English and American Railroads Compared. By Edward Hates Dorsey, C. E., Member Am. Soc. C. E. and Am. Inst. M. E. John Wiley & Sons, New York, N. Y.
This work is the outcome of papers read by Mr. Dorsey at meetings of the Am. Soc. C. E. in 1885, and for which the author was awarded the Norman gold medal for the year ending August 1, 1886. The Society’s edition of the papers and the discussion thereon being exhausted, the author, with the consent of the Society, has published a second edition, with an appendix, containing much new matter, in order to meet the public demand for his work.
The author has treated the subject most exhaustively, and has succeeded in presenting his views in a very clear and attractive manner. In glancing through the book, the array of figures and tables seems very formidable, but the author in his preface kindly refers us to several pages that “contain a few of the most salient facts,” and after reading those pages, one finds so much said in favor of our own American roads, both as regards cost of construction and cost of operating expenses, that one is tempted to go deeper and deeper into the subject until even the most formidable array of figures becomes interesting reading.
Mr. Dorsey is a member of the Nava] Institute, and his name is familiar to the readers of our Proceedings, through his contribution of the paper on Steel for Heavy Guns, which provoked such an extensive discussion, and which had the result of giving much useful information to the world on that very important subject. C. R. M.
Compendio de Balistica Externa. Part I. By Dr. A. L. Barbosa de Oliveira, Professor at the Naval School, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. H. Lombaerts & Co., Rio de Janeiro, 1888.
This valuable mathematical treatise on exterior ballistics has been favorably reported upon by a committee appointed to examine the work, and in accordance with its report the work has been adopted as a text-book at the Naval School of Brazil. This is only the first part of the work, and so far as the author has gone, he has treated the subject in a thorough and comprehensive manner. J. L.
The Voyage of H. I. A. M. Ship Frundsberg in the Red Sea and the Coast ok India and Ceylon during the Years 1885-1886. By Jerolim Chevalier von Benko, Commander I. Navy. Supplement to Vol. III. and IV. of 1888, of Mittheilungcn aus dem Gebiete des Seewesens.
This volume gives important and detailed information about the places visited, and sailing directions to and from them, with necessary meteorological data.
E. H. C. L.
Schiffbau. By A. v. Hüllen. Lipsius and Tischer, Kiel.
This work is very elementary, and only useful as a text-book for practical men who have but little knowledge of mathematics. The practical construction of steel ships is not treated of as thoroughly as it should be in this advanced age of steel shipbuilding. The theoretical part of the work seems to be mathematically defective, and particularly is this so in the demonstrations regarding the rudder. We have no doubt, however, that the book will serve a useful purpose in giving a sort of general knowledge of shipbuilding to those wo do not care to enter deeply into the subject. E. H. C. L.