Apeil 2, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



545 



■eties of these elements, eacli of which has 

 special merits for certain conditions and is 

 utterly unsuited for others. In addition to 

 the principal elements ahove enumerated each 

 power plant must contain various accessory 

 machines, as for instance, pumping installa- 

 tions for feed water, condensers, etc., and 

 under certain conditions it is economical and 

 desirable to supply various appliances for re- 

 generating or saving heat which would other- 

 wise be wasted, such as feed water heaters, 

 economizers and coverings for pipes. When 

 it is further considered that there are several 

 special manufacturers for each of the minor 

 kind of machines, one can readily understand 

 that the field, which is open to Dr. Hutton, 

 is a very extensive one. 



In Dr. Button's treatment of the problem a 

 fuU description has been given of the princi- 

 pal forms of boilers, various boiler accessor- 

 ies, furnaces, chimneys and setting, also 

 systems of piping and the accessories for the 

 removal of water and oil. 



The principal portion of the work is de- 

 voted to " steam-using " machinery and its 

 accessories. In this part fuU descriptions are 

 given of the principal forms of piston engine 

 and steam turbines, and also a discussion of 

 the theory of action of these machines. The 

 pumping machinery, condensers, construc- 

 tion of foundations, are also thoroughly con- 

 sidered. 



The book contains 825 pages and nearly 700 

 illustrations. 



The reader of the work is quite likely to 

 regret that so much space is given to the 

 description and theory of various elements of 

 the power plant, all of which matter can be 

 readily found in special treatises which find 

 a place in practically every mechanical engi- 

 neer's library, and on the other hand, that so 

 little space is given to the proportioning and 

 coordination of the various elements with each 

 other and to the practical commercial prob- 

 lems which must be worked out in connection 

 with the erection of every plant. 



On the whole the book will prove useful to 

 any one engaged in the study of the problem 

 of supplying machinery for the production of 

 power. 



Professor Hutton states in his preface 

 that the object of the book is largely the 

 study of " function and purpose of power 

 plant apparatus," and from that standpoint 

 the book is certainly a successful treatise. 



What Professor Hutton states respecting 

 the future displacement of the piston steam 

 engine by the steam turbine is doubtless true 

 and is, I believe, of general interest. He 

 states in effect in his preface that the steam 

 turbine has a special field which is limited 

 in a large measure to large units and to the 

 use of electrical transmission and that the 

 piston engine will always be superior for 

 smaller units, and where a large starting 

 torque is necessary, and he also could have 

 added where a vacuum is' not possible. 



The question has often been raised by the 

 public and investors as to the possible dis- 

 placement of steam machinery by the internal 

 combustion or gas engine. Dr. Hutton 

 shows that such displacement is not prob- 

 able, for although the thermal efficiency is 

 higher in the internal combustion engine 

 than in the steam engine, the cost of fuel per 

 unit is generally greater and the repairs and 

 maintenance are much higher. It is not 

 probable that the internal combustion engine 

 wiU ever replace the steam engine where 

 large power units are necessary. The princi- 

 pal field of the internal combustion engine is 

 that where small powers are required and 

 where the prices of fuel per unit, labor or re- 

 pairs would be offset by the extra amount of 

 fuel or complications of a steam plant. 



E. C Carpenter 



COBNELL UNIVEBSITT 



An Introduction ta Electricity. By Bruno 

 KoLBE. Being a translation of the second 

 German edition (1904-5) by Joseph Skel- 

 LON. Cloth, 8vo, pp. viii-t-430. Phila- 

 delphia, J. B. Lippincott Co.; London, 

 Kegan Paul, Trench Triibner & Co. 1908. 

 This book is written in the form of lectures 

 to a class of beginners with little preparation 

 in either mathematics or mechanics. It be- 

 gins with the electrification of amber, the 

 oldest experiment known to electrical science, 



