Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 49.djvu/147

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GENERAL NOTICES.
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ment is full but condensed, and no effort has been made to avoid technical terms. The second portion of the work is prefaced by descriptions of various simple magnifiers and of the compound microscope. The structure and contents of the plant cell are then described, after which the tissues, grouped according to function, receive attention. The volume is designed mainly for students of pharmacy and medicine, and both parts are fully illustrated.

The Bulletin of the Department of Labor, a bimonthly publication authorized by the United States Congress, began with a number for November, 1895. The Bulletin is designed to present results of investigations by the department of less magnitude than those usually embodied in the annual or special reports, also digests of foreign and State labor reports, new State and national laws relating to labor, and brief items of interest. The first number contains a record of strikes and lockouts in the United States and other countries in recent years, a statement of private and public debt in the United States, a digest of recent reports of State labor bureaus, statistics of employment of women and girls in England and Wales, and a statement of the legal relations between employer and employee.

The Third Series of Essays by Lady Cook on Social Topics (Universal Publishing Co., London, 6d.) consists of thirteen essays pointing out the need of reforms in the relations between the sexes. In these papers Lady Cook advocates nothing unreasonable, while her mode of presentation is forcible, serious, and free from prolixity.

In two pamphlets—Discussions on the Gypsies and Social Emancipation of the Gypsies—an effort is made by James Simson to obtain better social recognition for this people and to prove that John Buuyan was one of their number (The Author, 43 Exchange Place, New York; '70 cents and 30 cents). Unfortunately, the author has neither the faculty for investigation nor the art of presenting a subject in proportion to his interest in the matters that he discusses.

The Report of the State Geological Survey of New Jersey for 1894 represents work in surface geology in both the northern and southern parts of the State. The areal work in the glaciated area was completed, and good progress was made in the region farther south, especially in the western part of the State—Mercer, Burlington, and Monmouth Counties. These areas were studied in much detail. A map accompanying the report—Geological Map of the Valley of the Passaic—indicates the extent of the work which has virtually been accomplished. It presents an instructive view of the geological features, streams, and towns. Further light is thrown by the results recorded concerning the considerable influence of stagnant ice upon the deposition of the stratified drift of the valleys of the northern part of the State, and the general position already taken concerning the history of the yellow gravel formations. Many facts of great interest are given concerning the artesian wells of southern New Jersey and the forestry of the State, to which the second and third parts of the report are devoted.

The Revista delta Beneficenza Puhblica delle Istituzioni di Providenza e di Igiene Socicde (Review of State Philanthropic and Provident Institutions and of Social Welfare), Bologna and Rome, Avvocate G. Scolti, director, was started with the beginning of 1896. Besides general articles, it gives notices of the publications of benevolent institutions, social studies of the laboring classes, legal events, and official reports pertaining to subjects within the scope described by its title. The principal article in the January number is on True Beneficence and Legal Beneficence.

Il Pensiero Moderno is a new semi-monthly periodical published at Rome which will deal with all that concerns the modern sociological movement, and the fields of science, literature, and art. The name of Prof. G. Sergi stands at the head of its list of collaborators. The first number contains articles on social hygiene and education. A regular feature will be the fortnightly notes on the more important intellectual and social events within its scope.

We find matter of great interest and value in the Ethnologisches Notizblatt of the Direction of the Royal Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin. The articles are mostly by the director. Dr. A. Bastian, and his assistants, Profs. A. Grünnedel and W. Grube,