New-York tribune., 1899-06-14
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
TWO WORKS OF REFERENCE.

Lehign lniVeIsi!. |.ouInr
.ppI .EToN's ANNUAL CYCLoPEDIA and and
Register OF the Important Events Oh e snT 20 "
ises Ouarto DID viii s55. d. Appleton q Co
c,nc. tho nublication OF the last edition OF
"rbe Fncyclopedia Britannica" many smaiisr
uork. have been put forth claiming to furnish
.nitou,ized information on the circle or the SCI
.nces These greatly condensed and compare
,,,,o,v ,nexpensiye works are for the most part
rrsatisfactory In examining them critically
ono is almost sure TO find earmarks when lndi-
cate that they are simply clippings and pasungs
from earlier works which were satisfactory IN
their day. but the usefulness OF which mas no"
saen outlived Here and there in the case Oh
newer subjects or In the case of old suDJect'
IN which great advances have been maoe' so'''e
new matter has been added Ihe result Is
combination OF antiquated Information anu II"
digested supplemental notes. without co-oruin"
ton and abounding in discrepancies" by aouihe
a few pictures, some up To date maps anu an
attractive binding 1t has often been possible 10
convince the unwary that they are buying mou-
ern works OF reference
The work Of DR.. Chandler Is not OF TINS sort
His is a cyclopedia Of less than two thousahu
naoos too fraementary and condensed for one
who has access TO q work OF moderate SIZE ""e"
q, opost NJ information on ordinary topics, but
at the same time fairly satisfactory lot rea"'
ro,srence Professor Chandler has had the as
distance OF an able staff OF contributors me"
whose names are we'll and favorably known IN
their own particular lines Of study. These IN
clude for example, physics. Dr. George r.
Rarker who has Just been elected an hon
orarv member of the Royal Institution Oh
Great Britain; on engraving. the late Wiliiam
7 Linton: on geography, Henry Gannett, OF the
United States Geological Survey; on music H.
+. Krehbiel. and on psychology. Professors d.
Mark Bulwin OF Princeton and James M CAT
tell Of Columbia. The editorial work on this
encyclopedia has been thorough. the articles
were especially prepared. and seem 10 be 1uiy
abreast with the latest discoveries. The edhor-
in-chief is a professor of chemistry anu 'he
work gives especial attention to the sciences
Re,np complete in three volumes, IT is thoroughly
manageable as to size.
Having given such commendation OF ths nhou-
est work. perhaps II is invidious TO caii at'ei'o"
10 its shortcomings. While It's inset maps III
colcrs are fairly good. those in the text are IN
distinct On many OF the illustrations the same
criticism must be passed The preface makes d
special claim for completeness In the helo Oh
American biography. Considering the great
coinpre ssion Of the work. II may be granted 'hat
this has been realized-but with reservations
,nent in National politics receive no mention.
In the case of such scholar as Dr Johh o.
Billings no mention is made Of his coming to the
New-York Public Library. In its poverty OF
cross references and by reason Of some cases or
a bad choice of headings the work Is orteh
vexatious. For example. under the heading
"Political Economy" one is referred TO "econom-
ics.' which finds place in the work as an
,rdenendent heading. There is also no cross
reference from Medicine TO Patent Medicine
"A very bad heading. While the work is usually
very good on colleges and universities, 'Colum-
bia University" has but a mention In the Dody
OF the article on "New-York City" and no sep
arate treatment. although both New-fork Uni
versity and the College OF the CITY OF New
York have separate entries
"Appleton's Annual has been published every
year since 1861. and a complete set furnishes a
most valuable adjunct to any reference library
ThIs ,regIster of the important events or the
vear 1864 wear so full of history from the
standpoint OF an American--wil be OF increasing
lv greater usefulness to the student. The ac-
count of the Spanish War is related In com
nressed form but no essential feature seems 10
have been omitted. This work has always been
valuable for obituaries. The present volume OF
course contains good sketches OF Gladstone ana
bismarck But 1t also contains many sketches
of the living especially Of officers and civilians
who took part in the war and in the work or
gaining peace The book has fine photographers
of Gladstone Bismarck and Admiral Dewey,
many portraits in the text and numerous other
Illustrations 1t also includes maps Of the
Philippines, Porto Rico Asia and Egypt The
cumulative index which closes the volume COW
ers the issues OF the third series of the An
nual." 1S96-9S
CoCTDA nEFE(CE