The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1881-01-14
APPLEToN's CYCLoPEIA.
THE STANDARD AND THE Bssr.
ny PROF " l.. saITH, HoBART COLLEGE
GENEVA, N. Y.

ny PROF " L.. SMITH, HOBART COLLEGE
GENEVA, NJ Y.
1t is now nearly nineteen years since he pub
lication Of the ir,t edition of Applc,ons Amer.
lean Cyclop@ liza. and in the interval, not only
professional scholars, but men of culture gem
orally, have watched with eager interest The
progress Of irqriry in every department Of
knowledge, and new work Of reference has
been felt to be an imperative want. To present
u comprehensive and at the same time clear
and popular exposition of the progress made
in more than decade and haf, d'masded
almost a new work rather than the re.ediirg
| Of an old enc; something suied to he citcum.
stances ofa busy aud &C i've people having lit,
tie time lo read Elaborate and extend, lreatses;
and requiring ther, fore Literary rather than
scientific treatment, SO az to address Itself to
the public mind in the most acceptable and
useful manner.
This want the new issue Of the American
CYclopeiia claims TO meet, not by pa ching
up of the Id edition, admirable as that was for
It's day, but mainly as q new book, with brief
conien@ed articie', not less useful to the stu.
dent than to the general reader, aud 20 pre-. EN-.
inenlly the Cyclote Tia for the people. Il may
be quite true that some subjects are in The just
y celebrated Britannica treated more elab.
oiately, nay for The time extensively; but the
rapid advancement in all departments of knowl-
edge requires that student, desirous of mas.
tering any one subject, must have recourse to
the daily journals, aud the most recent and
elaborate monographs Of the workers and
thinkers of The day, rather than the articles of
an encyclol edia, which are, OF necessity some.
what behind as soon as published; and besides,
such elaborate heatses can only he given by
the exclusion of many articles which, even of
minor importance in themseiv,s, are collect
lively of far more value. The annual volumes
| of the American Cycopedia have in meas.
ure enabled the po.sessor4 of the first edition
to keep pace rastally with advancing kncwl-
| edge, but after all they could not meet the
wants OF new suoscr bers, ard the Iubl g n.
| erslls. New i'd as, ew proc, sses ~ d =, al
in science art, changed pol ,ic,l eni ci | re,
laions; wonderful accessinns 10 g,o.r pi n al
knoshdge made The reissue Of tn. Am ric,r,
CycloI sc ia in it, present firm NC sci v,
which il meets bv comprehensive, yet pnp,.
lar treatment of the variols subiecs ,p to the
date ofp"tliratior, by men oi EN- nence in the
several drparim nts of learning in Amerrta,
England and the continent of Europe. The
mot r. cat scientific discoveries. the freshest
research, and 'he bearing of all on civilization
and progress are fully and clearly presented:
and SO, to hard worked men with limited Cd.
porlnniiies like most of those for whom the
Cy,lop@ liza is specially intended, il is a great
Storehouse Of information resented in man.
ner as f scinsting as that of the most nsenons
work of fiction. The wonderful telephone, the
phoncgrsph, American Inventions the improve
ments in telegraphy, the natural history the
parasites which of late years have been 20 de.
ttructlve to vegetation, many peculiar to our
own country, in fact the whole range Of topics
are so discuss, as to make the American Cv
copelia the book for the Ameri,a an peoplr,
wisely disseminating and interpreting, as il
does, the results of the vast impulse impaired
to the arts, sciences, and several industries of
busy world; ard embracing in its comprehen.
siVe grasp, the Intellectual and moral forc
which have enabled great people, in few
years, without any calamity, or that ruin OF
credit ahich usu1 lily att er d. such charge, to
return to specie from paper money deprt ciatsd
in two short years to half the standard val
ue. The customs, the laws, the history, the
geography, the education, the biography, the
'cience and the arts of such people, as given
in the American Cyclcpedia, can no longer be
ignored, nor are hsy at present .l,ewbere to
be found collectively, fact which should com.
mend this CycloE eiia, not leas to the Europe.
an nations than to The citizens Ct the United
States, for whom il is peculiarly adapted
II. l.. SMITH,
Professor of Natural hil,sophy, Hobart COL
lege, at Geneva, New York; also President
of the New York Microscopic Society.