# Popular Science Monthly/Volume 43/July 1893/Literary Notices

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Education from a National Standpoint. By Alfred Fouillée. International Education Series. Vol. XXIII. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 332. Price, $1.50.
Vive la république!—the welfare of the nation—is the keynote of this book. Educators who would have a complete and well-balanced understanding of their own field should not omit to study the relation of ​education to national interests. Dr. Harris has chosen an excellent tutor for them in M. Fouillée, an eminent scholar and one of the race in which the national spirit is notably strong. Assuming that each nation has a continuity of character, mind, habits, and aptitudes which forms an organic heredity and identity persisting from age to age, the author inquires how education can be made to assist in perfecting this national nature. After a word on the importance of physical education he states that the chief objects of intellectual education should be—first, the moral; second, the beautiful; and last, the true. The reader should be cautioned against accepting fully M. Fouillée's representation of the effects of the study of science. In various places, and especially in the chapters on the Scientific Humanities, he denounces the present teaching of science as if it actually represented this field of knowledge at its best, and declares that science has been weighed and found wanting. He ignores the fact that science has been taught often by unsympathetic teachers, without suitable materials, and for a very short period at all. In his chapters on the Classical Humanities he is much more sympathetic, recommending these subjects as the very best means of fostering a national spirit. He criticises severely what is known in France as a modern education, and proposes a reformed system of secondary training which should embrace these studies: 1, the literature of the mother country; 2, Latin literature; 3, general history; 4, the elements of mathematics and physics. Where diversity arises, it should be in only the following special subjects: Greek, secondary science subjects with applied science, and modern languages. In conclusion, he maintains that all education will prove defective from the national standpoint unless it includes moral and social science, and unless its several parts are unified by philosophy. Programmes illustrating the author's views are given in an appendix.
A Contribution to our Knowledge of Seedlings. By the Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock, Bart. New York: D. Appleton & Co. In two volumes. Price, $10.
The results of a wide-reaching botanical research are embodied in these two substantial and copiously illustrated volumes. The subject of this research is the forms of cotyledons, which not only differ greatly in different plants but are generally much different from the forms of the ordinary leaves in the same plant. Some cotyledons are broad, others narrow; those of the mustard are kidney-shaped, of the cress three-lobed, of the beech fan-shaped, of the sycamore shaped almost like a knife-blade, of Eschscholtzia divided like a hay-fork, of the bean or acorn thick and fleshy. The shape of the seed • seems to have an influence on the shape of J| the cotyledons. Where the cotyledons are narrow and lie straight in a long, narrow seed, the relation is simple, but such cases are few. Often narrow cotyledons are found coiled in orbicular seeds. In many broad seeds we find two fleshy cotyledons laid face to face, and occupying almost the whole of the seed. In the nearly spherical radish seed the cotyledons are laid face to face and then folded along the middle. In other species one cotyledon is larger than the other, or the halves of each cotyledon are unequal; still other cotyledons are lobed, emarginate, aurieled, etc., and for all of these features the author has found probable causes in the shape of the seed or the way in which the cotyledons are packed within it. A general statement of these points occupies the early part of the first volume, while the rest of the work is devoted to descriptions of the seedlings in a large number of genera. In procuring the seedlings for these descriptions the author has been permitted to make large use of the resources of Kew Gardens. A valuable feature of the work is the carefully drawn illustrations of seedlings, sections of seeds, etc., of which there are six hundred and eighty-four. An index and a bibliography are appended.
The Theory of Wages and its Application. By Herhert M. Thompson. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. Pp. 140. Price, $1.
This is a piece of close and clearly expressed reasoning upon one of the great problems of political economy. The author says that his economic statements are, for the most part, those accepted by the economists of to-day. These statements he sets forth in the first chapter, and upon them he bases the proposition that "the universal product ​of industry and abstinence" (the "universal dividend," as it might be called) "is a mass of wealth varying in amount, and divided in varying proportions among the agents to its production." Holding this view, the author obviously can not accept the wage-fund theory nor the theory that labor is the residual claimant to the product of industry, nor the doctrine that "rent does not enter into the expenses of production," and his next three chapters are devoted to criticisms of these doctrines. In his criticism of the first-named theory he comes in conflict with Mill, Fawcett, and Cairns; he takes Walker as a representative of the second, and Marshall and Sorley as supporting the last. In his fifth and final chapter he applies his theory of wages to the eight-hour movement, trades-unionism, profit-sharing, etc.
How Nature cures, comprising a New System of Hygiene; also. The Natural Food of Man. By Emmet Densmore, M. D. London: Swan, Sonnenschein & Co. New York: Stillman & Co. Pp 405.
In this work Dr. Densmore makes a bold effort to shatter all existing and accepted systems of dietary, and ominously warns his readers of the dangers of seeking the assistance of the medical profession in cases of sickness. The book is divided into three parts: How to Doctor, How to Get Well and Keep Well, and The Natural Food of Man. In the first chapter of Part I the author gives an example of the process of natural healing, or, as he terms it, "Nature's engineering." He says: "A sliver becomes imbedded in the flesh—a frequent accident. . . . If the sliver is permitted to remain, Nature at once sets about a bit of engineering. First, there is pain and inflammation; then follows a formation of pus; this in due time breaks down the tissues immediately surrounding the sliver, especially toward the surface of the limb; the pus increases, breaks through, runs out, and sooner or later carries the sliver with it." And he claims that "these and like processes of Nature are all the healing force there is."
Further on, he asserts that the deaths of I both George Washington and President Garfield were either hastened or directly caused by the drugs of the physicians in the first instance, and in the second by the daily probing for the bullet, which, if left undisturbed, would not have been fatal. All through the early part of the work the author advances argument after argument against the uses of drugs for healing purposes, and in the fifth chapter he makes the announcement that, although surgery can be classed as a science, "medicine is not a science; it is empiricism founded on a network of blunders."
The second part of the book treats of How to Get Well and Keep Well, and embraces a series of chapters upon the uses and abuses of certain foods and their relative values for promoting health. In the first chapter of this part, while admitting that "bread, cereals, pulses, and vegetables are the bases of the food of civilization," he denies the urgency of their forming the bases of food, and in fact distinctly states that these and all other starch foods are not beneficial to the system; and he urges the use of ripe sweet fruits in their place. This contention he bases upon the fact that starchy foods such as bread, cereals, etc., are not digested in the first stomach, but have to pass into the intestines, which they overtax during the process of digestion.
Considerable space is devoted to arguments against the use of tea, coffee, tobacco, and alcoholic beverages; and the author scathingly attacks the use, or rather the abuse of the use of opium by "orthodox physicians." In the third part are repeated his ideas upon the curative powers of Nature, and the evils of using starchy foods. In this part, also, he attacks the accepted theory that varying the diet is beneficial to the digestive organs, and advises a similar meal of meat and fruit every day. The book concludes with a number of "Conformatory Chapters," in which Dr. Densmore seeks to defend his theories.
Speeches of Sir Henry Maine. With a Memoir of his Life, by the Right Hon. Sir M. E. Grant Duff. New York: Henry Holt & Co. Pp. 451. Price, $3.50.
The man who is here portrayed in his public utterances and official writings was one of the leading lights of the century in the field of jurisprudence. In 184V, at the early age of twenty-five, he was made Regius Professor of Civil Law at Trinity College, Cam bridge. Three years after he betook himself ​to legal practice in London, which, together with lecturing and literary work, occupied his energies for twelve years. In 1861 he published his Ancient Law, which at once became an authority and a text-book. The following year he accepted the Law Membership in the Council of the Governor-General of India. He held this position until 1869, and during this period two hundred and nine acts were passed. The speeches and minutes that make up the body of the present volume relate to matters of East Indian legislation which demanded his attention during these years. Some of these matters concern the government of provinces—i. e., Judicial Taxation, The Bengal Legislature, and Over Legislation; others, such as Divorce, Emigration, and Whipping, concern the daily life of the people. In all may be seen Maine's breadth of view and his temperate and convincing style of argument. Besides their biographical interest these documents have also a sociological value from the glimpses they give into the life and thought of the East Indian peoples. Sir Grant Duff's memoir tells much about Maine's university days, his writing for the Saturday Review and other journals, and recounts, also, the appointments and honors of his later life.
In Volume III of the Journal of American Ethnology and Archæology, A. E. Bandelier gives a most interesting outline of the documentary history of the Zuñi tribe, which will serve as an important link in the chain of evidences of prehistoric civilization on the northern portion of this continent.
At no time in our history has there been such an influx of speculative literature concerning prehistoric man in America as is now offered to ethnological students; considerable discussion existing as to the conditions of prehistoric man, his period of advent here, and probable characteristics and civilization. From among the many works upon this interesting subject it is still difficult to accept as satisfactory and conclusive evidence the consequential conclusions of the writers. Their researches are of decided speculative value to science; but they advance their theories and make their conclusions solely upon the vague probabilities of certain conditions and appearances of archaeological discoveries.
The material used in this monograph is exclusively derived from Spanish documents, which the author was enabled to study in the archives of the Mexican Republic, and of the Indies, at Seville, Spain, and chiefly concerns the discoveries of certain Spanish monks between 1538 a. d. and the end of the seventeenth century. From these documents it is evident that a high degree of civilization existed among the Zuñi people early in the fifteenth century, and must have existed there for hundreds of years prior to the discovery of the country by the Spaniards. Here is an extract concerning the expedition of Fray Marcos, of Nissa, in 1538: ". . . About a month and a half ago there came a monk, lately arriving from some newly discovered land which, they say, is five hundred leagues from Mexico, . . . and toward the north. Of this country it is said that it is rich in gold and other valuable products, and has large villages. The houses are of stone and earth, the people use weights and measures, they are civilized, marry only once, dress in woolen goods, and ride on certain unknown animals." Another witness testifies that "there were many cities and towns well peopled; that the cities were walled and the gates guarded; that the people were very wealthy; that there were silversmiths; that the women wore jewels of gold, and the men girdles of gold and white woolen dresses; that they had sheep, cows, and quails, and that there were butchers and smithies." It is therefore evident that the Zuñi Indians possessed a civilization long prior to the advent of European explorers; and as the authenticity of these documents is unquestioned, we have, in the researches of Mr. Bandelier, some very important matter upon which to build further and reliable inquiry into the prehistoric conditions of man on this continent. Unfortunately, the almost total destruction of the archives in New Mexico by the Indians, in 1680, renders it difficult to secure a complete history of the past of New Mexico, and of the discoveries in Arizona which were made by explorers from New Spain in the early part of the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, in this monograph considerable light is thrown upon the conditions, civilization, and characteristics of the early dwellers of North America.
In a report on the Relations of Soil to ​Climate, by E. W. Hilgard, Professor of Agricultural Chemistry in the University of California, which was published by authority of the Secretary of Agriculture, there are a great many suggestions concerning the effects of temperature and climate upon undeveloped soil and upon its physical character. It does not enter into the remedial possibilities of the question; but at the very opening of the paper Prof. Hilgard makes the interesting and valuable statement that "since soils are the residual product of the action of meteorological agencies upon rocks, it is obvious that there must exist a more or less intimate relation between the soils of a region and the climatic conditions that prevail." From this standpoint he discusses the effect of the phenomena.
At the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Holl, Mass., according to the Fifth Annual Report, some important biological discoveries have been made; among them, for the first time in history, the embryological feat of tracing the aimelid larvæ through every stage of development cell by cell. The report explains the purpose and work of the laboratory, and gives schedules of the different courses of instruction, investigation, etc. Several memoirs on amphibian development are in progress by the members of the laboratory, one of which is completed. It covers the whole period of development up to the establishment of the fundamental features of the embryo, including the formation of the egg and the phenomena of fecundation. Director Whitman closes his report with an appeal to American lovers of science to assist the managers of the laboratory by providing funds to enable them to extend their space and operations in giving instruction in marine biology.
In a paper entitled Twenty Years of Progress in the Manufacture of Iron and Steel in the United States, James M. Swank makes an interesting examination of these industries. He gives some statistical comparisons between the productions of Great Britain and the United States, which point to the fact that this country has not only passed her great rival in the production of pig iron, but also in that of steel. In the manufacture of Bessemer steel, ingots, and rails the United States has more than doubled the production of Great Britain, while the latter country still holds first place in the manufacture of open-hearth steel. His account of the change from iron to steel in the manufacture of rails is interesting, and shows that iron rails practically ceased to be manufactured in 1892. In a paragraph on the United States tin-plate industry he says, "The new tin-plate industry has made remarkable progress since the new duty went into effect;" and this he illustrates by some statistics of its growth. In the summary of his statistical statements Mr. Swank shows that the United States is now the first of all iron and steel manufacturing countries. The paper is an extract from the Mineral Resources of the United States, and is published by the Department of the Interior—United States Geological Survey.
Horace V. Winchell, State Geologist of Minnesota, makes a valuable report on the Iron Ores of the Mesabi Range of Lake Superior. He claims that the iron mines of this district are the richest "known in the world to-day," and he gives some interesting statistics of the output and probabilities of the Mesabi iron range since its discovery in 1890. The report embraces a history of the mining of the district, a list and approximation of the outputs of the mines now opened up, tables of analyses of the Lake Superior ores, and comparisons with those of other States and of Europe. The information concerning the methods of prospecting, sampling, testing, transportation, etc., in use at this range will be read with interest.
Mr. William Bowker contributes a very useful paper on the relation of fisheries to agriculture. It is entitled The Harvest of the Sea, and was read by him at the winter meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. He makes a strong argument in favor of utilizing the non-edible and unwholesome fishes that abound in our waters—as well as fish refuse—for agricultural purposes. He gives some interesting extracts from the "History of Plimoth Plantation," showing that as early as 1621 the Indians were aware of the value of fish as a fertilizer, and he calls attention to the remarkable fact that the word menhaden was applied to the fish of that name by the Indians because it means "fertilizer, that which manures." Mr. Bowker pooh-poohs the idea that the supply of fish can be measurably ​diminished, no matter what methods man may use for their capture; and he suggests the establishment of experiment stations for developing fish and other plant-food industries. (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1892.)
In pamphlets 202 and 203 of the United States Fish Commission Bashford Dean contributes some important data concerning the science of oyster culture. The first of these reports deals with the Physical and Biological Characteristics of the Natural Oyster Grounds of South Carolina. He draws attention to the appearance of immense natural but partly obsolete oyster beds on the coast of this State, and explains how oyster culture might be again profitably developed there. In the chapter on the Absence of Oyster Spat in Deep Water, Mr. Dean calls attention to the extraordinary silt suspension along the coast, and points out that this matter is, de facto, one of the causes why oysters do not thrive in the deeper waters. He claims that "to plant in deep waters clean shells as spat collectors would in this region be futile"; but that an abundance of both oyster seed and oyster food exist in South Carolinian waters, and that in the marginal waters, "from the level of low tide to about a fathom in depth," oyster culture could be very advantageously developed.
The second pamphlet is entitled A Report on the Present Methods of Oyster Culture in France. This subject is very interestingly discussed, and the result of Mr. Dean's observations will, by comparison, be of pertinent value to those who are interested in the conditions, industry, and culture of the oyster in American waters. He tells the entire process of oyster-raising in France, from the time the swimming fry becomes attached to the collectors until the grown oyster is shipped for consumption. He also defines the difference between the American oyster and the French "flat" oyster, which is akin to the English "native." The American and Portuguese are monosexual, whereas the "flats" are bisexual; so that, as says Mr. Dean, it is difficult to reconcile the relationship between both species. Both reports are profusely illustrated with photographs of the localities and processes of collection and general culture. (Washington, 1892.)
Edwin T. Dumble, State Geologist of Texas, in a report of 243 pages, gives an exhaustive treatise on the "character, formation, occurrence, and fuel uses" of the brown coal and lignite of his State. These coals are widely distributed throughout Texas, the coal measures of the "northern central portion of the State" occupying an area of several thousand square miles. Recapitulating the results of his investigations—some of which were made in Europe, for the purpose of comparison—Mr. Dumble claims that "brown coal and lignite, of good quality and under certain conditions, are fully capable of replacing bituminous coal for any and all household, industrial, and metallurgical purposes."
There are instructive chapters on artificial fuel, the composition of Texan coal, and its utilization and formation. And the State Geologist adds that as Texas has an abundant supply of brown coal "equal to the best which has been utilized, and far superior to much that has been used satisfactorily in other countries," there is no economic reason why the wonderful coal measures of Texas should not be more fully developed. (Austin: Ben Jones & Co., 1892.)
Barton W. Everman, Assistant Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, has made interesting reports on the advisability of establishing fish-hatching stations in the Rocky Mountain region and Gulf States. In making such an investigation several considerations have to be taken into account. The chief requirement is a constant supply of pure water, "not less than a thousand gallons per minute," at a temperature not exceeding 50°; but of equal importance is the selection of a stream or spring free from contamination and containing as few as possible of such enemies of the Salmonidæ family and their spawn as the blob, etc. The first part of the report is devoted to his investigations in Montana and Wyoming. In some of the mountain streams no trout were found, and in many of those streams there was a marked absence of algæ, chara, and other suitable water vegetation. All the tributaries of the Columbia and Missouri Rivers were investigated—fifty-nine streams in all—and finally Dr. Everman considered that the most advantageous places to select as a hatchery are Horsethief Springa, Botteler Springs, and Davies Springs. All of these are close to Yellowstone National Park, in Montana, but he prefers Horsethief ​Springs, which flows into the Madison River. He says that this stream "most nearly fills all the natural requirements." It abounds in suitable water vegetation, as well as in small mollusks and insect larvæ; it is already used as a natural hatchery and spawning ground by trout, whitefish, and grayling; the water never freezes, and, says the assistant commissioner, in making his recommendation, "they are among the most remarkable springs that are to be found in the United States." In the second part of the book Dr. Everman gives a report on his investigations made in Texas for a similar purpose. During this investigation thirty new species of fish were discovered, descriptions of which are given. Many excellent locations for a fresh-water station were found in the interior, but Dr. Everman says that "no point on the coast offers entirely satisfactory conditions for the establishment of a combined fresh and salt water station; but the Swan Lake site, near Galveston, might prove fairly suitable." The reports are illustrated with photographs of the localities investigated and of the fishes inhabiting each locality.
Coals and Cokes in West Virginia is the title of a pamphlet compiled byWilliam Seymour Edwards, which gives, "in a handy form," a more precise knowledge of the coal measures and industry of West Virginia. It consists of a general review of the coal fields, and a series of chapters on their geological, stratigraphical, chemical, and physical condition. The greater portion of the work is devoted to tables of the chemical and physical analyses of the coals and cokes of the State "in comparison with those of other States in America and Europe."
Third Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Texas. E. T. Dumble, F. G. S. A., State Geologist. Austin: Henry Hutchings, 1892. Pp. 410, with maps and illustrations. This report embraces not only the geological and mineralogical conditions of Texas, but also gives some interesting historical facts connected with the development of the State. Accompanying the report are papers on geological investigations in Houston County, by W. Kennedy; Section from Terrell to Sabine Pass; Llano Estacado, or Staked Plains, by W. F. Cummins, notes on the geology of the country west of the plains; Stratigraphy of the Triassic Formation in Northwest Texas, by N. F. Drake; and several other reports dealing with the paleontology of the vertebrata and the cretaceous area, and Trans-Pecos, Texas. A considerable portion of the mineralogical part of the report is devoted to Prof. Dumble's investigations of the coal measures of the State; and in the chapter on Agriculture he explodes the idea that the Staked Plains was a wide expanse of desert sand. They were marked so on all "the old maps as the Great American Desert"; but the State Geologist says, "This has been proved to be utterly untrue, for there are no spots on this wide expanse upon which there was not formerly a luxuriant growth of natural grasses."
In Brochure I of Volume 11 of the Proceedings of the Rochester Academy of Science, Mr. John Walton contributes a paper on the Mollusca of Monroe County. He gives some useful advice to collectors of mollusca, and illustrates his paper with one hundred and thirty-five cuts of as many different varieties and species. Mr. Charles S. Prosser's paper on The Thickness of the Devonian and Silurian Rocks of Western New York, approximately along the Line of the Genesee River, minutely analyses the stratification of the Genesee section. The brochure also contains an article on the Guelph Formation in Rochester, and an interesting synopsis of the proceedings of the botanical section of the academy. (Edited by P. Max Foshay, secretary, Rochester, N. Y., 1892.)
The seventeenth year book of New York State Reformatory at Elmira, January, 1893, is a very exhaustive report of the condition, financial, educational, industrial, etc., of the institution. It was entirely produced by the inmates engaged on the institutional journal. The Summary, and is from the Reformatory press. It is beautifully printed on super-calendered paper and is profusely illustrated. The report of the general superintendent contains a plea for the establishment of "well organized and managed reformatory prisons," and he draws attention to the fact that most of the criminals are the product of "civilization" and "emigration to our shores from the degenerated populations of crowded European marts." In that portion of the book entitled Results there is a very interesting examination into the causes of criminality of certain prisoners, their ​progress during imprisonment, and their conditions, socially and industrially, after liberation.
In a volume of 194 pages Mr. Nathan Cree contributes a useful argument for Direct Legislation by the People, which is the title of his work. He does not claim that such a form of government would be a "remedy for all the political ills of society," but he points to many errors in the existing systems, and argues that at least an epoch of direct legislation would tend to better and more economic government. He says that "popular power in this country stands in no need of a vindication, either of its rightfulness or practicability," but he adds that the "power-holders do not govern directly, although elected by a widely extended suffrage."
The author charges that the electoral bodies, which are the ultimate power in the United States, "delegate their powers to agents," and he seeks to prove that a modification of the present system combined with the primitive direct government would not alone be better and more interesting, but that the adoption of it is within the natural order of modern political evolution. (A. C. McClurg k Co., Chicago. Price, 75 cents.)
Bulletin No. 7 (Part I) of the Geological and Natural History Survey, Minnesota, N. H. Winchell, State Geologist, consists of a descriptive and popular account of the features and habits of the Mammals of Minnesota, by O. L. Herrick. In consequence of the delay in the publication of the reports, which were handed over in 1885, this portion of the work contains only the descriptive and popular portion of the survey. The scientific part, which embraces the materials collected on the anatomy, especially the myology and osteology of the Minnesota mammals, will form the second part. Part I is clearly written, and will be welcomed by all lovers of natural history. It is illustrated with twenty-three figures and seven plates, and is published by Harrison & Smith, State Printers, Minneapolis.
In a volume of 128 pages, Elizabeth E. Evans offers to the public a peculiar theological discussion, which she describes as "a condensed statement of the results of scientific research and philosophical critcism, as applied to the history of religion." In her argument the authoress assails every Christian belief, and in the preface she declares that "all creeds are alike false." She scoffs at the idea of a Trinity as accepted by all Christians; says that Jesus was a myth or simply a pure man and a fanatic; and that "the idea of a God originated from the fears of man in the presence of the natural forces which he is unable to control." She seems to lean toward the doctrine of metempsychosis; and, while scoring the Roman Catholics and Protestants, pays tribute to the purity of intention of the Buddhist faith. (New York: Commonwealth Company.)
J. E. Usher, M. D., has given to the world an interesting and useful treatise on Alcoholism and its Treatment. Comparing the disease with insanity, he says that although the latter is a deplorable thing in any form, "no phase of mental breakdown is more far-reaching in its influence" than alcoholism. Tracing the disease through its "inherited" and "acquired" forms, he brings his reader to the fourth chapter, which is entitled Insanity and Alcoholism. Here, in four pages, he lays bare, with admirable skill, the awful resultant danger to chronic drunkards from the condition of insanity into which their overindulgence has plunged or may at any moment plunge them.
The chapters on Alcoholic Trance and Crime and Cerebral Automatism or Trance are the most interesting parts of the work. They are devoted to the examinations of cases of murder, forgery, manslaughter, robbery etc., committed while the automatic action of the brain continues from the action of alcohol. The last two chapters are devoted to the best means of treating those suffering from alcoholism, embracing a number of useful prescriptions as well as a ringing denunciation of all patent nostrums sold for this purpose. (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1892. Pp. 151. Price, $1.25.)
In a book of 184 pages, Mr. Arthur Willink, in order that a more easily comprehensive idea of God—whom he designates the Unseen—may be attained, says that his object is to submit as a proposition that "it is in higher space that we are to look for the understanding of the unseen." He carries us by a rather difficult but ingenious road through what he supposes to be the first, second, and third directions or dimensions of space to the "fourth dimension" or ​"higher space"; and here is where he locates the presence of God and also that of the departed souls. This invention he apologizes for by saying that it is "a terribly hard thing to realize." Nevertheless he assumes its existence and the conditions referred to for the purpose of penetrating, without irreverence, into the secrets of the unseen, for he says: "Seeking for the truth there is neither presumption nor irreverence, nor intrusion into forbidden ground, always provided that the search is prosecuted in a right spirit." Notwithstanding the ultra-scientific style of Mr. Willink in this work, and although it will not be understood by many, there can be no doubt but that his motive is excellent, and that the book will be read with pleasure by many of those interested in the higher theological subjects. (The World of the Unseen. New York: Macmillan & Co. Price, $1.25.)
In issuing a second edition of his work on the Geographical Distribution of Disease in Great Britain, Dr. Alfred Haviland has divided it, making Part I, now published, cover Cumberland, Westmoreland, and the Lake District (Macmillan, $4.50). In this part the geology and physical geography of the region are fully described, and the distribution of different diseases is set forth. There are several colored maps showing geological formations, contours, and the distribution of phthisis, cancer, and heart disease. In this edition the statistics of deaths from 1861 to 1870 are added to those from 1851 to 1860, used in the first edition. An appendix contains a list of plants growing in limestone districts, tables of population, etc.
In The Dynamic Theory of Life and Mind an attempt is made by James B. Alexander, of Minneapolis, "to show that all organic beings are both constructed and operated by the dynamic agencies of their respective environments." The author has gathered into his thousand octavo pages a great number of accepted facts in biology, paleontology, physiology, acoustics, optics, electricity, and psychology. Scattered through this mass of material is a limited amount of argument in support of his contention that "organisms, instead of being hand-made and purposive, are machine-built machines, and operated when built by forces outside of themselves." That is to say, that organs are parts not yet adapted to those functions, and that the activity of the organism is determined by stimuli from without The data are drawn from competent sources, and all the author's statements are made in a clear and temperate style. Over four hundred figures illustrate the text.
The Geological Survey has issued a monograph on the Geology of the Eureka District, Nevada, by Arnold Hague, with an atlas. The area covered by the survey here recorded is about twenty miles square, and lies in the central part of Nevada. The monograph is a quarto volume of four hundred and nineteen pages, embracing a general description and a geological sketch of the district, with discussions of the rocks of the several epochs that are represented within the area in question, and an account of the ore-deposits found there. A Systematic List of Fossils, by C. D. Walcott, and a paper on the Microscopical Petrography of the Eruptive Rocks, by J. P. Iddings, are appended. Eight plates illustrate the text. The atlas contains eleven folio sheets, one covering the whole district, and the others representing the several divisions of it on a larger scale.