# Popular Science Monthly/Volume 30/January 1887/Literary Notices

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Johns Hopkins University Studies from the Biological Laboratory. Edited by Professors Newell Martin and W. K. Brooks. Vol. III. Baltimore, Md.: N. Murray, publisher.
When a former volume of this publication was reviewed in these pages, we commended the intelligence and liberality of the trustees for recognizing the importance of supporting a scientific publication of so special a character as this one. It is an encouraging omen for science in this country, that universities are recognizing the importance of publishing the results of their laboratory-work. Aside from the honor which an institution derives from an issue of this nature, there is good reason to believe that such a publication is a proper investment for a library fund. Every college library needs upon its shelves the journals and transactions of home and foreign societies. Instead, then, of subscribing for many of these, it were better to invest the same amount in a publication which, by judicious exchange, accomplishes the same result, with the added satisfaction of contributing its scientific work to the world. The numbers before us maintain the high standard of the previous volumes. Space will permit hardly more than a mention by title. The volume commences with a memoir entitled "Significance of the Larval Skin of Decapods," by H. W. Conn. The author states that Crustacea are a particularly favorable group for the study of phylogeny, and then proceeds to show the significance of the larval skin, and a very interesting discussion is given as to the ancestral form of Crustacea. From his study of the larval cuticle in the long- and short-tailed decapods, the author infers that "all decapods are to be referred back to a form similar to the protozoœ (zoea), in which the segments of the thorax and probably of the abdomen were present, and whose antennae were locomotive organs." Mr. Conn has another paper on the "Life History of Thalassema," a peculiar worm which lives within the empty shell of mellita or "sand dollar." He finds, among other interesting conditions, "the origin of the ova and spermatozoa as modified peritoneal cells, their growth in the body cavity, and their preservation in a sexually mature condition in sexual pouches. A segmentation of the embryo which is exceptionally among annelids perfectly regular, and the origin of the ventral nerve-cord from the ectoderm as a bilateral structure." Henry Leslie Osborn gives the results of his studies on the gill in some forms of prosobranchiate mollusca. Professor Lankester, in his valuable paper on mollusca, in the last edition of the "Encyclopædia Britannica," states his belief that the primitive gill of the mollusca was a ctenidium, a stalk with plates very much like the gill of Chiton and Fissurella. Mr. Osborn is led, however, from his embryological studies, to question this view, and to doubt whether the ctenidium form represents the primitive form of molluscan gill, and shows that in the ctenobranchs the gill is not a ctenidium, but a very much simpler organ. Its form compares closely with the primitive lamellibranchiate gill.
"Notes on the Composition of the Blood and Lymph of the Slider Terrapin," and also "On the Origin of the Fibrin formed in the Coagulation of Blood," by W. H. Howell. Both these memoirs are too technical for a short review.
"On the Action of Acid, Atropia, and Convallaria on the Heart; with some Observations on the Influence of Oxygenated and Non-Oxygenated Blood, and Blood in Various Degrees of Dilution," by H. G. Beyer, The title sufficiently indicates the scope of this paper, which will be more interesting to students of therapeutics, and to these and to physicians we commend it.
"The Action of Intermittent Pressure and of Defibrinated Blood upon the Blood-Vessels of the Frog and Terrapin," by Louis T. Stevens and Frederic S. Lee. This paper, like the last, is mentioned by title and for the same reason.
"Cranial Muscles of Amia calva, with a Consideration of the Relations of the Post-Occipital and Hypoglossal Nerves in the Various Vertebrate Groups," by J. Playfair McMurrieh. His investigations lead him to believe that the primitive Elasmobranchs, the Ganoids, and the Teleostei, to be connected along one line, and the Cyclostoma, Dipnoi, and Amphibia along another.
"On the Endings of the Motor Nerves in the Voluntary Muscles of the Frog," by Chr. ​Sihler, M. D. In this memoir is described a new method of demonstrating the nerve-endings in the muscles of the frog, as well as to bring forth evidence supporting the view that the terminal nerve-fibers are situated on the outside of the sarcolemma, and do not, as taught by most authorities, penetrate this envelope."
"Marine Larvæ and their Relation to Adults," by H. W. Conn, is an interesting memoir on the relations of various large groups of animals, based on the larval stages of these groups. Based on these relations solely, the author would place in the first group Cœlenterata, Polyzoa, and Brachiopoda; in another group the Mollusks and Annelids, and probably the Planariane; while a third group would contain Echinoderms, Balanoglossus, and probably the nemerteans and vertebrates. As the sponges and arthropods show no approach to the pilidium larva, they are not considered. Possibly this novel classification might be completed by uniting these in a fourth group! The volume closes with a paper by William Trelease, entitled "Observations on Several Zoögloeæ and Related Forms." This paper deals with bacteria, micrococcus, and related forms, with determinations of new species.
We may add that these papers are highly technical, and are accompanied with excellent plates.
Numbers Applied. A Complete Arithmetic. By Andrew J. Rickoff. New York; D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 416. Price, 75 cents.
This work has been prepared to meet the wide-spread and growing demand for a treatise on arithmetic adapted to the objective methods of instruction now common in schools. In its preparation the author has kept in view the thought that words are useless in the measure that they fail to call up in the mind vivid images of the things signified; and that, to the learner, the operations of arithmetic are apt to be only manipulations of figures after prescribed models, unless he realizes the fact that they are representatives of processes that may be applied to material objects. Hence the attempt has been made to vitalize the relation of words and things by the aid of the best practicable illustrations at every point; and to bring forward problems, or examples for solution, that should have life in them, or bear some relation to the affairs of everyday life. The work has been adapted, as far as possible, to the needs of those children who are liable to be withdrawn from school before a full course in arithmetic can be completed. Hence, the more useful business applications of elementary principles are made as soon as they are learned. Thus, familiar measures are introduced before reduction is mentioned; federal money before decimals; many practical measurements before mensuration; and questions even in percentage and interest are met with before those subjects are reached in due course. The conditions of these problems are so presented as to be within the easy understanding of the pupil, while their solution requires only such arithmetical operations as he has already learned. The authors also call attention to the simple treatment of the decimal system of notation and the variety of exercises under it; to the multiplicity of short exercises, while longer ones are not wanting; to the directions to the pupil, having in view the formation of right habits of computation; to the suggestions for original problems; to the simple and direct methods of treating the various subjects; and to the rigorous adherence to the inductive methods of instruction.
The Irish Question. By the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 57. Price, 10 cents.
In this pamphlet Mr. Gladstone explains and vindicates the position on the Irish question which he assumed and maintained while he continued in office as the working head of the British Government. The discussion is divided into two parts, with papers under the headings, "History of an Idea" (the Irish idea of home-rule), and "Lessons of the Election." The "Lessons" are for the Liberal party and for Ireland, and relate to the purchase and sale of land, and the conservatism of home-rule. In the conclusion, Ireland is advised to walk to the consummation of her wishes in the path of constitutional and peaceful action, and of steady, free, and full discussion, which has led England and Scotland to triumph.
The Life of Robert Fulton, and the History OF Steam Navigation. New York: G. VV. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 507. Price, $1.75.
In this book a great deal of information of an interesting character is packed into a moderate space; and the packing has been well done. Fulton's life is itself full of incident and adventure, illustrating the strong bent of his genius toward a particular line of experiment, and the persistency with which he kept his attention fixed on carrying the objects he had in view to a successful result. The materials for the life have been drawn from many sources, and his career as a whole is presented in an attractive light, and in its main features as an example of well-directed effort. The life of Fulton serves as an introduction, but an important one, to the history of steam navigation, which is very comprehensive. Beginning with Fulton's earliest experiments, as related in the "Life," it traces the history of the Hudson River steamboats, of steamboat navigation on the Mississippi and Ohio, the Great Lakes, Long Island Sound, English, and other foreign waters, from the earliest efforts of each down to the present time; relates the histories, severally, of the various great lines of steamers that have sailed or are now sailing on the ocean between the ports of the different continents, and closes with notices of war-steamers and ironclads. The illustrations represent numerous steamers and parts of steamers, beginning with Jonathan Hill's tow-boat in 1736, and ending with such vessels as the City of Peking, the Pilgrim, and the Alaska.
General Biology. By William T Sedgwick, Ph. D., and Edmund B. Wilson, Ph. D. Part I. Introductory. New York: Henry Holt & Co. Pp. 193.
The authors of this book acknowledge that it owes its origin to the influence of Huxley and Martin, authors of the "Elementary Biology." Their aim has been, not to prepare an exhaustive treatise, but rather to lead beginners in biology from familiar facts to a better knowledge of how living things are built and how they act, such as may rightly take a place in general education, or may afford a basis for further studies in particular branches. "It is still an open question," they say, "whether the beginner should pursue the logical, but difficult course of working upward from the simple to the complex, or adopt the easier and more practical method of working downward from familiar higher forms. Every teacher of the subject knows how great are the practical difficulties besetting the novice, who, provided for the first time with a compound microscope, is confronted with yeast, protococcus, or amœba; and, on the other hand, how hard it is to sift out what is general and essential from the heterogeneous details of a mammal or flowering plant. In the hope of lessening the practical difficulties of the logical method, we venture to submit a course of preliminary study, which we have used for some time with our own classes, and have found practical and effective. Believing that biology should follow the example of physics and chemistry in discussing at the outset the fundamental properties of matter and energy, we have devoted the first four chapters to an elementary account of living matter and vital energy. In the six chapters which follow, these facts are applied to a fairly exhaustive study of a representative plant and animal, of considerable though not extreme complexity." The fern is selected as the plant, and the earth-worm as the animal. The last chapter comprises a brief account of the principles and outlines of classification as a guide in subsequent studies. From this the pupil may pass to other books, or to the second part of this one, which is to be published in the course of the following year.
The Menorah. A Monthly Magazine Edited by Benjamin F. Peixotto. Vol. I, No. 2. Pp. 48. Price, 25 cents; $2 a year.
"The Menorah" is the organ of the Order of the B'ne B'rith, which was established in 1843, to provide a bond of philanthropic and patriotic feeling among persons of the Hebrew race in the United States, and which has now more than four hundred lodges and nearly thirty thousand members. It contains a variety of literary articles, including a history of the order, to most of which a peculiar Jewish interest is attached; is divided into an English and a German part; and has departments devoted to Hebrew affairs at large, and to the order which ​it represents. We learn from it that the Maimonides Library contains 26,840 volumes, the annual circulation of which is 47,570 among 4,708 readers. Of the additions of the past year only twenty-eight per cent were fiction. The librarian, Mr. Max Cohen, is collecting for it a body of works on political and social science; and efforts are making to secure an educational collection, for which books on the methods of instruction and administration of schools in this country and Europe have been acquired.
The Philosophy of Education. By Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz. Translated from the German by Anna C. Brackett. Second edition, revised, with Commentary and Analysis. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 286. Price, $1.50,
This is the first volume of the "International Education Series," to be published by D. Appleton & Co., of which Dr. W. T. Harris is the editor. The original translation, which was made for the "Journal of Speculative Philosophy," was intended for the use of philosophical students, who in general admire precise technical terms. In preparing the present edition, the translation has been revised with a view better to adapt it to the needs of translators not skilled in philosophy. Where it has been thought necessary, phrases, or even entire sentences, have been used to convey the sense of a single word of the original; so that the editor is able to claim that no obscurity remains except such as is due to the philosophic depth and generality of the treatment, and that the translation is now more intelligible than the original. The peculiar merit of Rosenkranz's work is found in the fact that in it everything is brought to the test of the highest principle of philosophy; that one which is the acknowledged principle of Christian civilization, and which, as such, the author makes the foundation of his theory of education, while he demonstrates its validity by an appeal to psychology on the one hand, and to the history of civilization on the other; the principle of promoting the elevation of the human race. Among the points of great value, the author directs attention to the principle of self-estrangement as lying at the foundation of the philosophy of education, and as furnishing a key to many problems discussed by the educational reformers from Comenius to Herbert Spencer. The distinction of corrective and retributive punishment, the part of the work devoted to educational psychology, the methods of treating the three grades of capacity—the blockhead, the mediocre talent, and the genius—the care with which the subject of morality is treated, and the clearness with which the importance and functions of religious education are set forth, are particularly commended. An entire division of the book is taken up with a history of education, based on the philosophy of history. It is rather an outline of the history of human culture than a special history of schools or of pedagogics, and is recommended as highly valuable for teachers and parents, and for all who desire to see in a condensed form the essential outcome of human history.
Topographical Drawing and Sketching, including Applications of Photography. By Lieutenant Henry A. Reed, U. S. Army. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Pp. 129, with Twenty-four Plates. Price, $3.50.
The amount of literature which is devoted exclusively to the subject of topographical drawing and sketching, as distinguished from the actual field-practice, is very scarce. When the surveyor has completed the collecting of all the data which are necessary for the obtaining of an exact reproduction on paper of the area which has been surveyed, the question arises, Which are the best methods by which these data can be graphically reproduced in a map, so as to give the reader the best possible idea about the exact formation of the ground surveyed, whether it be a farm, a county, or a State? The progress made in topographical drawing has been very great, and although, of course, many conventional signs and colors have to be used, these are such that even unpracticed eyes may be able to read a map and to understand it in its minutest particulars.
Lieutenant Reed is Assistant Professor of Drawing at the West Point Military Academy. In his preface he states: "The writing of this book was first suggested by ​the fact that there was no native work which fully treated of and illustrated rapid methods of hill-shading, and it is now written not only to explain these and other methods now used, either separately or in conjunction with them, but also to present the subject of topographical sketching in a form suited to a beginner."
The book is divided into two chief parts, topographical drawing and topographical sketching. The first is the exact reproduction, while the second is a more ready and quick, although not so exact, reproduction of the ground. The twenty-four plates form a very complete collection of all the instruments used by the surveyor and the draughtsman; they are very valuable, and contain, besides examples of work, conventional signs, hill-shading as executed on maps in this country and abroad, conventional tints, and projections for maps of large areas. The first nineteen plates are devoted to drawing, while the other five illustrate the instruments and methods used in sketching. Although sketching is not so exact and accurate as topographical drawing, it is, nevertheless, in many cases desirable to have the sketches as accurate as it is possible to obtain them. All the resources of modern science are called to help to assist in obtaining this desired result. Among these, photography also plays a not unimportant part.
It would be difficult to say whether the text has been written to explain the plates, or whether these have been made in order to illustrate the text. The two are so necessary to each other that they could not be separated.
Lieutenant Reed's work can not fail to recommend itself both to the beginner and to the veteran topographer. Even those whose special study is not in this line, will find it interesting in more than one respect.
Fourteenth Report of the Commisioners of Fisheries of the State of New York. Albany: Weed, Parsons & Co. Pp. 209.
In accordance with the spirit of the legislative act under which the commission was instituted, hatching-stations have been established on the Hudson River for shad; at Caledonia, Livingston County, for the propagation, principally, of the trout kind—with a source of supply at Rochester for black bass, perch, pike, banded perch, and bull-head; at Cold Spring Harbor for anadromous fish, trout, and sea-fish; at Lake Brandon, Franklin County (Adirondack hatchery), for fish of the trout kind; and at Clayton, Jefferson County, for salmon, trout, white-fish, rainbow-trout, and perch-pike. The total production from 1870 to 1886, at the two stations in full operation (Caledonia and Cold Spring Harbor), was 102,549,624 of all kinds. The details of operations at the several stations, minutes of the proceedings of the Board of Commissioners, and the reports of game and fish protectors and protection societies, are given in the report.
The Age of Electricity. From Amber-Soul to Telephone. By Park Benjamin, Ph. D. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Price, $2.
The chief wonders of the modern world are the marvelous applications of electricity which have recently appeared in quick succession. To those who would have an intelligent knowledge of what has been done in this field, and would understand, in some measure, how it has been arrived at, this book is addressed. It is a book to be read rather than one to be studied, although, in a work describing any of the peculiar manifestations of electricity there must be passages which require the reader's close attention, unless he is content to pass them by. Not many pages are needed for sketching the electrical discoveries made before 1820, of which the most important were galvanism, and Franklin's demonstration that electricity and the lightning are identical. The author then takes up the chief topics of his subject singly, describing, in successive chapters, the galvanic battery, the electro-magnet, the dynamo-electric machine, the electric light, electro-motors for land, water, and aërial use, electro-deposition of metals, and the storage-battery, the telegraph, including multiple and autographic telegraphy, the telephone, and the induction-coil, closing with a chapter on applications of electricity to the arts of war, railroading, medicine, dentistry, music, domestic economy, etc. In the chapter on the telephone, are described the microphone and the phonograph; also the instrument ​which embodies the latest and most wonderful mode of transmitting messages—the photophone. The author has avoided technicalities, and has left out descriptions of complex instruments and operations which he deemed more likely to weary than to interest the reader. In dealing with the conflicting claims of rival inventors, he has endeavored to present the leading attainable facts without partisan bias. For the most part, historical data have been gathered from publications contemporary with the date of first production of the several discoveries and inventions, and, in many cases, from the original writings of the inventors and discoverers themselves. The text is illustrated with 143 figures, and the pages are freshened here and there by anecdotes and scientific poetry.
Elements of Geodesy. By J. Howard Gore, B. S. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Pp. 282.
Among the exact sciences geodesy is the one most specially devoted to ascertaining what are the exact form and dimensions of the earth. In the book under review no new theories are advanced, none of the questions requiring solution are discussed. The author, who is Professor of Mathematics in the Columbian University, has endeavored to give in a concise and readable manner all that the student ought to be acquainted with. As he himself states in his preface: "The advanced student and practiced observer will find nothing new in this work." And also: "It is hoped that the beginner will be enabled to get a clear insight into the subject, and feel grateful that the discoveries and writings of many have been so condensed or elaborated as to make the study of geodesy pleasant."
The first chapter, which is an historic sketch of geodetic operations, is interesting and full of facts tending to show what progress has been made from the earliest times, and how the desire to know the real dimensions of the earth has kept man busy in devising and perfecting the methods of measurement. The progress made is given step by step, and, as no intricate mathematical questions are mentioned, this chapter can be read with profit by even those who are absolutely profane in mathematical studies.
Other chapters treat of instruments and methods of observation; base-measurements; field-work; the theory of the least squares; the calculations of the triangulation; formulæ for the computation of geodetic latitudes, longitudes, and azimuths; calculation of the figure of the earth. The dimensions obtained by some observers are given, as follows; Equatorial radius: Bessel (1841), 6,337,397.2 metres; Clarke (1866), 6,378,206.4 metres; Coast Survey (1877), 6,378,054.3 metres; Clarke (1880), 6,378,248.5 metres. Length of the quadrant: Bessel (1841), 10,000,856 metres; Clarke (1866), 10,001,888 metres; Clarke (1880), 10,001,869 metres. Over twenty pages of formulas and factors are added at the close which will be useful for easy reference. Although this work is intended for students, practiced observers will find it a useful addition to their shelves.
History of the Land Question in the United States. By Shosuke Sato. Baltimore: N.Murray. Pp. 181. Price, $1.
This volume constitutes three numbers of the Johns Hopkins University" Studies in Historical and Political Science." It was undertaken by the author in pursuance of special instructions from the Japanese Government to investigate certain questions of agrarian and economic interest in the United States. In the introduction are considered the general questions relating to the origin and importance of the public domain and to the principles of land-tenure. The story of the formation of the public domain is then told, its acquisition being the result of cessions by the States, the purchases of Louisiana and the Floridas, Texas annexation and Texas cession, the Mexican cessions, and the purchase of Alaska. Under the heading of "The Administration of the Public Domain" are related the histories of the Ordinance of 1787 and of the General Land-Office. Finally, the "History and Present Condition of the Land System of the United States" are surveyed in detail.
The American Citizen's Manual. By Worthington C. Ford. Two volumes in one. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 331. $1.25.
The two books, or rather the two parts of the same book, here combined into one volume, have been before the public for ​everal years, and have been generally commended as carefully prepared and useful manuals of instruction in the rights and duties of citizenship. Their purpose is to answer the continually recurring question, What is the relation of the citizen of the United States to the governments under which he lives? The first step in giving the answer is to gain some knowledge of the machinery of government, its organization and manner of acting; together with the methods of choosing the agents of State action, and the more important points regarding official responsibility and the civil service. These subjects are treated of in the first part of the book, the original first volume. In the second part are considered the governmental duties of protection to life and property, the particular functions of the Federal and State governments, and questions of State finances.
History of the Appointing Power of the President. By Lucy M. Salmon. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 129. Price, $1.
This is one of the papers that were read at the meeting of the American Historical Association at Saratoga in September, 1885. It considers the subject of the appointing power of the President as presented in four periods: First, in the theoretical stage, 1787-1789, or the question in the Philadelphia Convention and the first Congress; second, in the period from 1789 to 1829, or, as exercised by statesmen, both Federalist and anti-Federalist; third, in the spoils period, 1829-1861, including President Jackson's interpretation of the Constitution and the results of that interpretation; and, fourth, in the reform period, including the culmination of the spoils system and the attempts to check the evil. In conclusion, though the last period has indeed been one of reform, though a practical civil-service bill has been passed, political assessments done away, and a temporary check given to the "courtesy of the Senate," yet after all it has been but an entering wedge. "The four years' limitation law is still on the statute-books; the Pendleton bill applies to only one seventh of our civil officers, and can be broken in spirit if not in letter; our consular service is still a refuge for those who desire to travel abroad at Government expense; foreign courts have rebuked our diplomatic system by refusing to accept representatives appointed for other reasons than that of fitness for place; 'offensive partisanship,' when other pretexts fail, can be made to cover a multitude of removals; in our State and local administrations scarcely an attempt at reform has been made. A fourth [fifth] period in the history of the appointing power is to come—a reformed period; when the chief Executive can boast like the great Premier that his sole patronage is the appointment of his private secretary; when every legislator can say, with a leading member of the House of Commons, that he is without power to influence in the smallest degree the appointment of a custom-house officer or an exciseman; when both Executive and Congress, freed from their duties of dispensing office, can turn their attention to more important questions of state; when our civil service will be in reality, and not in the idle jest of a politician, 'the best in the world.'"
First Steps in Scientific Knowledge. By Paul Bert. Translation by Madame Paul Bert. Revised and corrected by William H. Greene, D. D. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company. Pp. about 400. Price, 60 cents.
The author of this manual was one of the most eminent scientific men in France, and for some years filled the post of Minister of Public Instruction under the republic. If we recollect aright our reading of the French scientific journals of the time, he took particular delight in the preparation of the primers embodied in the volume, in simplifying science, and making it attractive to the children over whose educational interests he was engaged to watch. The "First Steps" are based on the principles of object-lessons. They are prepared so that they may be taught experimentally by skilled teachers, or with the aid of the objects themselves; or, if that is not convenient, abundant illustrations are furnished, through which the most important facts are exemplified by accurate pictures. The work is complete in seven parts, which are devoted respectively to animals, plants, stones and rocks, physics, chemistry, animal physiology, and vegetable physiology. The American editor has made only such changes and additions in Madame Bert's translation as ​were necessary to Americanize the book, and adapt it to the requirements of public and private schools, as well as to home instruction in this country.
Report upon the Third International Geographical Congress and Exhibition at Venice, Italy, 1881. By Captain George M, Wheeler. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 586, with Eleven Maps and Plates.
The report embraces an account of the proceedings of the Congress and a description of the Exhibition, in which the more important nations of the world showed the results of the best work that had been done in them in geography, topography, and cartography. More than this, it draws the lessons from those results of what may be of most benefit to the United States and to individual States. Of this character is the information it contains respecting the origin, functions, history, and progress of the several governmental topographic, hydrographic, and geologic surveys. The reports on Government land and marine surveys are full, and represent twenty-five countries. Under the head of works of reference are given copious bibliographies of English, French, German, Italian, Danish, and Spanish topographic surveys, Portuguese reports, and general geologic reports. The chapter on methods of reproduction (of maps), in which the various processes are described, is supplemented by plates giving specimens of the best maps executed in Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Saxony, Java, and France, illustrating as many methods of representation, each of which has its peculiar excellences. The author was a regularly appointed commissioner of the United States to the Congress and Exhibition, and had liberal facilities afforded him for collecting information. He hopes that what he has presented here may throw some light on the extent and object of the great land and water surveys of the world, and that it may form the basis of further researches in the direction outlined.
Sechrist's Hand-Book and Railway Equipment and Mileage Guide Monthly. S. P. Sechrist, Editor. Cleveland, Ohio: J. B. Savage. Pp. 190.
This publication is designed particularly for the use of operating railroad men. It contains tables of the passenger and freight equipment of all (American) railroads, giving numbers of cars, dimensions, capacity, etc.; works and equipment of all freight-lines and private car companies; official information showing to whom cartraces should be addressed, report of carservice made, and remittances for car-mileage sent; and other information of similar character; together with lists of railroad officers and offices, connections and junctions. It is the official guide of the Car-Accountants' Association of the United States and Canada.
Brachiopoda and Lamellibranchiata of the Raritan Clays and Greensand Marls of New Jersey. By Robert P. Whitfield. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 269, with Thirty-five Plates.
This monograph was prepared for the Geological Survey of New Jersey, and is published in the series of the "Geological Survey of the United States." While the district from which the fossils described come is a limited one, it is one which, according to Professor George H. Cook, drew the attention of paleontologists earlier, and has been studied longer, "so that it is classic and typical ground for all American geologists." The boundaries of the district and its general features are carefully defined and described by Professor Cook in a preliminary note and in an accompanying map. Professor Cook also commends the author's work in bringing the fossils together and in revising and collecting imperfect descriptions, and in making new and better drawings; while the new species he has been able to add give completeness to the subject. Heretofore, many of these fossils which were described were not figured, and the descriptions were scattered in so many different works that they were practically inaccessible to most persons. Professor Whitfield has aimed to include in his report all the species of the two orders of the greensand marls and clays hitherto described and published, as well as several now made known for the first time. "It will be noticed," he observes, "that very few of the species have been recognized from localities outside of the State. It is certainly peculiar that so many local species ​should have existed within the limits of New Jersey. This may, however, be attributed to certain causes which have existed over these areas during the deposition of these formations, and which would have produced a special fauna fitted for those conditions by eliminating from it all other forms not fitted to withstand them. Beyond this certain rapid or sudden changes seem to have taken place over nearly the entire coast of the State, at somewhat regular periods, which materially changed the conditions of life abruptly." The condition of preservation of the fossils, which are generally seen only as internal easts, also makes them hard to identify with perfect shells.
Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research. Vol. I, No. 2. Boston: Cupples, Upham & Co.
This association appears to be making progress. The present number of its proceedings contains an interesting address from the president. Professor Simon Newcomb, of Washington, D. C, which discusses the subject of thought-transference with acumen indeed, but with only negative results; a report on the number-habit as bearing on thought-transference; a report of the committees on hypnotism, on mediumistic phenomena, and on thought-transference, with an appendix containing some experiments in the last-named field; a paper on the existence of a magnetic sense; a research on the reality of Reichenbach's flames; a preliminary report of the committee on apparitions and haunted houses, and a schedule of directions for investigation as to the alleged facts respecting the same. The society is now getting into good working order, and ought soon to give us something tangible as the fruit of its labors.
Kedzie, R. C. Agricultural College of Michigan. Analysis of Commercial Fertilizers. Pp. 7.
Rigg, James. London. Catalogue of Apparatus for Technical Instruction, etc. Pp. 80.
Holden, Edward 8. Photography the Servant of Astronomy. Pp. 12.
J. & J. Cash. Coventry, England, and New York. Harvard Commemoration Badge, satin.
Martin H. Newell, and Brooks, W. K. Studies from the Biological Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University. Vol. III. No. 8. Baltimore: N. Murray. Pp.80, with Plates. $1 and $5 a volume.
Powter, N. B. Grand Caymans "Natural Phosphatic Guano." New York: Leaycraft & Co. Pp. 20.
James, Professor Joseph F., Oxford, O. Topography of Cincinnati. Pp 6.
Union for the Improvement of the Canals of the State of New York. Proceedings of the Second Annual Convention. Pp. 15.
Wilder, Burt G. The Collocation of a Suture and Fissure in the Human Fœtus. pp. 6. Human Cerebral Fissures, etc., pp. 4. The Paroccipital Fissure, pp. 4. Notes on the Brain, and other Papers, pp. (in all) 7.
Hunter, Osborne, Jr., Washington, D. C. Labor versus Capital, etc. Pp. 32.
Ashby, Thomas A., M. D. On Operating during the Same Anæsthetization for Lacerations of the Cervix Uteri and Ruptured Peritonæum. Baltimore: Medical Journal. Pp. 10.
Becker, George P. The Washoe Rocks. Pp. 28.
Massachusetts State Agricultural Experiment Station. October Bulletin. Pp. 12.
Griswold, W. M. The Continuous Index. October and November, 1886. Pp. 1. 25 cents a year.
Williams, Chauncey P. Gold, Silver, and the Coinage of the Silver Dollar. Albany; Weed, Parsons & Co. Pp. 26.
Shufeldt. R. W. On an Old Portrait of Audubon, etc. Pp. 4, with Plate.
Crothers, T. D., M. D., Hartford, Conn. Certain Hereditary and Psychical Phenomena in Inebriety. Pp. 15.
Cornell University. Proceedings in Memory of Louis Agassiz, and in Honor of Hiram Sibley. 1885. Pp. 88.
Newberry, J. S. Earthquakes. Pp. 19.
Martin, Lillie J. Outline for Study in Chemical Botany, pp. 3. Plan for Laboratory Work in Chemical Botany, pp. 3. Preliminary Analysis of the Leaves of Juglans Nigra, pp. 7.
Brinton, Daniel G., M. D. Ikonomatic Writing. Pp. 14.
Dawson, Sir J. William. The Geological History of the North Atlantic. Montreal: Gazette Company. Pp. 50.
Ranch, John H., M. D., of Illinois. Address in State Medicine. Pp. 28.
American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Transactions. 1886. Pp. 163.
State Board of Health of Illinois. Eighth Annual Report. Springfield, 111.: H. W. Rokker. Pp. 556. Medical Education and Medical Colleges in the United States and Canada. 1765-1886. Pp.172.
P. Blakiston, Son & co., Philadelphia. The Physician's Visiting List for 1887. Twenty-five patients weekly. $1.
Ives, Frederick E , Philadelphia. Isochromatic Photography with Chlorophyll. Pp. about 50, with Plates.
Peale, Albert C, M. D. Mineral Springs of the United States. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 225.
Raleigh, Thomas. Elementary Politics. London: Henry Frowde. Pp. 163. 25 cents.
Publishers' Weekly. Illustrated Christmas Number. 1886. Pp. about 200.
Mills, T. Wesley. Outlines of Lectures on Physiology. Montreal: W. Drysdale & Co. Pp. 200. $1.
Clifford, William Kingdon. Lectures and Essays. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. Pp. 441. $2.50.
Jukes-Browne. A.J. The Student's Hand-Book of Historical Geology. New York: Scribner & Welford. Pp. 597.
Colter, Buel P. An Elementary Course in Practical Zoölogy. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. Pp. 189. 85 cents.
​Mallock, W. H. The Old Order changes. New York: G. P. Putnams Sons. Pp. 513. $1.
Randall, Rev. D. A. Ham-Mishkan, the Wonderful Tent. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co. Pp. 420. $2.
Stephens, H. Morse. A History of the French Revolution. Vol. I. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 533. $2.50.
Tyrrell, Gerard G., M.D., Secretary, Sacramento, Cal. Ninth Biennial Report of the State Board of Health of California. Pp. 282.
Burnham, S. M. Precious Stones in Nature, Art, and Literature. Boston: Bradlee Whiddin. Pp. 400, with Plate. $3.50.
Stinde, Julius. The Buchholz Family. Translated by L. Dora Schmitz. New York; Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 262. $1.25.
Elliott, Henry W. Our Arctic Province, Alaska and the Seal Islands. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 465, with Plates and Maps. $4.50.
Moerlein, George. A Trip around the World. Cincinnati: M. & R. Burgheim. Pp. 205, with Colored Plates.