The Portland daily press., 1876-01-15

OUR PLACE AMONG INFINITIEs. By Richard A.
Proctor. New York: d. Appleton 81 Co. For
sale by Bailey & Noyes
This volume of three hundred pa ses and odd
is made up of essays reprinted from periodicals
and of lectures delivered before.science-loving
audiences. Professor Proctor is not only one
of the first of living astronomers, but he has
the power, something rare with most scientists,
of communicating his knowledge with great
ease both to himself and the student His
style is remarkably lucid and picturesque
Astronomy at its worst is an interesting sci
ence, but the dryness and perplexity OF its
details altogether disappear under his skillful
treatment. "Learned enough to be instructive,
and light enough to be entertaining is just
verdict upon his writings.
The essays in question treat of the past and
future OF the earth, of the theory of life in
other worlds, of star gauging, of the giant-sun
Sirius, of the star depths, of the famous "lost
comet of Biela and its meteor traip, of the
great planet Jupiter, of the old astrological
systems, and of Saturn and his connection with
the Jewish Sabbath. The old theories of Whe-
well, and Brewster and Bently as to the habit
able condition of the stars and planets are
brought up for review and the opinion ex
pressed that chances are in favor of the exist
ence of life on but few heaveny bodies A
gradual change in the views of Sir William
Hershel as to his method of star-gauging and
his "cloven disc theory of the stellar system
is insisted upon and apparently proved. One
of the most entertaining chapters of the book
is that entitled "Saturn and the Sabbath of the
jews" which gives the result of much curious
research as to the origin of that calendar
division, the week, in general use now among
nations.
The MOVEMENTS AND HABITS OF CLIMBING
PLANTS. By Charles Darwin. New York; D.
Appleton & Co. For sale by Bailey & Noyes.
The second and revised edition of Mr.. OAR
wins essay on the movements and habits of
climbing plants will be very welcome to stu.
dents of science. In this edition, which the
publishers have issued in substantial and
attractive form, some corrections, chiefly OF
form tending 10 make clearer the discussion of
the theme, are made, and some additional facts
are brought forward Mr.. Darwin has awaited
himself of some interesting observations made
by Fritz Muller on the climbing plants of South
Brazil, and of two important memoirs, on the
lower sides of tendrls, and on the mechanism of
the movements of twinng plants by DR.. Hugo
de Vries. These works have strengthened
rather than modified his views on the gradual
evolution of species. The illustrations in the
volume, not numerous but quite necessary to
the calculation of the text, are drawn by the
authors son, George Darwin.
MOSES FROM AN OLD MANsE. By Nathaniel Haw-
thorne. Two volumes. Boston: j. R. Osgood &
20. For sale by Loring, Short & Harmon.
The papers which Hawthorne collected under
the title chooses from an Old Manse' have
certainly never been presented to his admirers
in moreattractive state than they assume in
the eighth and ninth volumes of the dainty new
edition which Osgood publishes. Somehow
the makeup of the ''Saunterers Series makes
it peculiarly appropriate vehicle for the con-
veyance Of the chooses" to the public 1t
strikes one as an excellent example of the fit
ness of things. The vignette illustration to
the first volume pictures the Old Manse; to the
second the woodland seat.
Mrs. LIMBER's RAFFLE; or a Church Fair and its
Victims. New York: D. Appleton s. Co. For
sale by Bailey & Noyes.
This clever and entertaining tract in the
form of story is especially designed for those
people whose over.charitable zeal to assist the
church leads them, of course, without reflect
ing upon the evil consequences, to encourage
gambling and violation of law. The story,
one of considerable interest, is graphically
told. the dialogue lively and natural, the char
acters well-drawn, the humor fresh, and the
moral excellent. The pamphlet, bound in neat
paper covers is worthy of wide circulation.