576 
etc., including America, under different dates 
running back to April, 1908. That it was in 
good standing then is shown by its inclusion 
in a dictionary published in that year. An ex- 
tended search would no doubt develop a prior 
appearance. 
This is adequate proof that the word Usono, 
as a designation for these United States, has 
been in active service for more than ten years, 
so that to-day Esperantists throughout the 
world are entirely familiar with the term, 
which is tantamount to saying that it is al- 
ready used and understood in every country 
of any importance upon the globe. 
J. D. Hamman 
PITTSBURGH, Pa. 
SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 
MILITARY GEOLOGY AND METEOROLOGY 
THE publication of the little book on “ Mili- 
tary Geology and Topography ” which has just 
been issued by the Yale University Press, fur- 
nishes a useful reader in the subject for 
classes of the student army training courses 
and represents still another change due to the 
war—the introduction of the geologist as an 
integral part of a military organization. 
The text, which has been prepared under the 
auspices of the Division of Geology and Geog- 
raphy of the National Research Council, is in- 
tended to give, as its title page states, a presen- 
tation of certain phases of the subjects as they 
are related to military purposes, and as such 
will prove useful in the classes for which it was 
prepared. It is not a text-book of geology in 
which the subject-matter is developed genetic- 
ally as is customary in cultural or technical 
collegiate courses, but is essentially an empir- 
ical résumé of certain geological phenomena 
for prospective army officers. For example, 
streams are treated from a hydrographic view- 
point apart from their influence in the develop- 
ment of land forms and the discussion of rocks 
is free from detailed tables of classification 
and extended descriptions of igneous rocks. 
The manuscript represents the cooperative 
work of a number of different men, authorities 
SCIENCE 
[N. 8. Von. XLVIIT. No. 1249 
in their respective subjects, under the editorial 
supervision of Professor Herbert E. Gregory, 
who were called upon to prepare their respec- 
tive contributions with utmost expedition in 
the midst of other distracting duties. Under 
such circumstances the product is highly ered- 
itable to both authors and editor though it is 
natural to expect evidence of hurried writing, 
lack of logical coherence, and overlapping of 
treatment—faults which have been eliminated 
with greater or less success by the self-sacrific- 
ing work of the editor. 
The book includes chapters on Rocks and 
Other Earth Materials, Rock Weathering, 
Streams, Lakes and Swamps, Water Supply 
Land Forms, Map Reading, the Military Use 
of Minerals. It is well printed, indexed and 
generously illustrated. 
On account of differing methods of treat- 
ment incident to the aims and composite au- 
thorship, teachers who use the book with S. A. 
T. C. classes, composed of students of widely 
different training, may find some difficulty in 
using it as a text-book for class-room work but 
students and teachers alike will find it very 
helpful in conjunction with lectures and lab- 
oratory exercises and as a compendium of illus- 
trations of how geological and topographic 
knowledge is serviceable in military activities. 
An “Introductory Meteorology” planned 
with special reference to the needs of the Stu- 
dents’ Army Training Units has just been 
issued under the auspices of the Division of 
Geology and Geography of the National Re- 
search Council. The manuscript was pre- 
pared by the staff of the U. S. Weather Bureau 
and the result is a compact and well-illus- 
trated book of 150 pages. It is extremely 
elementary in character but appears to lay a 
satisfactory groundwork for the more ad- 
vanced work at military camps or elsewhere 
to which it is designed to lead. 
Seven pages are devoted to the sources from 
which data are to be obtained and the compo- 
sition of the atmosphere. This is followed by 
twenty-one pages devoted to the instruments 
