92 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. X. No. 237 



HEALTH MATTERS. 

 Evergreens and Consumption. 



At a meeting of the American Climatological Association, held 

 in Baltimore, Dr. Loomis of New York read a paper on evergreen- 

 forests as a therapeutic agent in pulmonary phthisis, in which he 

 said that it had long been known that similar climates, as deter- 

 mined by geographical and meteorological conditions, have different 

 therapeutic effects. It is becoming more apparent that there is 

 some relation between the development of organisms and atmos- 

 pheric conditions. Cold and high altitudes render the air aseptic ; 

 but the degree of cold and the height required are so great, that 

 clinically it is not possible to derive much benefit from this fact. 

 The effect of a purely aseptic air upon ulcerative processes is not so 

 great as the effect of an atmosphere which is aseptic on account of 

 the presence of antiseptic agents. The belief in the good effects of 

 pine-forests in cases of phthisis is quite unanimous, and the clinical 

 evidence in favor of their beneficial influence is unquestioned. The 

 atmosphere in such regions is not only aseptic, but also antiseptic. 

 Such an atmosphere contains considerable turpentine-vapor, and we 

 should therefore expect it to contain a certain amount of peroxide of 

 hydrogen. The majority of cases of phthisis die, not directly from 

 the lesions in the lung, but from the secondary septicsemia and pyae- 

 mia which are set up. It is impossible to apply to the ulcerations 

 within the lung the antiseptic washing and dressing that is em- 

 ployed in external lesions ; but, if an antiseptic atmosphere can be 

 obtained, we may hope to counteract the secondary poisoning. 

 Such an atmosphere will not destroy the bacilli, but it will accomplish 

 much in the way of arresting the suppurative process. The 

 atmosphere in the region of evergreen-forests acts in a manner 

 similar to the antiseptic agents which are successfully used to arrest 

 suppurative processes in other portions of the body ; and, in all 

 probability, the active agent is peroxide of hydrogen resulting from 

 the oxidation of the turpentine-vapor. While it is not possible for 

 every one suffering with pulmonary phthisis to go to an antiseptic 

 atmosphere, yet it is possible to render the air of any particular 

 locality antiseptic. In the course of the discussion of Professor 

 Loomis's paper. Dr. Cohen reported excellent results in the way of 

 alleviating the symptoms of phthisis by the inhalation of terebinthin- 

 ate substances, especially when associated with the peroxide of 

 hydrogen, or oxygen. 



BOOK- REVIEWS. 



The Republic of the Future ; or. Socialism a Reality. By ANNA 

 Bowman Dodd. New York, Cassell & Co. 24°. 



This is not a pretentious book, but a pleasantly written series 

 of letters " from a Swedish nobleman living in the twenty-first 

 century to a friend in Christiana." It appears from the letters 

 that the American Republic has been dynamited, and upon its 

 ruins a socialistic republic established. The year of the revolution 

 is 1900, and, by placing the date of the letters late in the twenty- 

 first century, the author assumes sufficient time to have elapsed 

 to fully develop the characteristic society. The Swedish noble- 

 man, recognizing the evils of society based upon the principle of 

 competition, and learning that the Americans (that is to say, the 

 Germans and Irish, who have exterminated the English stock) have 

 succeeded in forming a socialistic society, pays a visit to this 

 strange people for the purpose of studying their institutions. His 

 letters are descriptive both of what he saw and of what he 

 thought. 



Such is the plot of the book, and it certainly is an attractive one ; 

 but, to be useful as an argument, the ideas from which it starts 

 must properly represent the socialists, whom it undertakes to 

 criticise. This, however, it fails to do. The author is either 

 ignorant of the writings of the best socialists, or has deliberately 

 chosen the views of inferior men in order the more easily to ridi- 

 cule them. 



It is right that such a charge as this should be sustained by 

 specific statements, and we will call attention to three points in 

 which these letters fail to appreciate or to understand the theory 

 of socialism. 



First, It is assumed that socialism demands absolute equality of 



condition : for example, only homely women are permitted to be- 

 come educated, lest the equality of attractiveness should be de- 

 stroyed ; and much more of the same sort. This is foreign to the 

 spirit of socialism. " It is not equality of condition, but equality of 

 opportunity, that is demanded. The rule of distribution is that 

 each shall share in the good things of life according to his efficiency 

 as a producer. It is communism which says, " To every man accord- 

 ing to his needs : " socialism says, " To every man according to his 

 ability." 



Second, It is assumed that government directs methods of ex- 

 penditure as well as methods of production. In this Republic the 

 houses are built according to law. Dress, too, is prescribed. But 

 all this is a mistaken notion. It is not found in the writings of 

 representative socialists. Indeed, the opposite is expressed. A 

 sharp line is drawn between wealth used as capital, and wealth 

 used for giving enjoyment to the consumer ; and there is no sug- 

 gestion that law should prescribe how this second class of wealth 

 may be used. 



Third, The author of these letters says that ' Progress and 

 Poverty' is the Bible of the new republic. It is read from the 

 rostrum of the temple erected to ethical culture, — a temple, we are 

 told, which stands without a steeple. Now, it seems hardly 

 possible that our author could have read ' Progress and Poverty ' 

 with care, or the many contradictions which exist between the 

 views of Mr. George and those realized in the socialistic society 

 described, would have been recognized. For example, socialism 

 charges upon commercial competition all the evils of modern 

 society : it is therefore quite right to say, as our author says, that 

 in a sociaHstic society competition in business-matters finds no 

 place. But Mr. George does not desire to exclude competitive ac- 

 tion : indeed, he is a firm believer in the doctrine of laissez-faire. 

 He is a freetrader. He says, make one simple change in the 

 system of taxation, and the natural laws of trade will insure justice. 

 No socialist would recognize him as more than a temporary leader. 

 He does not go far enough. He proposes only to nationalize land : 

 the socialist would nationalize both capital and land. 



This review has taken the book reviewed to be a serious argu- 

 ment against socialism. As such it is worthless, because it does not 

 properly apprehend what socialism means. The reviewer does not 

 call attention to this because he is a behever in the programme of 

 social reform set down by Blanc and Lasalle, but because he feels 

 that every v/itticism made at the expense of truth assists the cause 

 which the writer of this book undertakes to oppose. It may be 

 that this point of view is incorrect. Possibly the book was in- 

 tended to be merely a bit of facetious writing. As such it is a 

 success. It is bright, in good style, and full of pleasing imagina- 

 tion ; but for an argument it is too full of imagination. 



Henry C. Adams. 



The Electric Transmission of Energy. By GiSBERT Kapp, C.E. 

 New York, Van Nostrand. 12°. 



This book forms one of the ' SpeciaHsts' Series,' which is a series 

 of handbooks for students and practical engineers. It begins with 

 the customary risumd of the elements of electrodynamics, together 

 with a brief study of the nomenclature of the science, and the units 

 used in electrical measurements. While this part of the work is, 

 on the whole, well done, it is evidently the product of the so-called 

 ' practical ' mind, rather than that of the educated or well-informed 

 electrician. 



A few curious statements occur, which illustrate the difficulty with 

 which makers of handbooks contend in attempting to absorb, or at 

 least to represent, purely scientific conceptions. As an instance the 

 following may be quoted : " The potential of a body is its property 

 of allowing energy stored up in it to become potent, that is, to do 

 work." An investigation of the ideal motor and the ideal system of 

 transmission is followed by an examination of the various types of 

 armatures and the principles which govern their action. The field- 

 magnet is then taken up, its many forms illustrated, and some 

 attention is paid to magnetic resistance, self-induction, etc., use be- 

 ing made of ' characteristic curves ' in the development of the prin- 

 ciples involved. The subject of the efficiency of the motor is treated 

 at some length, and various systems of transmission are described, 

 including some of the applications of electricity to railway locomo- 



