# Popular Science Monthly/Volume 37/July 1890/Literary Notices

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Hygiene of Childhood. By Francis H. Rankin, M. D. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 140. Price, 75 cents.
In this little volume plain and practical advice is given in regard to taking care of the health of children, from about two and a half years of age to the completion of puberty. Among the subjects here treated which are liable to be carelessly regarded by parents are sleep, regularity of the bowels, care of the skin, and school hygiene. The author introduces also some observations on proper discipline—an essential in securing the child's obedience to the laws of health. The important subjects of food and clothing receive full consideration. Until very recently, as the author states, nearly half the mortality in our larger cities was of children under five years of age. When this is contrasted with the few deaths of children among people living in a state of nature, the wholesale manner in which civilized parents slaughter their offspring through ignorance and carelessness becomes evident. When Catlin went among the Indians he found that deaths of children under ten years of age were very rare: in one of the smaller tribes there had been only three in ten years; in the cemetery of another, where the bodies were placed above-ground on scaffolds, Catlin found only eleven bodies of children in one hundred and fifty. With the improvement of sanitary conditions in cities the death-rate of the children has decreased, and there is no doubt that with the spread of such knowledge as Dr. Rankin gives will come a still better showing.
Essays of an Americanist. By Daniel G. Brinton, A. M., M. D. Philadelphia: Porter & Coates. Pp. 489. Price, $3.
In this volume Dr. Brinton has collected a considerable number of his essays and addresses read on various occasions, and published in the proceedings of the societies to which they were presented. These he has revised, and in many cases extended; and to them he has added several papers never before published. The special purpose which he designs the volume to serve is stated in the following words from his preface: "In a number of points, as for example in the antiquity of man upon this continent, in the specific distinction of an American race, in the generic similarity of its languages, in recognizing its mythology as often abstract and symbolic, in the phonetic character of some of its graphic methods, in believing that its tribes possessed considerable poetic feeling, in maintaining the absolute autochthony of their culture—in these and in many other points referred to in the following pages, I am at variance with most modern anthropologists; and these essays are to show, more fully and connectedly than could their separate publication, what are my grounds for such opinions." Dr. Brinton classifies these essays under four heads: ethnologic and archæologic, mythology and folklore, graphic systems and literature, linguistic. Their general range is indicated by the following titles, which are only a small part of the whole: A Review of the Data for the Study of the Prehistoric Chronology of America; On Palæoliths, American and other; The Sacred Names in Quiche Mythology; The Writing and Records of the Ancient Mayas; Native American Poetry; Some Characteristics of American Languages; and The Curious Hoax of the Taensa Language. In the essays on graphic systems a number of hieroglyphs are figured.
A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry. By Prof. T. E. Thorpe, Ph. D., assisted by Eminent Contributors. In Three Volumes. Vol. I. London and New York: Longmans, Green & Co. Price, $15.
The subject-matter of this work is pretty closely restricted to chemical technology and medicinal chemistry, space being allowed for purely scientific aspects of the science only when they have some direct bearing upon an art or manufacture. For all such matters the student is referred to the new edition of Watts's Dictionary of Chemistry, to which the present work may be regarded as complementary. In preparing the articles special attention has been paid to the bibliography of the subjects, and, in certain cases, to the ​compilation of trustworthy patent-lists. Volume I goes from A to Dy. Among its chief articles are those on acetic acid, alcohol, alizarin and allied coloring matters, aluminium, ammonia, analysis, azo-coloring matters, bleaching, brewing, carbon, cements, chlorine, cyanides, dextrose, disinfectants, and dyeing. Under alizarin are given the history of the artificial production of this substance, the methods of preparing a large number of derivatives of anthraquinone, and accounts of the anthraquinone and dichloranthracene processes of manufacturing alizarin. The article on brewing comprises quite full consideration of the sources and chemical character of the water, barley, and hops used in making beer, with descriptions of the several steps in the process. Sixteen figures of brewing apparatus are given. In the article on cements, both building cements and adhesive cements are treated. Under the former division are included lime-burning, mortar, plaster of Paris, hydraulic mortar, pozzuolana, hydraulic cement, oxychloride cements, artificial stone, and concrete. Analyses of many of these substances are given in tables, and a bibliography of the subject is appended. Many of the articles involving descriptions of apparatus are fully illustrated. The more important ones are signed, and a list of contributors to the volume is prefixed, among which may be found many well-known names.
Gems and Precious Stones of North America. By George Frederick Kunz. Illustrated with Eight Colored Plates and numerous Minor Engravings. New York: The Scientific Publishing Company. Pp. 336. Large 8vo. Price, $10.
Mr. Kunz has written a very interesting book, and it has been published in an elegant style. Nearly all the known varieties of precious stones occur in North America, and many of the American specimens have much beauty, but they are not found of such size and quality nor in sufficient quantity to rank them as an important product of the country. About one hundred thousand dollars' worth of precious stones, including pearls, are found in the United States yearly, but this is less than the value of the output from the diamond-mines of South Africa, or from our coal and iron mines, for a single day. The occurrence of diamonds in the United States, Mr. Kunz tells us, is chiefly confined to two belts of country: one along the eastern base of the Alleghanies, from Virginia to Georgia; the other along the western base of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges in Oregon and northern California. The Dewey diamond, found at Manchester, Va., in 1855, weighed before cutting 233/4 carats, and 1111/16 carats afterward. It passed through several hands, becoming the property of John A. Morrissey, who had made a loan of six thousand dollars on it. As it is off-color and imperfect, it is to-day worth not more than three or four hundred dollars. Mr. Kunz gives the history of the finding of a number of other American diamonds, many of which were picked up by children, or by persons knowing nothing of mineralogy. Some of these were destroyed by being struck with a hammer, their finders having an idea that this was a test which a diamond ought to stand. He also tells of reported finds of diamonds in which the stone turned out to be a quartz crystal which had been rolled among the gravel of some stream till it had acquired the appearance of a rough diamond.
Pieces of blue glass similarly worn into the shape of pebbles have been taken for sapphires. The largest crystal of sapphire ever found is in the Shepard mineral collection at Amherst College. It weighs three hundred and twelve pounds, is a perfectly terminated prism, partly red and partly blue in color, but opaque. It was obtained by Mr. C. W. Jenks from his mine at Franklin, N. C. In his chapter on the turquoise Mr. Kunz tells of its use by the ancient Mexicans, and by the Indians of the Southwestern United States, and gives pictures of several ornaments of their workmanship. He tells where the ruby, topaz, and emerald are found, and where occur a large number of less valuable stones, such as the garnet, tourmaline, beryl, amethyst, opal, agate, jasper, silicified wood, lapis lazuli, moonstone, sunstone, obsidian, amber, jet, cat's-eye, serpentine, malachite, and very many more whose names are less familiar. His account of Chalcedony Park in Arizona, where there are great blocks and whole tree trunks turned to agate, is a very interesting portion of the book. There is also a remarkably attractive and fully illustrated chapter on pearls. The chief pearl-fishing grounds ​of America are in the Gulf of California, but pearls are also found in shells of the unio, mussel, common clam, and other shell-fish all over the United States. Within one year they have been sent to the New York market from nearly every State in the Union. One worth five hundred dollars was found in Wisconsin in 1889, and others ranging in value up to three hundred dollars have been found in Vermont, Ohio, Texas, and Tennessee. The archæologist will be especially interested in the chapter on aboriginal lapidarian work in North America, and the general reader will obtain much welcome information from the concluding chapter dealing with imports, values, cutting of diamonds and other stones, mineral collections, and uses of precious and ornamental stones for silver articles and furniture and for interior house decoration. Mr. Kunz was eminently well fitted to produce this work, as he is the gem expert for Messrs. Tiffany & Co., has prepared several reports on the precious stones of the United States for the Geological Survey, and is the special agent in charge of this subject for the census of 1890. The magnificent plates showing all the important stones in their natural colors are the work of Messrs. Prang & Co., of Boston. The many other engravings show articles of aboriginal production, forms of crystals, etc. The book is of standard scientific value, giving as it does the mineralogical characters and chemical analyses of the stones treated, and its handsome form makes it worthy a place in the finest library.
Food in Health and Disease. By J. Burnet Yeo, M. D., F. R. C. P. Philadelphia: Lea Brothers & Co. Pp. 583.
No one who examines this book can fail to be astonished at the amount of information that is here compressed within the limits of a small volume. Of course, the author has not put all that is known about dietetics between its covers, but he has gone over the ground with remarkable thoroughness. He describes the preparation, cooking, and preserving of food, tells the chemical composition and the special value of each of the common articles of food, the proper food for the individual at each period of life, from infancy to advanced age, tells how large numbers of persons may be fed cheaply and well, as in prisons, camps, and on board ship, and gives dietaries for all the principal diseases. "I have thought it desirable," says Dr. Yeo in his preface, "to enter fully and in detail into the important subjects of army and prison dietaries, school dietaries, and feeding during the critical period of infancy and childhood. In connection with the first of these subjects I have been at pains to present as fully as possible the admirable system of feeding our soldiers at home stations, so ably devised and carried out by Colonel C. J. Burnett—a system which may serve as a model of wholesome, economical, and intelligent feeding." Dr. Yeo gives a warning against the tendency to overfeeding in adults, especially those who habitually make little physical exertion. The habit of drinking milk with the meals is one way in which the proper amount of food may be exceeded inadvertently. In the part of the volume devoted to food in disease, besides general directions applicable to different diseases, there are given various "cures" known by the names of their originators. An appendix contains tables of hospital dietaries, and another contains a list of select recipes for invalids' dietary.
A New Medical Dictionary. By George M. Gould, M. D. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 519. Price, $3.25.
The aim and scope of this work can be best told by quoting from the preface. The author's purpose has been "to include those new words and phrases created during the past ten years—a period rich in coinages—which appeared destined to continuous usage. ... To frame all definitions by the direct aid of new, standard, and authoritative textbooks, instead of making a patchwork of mechanical copying from older vocabularies. While neglecting nothing of positive value, to omit obsolete words and those not pertinent to medicine except in a remote or factitious sense. To make a volume that will answer the needs of the medical student and busy practitioner, not only by its compactness of arrangement and conciseness of definitions, but also by its convenience of size and price." A notable feature of the work is its many tables, which comprise abbreviations, affixes, arteries, bacilli, ganglia, leucomaines, micrococci, muscles, nerves, ​plexuses, ptomaïnes, comparison of thermometers, weights and measures, mineral springs of the United States, and vital statistics. The article on mineral springs is by Judson Daland, M. D., and forms an appendix of thirty-two pages. At first sight the volume does not make a favorable impression, for its exterior is severely plain, and it appears to be printed from too small type; but very little examination is needed to show that the publishers' claims as to good paper, clear print, and binding so that the book will lie open at any page, are well founded.
Handbook of Geology, for the Use of Canadian Students. By Sir J. William Dawson, C. M. G., LL. D., F. R. S., Principal of McGill University. Montreal: Dawson Brothers. 1889. Pp. 250.
This is a practical treatise on geology, well fitted to the needs of those for whom it was written, more than half the volume being devoted to a review of the topography and geology of Canadian territory. It includes the results of the later geological surveys, the observations of Dr. G. M. Dawson in Manitoba and British Columbia in 1886-'87, and also the discoveries in paleontology which have changed the chronology of the Blattidæ and other species.
The work is divided into three parts. The first division treats of the constitution of rocks, their classification, the fossils found in them, and their arrangement. In classifying rocks, the distinction made between their origin, chemical nature, and texture is helpful. The second part relates to chronology. The nomenclature adopted by the International Congress is given, and the equivalent terms in use by geologists. The illustrations of the various eras, their fossil plants and animals, are well chosen and complete. The third and longest section is descriptive of the physical and geological features of the country. This is divided into six regions, and examination is made of each. The author does not give much space to the discussion of subjective theories, such as the origin of the metamorphism of rocks, the plasticity of the earth, and other mooted points; but refers to authors who have treated these subjects at length. Even in regard to the deposit of drift upon the plains by icebergs, he points out "difficulties in the way of the theory of glaciation caused by the absence of marine mollusca and other forms of marine life." As the area considered exceeds that of the United States, and representatives of nearly every period from Eozoic to modern times are found within its limits, it is evident that the student who becomes familiar with this rock-structure and history goes forth well equipped as a geologist. Directions are given for slicing rocks and fossils for the microscope, and a description of the tools necessary for the field geologist, with suggestions as to the best manner in which he may pursue his work.
A History of Modern Europe. By C. A. Fyffe, M. A. Vol. III, from 1848 to 1878. New York: Henry Holt & Co. Pp. 572. Price, $2.50.
It is an important period which is covered by Mr. Fyffe's third volume, for during these thirty years many events took place whose influence in European history will be great and lasting. Among these are the creation of the Italian kingdom, the winning of the leading position among the German states by Prussia, and the war between France and Germany in 1870-'71. This period covers the greater part of Bismarck's active career, and includes the years in which Cavour and Disraeli made their fame. Soon after it began, occurred the Crimean War; the dismemberment of Poland was among its events, and it closes with the war between Russia and Turkey. The work is a record of wars and state-craft, and does not attempt to chronicle the progress of social, commercial, and industrial affairs. The book has large, clear print, topics are indicated by marginal titles, and there is a copious index.
The Way out of Agnosticism. By Francis E. Abbot, Ph. D. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. Pp. 75. Price, $1.
This little book is no more than a compact introduction to a treatise on scientific religion which Dr. Abbot is preparing. Agnosticism, he says, declares that the scientific method applies only to phenomena, to the appearances or shows of things, and has no possible application to noumena, or things as they really exist in their internal relations and constitutions. A scientific theology, Dr. Abbot maintains, will show that ​the scientific method applies both to phenomena and noumena—both to things as they seem and things as they are. Agnosticism, destitute of the conception that God is immanent in nature, does not see that to know nature in any degree is to know God in precisely that degree. There is no unknowable, but simply the unknown or the imperfectly known. Against the relativity of knowledge as held by Herbert Spencer, he affirms that knowledge is based upon the internal self-relatedness of an object. This self-relatedness in its unity and constancy, as Kant observed, is the reason why all who judge an object come to agreement. Formulating the three types of real beings as machine, organism, and person, Dr. Abbot finds the universe to be all three. In the perfect intelligibility of the universe he places his hope for new light on the problems of immortality and duty, which shall be as certain and trustworthy as the light science has already cast on problems of physical nature.
The Elements of Laboratory Work. By A. G. Earl, M. A. London and New York: Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. 179. Price, $1.40.
Text-books adapted to the new and genuine method of science study are so few as yet that every progressive educator will welcome this addition to their number. The course which it embodies is designed as an introduction to all branches of natural science, its object being to teach a method of study rather than to convey information in a prescribed field. It is adapted to students in colleges and high-schools. To give an idea of the method of the book we quote the directions for the first exercise:
"To find equal quantities of matter: 1. Use a balance, and counterpoise two pieces of wood, cutting away one or the other with a knife until exact balance is obtained. 2. Counterpoise a piece of wood and a piece of lead. 3. Counterpoise another piece of wood with the lead, and then observe that the two pieces of wood counterpoised by the lead counterpoise one another.
"The above exercises show: 1. That with the same kind of matter, wood, the pieces which counterpoise each other are the same size, or thereabout; but different kinds of matter which counterpoise each other are not of the same size. 2. That two bodies counterpoise each other if they each counterpoise a third body, for these two bodies have been, found to act alike under the same conditions—that is, when placed in the same position, and with all the surroundings the same. Two such pieces of matter are said to be equal quantities of matter, however unequal in size or different in appearance they may be."
Other exercises in weighing and some in measuring length and volume follow. While occupied with weighing, the student is directed to take to pieces a balance very carefully, the points in its construction which it is specially instructive for him to notice being stated. Observations of change of position, of changes of temperature, and of certain mutual changes common to all kinds of matter are among the early exercises of the course. A chapter is devoted to "observations of certain mutual changes exhibited by certain kinds of matter," namely, electrical phenomena. Under the head of "observations which lead to the theory that all matter is made up of very small separate particles" are embraced experiments on solution, diffusion, and the pressure of gases. A number of chemical experiments are given in a chapter devoted to "investigation of the composition of various kinds of matter." The final division comprises experiments in optics, designed to lead to the theory of the ether. An appendix gives many practical hints in regard to conducting the work in the laboratory. Lists of additional exercises and questions are inserted at the end of each chapter, and the text is illustrated with many figures of apparatus and diagrams.
Numbers Universalized is the latter or advanced part of the text-book of algebra by Prof. David M. Sensenig (Appleton, $1.25). The work is believed by its author to embrace all algebraic subjects usually taught in the preparatory and scientific schools and the colleges of this country. Part Second is divided into five chapters, as follows: one embracing serial functions, including, among other things, the binomial theorem, and exponential and logarithmic series; one treating of complex numbers, graphically and analytically; one embodying a discussion on the theory of functions; one ​treating of the theory of equations, and one treating of determinants and probabilities, so far as the author deems these of interest and value to the general student. The volume closes with a supplementary discussion of continued fractions and theory of numbers. The two parts of the book are paged continuously, and may be had bound together.
Although prepared for English readers, the Notes on American Schools and Training Colleges, by. G. Fitch (Macmillan, 60 cents), contains much that American teachers can read with profit. These Notes were made during a visit of the author to America in 1888, and were embodied in his annual official report on English Training Colleges, presented to Parliament in 1889. It is always instructive to see ourselves as other fair-minded observers see us, and this picture of our educational methods from a foreign point of view must help Americans to realize what are the peculiarities, the merits and defects, in a system all parts of which seem to us equally natural and admirable. An introduction has been prefixed to the volume telling how education is supported in England. This is a point on which many Americans appear to be ignorant, and a glaring case of such ignorance by a reverend writer in an American magazine is taken by Dr. Fitch as the text for his remarks. A table showing schemes of graded instruction in primary schools in England, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Massachusetts, and Ontario is inserted at the end of the volume.
Volume XI of the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science covers the annual meetings of 1887 and 1888. Most of the papers embody results of scientific researches on the geology, botany, and zoology of Kansas. Among these are Horizon of the Dacotah Lignite, by Prof. Robert Hay; On the Newly Discovered Salt Beds in Ellsworth County, by E. H. S. Bailey; Personal Observations upon the Flora of Kansas, by Mrs. A. L. Slosson; Geology of the Leavenworth Prospect Well, by E. Jameson; A List of the Kansas Species of Peronosporaceæ, by W. T. Swingle; and a Meteorological Summary for the Years 1887 and 1888, by Prof. F. H. Snow. There are also some papers on general subjects.
Prof. Edwin S. Crawley, of the University of Pennsylvania, has published a textbook entitled Elements of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry (Lippincott, $1), covering that part of the subject which is generally given in a college course. The first part of the subject is presented in much detail, with many examples and illustrations; further on the student is thrown more upon his own resources. In the preface, sections are specified which may be omitted without impairing the continuity of the text, if a shorter course is desired. An appendix contains the formulæ which the student will find most useful in subsequent work in mathematics. Answers to a part of the examples are given at the end of the book.
A fifth edition, revised and enlarged, of the little work on Electric Light Installations and the Management of Accumulators, by Sir David Salomons, Bart., has just been published (Van Nostrand, $1.50). The book is now more than twice as large as when it first appeared, having been extended to 334 pages, and contains ICO illustrations. The rapidity with which four editions have been disposed of, and the fact that the book has been translated into German and French, are practical indorsements of its value. Besides expanding the chapters of the last edition, the author has added two new ones, and many of the cuts are now inserted for the first time.
Prof. R. H. Ward, M. D., has published a revised edition of his record-book for botanical laboratory work entitled Plant Organization (Ginn & Co., 85 cents). The preface and introduction explain Prof. Ward's scheme of writing descriptions of plants; then follow twenty pages in which the terms commonly used in describing the parts of plants are defined. Here the author gives, in addition to many of the technical terms, simpler words that may be used by pupils whose course of study will be short. The leaves of the book are tied in by a cord, so that as each printed form is filled out it may be removed and handed to the teacher for examination. The forms, besides lines for descriptive words, have spaces for drawings. Blank pages are inserted, to which dried specimens may be attached.
A manual of hygiene entitled How to preserve Health has been prepared by Louis Barkan, M. D. (Exchange Printing Company, ​New York). It contains advice on all the subjects usually comprised in a health manual grouped under two heads—the prevention of disease and the care of the sick. In the latter department are some directions which the layman is probably not expected to use himself, for, in another place, the author says that "so soon as unmistakable signs of disease are perceived, a physician should be called." The readableness of the volume has been increased by putting into it bits of description and accounts of ways and customs in other countries.
Mr. Horatio Hale publishes a Manual of the Oregon Trade Language, or Chinook Jargon (London: Whittaker, 3s.), written to form part of a volume of linguistics, the work of several contributors, which is not yet published. The author's first study of the subject was made in 1841, when, as a member of a United States exploring expedition, he undertook an account of the ethnology of the Oregon region. He found the jargon to comprise about two hundred and fifty words; the number had nearly doubled in 1863, when the dictionary of George Gibbs was published, since which time no material change seems to have been made in the language. In regard to the present volume, Mr. Hale says, in his prefatory note, "Comprising, as will be seen, a complete grammar and dictionary, with specimens of colloquial and narrative phrases, songs, hymns, a sermon, etc., it is intended to afford a manual for the use of travelers and settlers in the region where it is spoken, as well as an opportunity for philologists to study the construction of a genuine international speech now current, with the best results, among populations in various stages of civilization, speaking more than twenty distinct languages, and diffused over a territory nearly half as large as Europe."
A new solution to the problem of an international language is offered by Augustin Knoflach in a pamphlet entitled Sound-English (New York: Stechert, 25 cents). The author first sets forth the reasons why English is more desirable as an international speech than any artificial language, and asserts that the only obstacle to such use is its absurd, illogical spelling. He then illustrates some of the irregularities of English spelling, and answers the stock objections to any change in a vigorous and interesting style. In the second part of the pamphlet, Mr. Knoflach presents his method of writing English. It is a phonetic system, the deficiencies in our present alphabet being supplied by new letters. Long vowels are printed in heavy or full-face type. Besides giving the exact sound of each word, Sound English also indicates the accent. Syllables containing long vowels are generally accented, so the full-face type is a mark of accent. Where this rule does not apply, a consonant is printed in full-face to mark the accent. All capitals are discarded; they are not needed at the beginning of sentences, and proper names are distinguished by the context, as in spoken language. One advantage claimed for this system is that type-writers can be easily modified to write it, the heavy letters being made by holding the space-bar and striking the key twice. An appendix in dialogue form answers objections to Sound-English.
A system of metrology designed to supersede the metric as well as the remaining old systems is set forth by the Hon. Edward Noel, in a book entitled Natural Weights and Measures (London: E. Stanford, 2s. Qd.). Its linear unit is an ell of about twenty-five inches, which is one ten-thousandth of the semi-diameter of the earth—the measure used by astronomers for expressing the immense celestial distances. The foot would be half an ell and would contain twelve new inches. All other measures and the weights would be derived from the linear unit, as in the metric system. They would be given the names now used for the old weights and measures. The proposed system differs from the metric in preferring duodecimal division in linear and weight measure, and binary division in surface and capacity measure. The author finds much to say in favor of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia adopting the "natural" system together, and he says it well. By description and in tables he presents the system from every point of view, and makes out a very able plea in its behalf, both on practical and on sentimental grounds.
Mary Boole, the author of Logic taught by Love (A. Mudge & Son, Printers, Boston), says of her own production; "This ​book will seem to some a mere medley. Is it a text-book of logic, a pious exhortation, or a treatise on mythology?" The ordinary person will get exactly this impression from a first glance at the book; but he can not help feeling a respect for the author's mind from the fact that she realizes so well the character of her own work. It consists of a number of essays, dealing chiefly with metaphysics, the Hebrew religion, and educational methods. One object of the volume being to combat monotony and specialization in teaching, the chapters are far from being severely methodical in scope or arrangement. The author insists that too little regard is commonly paid to the bearing of different fields of knowledge upon each other. She makes many references to the work of George Boole, and frequently quotes from his Laws of Thought. Another of her authorities is Gratry, author of the Logique.
Æschines against Ctesiphon, edited by Prof. Rufus B. Richardson (Ginn), has been added to the College Series of Greek Authors. A life of Æschines is prefixed to the volume, and notes occupy about two thirds of each of the pages on which the text is printed. The book has a Greek index and an index of subjects.
A Report of Explorations in the Alleghany Region, made by Prof. David Starr Jordan, has been published by the United States Fish Commission. This examination had two general purposes: first, to ascertain the general character of the streams of the Alleghany region of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, and of western Indiana; their present stock of food-fishes, and their suitability for the introduction of species not now found there; second, to catalogue the fishes native to each stream, whether food-fishes or not, in order to complete our knowledge of the geographical distribution of each species, and to throw light on the laws which govern geographical distribution. The results of the observations recorded in this paper accord with a previous conviction of the author, that the question of distribution reduces itself to a question of barriers of various sorts. Each species extends its range in every direction, and holds the ground thus taken if it can.
The Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission for 1887 consists of reports and correspondence on a wide variety of topics. Among the more extended articles are reports on the fishes observed in Great Egg Harbor Bay, New Jersey, in 1887, and on the investigations by the schooner Grampus on the Southern mackerel-grounds, and a review of the mackerels of America and Europe (with plates). A fully illustrated paper of over one hundred pages, by J. W. Collins, describes the beam-trawl fishery of Great Britain. Among the articles of more popular interest are an account of the American Sardine Industry in 1886, by R. E. Earll and H. M. Smith; and The Aquarium: a Brief Exposition of its Principles and Management (illustrated), by William P. Seal.
An account of The History of the Niagara River, by G. K. Gilbert, included in the Report for 1889, of the Commissioners of the State Reservation at Niagara, has been reprinted in pamphlet form. It contains the substance of the lecture which the author gave before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, at its Toronto meeting in 1889, and is written in a style which makes it attractive to the generally intelligent person as well as interesting to the geologist. Mr. Gilbert discusses the changes of outlets of the Great Lakes caused by the advance and retreat of the ancient ice-sheet, and shows their bearing on the history of the Niagara River. He then describes the work of the cataract in cutting out its gorge, and concludes with a list of questions which must be considered before any satisfactory estimate of the rate of recession of the falls can be reached. The paper is illustrated with eight plates.
Three monographs by Mr. Robert Ridgway, published in the Proceedings of the United States National Museum, comprise a Review of the Genus Xiphocolaptes of Lessor, in which the existence of a much greater number of clearly defined forms than have been recognized by leading authorities was made apparent; a Review of the Genus Sclerurus of Swainson—in which several forms that had been "lumped together" had to be distinguished; and a List of Birds (sixty-six species) collected on the Island of Santa Lucia, West Indies, Abrolhos Islands, Brazil, and at the Straits of Magellan, in 1887-'88, by the Fish Commission steamer Albatross.
​Among the later publications by the United States National Museum are descriptive Notes of New Genera and Species from the Lower Cambrian or Olenellus Zone of North America, by Charles D. Walcott; New North American Acrididæ, found north of the Mexican Boundary, by Laurence Boemer; description of Two New Species of Snakes from California, by Leonhard Stejneger; Report on the Batrachians and Reptiles collected by the United States Fish Commission Steamer Albatross in 1887-'88, by E. D. Cope; Description of New Species of Fishes collected at the Galapagos Islands and along the coast of the United States of Colombia during the same expedition, by D. S. Jordan and C. H. Bollman; and Annotated Catalogue of Insects, collected by the Albatross in 1887-88, by L. O. Howard.
Two essays on Primitive Architecture have recently been published by Barr Ferree. In one, on Sociological Influences, reprinted from The American Naturalist, he tells how the form and arrangement of the dwelling have been modified according as the occupants were a single family or several families living in communism, as they were sedentary or nomadic, timid or warlike, etc. In the other, first published in the American Anthropologist, he takes Climatic Influences for his subject, and shows how they have affected the pitch of roofs, the size of windows, the closeness of walls, the choice of material, etc.
Mr. Alfred R. Wolff (New York) has published a pamphlet on The Ventilation of Buildings, in which he states the problem that the architect has to solve, correcting several popular misconceptions about ventilation, shows by what calculation the proper quantity of fresh air to be supplied to the inmates of a room may be found, and calls attention to the fact that efficient ventilation in cold weather involves additional expense in heating. He then considers several methods of obtaining the required supply and removal of air, and the relation of the usual methods of heating to ventilation.
The Second Annual Report of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Cornell University (published by the University, Ithaca, N. Y.) contains the reports of the several officers of the station, appended to which are Bulletins 5 to 15 inclusive, dealing with the production of lean meat in mature animals; whether heating milk affects the butter made from it; fodders and feeding-stuffs; influences of certain conditions upon the sprouting of seeds; wind-breaks in their relation to fruit-growing, tomatoes, deterioration of manure, etc. Many of the papers are illustrated.
The Fourth Reading-Book in Lippincott's New Series, by Eben H. Davis (Lippincott, 80 cents), is made up of selections in prose and verse from standand English and American authors, including some recent writers, whose works are drawn upon by permission of their publishers. A Chapter of Suggestions for Training the Voice is prefixed, and a list of questions for the use of teachers and a vocabulary are appended. The volume is illustrated.
A collection of Heroic Ballads, edited with notes by D. H. Montgomery, has just been issued (Ginn, 50 cents). The volume contains sixty-eight ballads, among which are many whose excellence has made them long popular, such as Macaulay's Horatius, Ivry, etc.; Aytoun's Execution of Montrose, and Edinburgh after Flodden; Marco Bozzaris, Casabianca, Lochinvar, Barbara Frietchie, Sheridan's Ride, and Curfew must not ring To-night. Others less familiar are Cowper's Boadicea, Scotland's Maiden Martyr, Shan Van Vocht, Song of Marion's Men, The Song of the Camp, and Lowell's Commemoration Ode. Explanatory notes are introduced at the foot of the pages, and indexes to these notes and to the authors represented are appended to the volume.
A very full treatise on whist, entitled American Whist Illustrated, has been written by G. W. P., the author of American Whist and Whist Universal (Houghton, $1.75). He states that this publication is a digest of his two previous volumes, with all the amendments, revisions, and changes in play required by the application of recent inventions and improvements in the practice of the American game. The volume is introduced by a short history of cards, including the game of modern whist; then follow the laws of American whist and the rules of a Boston whist club—the Deschapelles. In his rules for original leads and his analyses of the play of second, third, and fourth hands, the author is liberal with reasons and ​explanations. The characteristics of American Leads and of "The New Play" are fully explained and illustrated, and due attention is given to a large number of special topics. A chapter of some sixty pages on Whist Practice consists of rules and counsel designed to stimulate the indifferent player to become a good one. A sample conversation, such as is carried on by four persons of the former sort, is also introduced. Twenty illustrative hands, with figures of all the cards, conclude the volume.