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SCIENCE. [VOL. XV. NO. 380

The appendix by the nephew, the younger RIoritz, is one of those odd pieces of speculative effort to solre the most abstruse proble~nr of science which are only possible when the range of knowledge is very limited in t l ~ e speculator's mind. EIe puts forward the hypothesis that life arose while the earth was a core of liquid fire surrounded by-gases; an electric spark caused an exlslosion in the gaseous envelope, which producecl organic com- pounds; the cornpound at once existed in the form of separate living particles, the circulation in the atmosphere caused the particles to enter into vortices, and when the centrifugal motion predominated pse~idopodia were thrown out. when the centripetal force got the control a nacleur was generated; and there have been nuclei ever since. It wili be remembered that when the bean split itself with laughing, it Lvas sewed up hy the tailor, and all beans have had black seam; ever since; but who can tell us how the nucieus and the bean got hold ot eucli endllring heredity of acqniled characteristics ? In the follorr-ing chapters of the ap- pendix there is more regard paid to the conceitable: yet through- out, the editor is seen not to be grown to his ~vork ; for example, in discussing the planorbi? shells a t Steinheim, he lnalres no men- tion of Professor Hyatt's worlr.

The editor has fulfilled a graceful and acceptable labor in gath- ering together hls uncle's papers, and we hope that as now col-lected they may secure renewed attention, not to BIoritz Wagner's migration theory, but to the peculiar facts of geographical distribu- tion v h i c l ~ led to the theory, and have an important bearing on the problem of natural selection. CHARLES S.MINOT.

Electric Transmission of Errergy, a?td its Tmnsformcctio?z, Sub-division, and Dist~ibzction. By GISBERTKAPP. New York, Van Nostrantl. 1 2 O . $3.

THISis the second edition of a work which first appeared some three or four gears ago, a notice of it being printed in these col- umns at the time. It belongs to the well-known "Specialists' Series," intended mainly for the use of students and electrical en- gineers; though to all persons interested in the special field it oc- cupies it Myill prove useful and valuable, especially so to students of what may be ternled " the comparative anatomy of dynamos and n~otors. "

We are glad to see that the changes n~cessitated in such a work by the progress of electrical science during the pasb few years have been made, " bringing the book up to date," as the author sags. Atnong the changes made, it nlay be mentioned tbat the autlror'a method for the predetermination of the charac- teristics of clynaulos has been introdnced, thereby rnalring the theoretical part of the work more complete. Though this now well-known method had been made use of b j Nr. Kapp before the appearance of the first edition of the work, he had not suffi-aient confidence in its genbral applicability to give it a place in

the boolr. Since that time, however, the results of the method, as applied by other electrical engineers, have been so satisfactory that it has been deemed wortliy of a place in the volume, and justly so.

In the portion of the volume devoted to practical electrics many noticeable alterations hare been made, due mainly to recent prog- ress in the construction of dynamos. Obsolete mxcllines are no longer mentioned, and descriptions of new types, or new modifi- cat~ons of previous types, are introduced, data comprising the leading features of such machines and the results of actual tests being given whenever practicable. This is done because the au-tlior believes tliat precise information regarding a few character- istic features in the design of successful dynamos are of much greater value to tlie electrician than more extended general de- scriptions.

The portion of the work devoted to electric railways has received bul siight addition, notwithstanding the great progress made in that department during the past few years. The reason for this seeming omission is obvious. To do the subject justice would re- quire a volume larger than that in which a single chapter only can be spared it without infringing on other portions of the field, all of which are equally important in a general survey such as this aims to be.

The trans~nission of energy by alternating cur~ents is not touchetl upon, that phase cf electrical developnlent being st111 in the experimental stage (except for lightic.",); though Mr. Kapp considers it possible. that, '' foi the transmission of l e ry large pom- ers over very long distances, the alternating current may eventu- ally prove more convenieni than tlie continuous current."

The book is an important one, covering a field through which Progre~sseems to travel in seven-league boots; and the brief in-terval between tkle appearance of t,he two editions seenls to be a very close measure of the tilne between tile experirllental stage and tile conlplete commercial success of lollg.distsnce transnlission of electrical energy.

The Economic Basis of Protectior~. By SIXONN. PATTEN. Pt~iladelphia, Lippincott. 12". $1.

THISbook is a plea for the high tariff; but it is one of the least efficient of such pleas that we have n ~ e t with. It i s a mass of confusion, the autlior often getting bewildered with his own ar-gument,-a fact tliat will not surprise those who liave read his other works. He uses tlie deductive method exclusively, and is not a t all particular about his premises. Indeed, he expressly says that * . the theory of a subject must always be developed pre- vious to any intelligent study of the facts " (p. 9); and he has certainly applied this rule faithfully in the present case. We cannot undertake to give an analysis of his arguments here; but one of his chief points is the endeavor to show that free trade fos-

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TUTHILL,Mrs. L C The True and the Beautiful in Nature, Art, hIorals, and Iteligion. Selected from the works of John Ruskin with a notice of the author. 2 vols. New ~ o ; k , Wiley. 638 p. lZO. $2.

WHITING H. A Short Course of Experiments in physical Neasurement. Par t I. Density, Heat, Light and Sound. Cambridge, Mass., John Wil- son & Son 278 p 8'.

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