# Popular Science Monthly/Volume 31/July 1887/Literary Notices

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Public Debts: An Essay in the Science of Finance. By Henry C. Adams, Ph. D. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 407. Price, $2.50.
The purpose of this treatise is to portray the principles which underlie the use of public credit. While it is neither primarily statistical nor historical, it relies upon statistics, and makes frequent appeals to history; and in these points, the experiences of our national Government, so comprehensive and recent, and of our State and local governments, so various and often so impressive, afford a rich fund whence illustration and the "clinchers" of argument are drawn. The peculiarity of our Federal Constitution necessitates a distinction in the treatment of the subject as between national deficit financiering and local deficit financiering (State and municipal) which is not recognized by European writers. Of the three parts into which the treatise is divided, the first is devoted to the general subject of "Public Borrowing as a Financial Policy." The immense development of public indebtedness which the world is now witnessing, which has reached an aggregate for the civilized states of $27,000,000,000, has taken place since 1848, when the total stood at $8,650,000,000. Searching for the causes of this accumulation, they are found to lie mainly in the greater strength and effectiveness of the feeling of nationality, for the maintenance of which large expenditures are necessary, and in the spirit of socialism, or the disposition of states to legislate and undertake in the interest of the social well-being of their peoples. Concerning the political and social tendencies and industrial effects of public borrowing, it is held that it tends to obviate the free workings of constitutional governments, to endanger the autonomy of inferior states, and to introduce complications between the larger powers. Socially, public debts render permanent such class relations as spring from disparity of possessions, and introduce conflicting interests between citizens. The industrial effects are complex, and depend upon the nature of the loan, the conditions under which it is contracted, and upon the fund of capital from which it is filled. They are harmful in proportion as the placement of the loan disturbs the market value of commodities. Public credit may be advantageously employed—as opposed to material increase of taxes—to cover running deficits, to assist in meeting unforeseen emergencies, and to provide revenue for carrying on public improvements. In the second part—"National Deficit Financiering"—the first topic is the "financial management of a war," the principle of which, as summarized, is "that reliance can not be placed wholly upon loans nor wholly upon taxes, but fiscal administration should be so adjusted as gradually to change the burden of expenditure from credit to clear income." As between the ​different forms the debt may take, floating debts should be but sparingly used; voluntary loans appeal to the only reliable motive on which to rest a credit policy; bonds are preferable to annuities; and while Government may use its discretion in fixing times of payment, loans should be placed at par rather than at discount. At the close of a war, floating debts should receive immediate attention, and a policy of contraction should be set on foot to meet the case of irredeemable paper notes. In peace management, the financier should have regard to the need of investors in giving shape to the public debt; should be able to work wisely when he comes in contact with the money market, and harmoniously with all laws affecting or affected by his securities; and "should have clear views respecting the policy of conversion." The policy of debt-payment—as opposed to holding on till the indebtedness is overtaken by the growth of the country in wealth—is defended, but it should not be pushed so rapidly as to force the rate of business profit below the rate necessary to sustain industrial hopefulness. The best method of payment is that of making permanent appropriation to the service of the debt, leaving the administration large discretion in its application.
In the third part—"Local Deficit Financiering"—a review of the past experiences and present condition of the States and municipalities in financial management leads up to inquiries into the causes of municipal corruption, and the expediency of limiting the power of cities and States to borrow money. Municipal corruption is regarded as merely a symptom of deep-seated disorder in the body politic, and not a distinct and independent evil. The final explanation of the phenomena is to be found in the fact that the present organization of society does not properly correlate public and private activity. Private business and the service of corporations offer more attractive careers than municipal office, and secure the service of the best men. The remedy for corruption is, then, to enlarge the scope and legitimate emolument of municipal life, so that the best men may also be attracted to it; and this should be supplemented by the enforcement of personal responsibility. While the evils against which the restrictions of the freedom of States and municipalities in financial and industrial matters have been directed, are acknowledged to have been real evils, the method that has been adopted of curing them is believed to have brought great danger to society. In this sphere regard must be had (or our institutions are imperiled) to the two fundamental principles of republicanism: that all concentration of power should be held to strict accountability; and that the exercise of all responsible power should lie as closely as possible to the people upon whom it is to fall. The present standing of private corporations before the law contradicts the first rule; for "these corporations are practically irresponsible to the people by whose favor they exist, and whom they pretend to serve. Popular liberty could be menaced by no greater danger." The growing importance of the Federal Government threatens to disregard the second rule, that responsible power should lie as closely as possible to those upon whom it is exercised. Yet "the financial disabilities under which the States rest have placed them hors de combat; and, without some radical modification of existing relations between the various centers of government, the pressure of coming events will inevitably lead to an extension of administrative functions under the direct control of Congress." Moreover, as the country becomes more populous, and its various relations more complex, the functions of government must necessarily extend to continually new objects. The States are the proper center for their exercise, but they are considered as being in no position for performing the duty, having been deprived of the facilities for undertaking it by a series of mistakes. Hence, we have reason to regard with solicitude the next step in the development of the industrial constitution of the United States.
The author has evidently endeavored to view judicially the various questions he has raised, and has given a book full of thoughts which it was well to have presented.
Oil and Natural Gas in Illinois. By Theodore B. Comstock. Pp. 15.
The author in this paper, which was read before the Illinois Engineers' and Surveyors' Association, discusses the probability ​of finding oil and gas in paying quantities within the limits of the State and the districts in which searching for them will be most hopeful. He believes that the accumulation of oil is connected with certain uplifts of the strata indicating faults, and points out certain lines of such dislocations as regions in which the discovery of oil or gas is more or less probable.
Proceedings and Transactions of the Scientific Association. Meriden, Conn. 1885-'86. Charles H. S. Davis, M. D., Secretary. Pp. 64.
The Association, at the beginning of its sixth year, had one hundred and thirty members. Nine papers were read before it in 1885 and eight in 1886; an excursion was made to the Portland quarries; and among the lecturers in 1886-'87 were Alfred Russel Wallace and Professor Alexander Winchell. The volume of the Transactions contains an account of the Catopterus gracilis, a fossil fish found at Little Falls, by Dr. Davis; a study of "the Hanging Hills," as the trap ridge at Meriden is called, by J. H. Chapin, D. D.; "A Notice of Certain Fossil Plants in the Quarries at Durham"; "A List of the Birds of Meriden," by Franklin Platt; "Additional Plants found growing at Meriden," by Mrs. C. B. Kendrick; and a poem on "West Peak, and what it saith," by the Rev. J. T. Pettes.
A Century of Electricity. By T. C. Mendenhall. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Pp. 229. Price, $1.25.
In this book Professor Mendenhall has presented within a small compass an account free from technicalities, of the growth of the world's knowledge of electricity and its applications. The frictional electric machine, the Leyden-jar, and Franklin's lightning-rod, represented about all that was known concerning electricity in 1786, when Galvani turned a gastronomic delicacy to account as an instrument for scientific research. Volta's invention of the battery, or "pile," followed within the next decade, and made possible the rapid progress in electrical discovery which followed. Nicholson, Carlisle, Davy, Wollaston, and Daniell, are some of the prominent names of the next few years.
In 1820, Oersted, the son of a Danish apothecary, who had become Professor of Physics in the University of Copenhagen, discovered the action of a current of electricity on a suspended magnetic needle. Within one week after hearing of Oersted's discovery, Ampère had worked out the fundamental principles on which rests the whole science of electro-dynamics. The credit of discovering that electro-magnets of great power may be made by winding the core with many turns of insulated wire, belongs to an American—Joseph Henry—and the telegraph was first made a permanent commercial success by another American—Professor Morse—although various forms of the needle-telegraph had appeared in Russia, Germany, and England.
Multiplex telegraphy and the use of submarine cables are extensions which followed in due time. With the discoveries of Galvani and Oersted must be ranked another, by Faraday, on which rest "nearly all the more recent and more striking applications of the electric current." This was the discovery of electro-magnetic induction. The dynamo-electric machine, and with it the commercial use of the electric light, were thus made possible. The discovery that the dynamo is reversible, i.e., that it will run as a motor if a current is supplied, opened the way for the next great step, hardly yet consummated, the electric transmission of force. Meanwhile electricity had been set at work in the domain of acoustics also, and that wonderful invention, the telephone, was produced. The development of electrical storage, and the direct production of electricity from heat, belong rather to the coming than to the completed "Century of Electricity."
The Story of Ancient Egypt. By George Rawlinson, with the Collaboration of Arthur Gilman. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 408. Price, $1.50.
The history of this most ancient of the empires of the earth, with its old and advanced civilization, is here told in a connected, current manner, more satisfactorily than in any other book for popular reading with which we are acquainted. The history of Egypt is in fact hard to present acceptably to the general public. The ancient writers upon whom we once depended were inadequate and contradictory. The modern sources the recovered monuments and ​inscriptions—are suggestive as to what the facts may have been, rather than satisfying as to what they were; and the gaps between them are so numerous and so wide as to make a complete restoration of the history still impracticable. Hence wide differences of opinion as to many of the essential features still prevail among those who are equally entitled to be regarded as authorities. Yet great advances have been made in the study, and a large number of the more important facts have been made certain. They are almost enough to give us the clew to the course of the history from the beginning. These facts the authors have sifted from the conjectures and speculations and discussions of controverted points with which the literature respecting ancient Egypt is encumbered, and have presented them in their order, and with reference to their bearing; and they have thus given, in a readable shape, a notion of what is actually known on the subject.
The Story of the Normans. Told chiefly in Relation to the Conquest of England. BySarah Orne Jewett. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 373. Price, $1.50.
This is one of the volumes of the happily conceived "Story of the Nations" series, and the one, perhaps, of those which have been published, that possesses the most immediate interest to American readers, as telling of a people through whom, in more than one sense, we partly derive our ancestry and our institutions. The story is presented in the attractive form of a running narrative, in which, while the history is faithfully adhered to and presented in its connection, scope is given for the full play of the romantic features and lively incidents which appear to be inseparable from our conceptions of Norman history, feudalism, and the life of the middle ages.
The Annual Index to Periodicals for 1886. Bangor, Me.: Q. P. Index, Publisher. Pp. 27.
This is the sixth annual issue of this Index and the second in the series of "Cumulative Indexes." It furnishes a complete index for the year to more than twenty-seven periodicals. By a system of notation which, odd as it looks at first, is easily learned and proves to be simple when learned, articles are referred to their authors and authors to their articles, and both to the precise issues of the several magazines in which they appear. Another set of symbols indicates the precise character of the several articles, The whole is put into so compact a shape that the present thin volume contains sixteen hundred and eighty-eight separate entries.
First Book of Chemistry: A Course of Simple Experiments for Beginners at Home and in Primary Schools. By Mary Shaw Brewster. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 144. Price, 77 cents.
To make the educational influence of the study of chemistry available for young pupils is the object of this little hand-book. In the words of the preface, "It aims to stimulate in the beginner, by the natural method of observation and experiment, a desire to know about every-day phenomena—to lead him to question for himself, and then to answer his own inquiry, not by appealing to book or teacher, but by reference to the facts presented." Generally the pupil is told only how to proceed, and is left to discover the results of experiments by his own observation. Only those experiments are employed whose bearings can be readily comprehended, and which can be performed with utensils and materials found in the homes and stores of any village. But little of chemical theory or nomenclature has been introduced. The pupil is first led to observe the difference between a mixture and a chemical compound, and is further made acquainted with chemical affinity, solution, crystallization, precipitation, filtration, and other fundamental ideas and processes. Then, after a presentation of the properties of acids, bases and salts, the common elements are taken up separately. The book is illustrated, and contains lists of apparatus and materials needed for experiments.
Report of the Ladies' Health Protective Association of New York. 1885-86. Mrs. M. J. Herbert, Secretary. Pp. 15.
The Association was organized in November, 1884, for the purpose of dealing with some of the "east-side nuisances" of ​New York city. It had eleven members at the beginning; at the end of the first year it had more than six hundred members. The ladies seem to have gone into their enterprise with much energy, before which several established nuisances, that had long baffled the political powers, had to give way. Their influence was felt in New Jersey, where they were called on to help remove some offensive conditions, and in the State Legislature, where they labored to prevent damaging legislation.
California State Mining Bureau. Sixth Annual Report of the State Mineralogist. Part I. By Henry G. Hanks. Pp. 145. Part II. By William Irelan, Jr. Sacramento. Pp. 222.
The first part, besides a general statement of the condition of the Bureau and its collections and a reference to the comparative merits of mining and manufacturing as adapted to California, gives a paper on "Building-Stones and Building-Materials in California," with a list of the stones and their localities; a table of altitudes of twelve hundred and ninety-seven points; accounts of the "Mineral Springs of California"; descriptions of "The Calistoga Silver-Mines"; and the geology and mineralogy of San Diego County. The second part contains the special report of the trustees of the Bureau; accounts of a considerable number of mines and of the processes and machinery employed at them; summaries of the mineral products of the United States in 1885; the mining laws of the United States and the departmental interpretations of them; various tables and rules of use in mining; and tables of legal distances and routes of travel in California.
Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club. Transactions No. 7, 1885. W. H. Harrington, President. Ottawa, Canada. Pp. 90.
The Club appears to have enlisted a full representation of the persons within its sphere of action who are interested in its work. Three Club excursions were made, while the sub-excursions were more numerous and more successful than in any previous season. Ten afternoon lectures or classes were held during the winter, on entomology, mineralogy, ornithology, and botany. The fact that six of the meetings were held in educational institutions is regarded as indicating that the Club is being more and more recognized as able and willing to impart instruction in the natural sciences. With the "Transactions" are embodied the special reports of the geological, conchological, entomological, ornithological, and botanical branches of the Club; papers on the "Black Bear," by Mr. W. P. Lett, and "Ottawa Dragon-Flies," by Mr. T. J. MacLaughlin; a "List of Mosses collected near Ottawa," by Professor J. Macoun; and "A New Departure in the Study of Minerals," by the Rev. C. F. Marsan.
Mathematical Teaching and its Modern Methods. By Truman Henry Safford. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. Pp. 47. Price, 25 cents.
This paper is one of a series of "Monographs on Education," which the publishers have undertaken for the purpose of preserving a class of essays on the theory or practice of teaching which, not being suited for popular magazine articles or voluminous enough for books, are, while they are of great value, in danger of being lost. The thoughts expressed in the paper are such as have been suggested by the author's long practical experience in giving instruction in mathematical subjects, and the conclusions are believed to be in agreement with the views of progressive educators, but not with ordinary traditions. "It is an old complaint against mathematics as a mental discipline," says the author, "that it is too abstract and unpractical. When we look at the ordinary courses in our colleges and schools, we shall find that there is much truth in this; but the complaints are entirely groundless when mathematics takes its proper place in our courses, and is taught in the proper manner." It is the object of the essay to search for the "proper manner."
McCarty's Annual Statistician, 1887. Edited by L. P. McCarty. San Francisco: L. P. McCarty.
The usefulness of well-edited and comprehensive compilations of statistics goes without saying as a valuable vade mecum for the editor, politician, scholar, even for professional men and merchants. Of these hand-books we have many more or less ​complete, but certainly, in respect of volume and mass of information, the book before us is well ahead of its rivals. It includes nearly everything of interest, both as to Europe and America, relating to commerce, industry, agriculture, manufactures, finance, education, politics, and history. Elaborate tables, embodying the latest results, and in many cases comparative tables showing the aggregates of different years from a decade to a half-century, enable one to grasp the growth of each interest at a moment's glance. It may be said that in all such books it is not practicable to secure an orderly and systematic arrangement. Mr. McCarty has met the difficulty as well as possible by giving a very thorough index to the contents. The material seems to have been gathered with great care and industry, and presumably the citations of figures are trustworthy, except so far as errors have crept in through bad proof-reading. Mr. McCarty's plan appears to have been to make this a most exhaustive book of its class, and in the extent of the field he covers he has not fallen short of his aim. It is not easy to overrate the amount of labor essential in the compilation of such a work, and its value to the public is in direct ratio. About one half of the book is devoted to the United States. In addition to statistical matter proper there are about one hundred pages devoted to scientific, mechanical, and commercial facts and formulas.
Thoughts on Science, Theology and Ethics. By John Wilson, M. A. London: Trübner & Co., pp. 197.
"The object of this little book," says the preface, "is to give a correct sketch of the main lines of modern thought in small compass and in language simple enough to be easily understood." This object, it seems to us, has been attained with more than usual success. It is an excellent work to put into the hands of the young who are beginning to think and seeking to learn how to think. The distinction drawn between science and theology with respect to the meaning of the word "God" illustrates the theoretical doctrines of the author. "God," he says, is "the Omnipotent Power which exists behind the facts of the universe. Of this power science asserts the existence to be a necessary supposition, but the nature to be to us unknowable and inconceivable. Theology, on the other hand, asserts its nature to be known, and conceives it to be manlike." This is exceedingly well put. Proceeding from this declaration, the points of opposition between science and theology are made very clear. The necessity of a scientific foundation for ethics is set forth in the second part of the work. The first part treats, in successive chapters of "What is Science?" "What is the Use of Science?" and "The Methods of Science." Part second deals with "The Object and Scope of Ethics," "The Origin and Nature of the Moral Code," and "The Sanction of the Moral Code." We hope this meritorious book will be widely circulated.
VAN NOSTRAND'S SCIENCE SERIES.
No. 90.—Analysis of Rotary Motion, as applied to the Gyroscope. By Major J. G. Barnard, A. M. New York: D. Van Nostrand. Pp. 66. Price, 50 cents.
Major Barnard's analysis, which is here republished, is based on the works of Poison. The author shows first how the particular equations of the gyroscopic motion may be deduced from the general equations of rotary motion, and then points out that the analytical results arrived at contain within themselves the sole clew to the visible phenomenon, and dispel all that is mysterious and paradoxical.
No. 91.—Leveling; Barometric, Trigonometric, and Spirit. By Ira O. Baker, C. E. New York: D. Van Nostrand. Pp. 145. Price, 50 cents.
The matter in this treatise forms a part of the lectures on geodesy given by the author to his classes at the University of Illinois, and is published for the use of his own and other students. The author does not claim that there is anything new or original in the volume; but he has combined in a single book information that heretofore could only be found scattered through many. His object has been to give all that was necessary for a thorough comprehension of the principles involved, and an intelligent understanding of the method of applying them. The attempt has been made to point out all the sources of error, and to give accurate data showing the degree of ​accuracy attainable by each method of leveling.
No. 92.—Petroleum: Its Production and Use. By Boverton Redwood, F.I.C, F.C.S. New York: D. Van Nostrand. Pp. 210. Price, 50 cents.
The material of this volume is abridged from a series of Cantor lectures given before the Society of Arts, London, and originally published in the journal of the society. The parts omitted are such as were deemed of no interest to American readers. Almost every topic relating to petroleum has been considered, beginning with the kinds of rocks in which petroleum is found, in the United States and in the Baku district, and taking up in succession the chemistry of petroleum, the construction of wells, methods of transporting crude petroleum, the manufacture of commercial products and their transportation, methods of testing oils and paraffine in considerable detail, followed by a sketch of the progress of invention in oil-lamps.
Massage as a Mode of Treatment. By William Murrell, M. D. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 100. Price, $1.25.
The attention which has been given recently to massage, in medical books and journals, has excited a demand for a more general introduction of that method of treatment, and for operators. But much ignorance still prevails upon the subject, both among those who require massage and among those who offer themselves as operators. It is too important a matter to be trifled with, and the remedy is too beneficial a one to be neglected when it is practicable to secure its proper application. Hence this little book, telling exactly what massage is, and how it should be applied, and how the operator should be qualified, fills a felt want. It gives the history of massage; an account of the method of performing it, describing particularly the Von Mosengeilian system as practiced in Holland and Germany; chapters on "The Masseur and the Masseuse" (male and female operators) and "The Physiological Action of Massage"; and indications as to the class of cases in which it is most likely to do good. On the last point the author says: "The ignorant rabble of course thinks that it will cure everything, but as a matter of fact its sphere of action is very limited. If carried out under the direction of a scientific physician, who has had experience in this mode of treatment, it yields excellent results; but if allowed to drift into the hands of an ignorant empiric, it soon degenerates into the most arrant quackery."
Profit-Sharing. By N. O. Nelson. St. Louis, Mo. Pp. 40.
This pamphlet is a collection of articles which were written by the author on different occasions, but always by request, holding up the plan of giving to workmen an equitable share in the profits of the business as the true solution of the so-called "labor question." Force is given to the arguments by the fact that the system which the author advocates has been introduced into the manufacturing establishment with which he is connected, and is in successful operation there. Two of the papers are devoted to accounts of the introduction and workings of the plan.
Proceedings of the Department of Superintendence of the National Educational Association, February, 1886. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 90.
This is published as one of the "Circulars of Information" of the Bureau of Education. More than sixty superintendents and persons actively interested in education attended the meeting. Among the topics considered in papers read and in discussions were, "The Duties of County Superintendents," "Reading Circles for Teachers," "Co-education of the Races," "Educational Statistics," "The Educational and Religious Interests of the Colored People of the South," "Forestry in Education," "Language-Work," "Growth and Benefits of Reading Circles," and "City Superintendence."
The Labor-Value Fallacy. By M. L. Scudder, Jr. Chicago: The Patriots' League. Pp. 112. Price, 10 cents.
This pamphlet is the first of a series to be published by the "Patriots' League"—an association of conservative citizens whose purpose is to combat socialist heresies and ​their kindred, and to disseminate sound views—and to be sold at cost. Its principal aim is to controvert the dogma of the trades-unions that it is the labor clement which determines the exchangeable value of commodities.
Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. 1885-'86. E. P. Venable, Chapel Hill, N. C, Secretary. Pp. 146, with Map. Price, 60 cents.
The report covers the third year of the work of the society, which is also mentioned as the most prosperous year it has enjoyed. Regular monthly meetings of members and invited guests have been held for hearing papers and discussing scientific questions of interest. The feature of public lectures has developed into the University (of North Carolina) Lecture course, continuing through the session. Sixty-one papers were read and presented at the meetings of the society, about one third in number of which are given in the present number of the "Journal." Of these papers two are of very general interest, viz.: "The Sketch of the Life and Scientific Work (in botany) of Lewis David Schweinitz," which is accompanied by a portrait; and Messrs. Wood and McCarthy's "Wilmington (N. C.) Flora," including a list of the plants and date of flowering, and accompanied by a map of Hanover County. A beetle that infests tobacco and cigarettes is described by Mr. G. F. Atkinson.
Economic Equities. A Compend of the Natural Laws of Industrial Production and Exchange. By J. K. Ingalls. New York: The Truth-Seeker Company. Pp. 63. Price, 25 cents.
The author is of opinion that a proper solution of the questions he has in view can not be reached "while deferring to the traditions and institutions of barbarous ages, or to the prejudices and sordid maxims of the very rich and powerful"; or by looking at them from the point of view of employers or of wage-workers as a class. He has sought, impartially, to ascertain the true nature of the relation of earth and man to social industry and reciprocal exchange. The result of his search is an obvious inclination toward the theories of the kind upheld by Henry George.
Elements of English. By George Hodgdon Kicker. Chicago: The Interstate Publishing Company. Pp. 100. Price, 30 cents.
This book is intended to be an introduction to English grammar for the use of schools. It aims to make the branch less difficult, more attractive, and more useful to young pupils. It is designed for the lower grades of schools, and to be preparatory to larger works. It consists of a series of lessons, treating of the parts of speech and their uses, and of the simple sentence in its various forms, which are illustrated by practical exercises composed of words in common use. It also contains lessons on spelling, capital letters, punctuation, directions for letter-writing, the principles of analysis and synthesis; and brief methods of parsing.
Latham, John, Managing Editor. The "Esoteric." Vol. I, No. 1. Monthly. Boston: Esoteric Publishing Company. Pp. 82. 15 cents. $1.50 a year.
Walker, Francis A. Arithmetic in Primary and Grammar Schools. Pp. 29.—A Plea for Industrial Education in the Public Schools. Pp. 34. Boston: Damrell & Upham.
Hamilton, Dr. A. "The Fonetic Herald." 1886, and January and February, 1887. Monthly. Pp. 4 each number. Port Hope, Ont.
Shufeldt, R. W. Contributions to the Anatomy of Geococcyx Californianus. Pp. 16. With Four Plates. Additional Notes upon the Anatomy of the Trochili, Caprimulgi, and Cypselidæ. Pp. 8.
Blakiston, Son & Co., Philadelphia. New Series of Manuals and Text-Books for Students. Announcement.
Zoological Society of Philadelphia. Fifteenth Annual Report. Arthur Erwin Brown, General Superintendent. Pp. 20.
Alabama Weather Service. Report for April, 1887. P. H. Mell, Jr., Director. Auburn, Ala. Pp. 6.
Riley, C. V. Shade-Trees and their Insect Defoliators. Pp. 69.—Reports of Experiments with Various Insecticide Substances. Pp. 84.—Miscellaneous Notes on the Work of the Division of Entomology for the Season of 1865. Pp. 45. With Plates. Washington: Government Printing-Office.
Lighthall, W. Dourr. Sketch of a New Utilitarianism. Montreal: "Witness" Printing-House. Pp. 40.
Mathews. Robert. Competition and Monopoly. Rochester, N. Y. Pp. 14.
D. T. Smith. The Gathering of the Waters; or, The Evolution of Seas and Rivers. Louisville, Ky. Pp. 8.
Newton, James King, Oberlin, Ohio. Obligations of the United States to initiate a Revision of Treaties between the Western Powers and Japan. Pp. 25.
Lloyd, James Hendrie. Philadelphia. The Claim of Moral Insanity in its Medico-Legal Aspects. Pp. 16.
Hayes, Henry. The Story of Margaret Kent. Boston: Ticknor & Co. Pp. 444. 50 cents. (Ticknor's Paper Series.) Weekly, No. 1.
​Miller, Annie Jenness, Editor. "Dress." Monthly. Devoted to the Practical and Beautiful in Women's and Children's Clothing, etc. New York: The Gallison and Holborn Company. Vol. I, No. 1. Pp. 34. 15 cents. $1.50 a year.
Mays, Thomas J., M.D., Philadelphia. Does Pulmonary Consumption tend to exterminate the American Indian? Pp. 8.—An Experimental Inquiry into the Chest Movements of the Indian Female. Pp. 11. Detroit, Mich.: George S. Davis.
Morel, Dr. V. New Treatment of the Affections of the Respiratory Organs and of Blood-Poison, by Rectal Injections of Gases. Pp. 21. Also Reprints of Articles on the same, and List of Apparatus. Pp. 18. Philadelphia: James W. Queen & Co.
Jackson, C. Loring, and others. Contributions from the Chemical Laboratory of Harvard College. (Five Papers.)
Chaillé, Stanford E., Tulane University, La. Abuse of Alcoholics by the Healthy. Pp. 36.—Infants; their Chronological Progress. Pp. 20.
Public Health in Minnesota. Red Wing, Minn. State Board of Health. Pp. 8.
Walker, James, Cincinnati. Remarks and Criticisms on Articles about Brewing. Pp. 26.
Bolton, Henry Carrington, Hartford, Conn. Alchemy and Numismatics. Pp. 12.
"Once a Month." A Journal for Young People, Newark, N.J.: Bichard W. Bloemeke. Pp. 16. 5 cents. 60 cents a year.
Kitao, Diro. Beiträge zur Theorie der Bewegung der Erdatmospäre und der Wirbelstürme. (Contributions to the Theory of the Movement of the Earth's Atmosphere and of Hurricanes.) Tokio, Japan. Imperial University of Japan. Pp. 96. With Plates.
United States National Museum. "Proceedings," four sheets. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
Halstead, Byron D. Bulletin of the Iowa Agricultural College, from the Botanical Department. Pp. 66.
Plumb, Charles S. "Agricultural Science." Monthly. May, 1857. Geneva, N. Y. Pp. 24. $2 a year.
Bocock, Kemper, Philadelphia. A Plea for Area Taxation. Pp. 82.
Stone, George H., Colorado Springs, Col. Terminal Moraines in Maine. Pp. 8.
Averil, William D., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. "The Conchologists' Exchange." Monthly. Pp. 12. 8 cents. 85 cents a year.
Huston, H. A., Director, Lafayette, Ind. The Indiana Signal Service. Pp. 9.
Isms, Material, Occult, and Spiritual, and their Influence in determining the Religion of the Future. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co. Pp. 85. 40 cents.
Beall, F. M. M. "Monthly Weather Review, of United States." March, 1887. Washington City: Signal-Office. Pp. 28.
Boehmer, George H. List of Astronomical Observatories. Washington: Government Printing-office. Pp. 14.
Smithsonian Institution. Miscellaneous Papers relating to Anthropology. Pp. 44.
Bournot, John George. Local Government in Canada. An Historical Study. Baltimore: N. Murray. Pp. 72. 50 cents.
Williston, Samuel W. Synopsis of the North American Syrphidæ. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 335.
Thomann, G. Colonial Liquor Laws. New York: United States Brewers' Association. Pp. 202.
Erichsen, Hugo, M.D. The Cremation of the Dead. Detroit: D. O. Haynes & Co. Pp. 264. $2.
Bastin, Edson S. Elements of Botany. Chicago: G. P. Engelhard & Co. Pp. 282. $2.50.
James, Frank L. Elementary Microscopic Technology. Part I. St. Louis Medical and Surgical Journal Company. Pp. 107. 75 cents.
American Society of Microscopists. Proceedings, Ninth Annual Meeting, 1886. Buffalo, N. Y., D. S. Kellicott, Secretary. Pp. 243.
"Doctor Frank." Health in our Homes. Pp. 112. 75 cents—Health of our Children. Pp. 128. 75 cents. A Friend in Need; a Household Guide in Health and in Disease. Pp. 460. $3. Boston: Thayer Publishing Company.
Tolstoi, Count Léon. Katia. New York: William S. Gottsberger. Pp. 193. 50 cents.
Bell, George W. The New Crisis. Des Moines, Iowa: Moses Hull & Co. Pp. 351.
Oldberg, Oscar. A Manual of Weights and Measures, with Rules and Tables. Chicago: Charles J. Johnson. Pp. 246. $1.50.
Jameson, J. Franklin. Willem Usselinx, Founder of the Dutch and Swedish West India Companies. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 234. $1.
Laing, Samuel. A Modern Zoroastrian. London: F. V. White & Co. Pp. 265.
Sutton, John Bland. Ligaments, their Nature and Morphology. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 107. $1.25.
Rosmini, Antonio Serbati. The Ruling Principle of Method applied to Education. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. Pp. 863. $1.50.
Dudley, Marion V. Poetry and Philosophy of Goethe. Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co. Pp. 300.
Thompson, Maurice, Indianapolis. Indiana: Geology and Natural History. Fifteenth Annual Report. Pp. 359.
United States Commissioner of Education. Report for 1884-'85. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 848.
Browne, Lennox, and Behnke, Emil. Voice, Song, and Speech. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 243.
Thompson, Daniel Greenleaf. The Problem of Evil. London: Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. 281.
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Proceedings, 1887. Sheets 4 and 5.
Marsh. O. C. Dinocerata: A Monograph on an Extinct Order of Gigantic Mammals. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 243, with 56 Plates.