well, J. A. Garfield, and Mr. Peter Cooper. Their replies are not only interesting as furnishing the information required for its practical objects, but they are also interesting as illustrating the way American scholarship engages with this novel and curious sociological problem. Mr. Mori has prepared an introduction to the volume, giving an historical sketch of Japan, and some account of the present condition of its government, religion, language, and people.
Diseases of the Urinary Organs, including Stricture of the Urethra, Affections of the Prostate, and Stone in the Bladder. By John W. S. Gopley, M. D. With One Hundred and Three Wood Engravings. New York: William Wood & Co., 1873.
Amid the flood of medical works annually poured out for the doctor's guidance, it is a pleasure to find occasionally one that deals, in a clear and straightforward way, with the subject in hand, and is not encumbered with the endless theories and speculations of which medical writers are so prolific. The book before us is one of these exceptional productions in medical literature. It is in no sense a compilation, but embodies the results of an extended experience, both in private practice and in the hospitals of this city. Yet, while thus mainly founded on personal observation, the claims and teachings of the many eminent men who have illustrated this department of surgery have not been overlooked. The author does not undertake to go over the whole of this important department of medicine, but modestly limits himself to a few of the graver surgical affections of the male urinary organs, giving the pathology, clinical history, and treatment of each, with full and explicit directions for the various operations involved. Whenever the use of instruments is called for, he urges, with emphatic earnestness, the necessity for the utmost care in their employment; and this, to our minds, is not the least valuable feature of the book, since it is well known that these and other diseases are often seriously aggravated, and not unfrequently put beyond the reach of cure, by the bungling manipulations of over-confident and careless operators. Dr. Gouley's abilities as a practitioner are unquestioned, his success as a teacher has also been amply proved, and the present work gives evidence, both in matter and style, that he is entitled to rank equally high as a clear and instructive writer.
The Microscope and Microscopical Technology. A Text-Book for Physicians and Students. By Dr. Heinrich Frey. Translated from the German, and edited by George R. Cutter, M. D. New York: William Wood & Co., 1872.
We welcome the appearance, in an English dress, of Frey's excellent work. It covers a far wider field than Martin's book, noticed in a recent number of The Popular Science Monthly; indeed, the entire subject of microscopy and microscopical instruments is treated by Dr. Frey. The author devotes one-third of his work to the description of microscopic instruments, the testing of them, and their uses. To the section on "Testing the Microscope," the translator appends a few pages of original matter, giving the history of microscope-manufacture in the United States. He shows that microscopes of American manufacture possess all the excellences of foreign instruments, plus certain mechanical simplifications the product of American inventive genius.
The "Preparation of Microscopic Objects" has nearly 250 pages devoted to its treatment. This is a very important branch of the technique of microscopy, and the student will find here all the practical directions he needs, derived from the experience of the most eminent microscopists. The purpose of this portion of the work, as also of the section on "Mounting," is to save the student countless mortifying failures. Every microscopist may discover for his own use the best processes for preparing and mounting; but the time so spent is better spared, and devoted to practical investigation. The work of the microscopist is at all times exceedingly laborious, requiring a degree of patience and application that is almost incredible. The author aims in this part of his book to smooth away some of the difficulties attending the first approaches to this fascinating study; but, if any dilettante expects to find here a royal road to microscopy, he will be most assuredly disappointed. Of this branch of knowledge, it is preeminently true that only by hard work
