# Popular Science Monthly/Volume 19/May 1881/Literary Notices

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Studies from the Biological Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University. Parts I, II, and IV, and Scientific Results of the Chesapeake Zoölogical Laboratory, Session of 1878, forming Part III. Baltimore: John Murphy & Co. 1880. Price, per Part, $1.00.
We can not too heartily congratulate Johns Hopkins University in being able to publish a work of such great value as the one before us. Its fame abroad will rest almost solely on these careful memoirs, which have doubtless found their way into the scientific libraries of the Old World, and in return for which the university must have gained many additions to its own shelves. Through the liberal recognition of the value of scientific work, the trustees of the university can lay claim to a publication having already reached four parts, numbering over five hundred pages, and illustrated by forty admirable plates.
The first part contains an elaborate paper on "The Normal Respiratory Movements of the Frog, and the Influence upon its Respiratory Center of Stimulation of the Optic Lobes," by Dr. H. Newell Martin, Professor of Biology in the University. Among the many contradictory accounts in regard to the mechanism of this process, Professor Martin says that the first detailed description by Townson in 1794 is essentially correct in all respects. After giving the conclusions of various authors, he details his own experiments, illustrated by diagrams. These consisted in carefully removing the central lobes and optic thalami, and, after observing the diagram made by the animal's respiratory movements, he stimulated the anterior cut ends of the optic lobes by a crystal of salt, and carefully noted the results. He found that irritation of the optic lobes diminished the irritability of the inspiratory center, and increased that of the expiratory center. In conclusion he points out that the results of chemical stimulation of the corpora quadrigemina in the mammal, as described by Ferrier, "correspond with the results of chemical stimulation of corresponding parts in the frog."
The next memoir, by Henry Sewell, B. Sc., is on "The Development and Regeneration of the Gastric Glandular Epithelium during Fœtal Life and after Birth." A prolonged study of the different cells in the glands of the adult stomach having failed to give the author such insight into their various functions as he desired, recourse was had to the stomachs of embryos; his material consisting mostly of embryo cats and dogs. He shows in summing up that "the stomach-glands are formed by ridge-like outgrowths from the surface of the mucous membrane. The hypoblastic cells, at first in a single layer, become several ​layers thick before the formation of the ridges, and become single again over these. . . . By the intersection of the ridges, pits are left, which are the gland-pouches." The "ovoid" cells are first specalized and later the central cells, the latter alone being concerned in the formation of pepsin.
The third article is by Professor Martin and Dr. W. D. Booker. Its subject is "The Influence of Stimulation of the Mid-Brain upon the Respiratory Rhythm of the Mammal." Having found that chemical stimulation of the mid-brain of the frog caused accelerated or tetanic inspiratory and impeded expiratory movements, experiments were made on rabbits to see if the same phenomena were exhibited by mammals. By an ingenious arrangement the animal was made to breathe into a jar, the aperture of which was covered by an elastic membrane, and through a connecting lever was made to record, on a revolving cylinder, all the respiratory movements. The stimulus applied was by means of electrodes, connected with a secondary coil of a Du Bois induction apparatus. The current from a single carbon-bichromate cell was sent through the primary coil.
Reference must be made to this memoir for further details regarding the experimental methods employed. The general results are summed up as follows: "There lies deep in the mid-brain of the rabbit, beneath the posterior corpora quadrigemina and close to the iter, a respiration regulating center, similar to that in the corpora bigemina of the frog: electrical stimulation of this center causes accelerated inspirations finally passing into tetanic fixation of the chest in an inspiratory condition, and correspondingly diminishes or altogether inhibits expiration."
The paper of Dr. I. Edmondson Atkinson, on the botanical relations of Tricophyton tonsurans, details some very careful experiments in cell-culture made in order to determine whether excessive polymorphism existed among these lower fungi.
Dr. W. K. Brooks closes Part I with a memoir entitled "Preliminary Observations upon the Development of the Marine Prosobranchiate Gasteropods." For material the author studied two common marine snails from the first segmentation of the egg to a stage when it emerges with its full class characters. Among other things he shows that, while there is no stage that can be considered as a specialized gastrula, there are presented at different periods of its development all the phases in the formation of a gastrula; and also that, while the gastrula stage has disappeared, the gastrula form persists.
Part II commences with a memoir by Professor Martin and Edward M. Hartwell, on the respiratory function of the internal intercostal muscles. The authors show how conflicting are the opinions regarding the particular mechanical work done by these muscles; and how impracticable it is to decide by a simple mechanical study as to whether these muscles are rib-elevators or rib-depressors. Dogs and cats were used in their experiments, which show that the muscles in question are expiratory in their function throughout their whole extent.
The next paper, by Isaac Ott, M. D., entitled "Observations on the Physiology of the Spinal Cord," is an account of the author's investigations of the secretory functions, vaso-dilator centers, rhythmical functions, genito-urinary functions, and path of secretory and inhibitory fibers of the cord.
On the "Effect of Two Succeeding Stimuli upon Muscular Contraction," by Henry Sewell, Esq., is a paper which affords an excellent example of how minute and exact experiments should be conducted. Among other interesting facts it is shown that a "given maximal stimulus stirs up the untired muscle to a more powerful contraction when it has been preceded by the excitement ordinarily producing contraction."
In the "So-called Heat Dyspnœa," by Christian Sihler, M. D., is an attempt to get at the causes of the increased respirations in a dog, when it is subjected to a temperature warmer than its own body. Finding previous experiments inconclusive, the author not only repeats those of Goldstein, but details a number of new ones. His conclusions are: 1. That Goldstein's experiment with the tube is inconclusive; 2. The increased respiration following exposure of the animal is due to two causes, skin stimulation and warmed blood; 3. Of these, skin stimulation is the more powerful; 4. Apnœa can be produced in heated animals, ​if skin stimuli be cut off; 5. The direct action on the respiratory centers of the hotter blood of the heated animal is probably not, or not only, due to its temperature but to its greater venosity.
Dr. W. K. Brooks has an exhaustive paper entitled "Observations upon the Early Stages in the Development of the Fresh-Water Pulmonates," in which he discusses the works of Lankester, Fol, Rabl, Jhering, and others. The plates accompanying his paper are models of clearness.
S. F. Clarke follows with an interesting illustrated paper on "The Development of Amblystoma," which closes the number.
Part III, devoted to the work of the Chesapeake Zoölogical Laboratory during the session of 1878, begins with an account by Professor W. K. Brooks of the organization of the school, its location at Fort Wool, and the methods of study adopted. This is followed by lists of the plants and animals observed at Fort Wool—the former by Mr. N. B. Webster and the latter by Mr. P. R. Uhler. The next paper, by Dr. Brooks, is on the development of Lingula and the systematic position of the Brachiopoda. He succeeded in getting the free-swimming larva of Lingula at a stage similar to the one described by Professor McCready many years ago, and carried it through to the early stage of the adult form. It is useless to attempt to do justice to this valuable contribution without the plates which accompany it.
The other papers in this part are "On the Larval Stage of Squilla," by Dr. Brooks, and the "Description of Lucifer Typus," by Walter Faxon.
Part IV contains a paper of great scientific and economic value, on the development of the oyster, by Dr. Brooks. German and French authorities had stated that eggs of the oyster were fertilized within the body of the parent, and were carried by them until they had reached an advanced stage of development, when, provided with shells of their own, they were discharged, and swam freely in the water until they became attached. Misled by these statements, Dr. Brooks had failed the season before in securing any results. On the 15th of May he commenced operations by opening oysters every day throughout the breeding-season. His success in artificially fecundating the egg was remarkable. Millions of eggs were fecundated with but little trouble. He traced their developmental history from the segmentation of the egg to those stages already described by European naturalists. He found the female oyster in various conditions: some in which the ovaries were largely distended, and the eggs fairly oozing from the oviducts; others in which the ovaries were half filled, and others still wherein the ovaries were quite empty, and in no case did he find a single fertilized egg in the ovary. Dr. Brooks emphatically says that, so far as the oyster of Chesapeake Bay is concerned, "the eggs are fertilized outside the body of the parent, and that, during the period which the young European oyster passes inside the mantle cavity of its parent, the young of our oyster swims at large in the open ocean." A very clear description is given of the anatomy of the oyster, as well as some practical points in regard to their artificial fecundation. A careful estimate shows that an average sized female oyster contains about nine million eggs; an unusually large oyster may contain as many as sixty million eggs.
Dr. Brooks's investigations have a very practical bearing on the question as to the final exhaustion of the natural oyster-beds on our coast by unlimited dredging.
One would naturally think that with such remarkable fecundity the question of extermination need be hardly entertained, but the eggs after fertilization, if left unprotected, meet at every moment of their existence enemies who devour them, and, when at a later stage they rise on the water and form a film on the surface, fishes devour them by millions. Dr. Brooks has shown that if the egg is not immediately fertilized it soon perishes, and of course in its natural home the chances of its fertilization are infinitely less than in the artificial method actually tried.
In a recent paper by Dr. Mobius a long table is given showing the number of oysters taken yearly from the Bay of Cancale, on the coast of Norway, during the last hundred years. Dr. Brooks reproduces this table, to show that unlimited dredging has greatly reduced the production.
Without detailing the process here, Dr. ​Mobius estimates that each oyster born has 11145000 of a chance of reaching maturity. In the case of the American oyster, the number of eggs being very much greater, each one's chance of survival is very much less.
He shows, too, how extremely circumscribed are the beds upon which the oyster thrives, and that it is a mistake to suppose that the oysters are promiscuously scattered on the shores of the bay. They can only flourish on certain grounds, though the young are widely scattered through these waters, as the partial development of individuals everywhere attests. This Part closes with another article by the same author, on "The Acquisition and Loss of a Food-Yolk in Molluscan Eggs."
Incomplete as our account of these papers must necessarily be, enough has been said to show that they are the records of a large amount of original thoroughgoing scientific research, the results of which will become increasingly valuable as they are more generally known. But of the manner in which these records have been brought together we can not speak so favorably. Several of the memoirs were first published elsewhere, and in their collection the original paging and numbering of the plates have been allowed to stand. The lack of uniformity thus caused is very confusing, and, as the high character of the work will make it widely sought for purposes of reference, much future trouble may be expected from this defect in its make-up.
The Irish Land Question. By Henry George. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1881. Pp. 85. Price, 25 cents.
In this essay Mr. George applies to the Irish land question the doctrine maintained in his now well-known work "Progress and Poverty," and appeals to the Land Leagues to openly espouse the reform he advocates. He insists that there is nothing special in Irish distress; that it is not due to English oppression, but that it is the direct result of a land system that prevails in every civilized country. He points out that so far from Irish land tenure being worse than that of other countries, it is even more favorable to the tenant, and that, as a matter of fact, the land of Ireland is under-rented. He argues forcibly against the various schemes for a greater subdivision of the land, showing that these can benefit the tenant but to a limited extent, while to agricultural laborers and artisans they can bring no relief whatever. He therefore urges the reform he advocates, as a final solution, not only of the land question in Ireland, but in every other country, and feels confident that, if the Irish trouble could be adjusted on this basis, the extension of the system to other countries would be but a matter of time. At the very outset of any proposal for the state to resume the ownership of the land, the question of compensation to landholders must be met. In his previous work Mr. George has argued that the landholders ought to receive no compensation, an opinion for which he has been somewhat sharply criticised. In the present essay he again takes up the question and argues it at greater length. He denies that the case is one to which the statute of limitation can be made to apply, and claims that the landholder is not deprived of what is rightfully his, but simply estopped from further enjoying the fruits of the labor of others.
The remainder of the essay is devoted to an insistence upon the importance of the right solution of the land question and the benefits that would follow the one the author proposes.
Medical Hints on the Production and Management of the Singing Voice. By Lennox Browne, F. R. C. S., Edinburgh. Eighth edition, revised, enlarged, and illustrated. New York: M. L. Holbrook & Co. Paper. Pp. 77. Price, 25 cents.
This essay, which was first given in the form of a paper before a Musical Association, is intended to furnish the information most necessary and desirable for singers to possess, in a practical, untechnical shape. It considers—1. The laws of musical sound bearing on the question discussed; 2. The organs of the human voice regarded as parts of a musical instrument, and their various functions as such; 3. The management of those parts under control of the vocalist which may perfect the voice; 4. The defects occasioned by mismanagement; and, 5. Directions on the hygiene and medical and dietetic management of the voice. The last topic is treated in full.
Report of the Commissioner of Education for 1878. Washington: Government Printing-Office. 1880. Pp. 730.
The office of the Commissioner of Education is a peculiar one. It has no authority, but depends wholly upon voluntary assistance for the collection of the information which it undertakes to digest and diffuse, and its recommendations, if it makes any, can pass only for what they are intrinsically worth. Its function, as the Commissioner well remarks, is that of "'a national clearing-house' of educational information, where what has been done is carefully recorded, and that which indicates the good or bad may be selected." That its work is more appreciated every year is shown by the steadily increasing number of its correspondents at home, who numbered 7,135 in 1878, and the extension of its connections abroad. The present volume contains full information, with all the details, on the condition of public and private education in the United States, arranged by States, and according to the grade and character of the institutions, and one of the most satisfactory accounts of the condition of education in foreign countries that the Commissioner has yet been able to present.
Photometric Researches. By William H. Pickering. Extracted from the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Cambridge, Massachusetts: University Press. 1881.
Very little is known with accuracy of any terrestrial high temperature, while estimations of that of the sun vary between the extreme limits of several million and two thousand degrees. In the researches to which this paper is devoted, Professor Pickering has endeavored to determine some of these temperatures by means of the amount of violet rays given off, these being the rays most abundant at the highest temperature. The exact relation between these factors is unknown, but, by assuming one which his experiments led him to regard as probable, Professor Pickering has been able to make out a table which does not differ widely from the most reliable determinations heretofore made. The lights of a candle, gas–flame, lime, magnesium, the electric arc, moonlight, and sunlight were each examined by means of a spectroscope and photometer, and the relative brilliancy of the red, yellow, green, and violet rays determined. The standard used was an Argand gas-flame with a small screen interposed, so that the light yielded was just ·67 candle-power, and a candle was found to be wholly unsatisfactory for the purpose. The relative intensities of these portions of the spectrum were in each of the lights as follows, that of the yellow rays being taken at 100: Candle, 73, 100, 104, 134; gas, 74, 100, 103, 125; lime, 59, 100, 113, 285; magnesium, 50, 100, 223, 1,129; electric light, 61, 100, 121, 735; moonlight, 87, 100, 155, 363; sunlight, 45, 100, 250, 2,971. The great preponderance of the violet rays in burning magnesium over those of any other artificial light clearly indicates a higher temperature, while by the same test that of the sun is much greater. The temperatures for all the lights measured are: Candle and gas, 1,200° C.; lime, 2,000° C., about that of melted platinum; electric arc, 3,500° C.; magnesium, 4,900° C.; sun, 22,000° C. This method of obtaining temperatures gives promise of being of great value, for, as pointed out by Professor Pickering, if the relation between increase of temperature and increase of violet rays were accurately determined, we could very readily determine the temperature of the heavenly bodies.
Studies of the Food of Birds, Insects, and Fishes, made at the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History. Normal, Ill. Paper. Pp. 160.
The State Legislature of Illinois recently authorized an investigation of the food of the birds of the State, with especial reference to agriculture and horticulture, and a similar investigation of the food of fishes, with especial reference to fish-culture. The papers in this collection are the first results of the work. As the investigation proceeded it was found that, to be full, it must include a consideration of parts of the general subject of the reactions between groups of organisms and their surroundings, organic and inorganic. With this view the special papers are preceded by a more general one on "Some Interactions of Organisms." Papers are also given on "Insectivorous Coleoptera," and on "The Food of Predaceous Beetles."
United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Part VI. Report of the Commissioner for 1878. A. Inquiry into the Decrease of Food-Fishes. B. The Propagation of Food-Fishes in the Waters of the United States. Washington: Government Printing-Office. 1880. Pp. 988.
The present report brings down the history of the work of the commission to the end of 1878, and a part of it, especially that connected with the propagation of salmon, to the date of the actual planting and disposition of the young fish in 1879. The scale of operations was increased during the year, in correspondence with the increased appropriations made by Congress, without bringing any material addition to the expense of the management. The history of the operations includes the record of the progress of the planting of different varieties of salmon, of which we may mention the planting of California salmon in the Southern rivers, and of the measures to promote the increase of the white-fish, shad, herring, carp, and cod. The attempt to introduce the sole met with a second failure. An experiment in the artificial propagation of the sponge of commerce, by planting cuttings of live sponges, was successful, and gave much encouragement. The supplemental papers are of great interest, and constitute of themselves a respectable library of ichthyological literature. They embrace numerous articles, by American, Scandinavian, and German writers, on subjects connected with fishery expositions, the sea–fisheries, deep-sea research, the natural history of marine animals, and essays general, special, and practical, on the propagation of the different kinds of food-fishes.
Natural Theology. By John Bascom. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1880. Pp. 302. Price, $1.50.
Dr. Bascom, who is widely and favorably known as one of the strongest thinkers within theological lines, has here recast the theistic argument, and has endeavored to present it in a form which shall meet the changed conditions and enlarged knowledge of to-day. The argument is conducted in excellent temper, and is in many respects a strong and able presentation of what the intuitive philosophy has to offer upon this fundamental question. His attitude toward current scientific doctrine and the spirit in which he approaches his work are indicated in the following quotation from the preface: "The opposition has changed front, and so renders a corresponding change necessary on the part of the defense. This shifting of the conflict has attended on a great increase of knowledge, and new views of the methods of development in the physical world. We wish to recognize most fully the value of these attainments, and to see clearly their relation to theism. We are quite prepared to accept evolution—the present intellectual solvent of physical problems—in all the facts it offers, while we are still at liberty to give those facts the interpretation which is most in keeping with the two kingdoms, physical and spiritual, which make up the universe in its outer form and inner force. It is exactly here that we hope to add something to the work of our predecessors—1. In a more complete recognition of all the results of scientific inquiry; and, 2. In pointing out the relation of these facts to an intellectual exposition of the universe." Dr. Bascom, in his discussion of the nature of the Deity, reaches the conclusion that a sufficient, positive, and consistent idea of his nature is obtainable; and he then, after stating the kind of proof necessary, carries his search for it through the organic world and into the "rational kingdom," closing his argument with a consideration of the goodness of God and the bearing the evidence of this has upon his existence. The concluding chapter of the work is devoted to a discussion of immortality, its relation to natural theology, and the proofs of it from the constitution of man, and the character of the Deity.
Drainage for Health; or, Easy Lessons in Sanitary Science. By Joseph Wilson, M. D., Medical Director, United States Navy. Philadelphia: Presley Blakiston. 1881. Pp. 68. Price, $1.
The author attempts, in this work, to present the subject, briefly and correctly, so far as he goes, in simple style and language, and in so familiar a manner as to make easy reading. He first discusses the subject of land-drainage on farms and in country districts; next the drainage of cities and townhouses, closets, and plumbing.
The Care and Culture of Children. A Practical Treatise for the Use of Parents. By Thomas S. Sozinskey, M. D., Ph. D., author of the "Culture of Beauty," etc. Philadelphia: H. C. Watts & Co. 1880. Pp. 484. Price, $2.50.
The author's object in this work is to give such information and advice as will enable parents to perform intelligently their duty to their children in matters of physical and mental training, in health and sickness. The first part relates to the care of children, and includes chapters on the conditions of health, diet, clothing, cleanliness, exercise, etc., the prevention of disease, and treatment in sickness of whatever character. In the second part, physical and intellectual culture is discussed, with faithful attention to details and an evident desire to cover the whole subject. The style is in many places brief and pointed, in others diffuse.
Baldwin Locomotive Works. Illustrated Catalogue. Second edition. Philadelpia: J. B. Lippincott. 1881. Pp. 152. Price, $5.
This, while being a very elegant trade catalogue, is also something more, by reason of the summary of the progress of locomotive construction in this country which it contains. The account is in the form of a history of the works, but, as Mr. Baldwin was one of the first and most successful locomotive-builders, the history of his efforts is largely that of the continuous improvements which have transformed the locomotive of 1830 into that of to-day. In the catalogue proper the various types of locomotives now made at the works are illustrated by photographs and scale drawings.
"Change" as a Mental Restorative. By Joseph Mortimer-Granville. London: David Bogue. 1880. Pp. 32.
Change—of place, surroundings, or occupation—is, the author believes, too often prescribed without sufficient discrimination, so that sometimes the patient's situation is not improved, or may even be made worse, by the new exercise or in the new place. The present essay is a study of the manner in which change may operate beneficially, of the kind of change that is good, and of the principles by which the prescription of it should be guided.
Pueblo Pottery. By F. W. Putnam. From the "American Art Review" for February, 1881. Pp. 4, with colored Plate.
In this paper are described a number of specimens of pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico, with peculiar decorations, some of which provoke comparisons with the ornamentation of the Cyprian potteries. The largest vessel, from Zuñi, is marked with considerable taste, and displays striking figures of deer in black, and a conventionalized shrub in red. A water-bottle from San Ildefonso is rudely fashioned in the shape of a bird, and is decorated, like some of the Cyprian pottery, with figures of birds painted in black upon a white ground. A third vessel shows a more common ornamentation of Pueblo pottery. A comparison of modern specimens with ancient shows that the art has deteriorated. The ornamentation in both kinds is confined to figures expressed in color. No specimen of incised work is known. The representation of natural forms appears to be of modern introduction.
Adam Smith. By J. A. Farrer. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1881. Pp. 201. Price, $1.25.
This is the opening volume of a series to be devoted to an exposition of the chief contributions made to philosophy by English thinkers. In explanation of the purpose of the project, the editor. Professor Iwan Müller, says in the preface: "We seek to lay before the reader what each English philosopher thought and wrote about the problems with which he dealt. . . . Criticism will be suggested rather than indulged in, and these volumes will be expositions rather than reviews. . . . It is hoped that the series, when complete, will supply a comprehensive history of English philosophy." Professor H. Sidgwick will contribute a volume under the title of "Introduction to the Study of Philosophy," and arrangements have already been made for the early appearance of volumes upon Bacon, Berkeley, Hamilton, J. S. Mill, Mansel, Bentham, Austin, Shaftesbury and Hutcheson, Hobbes, Hartley and James Mill. These will be followed by others upon Locke, Hume, Paley, Reid, and later philosophic writers. The design of the series is excellent, and, if all the contributors do their work as well ​as Mr. Farrer has done his, it will be a valuable one. The present volume is devoted to an exposition of the "Theory of the Moral Sentiments," in which the great economist endeavors to find for morals a secure foundation in the sympathetic nature of man. The work was in its time a notable one, and remains one of the most valuable contributions of English thought to the subject. Mr. Farrer writes clearly and appreciatively, and has invested his subject with an interest that will make the book attractive to a large number of readers. The exposition closes with an examination of some of the objections urged by writers at the time of the publication of the "Theory," and is preceded by a brief biographical sketch of Smith.
The Devonian Insects of New Brunswick. By Samuel H. Scudder. Boston: Boston Society of Natural History. 1880. Pp. 41, with Plate.
Careful descriptions are given in this essay of six specimens of broken wings which were discovered in 1862 by Professor C. F. Hartt, in the Devonian shales of Carleton, near St. John, New Brunswick, and are now preserved in the museums of the Natural History Society of St. John and of the Boston Society of Natural History. The descriptions and the author's conclusions are supplemented by a review of the character and age of the formation in which the remains were found, by Principal Dawson, in which the evidence that it is Devonian is carefully collated. The wings are all of Neuroptera, and of species to which are ascribed special relations with the modern May-flies. From his detailed examinations, Mr. Scudder reaches the conclusion that nothing appears to interfere with the view he has formerly expressed, that the general type of wing-structure has remained unaltered from the earliest times; that the fossils are nearly all of synthetic types of a comparatively narrow range, being about equally divided in structural features between Neuroptera proper and pseudo-Neuroptera; that they bear marks of affinity to the Carboniferous Palæodictyoptera, while they are often of more complicated structure than most of them, but with this exception bear little special relation to Carboniferous forms; that they were of great size, had membranous wings, and were probably aquatic in early life; that some of them were plainly precursors of existing forms, while others seem to have left no trace; that they show a remarkable variety of structure, indicating an abundance of insect-life at that epoch; that they differ remarkably from all other known types, ancient or modern, and some of them appear to be even more complicated than their nearest living allies; that we appear to be, so far as either greater unity or simplicity of structure is concerned, no nearer the beginning of things in the Devonian epoch than in the Carboniferous; and that "while there are some forms which, to some degree, bear out expectations based on the general derivative hypothesis of structural development, there are quite as many which are altogether unexpected, and can not be explained on that theory, without involving suppositions for which no facts can at present be adduced." We observe that some of the views of the author are questioned by other naturalists.
Orange Insects: A Treatise on the Injurious and Beneficial Insects found on the Orange-Trees of Florida. By William H. Ashmead. Jacksonville, Florida: Ashmead Brothers. Paper. Pp. 78.
The author has been engaged in special studies of the insects of the orange since 1876, and publishes this volume in answer to numerous inquiries for information respecting them from cultivators. He gives systematic descriptions of numerous species, with illustrations of the most of them, and notes on the character of their relations—whether beneficial or injurious—to the trees.
Circulars of Information of the Bureau of Education: No. 4, Rural School Architecture. With Illustrations. Pp. 106. No. 5, English Rural Schools. Pp. 26. Washington: Government Printing-Office. 1880.
The former work has been prepared by Mr. T. M. Clark, an architect of Boston, with the design of giving principles and directions suggestive of the plans best to be adopted under a variety of circumstances rather than of laying down rules to be inconsiderately followed. It is intended to cover the whole subject of school architecture, with especial attention to the proper ​heating and efficient ventilation of the buildings. It begins with the consideration of the site and the digging of the well, and closes with the elevations and finishings of the schoolhouses. An article on log schoolhouses is added. Circular No. 5 is a statement of the working of the English education act of 1870 in districts outside of cities, prepared for the department, by Mr. Henry W. Hulbert.
Electric Lighting by Incandescence. By W. E. Sawyer. New York: D. Van Nostrand. 1881. Pp. 189. Price, $2.50.
In these chapters Mr. Sawyer has given a résumé of the present condition of electric lighting by incandescence, describing the chief apparatus that has been so far devised. He begins his exposition with a consideration of the various electric generators, as these necessarily are at the foundation of any system of electric lighting. Of these the two important classes are those of the Gramme type, in which he includes those of Maxim and Brush; and those of the new Siemens type, in which he places his own and Edison's. The Wilde, De Meritens, and Lontin machines are also described, the first being characterized as the "germ of a perfect generator," in that in it the intensity of the magnetic field is uninfluenced by the resistance of the external circuit, and a larger part of the entire current can therefore be used than in accumulative machines. The review of incandescent lamps includes those of Starr and King, Lodyguine, Konn and Kosloff, Bouliguine, Fontaine, Farmer, Sawyer, Edison, and Maxim, in which the carbon is protected from the atmosphere, and those of Reynier and Werdermann, in which it burns in the air. Of the former, only the last three are regarded as practicable lamps, and of these the Maxim is considered as, in all essential particulars, a duplication of that of Edison. With regard to the duration of the carbon, Mr. Sawyer holds that the hope of making it permanent is chimerical, as no material will stand the strain to which an incandescent conductor is subjected, and that the part of wisdom, therefore, is to provide for its renewal. In treating of the division of the current, four systems are considered—the series, the multiple, the multiple-series, and the series-multiple system. In the first, the lamps are strung one after the other upon one wire; in the second, each lamp is hung on a branch between two parallel wires; in the third, several lamps are placed upon a branch; and, in the last, groups or bunches of lamps are strung upon one wire. For a large number of lamps, Mr. Sawyer considers the first arrangement impracticable, and the last, which he has adopted, the most desirable. Regarding the cost of incandescent lighting, the conclusion is reached that it is not more than one seventh of that of gas for equal light, while the cost of plant, repairs, etc., will be much less. As to the future of incandescent lighting, and its relations to other forms of illumination, Mr. Sawyer expresses himself as follows: "The application of electricity to public and private illumination is a realization of the near future no longer to be questioned. It is not probable, however, that electricity will ever entirely supersede gas; indeed, it does not appear that illuminating gas has materially affected the consumption of illuminating oils. There is room, and will doubtless continue to be room, for all methods of artificial lighting, and it is not likely that, for many years to come, we shall witness anything more than the extensive use of electricity—public buildings and private residences, streets, and squares better illuminated than at present, and the new form of light keeping pace with the progress of older and well-tried institutions."
The Cause or Color among Races and the Evolution of Physical Beauty. By William Sharpe, D. D. New edition, revised and enlarged. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1881. Pp. 36. Price, 75 cents.
The author's views are partly based on observations made among the different races of India. Ho supposes that lighter-colored peoples are developed from darker colored ones by a process of evolution which corresponds with the advance of civilization, and is promoted by the increasing habit of wearing clothing. The qualities which give a dark color to the skin are those which are necessary to preserve it against the inclemency of the elements. As clothing becomes more general, fuller, and more regularly worn, they become less important for protection, and are finally nearly obliterated.
The Boy Engineers: What they did and how they did it. A Book for Boys. By Reverend J. Lukin. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 344. Price, $1.75.
This useful book is another result of the author's intelligent interest in the mechanical education of boys. He has contributed various volumes to this object, dealing with the subject in different ways, but all aiming at a practical familiarity with mechanical operations, and successfully to combine working and thinking. The "Boy Engineers" begins with the construction of a plain and simple workshop which a couple of boys extemporize, and then it follows them through a course of self-culture in mechanics. They first get up a grindstone for their purposes and learn to sharpen tools. Then they make a lathe and go on with the preparation of various workshop appliances. A wooden clock was next constructed, and then they proceeded to make an organ. Carpentry and the problem of house-construction were next attacked, and after that they devoted themselves to all sorts of mechanical contrivances and operations such as might constitute a fitting preparation for the thorough study of engineering. The book is well adapted to interest enterprising boys, and is full of information that will be useful to many grown men.
American Sanitary Engineering. By Edward S. Philbrick, C. E. New York: "The Sanitary Engineer." 1881. Pp. 129.
In the dozen lectures comprising this volume Mr. Philbrick has made a very excellent statement of the main conditions to be observed in sanitary construction, and presented the chief considerations which show the need and importance of such work. In his introductory lecture he points out the great progress that has been made toward a higher standard of cleanliness, and the need of a continuance in the same direction to meet the conditions of modern life. The first of bis two lectures upon ventilation he devotes to a very full statement of the conditions which affect the purity of the air, the vitiation of it produced by respiration, lights and fires, the proper amounts of watery vapor for different temperatures, the influence of the materials of walls in allowing an air circulation, and the position of the rooms with regard to exposure to the external air, the results of the most trustworthy experiments being given on these points. In the second lecture on this subject the various ways of moving air are considered; and in this connection the different methods of heating are treated, their several advantages as determined by experience being indicated. In speaking of gaslight he points out what has been frequently pointed out before, but has been very little heeded, that, by the simple device of placing a duct above a chandelier, air vitiation by gas can be entirely obviated. This construction also secures excellent ventilation. The chapters upon drainage and sewage include a consideration of the different systems of sewage disposal, the proper construction of sewers, the means of ventilating them, and brief descriptions of closets, traps, and the various appliances connected with the water-carriage system, which the author regards as the only practicable system for cities. The subject throughout is considered with reference to American climatic conditions.
The Food of Fishes. By S. A. Forbes. Bulletins of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, November, 1880. Pp. 62.
The author assumes that, by reason of its isolation from the land and from other water systems, a far more complete and independent equilibrium of organic life and activity is found in a single body of water than in any equal body of land. Hence each form of life must be studied with reference to its relation to other forms and to its whole environment, of which its food relations are one of the most important features. A number of definite general correspondences between structure and food are indicated by the study of certain structural conditions about the mouth, throat, and gills of fish, of which it is hoped a full enough knowledge may be reached to enable the character of the food of an unknown species to be determined by a mere inspection of the fish itself. The present paper is a contribution to the study in these relations of the Acanthopteri.
Extracts from Chordal's Letters. New York: "American Machinist" Publishing Co. Pp. 320. Price, $1.50.
This is a collection of letters contributed during the past two years to the "American Machinist," and published under the above title. They treat of all sorts of topics connected with the work and management of a machine-shop in a bright, attractive style, and are very interesting reading to others than machinists. To the young mechanic the book is of especial value for its constant insistence upon the necessity of good work if a man would rise, and its scorn of the careless and shiftless workman. The author does not stop to moralize, but this thesis is presented at every turn in the many examples and illustrations of shop-work given, and in a way to enable the dullest reader to see its bearing.
Tide-Tables for the Atlantic Coast of the United States for the Year 1881. The same for the Pacific Coast. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 129 and 65. Price, 25 cents each.
The tables give for every day of the year the approximate predicted times and heights of the tides at the principal ports on either coast, including fifteen ports on the Atlantic and four ports on the Pacific coast. For intermediate ports, tables of tidal constants are appended, from which the times and heights of the tides may be computed for those places by applying the corrections which are designated to the figures assigned to the principal ports with which they are grouped.
Report on the Marine Isopoda of New England and Adjacent Waters. By Oscar Harger. (From the Report of the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, 1878.) Paper, pp. 168.
The report includes descriptions of the species of Isopoda which are at present known to inhabit the coast of New England and the adjacent regions, as far as New Jersey on the south and Nova Scotia on the north. Besides the special labors of the Fish Commission, the collections of Professors Verrill and Smith, of Yale College, and others, have been used as aids in the study. The descriptions are full, and nearly all the species are figured in more or less of detail. The family, named from all the legs being thoracic and generally similar, is represented on land by the common "sow-bugs," "hill-bugs," and wood-lice.
A Syllabus of Anglo-Saxon Literature. By J. M. Hart. Adapted from Bernhard Ten Brink's "Geschichte der englischen Litteratur." Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co. 1881. Pp. 69.
This work furnishes a history and analysis of Anglo-Saxon literature in its whole field and in the view of its various relations, with commentaries calling attention to its leading characteristics, and pointing out the peculiarities of particular authors and works.
Second Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Colorado. Denver: Tribune Publishing Company. 1879-1880. Pp. 134.
This pamphlet contains, in addition to the Superintendent's review of his work for two years, a synopsis of the public-school system of Colorado, the reports of the county superintendents and of the University of Colorado, and the addresses delivered at the annual meeting of the State Teachers' Association. Of 35,566 children of school-age in the State, 22,119 were enrolled in the schools, and the average attendance was 12,618. The expenditure per capita of school population was $11.07, and the expenditure per capita of average attendance was $31.38. The university was attended by 121 students. The addresses before the Teachers' Association include one on "Influence," by the President; a criticism of classical education, by Mr. David Boyd; and a plea for the higher education of women, by Mr. F. E. Smith.
Papilio: Devoted to Lepidoptera exclusively. Organ of the New York Entomological Club. New York: Henry Edwards, 185 East 116th Street. January, February, and March numbers. Pp. 12, each. Price, $2.00 for ten numbers.
This magazine is published monthly, except in the two "summer vacation" months. In connection with its special subject it will embrace within the scope of its articles notes on the transformations and diseases of the Lepidoptera, their use and detriment ​to the human race, the parasites which prey upon them and assist in keeping them in check, descriptions of new species, etc. The three numbers contain an article on the "Importance of Entomological Studies," a biographical sketch of M. Achille Guenée, and numerous descriptions of species, with a chromolith illustration of Edwardsia brillians.
How we feed the Baby. By C. E. Page, M.D. New York: Fowler & Wells. 1881. Pp. 114. Price, 75 cents.
Unscientific Materialism. By S. H. Wilder. Reprint from "The International Review." New York. 1881. Pp. 16.
Annual Address of the President of the Middletown Scientific Association. By Rev. Frederick Gardiner, D.D. Middletown, Connecticut. 1881. Pp. 19.
The Endowment of Scientific Research. By Professor George Davidson, Ph.D. From an Address before the California Academy of Sciences. Pp. 8.
Our Trees in Winter. By John Robinson. From the "Bulletin" of the Essex (Massachusetts) Institute. Pp. 16.
Department of Science and Arts, Ohio Mechanics' Institute. Cincinnati. 1881. Pp. 12.
"The Coöperator." A Monthly Journal devoted to the Promotion of Coöperative Action in all its Forms. Vol. I, No. 1. New York: A. R. Foote. 1881. Pp. 16. Price, $1 a year.
Essay upon Ensilage. By J. M. Bailey. Pp. 10.
Report of the Director of the Detroit Observatory of the University of Michigan, from October 1, 1879, to January 1, 1881. Ann Arbor, Michigan. 1881. Pp. 20.
Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration. By Joseph D. Weeks, A.M. Boston: Rand & Avery. 1881. Pp. 73.
Preliminary List of the North American Species of Agrotis. By A. R. Grote. Washington. 1881. Pp. 16.
Climatology of Florida. By C. J. Kenworthy, M.D. Savannah, Georgia. 1881. Pp. 70.
Railroads and Telegraphs: Who shall control them? By F. H. Giddings. Springfield, Massachusetts. 1881. Pp. 12.
President's Inaugural Address before the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. By R. H. Thurston. Pp. 16.
The Gradual Dispersion of Certain Mollusks in New England. By Edward S. Morse. Pp. 6.
Annual Report on the Surveys of Northern and Northwestern Lakes, in Charge of C. B. Comstock. Washington. 1880. Pp. 94.
Quarterly Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department, for the Three Months ended September 30, 1880. Washington: Government Printing-Office. 1881. Pp. 133.
Annual Report of the Ontario Institution for the Education of the Blind. Toronto: C. Blackett Robinson. 1881. Pp. 28.
Simple Apparatus for determining Specific Heats of Solids and Liquids with Small Quantities of Material. By J. W. Mallet, F.R.S. From "The American Chemical Journal." Pp. 14.
Failure of Vaccination. By Carl Spinzig, M.D. St. Louis. 1881. Pp. 15.
The Rocky Mountain Locust. By Charles V. Riley, Ph.D. Pp. 50. With Maps.
A New Order of Extinct Jurassic Reptiles. Discovery of a Fossil Bird in the Jurassic of Wyoming; and Note on American Pterodactyls. By O. C. Marsh. Reprint from "The American Journal of Science," April, 1881.
Annual Report of the Board of Health of the State of Louisiana for 1880. New Orleans: J. S. Rivers. 1881. Pp. 354.
Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Yellowstone National Park for 1880. Washington: Government Printing-Office. 1881. Pp. 64.
On Quebracho-Bark. By Dr. Adolph Hansen. Translated from the German. Pp. 13.
Meteorological Researches. By William Ferrell. On Cyclones, Tornadoes, and Waterspouts. Being Part II of Appendix No. 10, of Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Washington: Government Printing-Office. 1880. Pp. 95. With Plates.
Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Vol. viii, second series. Philadelphia. 1874-1881. Pp. 118. With Plates.
Practical Phonics. By E. V. De Graff, A.M. Pp. 108. Price, 75 cents. Regent Schools of the State of New York. By C. W. Bardeen. Pp. 24. Price, 25 cents. Suggestions for teaching Fractions. By W. W. Davis. Pp. 43. Price, 25 cents. New York Examination Questions. Pp. 111. Price, 25 cents. Hints on Orthoëpy. By C. T. Pooler, A.M. Pp. 15. Price, 10 cents. Hand-books for Young Teachers. No. 1, First Steps. By Henry B. Buckham, A.M. Pp. 152. Price, 75 cents. Syracuse: C. W. Bardeen. 1881.
The Telescope. By Thomas Nolan. B. S. New York: D. Van Nostrand. 1881. Pp. 75. Price, 50 cents.
History of the Free-Trade Movement in England. By Augustus Mongredieu. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1881. Pp. 184. Price, 50 cents.
Victor Hugo: His Life and Work. From the French of Alfred Barbou. By Frances A. Shaw. Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co. 1881. Pp. 207. Price, $1.
Our Native Ferns. By Lucien M. Underwood, Ph.D. Bloomington, Illinois. 1881. Pp. 116. Price, $1.
Sir William Hamilton. By W. H. S. Monck, M.A. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1881. Pp. 192. Price, $1.25.
The Science of Mind. By John Bascom. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1881. Pp. 456. Price, $2.
History of the Christian Religion to the Year Two Hundred. By Charles B. Waite, A.M. Second edition. Chicago: C. V. Waite & Co. 1881. Pp. 454. Price, $2.50.