New-York tribune., 1902-06-26
SCIENTIFIC BOOKS.

srryDrEs IN ASTRONOMY. ELECTRICITY
AND EVOLUTION.
T, Practical Talks by an Astronomer
fCharles Scribners Sons) DR.. Harold Jacoos
adopts a style which is simple enough Tor
,bus m understand Vet is so vivid and terse as
N command admiration for its literary charm
While each OF his eighteen chapters is gem
IN these respects. the series covers WIDE va
riety Of subjects Some deal with instrumental
sffafrs-fhe use Of the sextant the mounting oi
telescopes and the achievements OF celestal
photography. The account OF the asterold Eros
shows how the movements Of object which
may not be more than ten miles through can
he employed In determining the precise length
Of the vardstick of the universe. In other chap
ters like those on the suns destination and the
distribution Of nebulse. the reader finds sug-
eestiors OF those infnties of time and space
which appaI the star gazer- Dr. Jacoby
has long been known among astronomers Tor
the skill with which he measures star plates
The detached magazine articles here collected
present him TO the unscientiic public in new
lsht-as the possessor Of rare gifts as writer.
Since the establishment of national weather
bureau in this country much more attention
than formerly has been given to meteorology IN
public schools and colleges, either Independently
or together with physiography. James A Price.
Instructor in the latter science at the hish
school in Fort Wayne. Ind. has promoted this
study by the preparation of volume entitled
observations and Exercises on the Weather
rThe American Book Company Mr. Price
gives to the student an exercise book and cate
chfsm in combination. The former trains one to
observe the skies and read the principal meteor
ological Instruments and the latter helps him to
interpret the most common weather signs
At the point where electricity is to be used
to produce light or the rotary part Of a
motor TO turn. the required service may be op-
tained with either the direct or the alternating
current But transmission for long distances Is
effected to-day exclusively by the latter
oud:n's STANDARD Poyphase Apparatus and
Svsterns- of which the D. Van Nostrand Com
pany has Just brought out third edition, is
meant to aid engineers who design, construct or
manage such plants. The work is thorough and
has been brought up to date in most partlcu-
lars 1t is noticeable though, that the chapter
on the proper weight of conductors supplies
data for copper only. and says nothing about
aluminium which is occasionally employed
as e substitute
A ninth edition of Hobbs's Arithmetic Of
Electrical Measurements has just been brought
out by the D. Van Nostrand Company Some
portions Of this work relating to batteries, are
not so useful now they once were, because
dynamos generate most OF the current used to-
day for telegraphy. well as for lighting and
traction But the practical electrician always
has occasion TO deal with conductivity and re-
sistance ard has frequent use for the mathe-
rnatics which are here put at his disposal
Books which tell the amateur electrician how
to make his apparatus are much scarcer
than those which merely describe its W.
+ Clarke's "a B c of Electrical Experiments
cThe Excelsior Publishing Company belongs
to the former class. Instructions are given for
the construction of practically all the instru-
rnents that a beginner wants. The task is per
formed the better. no doubt, in consequence of
the authors experience in lecturing on these
matters to the young.
When navigator attempts to cross the ocean,
he finds It necessary TO use chronometer, sex
tant and a nautical almanac. The first tells
him the precise time at which his observation
is made. the second gives the altitude Of star
or the sun above the horizon, and the third sup
plies further data for computing ones position
The mathematics of that operation are rather
complicated, and there are numerous corrections
and allowances TO be made in dealing with this
delicate problem. The process is outlined by
Professor Eugene L. Richards, Of Yale CnlVer-
sity in a little volume Of 113 pages. entitled
Navigation and Nautical Astronomy CThe
American Book Company.
A happier title might, perhaps, have been
found for Geddes and Thomson's Evolution Of
Sex" revised edition Of which is among the
books imported by Charles Scribner's Sons It
deals with the essential and minor traits, physi-
cal and psychological, of the two they
exist to-day and with the influence which
reproduction by this method may have upon the
evolution of a race, but il scarcely touches the
question of the origin Of differences Pro-
fessor Geddes approaches this subject after a
long experience as botanist while Professor
Thomson is a leading authority in zoology. The
rapid exhaustion Of the first edition Of the work
is striking testimony to its thoroughness and
accuracy. Curiously enough. on one important
questionable issue between the modern follow
ers of Lamarck and the Weismann school Of
Darwinisn-the two authors confess to a grow
ing divergence. Nevertheless, they agree in
recognizing the influence of temperature. food
and other forces in predetermining sex in off
spring This in fact. is of their main
propositions. The others these: In all living
creatures the ratio between the building up and
tearing down processes in the system is vari-
able, but the former predominates in the female
and the latter in the male: and the fact that
two parents are necessary for all the higher
organisms tends TO maintain a uniformity and
steadiness in a species which might otherwise be
lacking. a large part of the work is devoted
TO the processes of reproduction in the vege-
table and animal world, but at its close the
bearing Of these on human progress is briefly
considered.