which, taken all together, go far to make up a formal treatise on the art. To furnish to instructed anatomists, for whom the book is primarily designed, information on points of detail as to which their knowledge or memory may be at fault, a collection of formulae is given and a number of special methods are described. For beginners, again, a collection is furnished of examples, which are not intended for imitation, but as hints suggestive of the most fitting processes.
The Diamond Lens, with other Stories. By Fitz-James O'Brien. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 337. Price, paper, 50 cents.
Mr. O'Brien was of Irish birth, a poet and story-writer of bright genius, whose contributions to the newspapers and magazines attracted much attention when they were published, and were generally popular and widely read, showing distinct originality and strong powers of penetration and description; they deserve to be remembered. The present series, including a baker's dozen of the stories, was published in 1881, with a biography of the author, by Mr. William Winter, and now appears again in a second edition.
The Life of Society. By Edmund Woodward Brown. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 270. Price, $2.
This work is intended to present a general view of the various factors, in nature and man, that work upon the structure and methods of society, and of the influence, in turn, of society upon man. The author's object has been, in a systematic study, to obtain as deep and adequate a general conception of society as possible, "the society of any township or any country of the world to-day, or the whole world of society in the past. . . . I wish," he says, "to find an explanation of society that will suit wherever society is in any country, or has been in any country or age. I want to get a general view of the constant part of every society. I want to evidence and illustrate this by social and historic facts, drawn from the wide range of society in the past or the present." In general, he adds, "I hope, then, I have shown the real foundation of social science, though, doubtless, there are deficiencies." The subject is considered under the head of the effective causes acting upon society, among which arc the influences of the body, man's intellect, man's will, habit and usage, disposition and feeling, etc.; then are considered various features of society, the influence of the parts of society upon one another, and of the whole upon the parts; the growth and progress of society; its incompleteness, imperfection, and deterioration; rhythm and epochs in the life of society; its laws, restraints, liberties, forms, and institutions; and, finally, a general view of the spheres of society. The work bears the marks of laborious thought.
The Limits of Stability of Nebulous Planets, and the Consequences resulting from their Mutual Relations. By Professor Daniel Kirkwood. Pp. 110.
This monograph is an inquiry respecting the extreme limits within which a planet's atmosphere may exist, as measured by the distance from the planet's center, at which gravity and the centrifugal force will be in equilibrium; and further into the original or maximum values of the corresponding distances, which were much greater before the members of the system had contracted to their present dimensions. These found, the author applies the bearing of the answers to the discussion of the question, "Were the planets formed from nebulous rings?"
Third Annual Report of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, for 1884. By William R. Lazenby, Director. Columbus, 0.: Myers Brothers, State Printers. Pp. 240.
The theory of the station, it is stated in the introductory part of the report, "is to tell the farmers of Ohio what they most need to know"; and much of the matter in the volume appears to answer to that description. Field experiments were conducted during the year with grasses, fruit, and garden vegetables. The primary object of the tests is to improve upon the best-known methods of cultivation and management. Among practical questions, earnest attention was given to ascertaining the comparative value of the best varieties; the effects of thick and of thin seeding; the effects of sowing or planting at different dates, different distances, and
