On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING. By F. F. Rockwell. Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Company, 1911. 16mo.; 262 pp.; illustrated. Price, $1 net. Instead of treating his subject in the usual encyclopedic manner, the author, himself a practical gardener, has endeavored to tel! the man with a suburban lot how to put in a successfnl vegetable garden, and the things which such a man would wish to know arc told in SOIll” kind of natural sequence, tllat the Imowledge may be acquired and utilized to the greatest advantage. The area necessary for families of various sizes is given, the best way to apportion the space to the vegetahles grown, and the varieties most easily and profitably raised, with the most approved methods of planting, cultivating, spraying, and fertilizing. Fruits and berries are given considll.ble 8patC, and a strong argument made for the growing of them. Sixty-four pages of illustrations hrighten and improve the work. We note that the only index is by chapter headings. A detailed index would have been an appreciated and useful feature. HAND BOOK OF GASOLINE AUTOMOBILES. New York: Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers. 'his catalogne illustrates in the best possible style upon fine coated paper the machines made by those firms which make up the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers. Touring cars, roadstel's, runabouts, trucks, power wagons, every conceivable type of gas· propelled vehicl ) is here pictured with its specifications appended. This is the eighth annual announcement of the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers, which now comprises seventy-nine makers and five importers. THE ELEMENTS OF M ACHINE WORK. By Ro bert H. Smith. Boston: Industrial Education Book Company, 1910. 8vo.; 192 pp.; 204 illustrations. Price, $2. In the maNer of text books our stndents of mathematics, physics and chemistry >l"e better prodded for thau are OUI' students in technical and trade schools and our shop apprentices. “The Elements of Machine Work” takes the learner through the processes of laying out WOl'k; chipping, tiling, and sCl'aping; hardening, tpmp0ring, and testing of sh'els ; pipe f\tting, soldering, and brazing; aligning shafting and installing lnachin(s. 'he treatment is condensed but none the less careful and l' lllinlutly practical. Not tl'C'hnlcal Rtudenrs alonC, hut every youth who runs a litho or uscs tools as a hobby, may benefit by addtGg this tlxt book to his working library. THE GYHOSCOPE. By V. E. Johnson, M.A. New York: Spon&Chamberlain, 1911. 12mo.; 52 pp. Price, 60 cents. This iq a brochure setting forth the principles ,"nd hehavior of gyroscopic toys, from the spinning top to the monorail car. It abound” in instruC'tive cxperimpnts, givps plan' for ttw construction of a model car with various methods of drive and a special form of contact planes, and has a final word to say in behalf of other stabilizing systems and their probable utility in combination with the gyroscopic method. QUESTIONS A1D A1SWERS FOR AUTOJBILE STlENTS AND MECHANICS. By Thomas H. Russell, A.M., M.E. Chicago: The Charles C. Thompson Company, 1911. 8vo.; 140 pp. 'rhe questioll” progress in logical order from basic principles and the main features of constl'uction and operation to accessories, details, and varying methods. 'he catechism differs somewhat iIon1 most guides of similar fornI, in that the answer does not iml"diately [01low the query. Instead, there is a chapier of numbered questions followed by a chapter of correspondingly nl/moered answers. 'his facilitates the use of the questions as a review test, yet plac(\s thp answcrs within (asy access in case of need. A drawback of the catechism is its entire lack of illu"tration. This somewhat unfits it for the use of the absolute novice unIpss supplementary works and diagrams arc at hunu. It is pUl'ticula rly designed, however, for school teaching, for the machine shop, or before the board of (xamining engineers. For any of tlSP purposes 't is weI: conceived and covers the field in a commen,:tnIJle mannEr. MECHANICS FOR ENGINEERS. A Text-Book of Intermediate Standard. By Arthur Morley, M.Sc. New York: Longmans, Green&Co., 1910. 8vo.; 290 pp.; illustrated. Price, $1.20. As a text-book, this is meant to fill a need brought about by the faet that the requirellluts of stud(ts in l\ llginel'l'ing are i.ot identical with those of th(' stud(:'nt il general science. Since engirw(\ling students constitute a large proportion of the enrollment for ll]chanics classes in technieal sehools it is only right that they be provided with a course which recognizES their special needs. The author adheres to the Kravitation.il system of units, dpfending it on practical grounds and pointing out that with proper premisps it is ju;t as J'ational fR the “potlndul” Rysb-'I which i. ('onfilPd to :.whool w01'k .a w lllust lIP diR( 'Hl'dpd npon taking up practical 1I1obltIllH in Pllginp(,l'ing. It h; asslllllPd that tllp l"Puder is familiar with algebra to the progrcssions, the elements of trigonometry, and curve plotting. 'Ihe calculus has not been used. The course laid down s;Ould easily be completed in a year. INTKOMJCTION TO GENEHAL CHE"S1RY. By John Tappan Stoddard, Ph.D., New York: The Macmillan Company, 1910. 8vo.; 432 pp. Price, $1.60 net. The information bpre given is graded and arranged with a view to its use as a first· year ('oun in chemistry. Thf importance of smuld reasoning fror experimental results is recognized, and much of the work given is of a nature to induce in the student the true scientific attitude combined with enthusiasm and judgment. There an' no pictorial illustrations, the writer arguing that the class room or laboratory flnishes sufficient concrete exam pies iu apparatus, while confusion is apt to arise when thp drawings of a text·book differ in general form or in detail from the actual experimental apparatus used. GOOD ENGINEEHING LITERATURE. What to Read and How to Write, With Suggestive Information on Allied Topics. By Harwood Frost. Chicago: Chicago Book Company, 1911. 8vo.; 422 pp. Assnming that every engineer is sooner or later called upon to do some form of literary work, Mr. Irost essays to instruct the engin{ering fraternity in the art of written expression-in the preparation of reports. specifications and contracts, and of descriptive papers for technical societies and periodicals. A few rules in grammar and orthography are given, but the instruction is mainly confined to imparting such knowledge as will result in the clear and forcible description of works and ideas. The author is not only a successful maker of books hImself, but was formerly editor of The Enlineerino Di.Qest, and the work is full of the most couden,ed and valuable information which readers and writers of technieal subjcets would “e brncftrd in learning. There are chapters on collecting ard an·anging raterial, on exercising the memory, on the preparation of manuscripts, the “field” and “policy” of technical journals, and “the Illaking of a book." POLAR EXPLORATIOK. By William S. Bruce, LL.D., F.R.S.E. New York- Henry Holt & Co., 1911. 12mo.: 256 pp. Price, 75 cents net. '1hel'c is a peculiar fascination auout polar adventure that SaflllS to be in inversE i'alio to its rigors and loneliness. Dr. Bruce, with ninl expeditions to his credit, recounts in simplp, forciblp English the facts of which k((n and extend(d observation has made him master. fIe begins by stating astronomical fads that the reader should know-that the polar days and nights arc each of six months duration ; that it is always noon at the pole, whether light or dark, although there are alternations of seasons ; that the sun describes an asc(uding spiral during one spason, and a descending spil'al at another. Having seen that the reader forms a right conception of these conditions, the author proceeds with description and comlnent until he has packed between the CO\ers of his little book pictures of Arctic sea and ice, observations on coloration, and on plant and animal life, and thrilling incidents on ship and floe. Rich as the volume is b adventure, its chief claim to attention is in showing the aims of polar exploration in its relation to science and biology. A work of greater length and importance is promised. THE EVOLUTION OF PANTS. By Dunkin- field Henry Scott, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1911. 12mo.; 256 pp.; illustrated. Price, 75 cents net. "The Evolution of Plants” is an attempt to tell “the story of the development of flowering plants, from the earliest geological times, unlocked from technical language.” Dr. Scott re-states in brief the Darwinian theory, afterward dealing at cor",derable length with the problem and the evidence. 'here are chapters on the evolution of the seed plants, of the ferns, and of the higher spore plants. The story concludes with deductions drawn from the fossil record as compared with the organisms of existing plants, from the likeness between fern and seaweed, from the consistency between the thallus-theory and the fossil record, and with theories of a more gen(ml kind based upon the known facts. A few errors which havp escaped the attention of the proofreader do not materially affect the popular value of the book. SECOND COUHSE IN ALGEBRA. By Herbert E. Hawkes, Ph.D., William A. Luby, A.B., and Frank C. Touton, Ph.B. New York: Ginn & Co., 1911. 12mo.; 264 pp.; illustrated. Price, 75 cents. 'he cours” as laid out includes all the topics nceessary for entrance to college, and is particularly adapted to students whose second yea r in ma thema tics has been devoted to geomeb'y. ''he first part of the course is a very thorough review, leading np to the advanced ma terial in wbic h the hest m ethods, TH'W Ol' old, are <'Illplo;ed. Oraphs are utilizlu jn ll ll in,g'PllioLlS rWinnel' in conneetion with logarithms, and all the fxercises and problems aim to pl'Psent nfW and varied rnatcl'ial in an appealing way. Dependability” Accuracy” Safety" are the three cardinal points in PERFECT revolver construction From a scientific standpoint the SUPERIORo Smith&Wesson REVOLVERo represents the maximum of perfection. Its worth has been attested by satisfied users all over the world. It has brought the winning score in practically every national championship. For over half a century it has safeguarded the life and property of a people. t^^S^ This trade-mark guaran tees satisfaction. Smith&Wesson Revolvers are made in a variety of models suited to every individual requirement. Each model is described in our handsome booklet “The Revolver.” May we send you a copy free ? vVi