New-York tribune., 1872-07-23
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

THg POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY CONpucrIp by &. L. Yor
August ID Appleton q 90
The admirable success of DIR. Youmans In
presenting the discoveries of science in form adapted
10 the instruction of the people, calls for the sheerest
congatulaton Each successive number OF ms perloui-
cal appears like improvement on the last ana the
presentssue especially is without aneQualln the rehesS'
and variety, and popular interest of its contents Inc
from which the selected matter has been derived
are not of easy access in this country and furnish
mass of contributions which for most readers VIII pos
s the attractiveness and value of original papers An
essay by Canon Motley presents some stringent com
ments on the neglect OF modern literature as compared
with the study of the ancient classics, which preNds III
the English system of education. The young man Is
instructed in the language and history OF nations WHOSE
whole being belongs TO a past stage IN the worlds
existence, while he is left In almost eompieVo
ignorance concerning the countries with "ni'h
we have an everyday intercourse. Every prahcn
Of knowledge-physical science mathematics Pn
losophy theology-is thought worthy OF regular anu
p-ofound sudy except this 1t only the condition OF
the nations with which we have the closest sca anu
spiritual ties, of which content to remain III ho
torous ignorance The best way perhaps Oh appIe
ciang how wide the extent of this Ignorance Is VIII pe
BY considering how great is the variety OF knOWleuge
which an oxford OF Cambridge first class man VIII oiten
possess respecting the whole national being OF greece
and Rome To begin with, he viii know the whole pot
ca development of those countries he will trace with
accuracy the consistent progress Of Athens TO an equal
liberty among her citizens, through solon, Ceisthenes
Aristides Percles; he will know by what causes
she finally fell from her strength and suprem-
Rey From Demosthenes he will know good deal OF the
nature of her laws, in their application TO the manifold
interests OF men-tO the injuries which one man may
suffer from another, in person property by fraud OF
violence He will know something from the same source
of the way in which the rich Athenans managed their
properties of the OF their slaves, of their com
r1oar oxUin EuO lOM
navy was provided kept up what the pay OF the
sailors how they maneuvered against the enemy. lie
will be Intimately acquainted with every mclueh1
In the external history Of Athens; and IN inc
geography Greece he will know the situation OF the
mnutest villages, the least important Islands All the
varied history OF the Greek colonies and their rela
tons TO their respective mOthercities, will be familiar
20 him. Besides this, he viii know how the Greeks
themselves felt. thought and theorized on all these
matters their national existence; he Will nave reau
the Republics Of Plato and OF Aristotle he VIII DE no
stranger TO their religious feelings, 20 their deepest
speculations in philosophy Finally in their poetry
epic, tragedy, comedy-he will have felt the now OF
their fancy and Imagination. All this and much more
our frst-class will be in position 10 know aDouI
Greece: : and in Rome he will have no less rich helo
of information; for the philosophy ana
poetry Of Rome do not possess al equal IN
apence with those of Greeoe, the law, politics.
and military system of Rome possess much more"
Now there are five modern nations, England France
Germany Italy aud spain, that have each history OF
eoual length with the authentic history OF Greece or
Rome literature not greatly INFERIOR and institutions
and manner of life elaborate and complicated
rbe writer contends that study of modern literature
though less valuable as a discipline OF the mnd than
,lasital training, the memory with far larger
amount of positive knowledge But this is the
,ouchstone Of the education demanded by the age
The value accorded to breadth of knowledge has
Increased remarkable extent. In the system of the
schoolmcn, who the earliest educators in Europe
the supreme place assigned to the cultivation OF
mental acuteless Their education like their phil
Dsopby purely and nakedly Intellectual They PAID no
regard 70 storing the mind with material. Their great
eblet 90 10 discuss. They put the utmost
stain upon the intellect but they did not require the
sudent know 1t was like expecting plant to grow
lis intrinsic power without the nurment OF earth
But the present age the student no longer
left isolated. He is brought INTO contact with the ma
loral world with human actions and substantial reality
Since the revival Of letters in fact educated men have
longer been dlsputatiye machines The fresh dcve
Dpment OF science the fresh creations of literature have
produced state OF things, and it is now essential
20 become acquainted with the vast Of facts in
gOlyed in the study Of modern languages, lnsti-
buttons, and national history-On widely diff
ferent subject is the article the "Nuritive
Salts Food" an interesting contribution TO theoretical
and practical hygiene. The experiments of Volt and
other distinguished Psychologists, OF which It gives
summary, show that the resduum of meatextract,
without the salts fly potash IS OF no value as nutr
ment. Food was prepared for the purpose of making
the experiment with the following results Pigeons and
mice took this food in small mOrses fOr time Dogs
also took il for time and then refused il, but
then compelled take it. The mice lived from twenty
thirty days. the pigeons from thirteen 10 twenty
days. the dogs from twentysX 10 thirtysix days.
II is. therefore, only at later period OF such
dieting that the absence Of the salts makes itself felt
Some curious effects were noticed in dogs after a
complete abstinence from salts. They may not lose
flesh or fat they weak and dull lying down in
corner languid aud Indifferent In the of one dog
that fed for long time bread alone the animal
apparently went mad. He fell into a rage, and ran
round round without heading the the whip
The attack did not return bat the nervous system
became more and mere unstrung paralytic symptoms
made their appearance; the animals hind-legs
failed him at every STEP and he fell the side. On
pushing the experiments further the dog invariably
died. But n, instead OF this he fed ordinary
mixed food, he gradually recovered his strength, and
finally quite restored 70 healthAmong other art
eles o interest in this number those The Phys
ology OF Sleep" Balance Of Life in the Aquarium"
"The Causes Of Physical Degeneracy," and a sketch OF
Professor Asa Cray, the eminent American botauist.
TIE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW. JrIY Osgood.
The present number of the " North Amer
icau" decided literary and scientific interest
than any issue for several months past with a much
smaller proportion of heavy political disqustOns. 1t
opens with paper the doctrine Of Evolution by
Natural Selection" maintaining that the origin OF
species by natural process instead Of fOrmless creative
nat which was long suggested by Goethe, GeOrOy
ST. Haire. aud the elder Darwin, has been established
by the labors Of recent iuqurers of whom Mr. |
Charles Darwin stands at the head. The remaining /
problem Is concerned with the manner OpcraOu and