Evening star., 1901-11-09

nelp TO an UNDERSTANDING OF the
human system. In conclusion DIR. Pratt
pleads for a consideration of the com
posite" man by all specialists who now are
prone to approach their tasks in the light
merely of the particular function or phase
OF the system reached by their own line of
research.
DRAGONS OF THE AIR: an Account of Extinct
Flying Reptiles. By ii. G.. Saecy, F. n. s..
professor of geology In Kings College, London.
Illustrated. New York: D. Appleton & Co.
The unscientific mind is amazed at the
facility and confidence with which the
paleontologist determines the original form
of the prehistoric creature whose frag
mentary remains spread before him.
From a toe bone or bit of vertebra this
worker in the mysteries of the past is en-
abled, out of the depths of his vast knowi
edge, to formulate a scheme of structure
for almost any newcomer in the field of his
research. This facility has foundation
of many years of study and careful com
paratve thought. Its difficulties are re
vealed in the course of the present volume,
comprising a series of lectures by Prof.
Seeley delivered before the Royal 1nstitu-
tfon in London. He acquaints the layman
with the processes of SyntheSiS which per-
NIT this partial solving of the great prob
lem of the flying reptiles. He declares that
the man who understands whence these
reptiles came, how they endured and dis
of the greatest mysteries of life. The le-
suits of his deep studies are contributions
toward this solution.
IN THE SHADOW OF THE BLACK PINE; A
Romance of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. By
Company.
Almira George Plympton. who is perhaps
best known to the public as a writer of
children's stories, has taken quite a de-
parture from her usual line in this, her
latest work, which is typical historical
novel, picturing the social and political con-
ditions in the early days of the Massachu
setts Bay Colony, from which grew the
city of Boston. At that time only the
members of the Puritan Church were al
lowed hand in the local government.
Naturally an opposition party arose in pro-
test to this regime, and the struggles and
disasters of this opposition form some of
the vivid detail in the book. The writer is
evidently not an admirer of the stalwart
PuritanS and their ironclad religion, and
her principal character is made to demon
strate the harmful effects of such principles
on highly sensitive nature in his down.
fall and suicide The book also illustrates
in a broader sense the evil effects of max
ing religion a qualification for citizenship.
The depletion of these conditions and the
tremendous struggle necessary to supplant
them with municipal government based on
liberty, makes of necessity a story which
is perhaps more labored than entertaining.
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION; Documents
Relative to Its Origin and History, ISIS 1889
GomRied tMe and Edited by william Zones Koes
Fourth Congress to FortySintR Congress @as
Washington Government Printing Office.
Volumes relating to the history of the
Smithsonian Institution have been pub
lshed in the past, one in 1878, another in
1879 and, at the end of the first half GEN.
tury of the institution, in 1896, one under
the editorial direction of the late Dr. G.
Browne Goode. The present work Is in
tended to bring down to date the first of
these historical volumes, including the rela-
tions of the institution to Congress, de-
bates on the management, appropriations
necessary for operations ntrusted to It's
care, etc. These matters are of official rec
ord, but scattered through the con-
gressional proceedings and the statutes,
and their compilation, under the painstak-
ing direction of Mr.. Rhees, the keeper of
the archives and for many years chief clerk
of the institution, Is now being effected for
the more thorough understanding of the
growth of the establishment as a feature
of the governments agencies. The debates
in Congress reflect In some measure the
steady growth of the national appreciation
Of the demand for thorough, reliable scien-
tif1c research, such as the Smithsonian In
stitution has from it's organization con-
Quoted
THE CENTURY BOOK FOR MOTHERS; Prac-
teal @ Guide in the Rearing of Healthy Children.
on the diseases Of children at Bellevue Hos
Pi5al Medical dfa C. Goege New Ycsk and Gustav
Century Company. Washington: Brentanos.
The care of children has been reduced to
a scientific point nowadays, and there is
no reason, as far as abundance
Of available information is concerned, why
an intelligent mother should not be able
confidently to pursue the paths of safety in
both the health and the sickness of her
little ones, short of absolute contagion.
This book offers many practical suggestions
regarding all phases of child care 1t ad-
vises concerning the ventilation and heat
ing of the nursery, precautions to be taken
with the new arrivals, nursery routine,
hours for sleep, bathing, dressing growth,
development, evidences of illness and the
administration of precautionary remedies
1t answers in addition a large number of
questions which have been propounded to
the editor of "Babyhood'' Involving the
actual experiences and emergencies of
mothers.
TOBACCO IN SONG AND STORY. By John Bain
Jr. New York: II. NJ. Caldwell Company.
Following frontispiece portrait of Sir
w dlttI iNdieiSH, patron SAINT OF TOBACCO
users, is an anthology devoted to the
soothing weed. 1t Is not necessarily a linn
tied appeal, for so far does it wander
through literature that the reader who is
not a smoker may find entertainment in
its perusal and be instructed in learning
to what an extent tobacco has inspired
the poets and writers of many generations
OF PRACTICAL GARDENING;
Edited by Harry Roberts-IIIE BOOK of
OLD-FASHIONED FLOWERS; and Other
Plants Which Thrive in the Open Air of Eng
Hand BY Harry Roberts, author of THE
Chronicle of a Cornish Garden Illustrations
by Ethel Roskruge. New York: John Lane
The cultivation Of gardens requires a GER
tain acquaintance with the habits and limi-
tations of the plants which are in nature
exposed to the rigors of the years climate
many of these have lost
some of their old-time vogue. They are out
of style. Yet they are among the most de-
srable garden flowers, combining hardness
with beauty and bespeaking a past time
redolent with romance. Mr.. Roberts pre-
sentation, in the course Of his own instruc-
tive series of handbooks, will appeal to the
American home gardener equally
to the English, for the plants he includes
are practically all of domestic growth His