Mat 27, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



501 



subject becomes more intensely pursued in 

 American Universities the contact witb philol- 

 ogy, anthropology, history, and allied sulbjects 

 will increase. To group " philological sci- 

 ence " with " history of science " is abso- 

 lutely unnatural; it has an implication, ap- 

 parently, that the history of science is to be 

 studied from the philological standpoint. 'Eo 

 one would question that philology does fre- 

 quently contribute, but it can hardly be said 

 to represent a fundamental method in the 

 history of science. 



History of science, using science with the 

 inclusive meaning as in the title A. A. A. S., 

 is surely the proper name for the new section 

 now under way. 



Louis C. Karpinski. 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



The Crisis of the Naval War. By Admiral of 

 the Fleet, Viscount Jellicoe of Scapa, 

 G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O. 259 pages; 8 plates, 

 6 <!harts and appendices. George Doran Co. 

 1921. 



This is a companion volume to Admiral 

 JelUcoe's "The Grand Fleet, 1914^-1916" 

 which was reviewed in these columns.^ The 

 meeting in battle of the fleets of Great Britain 

 and Germany was in its essence, a try-out of 

 scientific methods of annihilation, as developed 

 by the leaxiing scientific nations of the world. 

 It was said of the earlier volume that the book 

 might aptly carry as a sub-title " Science 

 Afloat up to 1916." 



The present volume gives developments dur- 

 ing 1917. It is not the story of a great fight 

 like Jutland; but of undersea warfare, in 

 which the submarine, like an assassin, struck 

 from behind or below. Warfare on the sea had 

 changed materially; and battleships needed 

 screening from torpedo and mine, equally 

 with transport and merchantman. One niay 

 well ask at this point, "Was Jutland" (in 

 some respects the greatest naval battle ever 

 fought ; but on the whole the least decisive and 

 most unsatisfactory) " the last great sea 



1 Science, N. S., Vol. L., No. 1279, pp. 21-23, 

 July 4, 1919. 



fight ? " It seema likely ; and the long line 

 from Salamis down, draws to an end. The de- 

 cisive conflicts of the future will be fought by 

 aerial squadrons. 



The present volume contains 12 chapters. 

 The first deals with Admiralty organization 

 and tells of the changes made in 1917. The 

 Admiral believes that specialists (which means 

 scientific experts) should be part of the stafE, 

 not just attached. 



He says: 



In the Army there is, except in regard to artil- 

 lery, little specialization. The training received 

 by an officer of any of the fighting branches of the 

 Army at the Staff Ctollege may fit him to assist in 

 the planning and execution of operations, provided 

 due regard is paid to questions of supply, trans- 

 port, housing, etc. This is not so in the Navy. 



He proceeds to show that naval officers are 

 quite a different order of being from land 

 officers. Further discussion of this view may 

 be omitted here. But the Admiral preaches 

 sound gospel, so far as men of science are con- 

 cerned, when he says: 



Human nature being what it is, the safest pro- 

 cedure is to place the specialist officer where his 

 voice must be heard, that is, give him a position on 

 the staff. 



Some rather forceful remarks follow to the 

 effect that various divisions are not to work 

 in water-tight compartments, but must be in 

 close touch with one another. 



We notice that in the Admiralty reorgani- 

 zation, 



The well-known electrical consulting engineer 

 . . . has consented to serve as director of Experi- 

 ments and Research, at the Admiralty — unpaid. 

 We italicize one word and refrain from com- 

 ment. 



Chapter II. gives the general features of 

 the Submarine Campaign in the early part of 

 1917. We are let in on certain state secrets; 

 sudh as, 



"Experienced British officers aware of the ex- 

 tent of the German submarine building program, 

 and above all aware of the shadowy nature of our 

 existing means of defense against such a form of 

 warfare" realized that the Allies "were faced 

 with a situation fraught with the very gravest 



