December 5, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



319 



there is occasionally a lapse in this respect; and his statements are 

 manifestly made only after much study and preparation, for it is 

 seldom that there is any reason for criticism on the ground of in- 

 accui-aoy. It is hardly to be expected that any general text book 

 shall be free from slips of one kind or another, and the agents of 

 rival publishing-houses will always have their opportunity of 

 picking up little flaws and magnifying them before school super- 

 intendents. We do not intend to aid these agents by mentioning 

 any little errors here discovered ; but it is allowable to wonder 

 why this and all other text-books fail to explain difference of lat- 

 itude as the angle between the horizons at two places on a me- 

 ridian, why they always fail in explaining the low atmospheric 

 pressure around the poles, why they speak of mountains and 

 valleys as the " eventual " forms to which erosion will reduce the 

 land. 



The publishers call particular attention to the revision of the 

 chapter on the atmosphere; and it certainly deserves commenda- 

 tion. A very rational understanding of the phenomena on which 

 chmate and weather depend may be gained from it ; and this is 

 much more than could be said of the older books. The chief 

 omission here is one that prevails through the whole book, — the 

 absence of any indication or suggestion that the scholar can find 

 out many of these things for himself. A physical geography in 

 which this idea was the main theme would be welcomed by many 

 teachers. 



Tlie Life of John Ericsson. By William Conant Church. Vols. 

 I. and II. New York, Scribner. 8°. $6. 



The author has presented this work on the life of the great in- 

 ventor in a clear, readable manner, and has shown excellent judg- 

 ment and a remarkable insight into the character and scientific 

 attainments of John Ericsson. 



There is-one fact that must impress itself upon those who read 

 these volumes; and that is, that in the life's work of the man one 

 can trace step by step the development of the steam-engine, almost 

 from its very beginning, to these days when its power is felt all 

 over the world. Even the matter of forced draught, which is one 

 of the vexed questions of the day, we find was considered in his 

 early plans for steam machinery. Naval construction and naval 

 warfare were revolutionized by the introduction of the screw pro- 

 peller, which the author shows beyond question to have been due 

 to the genius of Ericsson, from whose engines, introduced almost 

 half a century ago, have gradually grown the magnificent ma- 

 chinery which moves immense hulls about the ocean at a rate of 

 speed that fully bears out prognostications made years before 

 others could realize that they were any thing more than the 

 dreams of an enthusiast Of all Ericsson's inventions, the one 

 most closely connected with his memory in the minds of Ameri- 

 cans will always be the " Monitor." The idea of this war- vessel 

 appealed at once to the minds of the naval authorities, whose 

 prompt and spirited action was followed by a great display of 

 energy on the part of the builders; so that, "while the clerks of 

 the department were engaged in drawing up the formal contract, 

 the iron which now forms the keel-plate of the 'Monitor' was 

 drawn through the rolling-mill." It has been estimated that the 

 new vessel contained at least forty patentable contrivances; and 

 Ericsson was again and again urged to secure patents for these, 

 but without avail. "He was strangely neglectful all through life 

 of this means of protecting his property rights. Numerous as 

 were his patents, they by no means represented the full measure 

 of his ingenuity, and many of them were taken out to secure for 

 himself, as well as for others, the right to use his own inventions." 

 It was Ericsson's habit to wait until he was ready to present his 

 engineering conceptions in practical form before announcing them. 

 Thus they had opportunity to ripen in his mind, and to gain in 

 clearness and completeness with growing experience. The con- 

 ception of the " Monitor" as part of his mental history was nearly 

 half a century old when it was put into execution to meet the 

 exigencies of war. 



In demonstrating the efficiency of his metliod of under-water 

 torpedo attack, he said, " My only object is that of seeing the sea 

 declared by all nations as sacred neutral ground. It is the high- 

 way of mankind " He also declared the art of war to be in its 



infancy. " When perfected, man will be forced to live in peace 

 with man. This glorious result, which has been the cherished 

 dream of my life, will unquestionably be attained before the close 

 of the present century." 



A.side from his contributions to the practical part of warfare, 

 which, collateral and incidental, were manv, and are to-day 

 showing how far from being visionary and impracticable he was, 

 Ericsson went deeply into the scientific questions bearing upon 

 radiant energy, thermo-dynamics, light, and heat. His various 

 devices for a caloric engine occupied a great deal of his attention 

 throughout his professional career, and its development was 

 naturally associated with inquiries as to the nature of solar energy, 

 and the possibility of its direct application to the purposes of 

 human industry. He resolved, as he said, to measure for himself 

 " the intensity of that big fire which is hot enough to work engines 

 at a distance of 90,000,000 miles." Toward the close of his life, 

 in writing to a friend, he says, "The sun-motor is nearer perfec- 

 tion than the steam-engine; but until the coal-mines are exhausted 

 its value will not be fully acknowledged." As the present study 

 of solar physics dates from only thirty years ago, Ericsson is one 

 of the pioneers in this field so fruitful in its promise of great reve- 

 lations, and "he is certain to be remembered as one who did 

 much to stimulate and direct inquiry in this most important field 

 of physical research." 



Of his friendships his biographer says, "He was as true to his 

 friends as he was charitable and forgiving toward those who had 

 done him injustice or positive wrong. He was full of kindly feel- 

 ing, and was al ways ready to stretch forth his hand to those in need 

 of his service." He was utterly unostentatious in his many chari- 

 ties; and what he did was done with his whole heart, and he 

 added to the gift the grace of cheerful giving. Col. Church thinks 

 that " whatever the final determination as to the correctness of 

 some of Ericsson's conclusions, it cannot be questioned that he has 

 made very important contributions to science." The work is an 

 undoubted addition to literature, is rendered attractive by numer- 

 ous and well selected illustrations, and contains an index of great 

 completeness. 



AMONG THE PUBLISHERS. 



Last spring appeared a little volume entitled " An Appeal to 

 Pharaoh: a Radical Solution of the Negro Problem." The steadily 

 growing demand has determined the publishers (Fords, Howard, 

 & Hulbert of New York) to issue an edition in paper covers, and 

 to announce the name of the author, who is Mr. Carlyle McKin- 

 ley, an editorial writer on the Charleston (S.C.) News and Courier. 



— Mr. Daniel Greenleaf Thompson has written an elaborate 

 essay on " The Philosophy of Fiction in Literature," in which the 

 principles of the novelist's art are examined in detail, while espe- 

 cial attention is paid to the consideration of the moral aspects of 

 the novel, and of its influence for good or evil. The book will be 

 published shortly by Longmans, Green, & Co. 



— The Pacific district comprises California, Oregon, Washing- 

 ton, and Nevada; but in " Land Birds of the Pacific District," by 

 Lyman Belding (San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences), 

 the district of British Columbia, and the notes of the lighthouse- 

 keepers on the coast of British Columbia and Washington, are 

 included. " This report aims mainly to show the arrivals and 

 departures of migrating species, as well as to give a catalogue of 

 all the species known to occur in the district." The number 

 of species recorded is 395. It is an important contribution to 

 the geographical distribution of the land-birds of the Pacific 

 coast. 



— The fourth volume of "The Century Dictionary" has just 

 been issued, containing the letters M to P inclusive, and forming 

 a quarto of 1,323 pages, illustrated by nearly 1.500 cuts. The first 

 volume was issued in October, 1S89; the fourth has followed in 

 November, 1890 (almost within a year); and i he other two volumes, 

 completing the work, will be published during 1p91, — the first 

 early in the year, and the second probably by summer. The 

 present volume is the largest of the series yet published. With 



