based upon some scientific dis- 

 covery or showing the influence of applied sci- 

 ence upon society, such as Hergesheimer's 

 "Three Black Pennys" (developmenlt of the 

 iron industry). 



(3) Stories in which some scientific fact or 

 theory forms the theme, such as Arthur Eeeve's 

 detective stories and Rebecca West's "The Re- 

 turn of the Soldier" (Preudianism). 



(4) Historical flotion where a distinguished 

 man of science plays an important part, such 

 as Merejkowski's "Romance of Leonardo da 

 Vinci" and Guitry's play of Pasteur. This 

 which would seem to be a fertile field for fic- 

 tion has apparently ibeen rather neglected. 



I should be very much obliged if those who 

 happen to know of good novels or worth while 

 ^ort stories of this sort would give me the 

 titles and authors' names, also if convenient 

 the publisher and the scientific motif. 



Edwin E. Slosson 

 Science Service, 

 Washington 



QUOTATIONS 



THE WORK OF GENERAL GORGAS 



One of the last acts of Congress before ad- 

 journment was to send to the President a bill 

 to pay a monthly pension of $150 to the widow 

 of General William C. Gorgas, who died in 

 London on July 4, 1920. In 1918 General 

 Gorgas was placed on the retired list, having 

 reached the age of 64. In the two years of life 

 remaining to him his services were in great 

 demand as an expert in sanitation. The Rocke- 

 feller Foundation made him director of the 

 yellow fever work of its International Health 

 Board. He visited Guayaquil to see what could 

 be done to clean up that ,pest-hole. The gov- 

 ernment of Peru engaged him to carry out a 

 sanitary progi-am in that country. General 

 Gorgas did not live long enough to earn the 

 reward to which he was entitled as a renowned 

 specialist in sanitation. His army pay had 

 increased slowly as he rose from grade to grade. 

 It was not until 1916, two years before he left 



