New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-25
SCIENTIFIC BOOKS.

>,.r,,sn Ioclver has occupied an ex-
D.,arai nlace. not merely in England ou' u.
I-,rons for more than thirty years as d " uN
soIar nhenomepa This Is by no means Inv '
danartment Of astronomy IN Whlch 'il' ~
lion, havo attracted attention; but Is one - Wv
most important. This acconphsheo 80 earn
very saCac!ously taught that II We couiu oi''' go
~. .hsn,cal structural and other secrets OF our
- .rr we should be the better fitted 10 uI.ue
stand the composition Of and power IA ,rLa
,ho.a other mutitudinous suns the SAFE 80
nac,roscope has been Professor Lockyers en0'
Instrument Of research; and us use All
,ion with the Photographic plate In anaiyzihs 'ne
corona and chromosphere Of the sun Is 'he enc
,on,o which he discusses in a volume on heve"'
and Coming Eclipses" published by the Macifi''a
Company. Sir Norman here conhnes himself, nv
aver almost exclusively to the eclipseS Oh Io'' o'
1898 Although only one of these is yet an Accom-
plished fact and though the observations IN con"
.oo.,or With II were not as full and satisfactory
as could be wished. nevertheless few signincan'
photographs were obtained. These ana the primer
nls NJ the "prismatic camera" by which tney were
secured are carefully considered
Amateur photography has suffered serious de-
.,ra In nonularity during the last three or -FOUR
vears but still has q number OF enthusiastic oeVo-
tees Hence there is a field OF usefulness TOT eueh
collections OF short articles on modern methous
and processes and OF suggestive illustrations. as
American
the scoyil & Adams Company. Most OF the mate
rial contained In the edition for 1898 has already
appeared In "The Photographic Times but TINS
fact will not make any difference 10 people VINO 20
not see that excellent periodical.
IN q auodecno volume OF go pages. entitled
Fighting a Fire" Charles Thaxter Hill describes
the system OF alarms. promptness or response ana
other features of our American fire service, which
make Il the best In the world The recent destruct'
i've conformation In London gives especial point tc
th,, book Just now The Century Company prints It.
Political economy must rest. TO a great extent OF
statistics While this fact is obvious enough now
Il has not always been One OF the hrst phlioso
pliers 10 apply mathematics 10 social science
with any degree OF success was Antoine Augusur
Gourmet And he not only made such use of math'
ematics but he took occasion TO advocate the prac
,ice at considerable length and with convincing
logic One OF his most famous works. translated
by Nathaniel T. Bacon, Is now Issued by the Mac
milan Company, with the title Researches into
the Mathematical Principles OF the Theory OF
Wealth" Tho translator has followed formula
and calculations with care, and has detected a
number OF errors IN the original text some OF which
he regards as misprints. photography Of mathe
NAUTICAL economies prepared by Irving Fisher, anc
covering a period OF nearly two centuries. IL ap'
pended to the work.
Professor Silvanus =. Thompson has long beer
known for his simple and accurate expositions OF
electrical and magnetic phenomena his text DOCK
are the delight OF students and OF teachers M
has also followed up the discoveries Of Rontger
with peculiar enthusiasm and success. ana ma
probably found more varieties OF X rays than any
body else His fitness for the task Of lecturing OF
Light Visible and Invisible" will therefore b.
recognized instantly by those who are familia
with his career. A series Of talks on this subjec
were delivered before the Royal Institution In Lon
.l,o Mon mi
issues them In book form. The volume Is no
quite SO large as Professor Thompson's Element
airy Lessons" but is characterized by the sam
qualities
The period during which the two Bonds CWill
lam Cranoh the father and George Phillips III
son) directed the astronomical work OF Harvar
University was a memorable one In the history o
science In America. In much or their Work the
we're so closely associated that It is difficult t
divide with perfect fairness the honor attaching
thereto. Moreover 50 many documents that woul
be useful in preparing memorial Of these tw
men have now been lost that II Is no easy matte
at this late day TO write such book. The tasi
however was that ought to have been per
formed, and II could hardly have been committe
10 better hands than Professor Edward 8. Ho
denis. He has the requisite familiarity with tn
astronomical work OF the century and good dea
Of literary skill ari tact, and enjoys the furthe
advantage OF having been student OF the younge
Bond his memorial mas just Deen puDilsneo
Lemcke 81 Buechner, OF New-York- After compi
ing such biographical matter as he could obtain
and making judicious and interesting extracts frol
the diary OF George Bond. Professor Holden II
dulges In review not merely OF the labors Of IN
two Harvard scientists. but also Of the beginning
OF astronomy In this country The somewhat limi
ed constituency to which this service has bee
rendered cannot but be gratified by the perform
snce.
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