ii 
Notes  and  News. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pbarm. 
I   February,  1901. 
while  by  the  color  or  colors  displayed  in  the  hood  lining,  one  is  reminded  that 
the  degree  has  been  conferred  by  the  institution  that  uses  the  colors  shown  as 
its  official  colors. — Cotrell  and  Leonard,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
The  Nineteenth  Century.— The  progress  made  during  the  past  century 
is  a  subject  in  which  every  one  is  interested,  and  the  New  York  Evening  Post 
and  the  New  York  Su7i  have  taken  up  the  subject  in  a  way  that  is  very  credit- 
able. The  Post,  in  its  issue  of  January  12th,  published  some  thirty-eight  or 
thirty-nine  articles  on  as  many  different  subjects  and  by  as  many  different 
authors,  the  subjects  ranging  from  astronomy  and  physics  to  painting,  architec- 
ture, literature,  finance  and  economics.  The  Sun  is  publishing  a  series  of 
Sunday  articles,  thirteen  in  all.  Those  of  scientific  interest  are  as  follows  : 
"Evolution,"  by  Alfred  Russel  Wallace  (December  23d);  "Chemistry,"  by 
Prof.  W.  Ramsay  (December  30th);  "Archaeology,"  by  Professor  Flinders- 
Petrie  (January  6th^;  "Astronomy,"  by  Sir  Norman  Lockyer  (January  13th); 
"Philosophy,"  by  Dr.  E  Iward  Caird  (January  20th);  "  Medicine,"  by  Prof. 
William  Osier  (January  27th);  "Surgery,"  by  Prof.  W.  W.  Keen  (February 
3d);  "Electricity,"  by  Prof.  Elihu  Thomson  (February  10th);  "Physics," 
by  President  F.  C.  Mendenhall  (February  17th). 
Magazine  Science.— Referring  to  Nikola  Tesla's  article  in  The  Century 
Magazine  for  June  on  "  The  Problem  of  Increasing  Human  Energy,"  a  writer 
in  Marine  Engineering  (vide  The  Locomotive,  1900,  p.  124)  says  : 
"This  dazzling  contribution  to  modern  unscientific  research  reads  like 
nothing  so  much  as  an  essay  on  Christian  Science,  so  profound  is  it  in  the 
ambiguous  nothingness  whereby  it  leads  through  the  intricacies  of  iucoherency 
unto  the  climax  of  absolute  asininity.  This  climax  is  reached  (for  us)  in  the 
following  statement,  wThich  occurs  on  page  198  of  the  June  Century :  '  Steamers 
and  trains  are  still  being  propelled  by  direct  application  of  steam  power  to 
shafts  or  axles.  A  much  greater  percentage  of  the  heat  energy  of  the  fuel 
could  be  transformed  into  motive  energy  by  using,  in  place  of  the  adopted 
marine  engines  and  locomotives,  dynamos  driven  by  specially  designed  high- 
pressure  steam  or  gas  engines,  and  by  utilizing  the  electricity  generated  for  the 
propulsion.  A  gain  of  from  50  to  100  per  cent,  in  the  effective  energy  derived 
from  the  coal  could  be  secured  in  this  manner.'  It  is  no  doubt  beyond  the 
comprehension  of  the  literary  gentlemen  who  publish  The  Century  Magazine 
to  understand  that  progress  in  marine  propulsion  is  slow,  very  slow,  and  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  entire  domain  of  scientific  research  that  promises  any 
hope  of  being  able  to  transform  a  much  greater  percentage  of  the  heat  energy 
of  fuel  into  motive  energy  by  employing  dynamos  driven  by  specially  designed 
high-pressure  steam  or  gas  engines.  It  is  to  be  expected,  however,  that,  as 
those  responsible  for  the  statements  made  in  what  has  been  considered  one  of 
the  foremost  literary  magazines  of  the  country,  they  should  appreciate  their 
lack  of  expert  knowledge,  and  by  procuring  suitable  editorial  assistance  safe- 
guard their  readers,  the  reputation  of  the  magazine,  and  their  own  sense  of 
right.  Under  the  circumstances,  we  most  unqualifiedly  pronounce  the  state- 
ment here  reproduced  from  The  Century  Magazine,  regarding  marine  propul- 
sion, to  be  a  crude  and  ignorant  'fake.'  " 
