We close our notice with the sense that we have done this thoughtful book but scant justice.
Proceedings Commemorative of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Foundation of the American Philosophical Society. Philadelphia: MacCalla & Co. Pp. 647.
An impressive commemoration of the origin of this pioneer scientific society was held in May, 1893. The exercises of the occasion, which extended over five days, are recorded in this handsomely printed volume, and include addresses of welcome and congratulation, the proceedings of the meetings, scientific papers presented, etc. The address by the venerable Frederick Fraley, president of the society, is followed by letters of greeting in French, German, and Latin, read by representatives of universities and foreign scientific societies, after which come telegrams from foreign bodies that were unable to send delegates. The second day's proceedings were also opened by an address by President Fraley, who was followed by Profs. Alpheus Hyatt and Hubert A. Newton. On the third day, President Oilman, of Johns Hopkins, and the Rt. Rev. John J. Keane, President of the Catholic University of America, delivered addresses, that of the latter only being printed. The exercises of the fourth day are especially interesting. They include addresses on Benjamin Franklin—printer, patriot, and philosopher, by Dr. Samuel A. Green; The Philosophy of Art, by Prof. J. M. Hoppin; and The Nature and Design of the Historical Societies of Our Country, by Dr. John B. Morris. On the last day a paper in German, On Determination of Gravity by Means of a Pendulum Apparatus, by R. von Sterneck, was read by Chevalier Rousseau d'Happoncourt, of the Austrian navy, who represented the Imperial Royal Academy of Vienna. Dr. Isaac Roberts then addressed the society on Recent Progress in Astronomical Science, illustrating his remarks by photographs which he presented to the society in behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society of England, which he represented. Prof. George F. Barker read a paper on Electrical Progress since 1743, dealing mainly with the work of Franklin, Hare, Henry, Saxton, Rittenhouse, and Bache. A few remarks mi Magnetism, by Mr. Wharton, were followed by the closing address of the president. The scientific papers presented include one of eighty pages on Tertiary Tipulidæ, by Prof. Samuel H. Scudder; one of three hundred pages on Phylogeny of an Acquired Characteristic, by Prof. Alpheus Hyatt, and ten briefer ones 1 <\ various authors. The volume is illustrated by a number of fine plates, including portraits of the officers of the society, views of the interior of its building, reproductions of the photographs presented by the Royal Astronomical Society, and figures illustrating the papers by Scudder, Packard, and Hyatt.
Theoretical Chemistry, from the Standpoint of Avogadro's Rule and Thermodynamics. By Prof. Walter Nernst, Ph. D. Translated by Prof. Charles Skeele Palmer, Ph. D. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. Pp. 697. Price, $5.
A few years ago it was said with truth that all the advances being made in chemistry were in the field of organic chemistry. This condition has been changed, however, by the fruitful researches of Ostwald, van't Hoff, Thomsen, Berthelot, and others, which have given us what may be called the new physical chemistry. Prof. Nernst has prepared a guide to this newly developed branch of the science, taking as its leading principles Avogadro's law and the doctrine of energy. Taking up first the universal properties of matter, he sets forth in succession those characteristic of the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of aggregation. The properties of physical mixtures and dilute solutions are also discussed. The theory of the atom and the molecule forms the second division of the work, this doctrine being tested and exemplified by the phenomena of refraction, polarization, magnetism, color, dissociation of gases, and the behavior of both colloids and crystalloids in solution. The transformation of matter and the transformation of energy are the two remaining division-, the former embracing the laws of chemical statics and chemical kinetics, while the latter is concerned mainly with thermo-chemistry, though touching upon the chemical action of light and electricity. Two appendixes are added, the first comprising Mime important developments in theoretical and phys-
