Popular Science Monthly/Volume 23/June 1883/Literary Notices
Dynamic Sociology, or Applied Social Science, as based upon Statical Sociology and the less Complex Sciences. By Lester F. Ward, A.M. In two volumes. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 726 and 698. Price, $5.
In the rush of publications from a teeming press there now and then comes a work of such grave and exceptional import as to demand a special and careful consideration, and among these are to be included the two comprehensive volumes now before us. Under the technical and somewhat unattractive title of "Dynamical Sociology," Mr. Ward has made an original and able contribution to the large and very important subject of social science. Although he is, of course, indebted to many sources for his materials, yet the handling of the topics is his own. His work is not a compilation or résumé of previous promulgations, but an elaboration of his own independent views; and he has constructed a system which, from its breadth, its scientific basis, and its elaborate method lays claim to the character of a philosophy.
It must be confessed that the presumptions in these times are strongly against the novel and ambitious reconstructions of thought, which so frequently challenge public attention, and, if the author were asked in this case for his credentials, he would probably say that they must be found in the book. Yet Mr. Ward is well known by his scientific, economical, and social contributions to the magazines, as well as by other publications of recognized merit, and if he has not before issued any considerable book, it is probably because he has been absorbed for the last ten years in the preparation of the extensive treatise now published.
Mr. Ward's title, as we have intimated, is unfortunate. Sociology is a forbidding word—snarled at by petty purists as illegitimate—and not yet settled and defined in familiar speech; while the kind of sociology designated as "dynamical" only deepens the obscurity, and makes it necessary, at the outset of any intelligible notice of the work, to explain what is meant to be indicated by these terms. This will, moreover, furnish the key to the method of the book.
The author assumes sociology to be a science already so well established as to take proper rank in the family of sciences. It deals with the laws of social phenomena, as botany deals with the vegetable kingdom, and zoölogy with the animal world. But science is of two kinds, pure and applied, the former consisting of an exposition of facts and principles, and the latter of their practical applications for purposes of utility. Pure sociology, therefore, confines itself to the classification of the facts and the elucidation of the principles of social phenomena. It deals with society by the natural history method, describing, analyzing, comparing, and generalizing the comprehensive data of the subject. Its aim is simply the establishment of a body of truth, without the formal consideration of its uses. This is sociology as generally and properly understood.
But Mr. Ward thinks that, when the practical applications of this science are to be considered, new terms are needed to mark an important distinction, and so he uses the word statical to characterize its common scientific form. But this established sociology, or "Statical Sociology," which consists of the classified facts and generalized principles of the science, he holds to be of a negative or passive kind, and he says that this has hitherto proved sterile or unproductive of benefit to the community. Like the other sciences, it needs application to make it useful and valuable. But this application involves active human agency, the control of social effects, and, as man's effort and directive power is here the main idea, he expresses this element of force by the term dynamic, and calls this branch of the subject "Dynamic Sociology." On this view, statical sociology deals with the great processes of nature, with genesis and natural evolution; while dynamic sociology treats of psychic human agency, and artificial results in the social sphere.
Mr. Ward maintains that the time has come when sociology must pass formally from the theoretic to the applied stage. While admitting the impracticability of most of the measures that have aimed at social amelioration, he nevertheless considers that we can no longer avoid the endeavor to derive certain fundamental principles of social action that shall bring the phenomena of society under the same intelligent control that science has long made possible in the division of physical phenomena, and guide the active interference of man in the direction of social affairs and to the accomplishment of social ends. This he assumes to be the art stage in the development of the subject in which purposed artificial agencies supplement and carry forward the natural processes of development for the attainment of the highest fruits of human progress.
Mr. Ward devotes his first volume mainly to "Statical Sociology." It opens with a long introductory chapter, presenting a general view of the entire scheme. This is followed by two historical chapters, reviewing the two great modern systems of Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer, in a manner sufficiently full for his general purpose. Then follow four chapters dealing with the most fundamental principles of cosmical development, or evolution in the domain of purely natural phenomena. These are entitled respectively "Cosmogeny," "Biogeny," "Psychogeny," and "Anthropogeny," dealing with the genesis of worlds, of life, of mind, and of man, and naturally leading up to the higher department of "Sociogeny," or the genesis and development of human society. Following the current terminology, we have here to do with pure sociology only, or its treatment from the point of view of the laws of nature. As a comprehensive exposition of the doctrine of evolution, this volume has great merit.
Sociological study thus far, Mr. Ward maintains, has chiefly given attention to the genetic or unconscious progress of society. The causes that have produced this passive or unconscious social progress are subjected to a searching analysis, and are found in the social forces. These consist fundamentally in desires, but they are desires which inhere permanently in the nature of man as a living organism. They are divided into two great groups, the original, or essential, and the derivative, or non-essential, social forces. The essential forces are those desires which belong to man as an animal, and are necessary to the maintenance of the primary functions of nutrition and reproduction. The non-essential forces are those desires which have been developed in the course of evolution, and they are divided into the æsthetic, the emotional, or moral, and the intellectual social forces. The primary forces, which have led to social transformations, are, therefore, blind forces, which result to the performance of acts with no reference to their ultimate effects.
Mr. Ward's argument for dynamical sociology, to which his second volume is devoted, is not easily presented in a paragraph, but it is substantially as follows: The ultimate end of human action is well being or happiness, but this can not be attained through direct effort; it requires means. There are five proximate ends standing in as many degrees of remoteness from the ultimate end, the attainment of any of which is equivalent to the attainment of all the less remote ones, and the ease in securing which is directly proportional to their remoteness. These proximate ends, therefore, constitute so many means to the attainment of the ultimate end of well-being.
The first of these proximate ends is human progress itself, which, in order to be true progress, must secure the ultimate end. But progress is not in any proper sense attainable by direct effort; it must itself be sought through means. The means of progress, which therefore become the second proximate end, must consist in the. proper kind of action, but such action is only less difficult of direct attainment than is progress itself. Here, again, the necessary means must be adopted to secure the end.
The higher forms of action, such as seriously affect the condition of society, are chiefly the result of the ideas or opinions entertained. In a general sense, then, opinion may be regarded as the means to action, and hence as the third proximate end. But direct attempts to influence opinion are also practically futile; means must be employed here, as before.
Ideas and opinions rest upon the data in possession of the mind. Such data, to conduce to the several proximate ends, and through these to the ultimate end of well being, or happiness, must be in harmony with reality. In other words, the data of opinion must consist in knowledge. Knowledge, therefore, is the fourth proximate end, the attainment of which will carry with it that of all the less remote ones, and also that of the ultimate end. Now, knowledge may be attained by the direct effort of the individual; but the mind is most receptive of it during the plastic period of youth, before an appreciation of its value can have been acquired sufficient to insure the effort to obtain it. To leave it to enforce itself, therefore, is virtually to fail of its attainment, so that this also is to be secured only through means.
The means to knowledge is instruction or education. This is defined as "the universal distribution of the most important extant knowledge." As an end, education can be easily secured by direct effort, even of society in its collective capacity. It differs from all the other ends in requiring no further means for its accomplishment than the mere mechanical appliances. Education, therefore, constitutes the most remote proximate end, and the initial means to the attainment of all the less remote ends, and also of the ultimate end of the general welfare. All these ends may, therefore, be wholly neglected and left to take care of themselves, and the entire energy of society may be concentrated upon this most remote end, or initial means, to the highest social progress.
The second volume of Mr. Ward's work opens with a chapter treating chiefly of man's relation to the universe, which he insists must be more clearly conceived before any further progress can be made in philosophy, and it ends with a statement of the definitions and theorems of dynamic sociology. The remaining six chapters are devoted to the detailed consideration of the six theorems, one being given to each of the great ends, in the order in which we have noticed them. The work, therefore, closes with a radical discussion of the claims of education as above defined, as the supreme essential condition to further and higher social progress.
No idea can be given in such a brief notice as this of the number of important subjects of great public interest at the present time that are traversed by Mr. Ward in these solid volumes. The work is more constructive than critical, but it deals throughout with live topics and urgent public problems. The author takes radical issue with his philosophic predecessors, and arrives at new results for which he claims the sanction of science and reason. As the reader will perhaps have inferred, the drift of his reasoning is toward a great extension of coercive agency and government control in the work of social progress. His work is, in fact, a vigorous and systematic assault upon the doctrine of laissez faire, and the policy of leaving things to spontaneous influences and the self-regulation of private enterprise. It is, perhaps, the strongest defense yet made of the enlargement of state functions for the direction of social affairs. The task was an ambitious one, but the manner of its execution proves that it was not presumptuous.
The merits of Mr. Ward's work are unquestionably such as to entitle it to the serious attention of students; but, aside from its intrinsic claims, its logic is so strongly in the direction of predominant American tendencies, that it is sure to be welcomed by many as a representative exposition of American policy and thought. It appeals strongly to different classes of thinkers. Boldly coping with the ripened systems of the Old World, it will commend itself to many who are ambitious about the development of philosophy on this side of the Atlantic. The work is, moreover, of an eminently practical sort, and deals with the relations of political and social science in their bearing upon the interests of the community in such a way as to entitle it to the consideration of statesmen and political economists. Besides, as it offers a new synthesis of facts, and aims to co-ordinate into a uniform scheme the accepted truths of all the sciences, it can not fail to awaken the interest of thinking scientific men in all departments. And, as the philosophy of religion is broadly and independently treated, the work is certain to have an interest for all schools of religio-philosophic speculation and inquiry. As Mr. Ward's work is thoroughly up to the times both in substance and spirit, the reader will of course be prepared for a good deal of freedom and boldness in discussion; but the author is no trifler, though, in the courageous expression of his convictions, he goes no further than is justified by the practice of this questioning age.
We may add that the work is written in a style that will commend it to popular readers. Mr. Ward makes himself perfectly understood, and without effort on the part of those who follow him. He is at times diffuse, and we think the work would have borne considerable condensation, but, believing that the views he desires to promulgate are important, the author seems to have been only solicitous for that fullness of statement that shall give completeness to his meaning in the reader's mind. The references to collateral discussion are numerous throughout the text, so as to facilitate the following out of any special argument, and the index to the work is careful and exhaustive. Mr. Ward has been arduously occupied upon his treatise for a long time, and may be congratulated upon the perfection of its form as a product of the bookmaking art.
It has been our purpose in this notice simply to give the best account we could in so brief a space of the general characteristics of the "Dynamic Sociology." Our readers hardly need to be reminded of our decisive dissent from the doctrines of the school of which Mr. Ward will now easily take the place of the ablest leader, but we have refrained from criticism, that our statement might be as far as possible fair and unbiased. There is, at any rate, a great deal in this work that is instructive, and to be cordially commended, and there are parts of it that we could wish to see more widely circulated than they can be in these formidable volumes. Though disagreeing with much that it contains, the book is nevertheless to be welcomed as a timely contribution to contemporaneous inquiry, and it will unquestionably aid in giving a fresh impulse and a fruitful direction to the discussion of large and momentous subjects.
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SERIES. No. XLV.
Man before Metals. By N. Joly, Professor at the Science Faculty of Toulouse. With 148 Illustrations. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 365. Price, $1.75.
The subject of the early history of mankind, in the light of the modern doctrine of the antiquity of man, is not only of growing interest, but in its researches and its expositions it is enlisting much of the leading talent of the age. It is established that we have to go back of all written history for that primitive basis of history which is written only in the book of nature. Here science comes to the aid of the philosophical historian, and reveals those conditions of man and society which are indispensable to the understanding of the subsequent course of humanity. Among the latest and ablest contributions to this subject is that by the eminent French authority, Professor Joly, whose contribution to the International Series is now rendered into English in a very popular form under the title of "Man before Metals." his book is an excellent compend of our present knowledge on the antiquity and early history of man, and the author's French clearness of statement has been well preserved in the translation.
In the first part of the volume, devoted to "The Antiquity of the Human Race," Professor Joly describes the discoveries that have been made in the bone-caves, the kitchen-middens of Denmark, the Sardinian Nuraghi, and on the sites of the Swiss lake-dwellings. A short chapter is devoted to "Prehistoric Man in America," but the limits of the volume forbid any detailed account of discoveries outside of Western Europe. The author disparages certain attempts to estimate the number of years that man has lived on earth, and the duration of the stone, bronze, and iron ages, and maintains that all peoples have not passed through these three ages at the same time. Hence such divisions can have only a relative, not an absolute, chronological value. That human bones are found in strata where they could not have been buried in later time, and intermingled with bones of the cave-bear, the mammoth, the reindeer, and many other long-extinct species; that the bones of these beasts often bear wounds—sometimes partly healed—which were plainly made by the weapons found in the same localities; with other evidence still more remarkable—prove that man was present in Europe during the Quaternary age. Relics have been found that have convinced some archaeologists of the presence of man during the Tertiary period, and this opinion our author shares, though he does not deem the assumption proved.
Part II, "Primitive Civilization," recounts what has been learned from the relics of primitive man as regards his domestic life, methods of industry, his progress in domesticating animals, in drawing and carving, his religious ideas, and customs of human sacrifice and cannibalism. The author concludes, from the data so far obtained, that primitive European man dwelt for a considerable period in caves. The flesh of the mammoth, the great cave-bear, the horse, the aurochs, and other animals, generally eaten raw, together with wild fruits and roots, formed his staple diet. The use of fire was known, and-pottery had been invented. He clothed himself in skins, which he sewed by means of bone needles. Cannibalism was practiced to some extent, and the horrors of war were already known. But, in spite of his savage customs, <f he was man in all senses of the word—anatomically, intellectually, and morally."
On the Desert, with a Brief Review of Recent Events in Egypt. By Henry M. Field, D. D. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 330. Price, $2.00.
We must confess to having read Dr. Field's book with great pleasure, and found it refreshing, entertaining, and instructive. We say "confess" in honest acknowledgment of an interest hardly expected in a new book on the wanderings of the old Jews. No doubt, we were prejudiced, as Hebrew matters had been somewhat overdone in our early education. Between the horrible droning sermons, mostly about the Israelites, which made the day of rest a weariness and a burden, and the Sunday-school exercises, which were worse because sleep was impossible, and the pious books about the patriarchs and prophets, which had to be read all during the week, we got an early surfeit of things Hebraic, and when there came at length the happy liberty of reading what we liked, the children of Israel got a wide berth, and we naturally failed to keep up with the progress of modern investigation into the profane aspects of Jewish history. But early associations are omnipotent, and we have accordingly gone through Dr. Field's book describing the present aspects of ancient sacred places with an unusual degree of satisfaction.
Dr. Field's volume, we observe, has been criticised for its want of novelty. It is said that he has gone over ground that has been traversed many times before, until its interest is exhausted, and that he has not been able to add anything new or important to what previous travelers had furnished. Very likely those who have kept up with Palestine explorations and antiquarian researches into the old haunts and relics of the Jewish people would find no important revelations in this volume. But it was not intended to enlighten those who have spent their lives in the study of Jewish history. The author offers his book merely as an introduction to the learned works of those who have devoted themselves to the investigation of the subject.
He says: "The Peninsula of Sinai has been a favorite ground of Biblical explorers. In their zeal to visit scenes made dear by connection with sacred history, they have sought to follow the track of the children of Israel from the time of their departure out of Egypt; to trace their marches on the desert; to fix the place of their encampments, not only around the base of Sinai, but even when wandering and almost lost in the great and terrible wilderness. The fruit of these researches is a library of exploration, which forms a most valuable addition to our Biblical literature, not only for the knowledge it gives of sacred geography, but of the whole religious, social, and political economy of the Hebrews. While these great works, the monuments of so much learning, occupy the attention of scholars, other readers may be interested in turning over a portfolio of sketches, which claims only to present a few pictures of the desert."
From this point of view we have found the work extremely interesting. It is written in an easy and familiar style, and abounds in pleasant descriptions and common-sense reflections relating to the scenery of the country, the associations of prominent places, and the character and habits of the people that came under the author's observation. The first two chapters, devoted to Egypt and its relations to England, give an excellent summary of what is known as the "Egyptian question," and form an instructive preliminary to the subsequent chapters on the wanderings of a people so intimately associated as were the old Hebrews with the ancient Egyptians.
It was the object of our traveler to go over the ground traversed by the Hebrew people after their flight from Egypt. He accordingly crossed the desert by camel navigation, following their track, and lingering to observe the various locations that have derived their interest from the sacred history. Starting from Suez, the first point of interest reached was the wells of Moses at a mile or two on, and from this station the party pursued the route to Mount Sinai, a distance of one hundred and fifty-three miles, at the rate of twenty to twenty-five miles a day, the usual "camel's journey." After spending some time among the interesting scenes of Mount Sinai, they started through the mountains and struck into the great wilderness in which the children of Israel wandered for thirty-seven years before reaching the land of promise. The narrative then proceeds with its detail of incidents of tent-life, camping, and marching, and the description of desert scenes and memorable localities until the terrible wilderness is crossed, and the travelers emerge into the crude civilization of Palestine in the neighborhood of Gaza. From this point they proceeded through the hill country to Bethlehem, "the place where Christ was born"—a town, at present, of some five thousand inhabitants—and the chapter devoted to it is perhaps the most interesting in the book.
Of course, Dr. Field, as a good, sound, orthodox man, will not suffer his reader to suppose that he has taken this excursion from mere idle curiosity, but because of his profound religious interest in the history with which his observations are associated. The thread of narration is, therefore, once broken by an episode in which he goes into a discussion and a defense of the Hebrew polity which has been the subject of much criticism in these skeptical times. It is not so much his object to maintain the inspiration of Moses as to vindicate his wisdom and humanity as a lawgiver. His chapter on "Theocracy and Democracy," in relation to the Hebrew system of government, is readable and suggestive, but we suspect that the philosophy of the subject will not be cleared up until it is studied in the light of the great law of social evolution.
Home Gymnastics; with a Short Method of acquiring the art of swimming. By T. J. Hartelius, M. D. Translated by C. Löfving. J. B. Lippincott & Co., Phila. Pp. 94. Price, 60 cents.
Of course, the importance of exercise to health is by no means a modern physiological discovery, but we undoubtedly owe to Ling, of Sweden, the most ingenious system of gymnastics, calculated to produce a harmonious development of the human organism, and to insure the preservation of health as well as the cure of diseases. It is said that Ling never used a movement of which he could not scientifically demonstrate the physiological effects, and there can be little doubt of the important influence it has exerted during the half-century that has elapsed since the promulgation of the "movement-cure."
The editor of this volume remarks that "it is dawning more and more upon the minds of physiologists and practitioners that 'motion is the principal agent in the whole process of life,' and that systematic muscular exercise is one of the best means for influencing the vital actions of the body." And, such being unquestionably the case, our most practical concernment is with the best means of gaining the benefit of these systematic exercises. Those who have well equipped gymnasiums within reach may be congratulated that the problem is solved for them, but the great mass of people are without such opportunities. The little work of Dr. Hartelius, which has been so judiciously translated, is exactly what is wanted for universal home use. Systematic exercises are "described and illustrated, which are suited to strengthen and develop all parts of the muscular system, and this without the use of any other apparatus than a bench or seat, and even this is by no means indispensable. All that is required for exercise is the body itself, and as most people possess this outfit they need not be put to the slightest expense to secure a comprehensive system of gymnastic exercises, and which, moreover, shall be just as efficient as they choose to make it. Following the descriptions of movements are lists adapted for specific purposes, and for infants and old persons, as well as for those in full vigor.
The Alternative, a Study in Psychology. New York: Macmillan & Co. Pp. 387. Price, $2.75.
This anonymous work is a vigorously written polemic on metaphysics in its more modern aspects. It is written with a conservative animus, and the author is of opinion that he has helped forward psychological inquiry in several important particuars. Mr. Henry Sidgwick, certainly a very competent authority, says, in an advertisement to the volume: "I have had an unexpected interim of enforced cessation from my work, which I have employed in reading about half the proof-sheets you sent me. Without reading any more—which for the present I have not time to do I feel no doubt that the book deserves the attention of all students of philosophy from the amount of vigorous, precise, and independent thinking that it contains thinking which appears to me generally consistent, so far as it has been completely developed, though, at some important points, the work of definition and analysis does not seem to me to have been carried far enough. I also find the terse, forcible individuality of the style attractive on the whole, though I can not but wish that the author had somewhat restrained his impulse to innovate in technical terminology."
Idyls of Norway, and other Poems. By Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 185. Price, $1.25.
This is a collection of brief poems, some forty in number, mostly on light and fanciful subjects suited to sentimental treatment. They are of excellent literary merit, and show a skillful mastery of English versification that is certainly remarkable in an author writing in a foreign tongue. The pieces in this volume are considerably varied, both in form and in the subject chosen; we have been most struck, however, with those on "The Sea," "The Air," and on "Evolution," the latter of which we have taken the liberty of transferring to our pages. The poetic treatment of the enlarged views of nature, for which we are indebted to science, is an important part of the "progress of thought."
Aboriginal American Literature.
The second volume of Dr. D. G. Brinton's "Library of Aboriginal American Literature," is announced to appear in June. It is the "Iroquois Book of Rites," comprising the original text and a literal translation, with introduction, notes, and glossary, and is edited by Horatio Hale, Esq. This is a native composition, partly in the Mohawk and partly in the Onondaga language, and includes the proceedings observed in the council when a deceased chief is lamented and his successor is installed. The forms, after having been preserved and handed down in memory for several generations, were written down, by desire of the chiefs, when the language was first reduced to writing.
Science in Short Chapters. By W. Mattieu Williams, F. C. S. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Pp. 308.
This volume contains a great number of brief essays, popularly written, on a wide variety of scientific subjects, and the name of the author is a sufficient guarantee of the general soundness of the information and criticism presented in the book.
The Diadem of School-Songs. By William Tillinghast. Syracuse, New York: C. W. Bardeen. Pp. 160. Price, 50 cents.
The "Diadem" is intended to facilitate instruction in sight-singing by ordinary teachers, even though they may not themselves be singers. Besides a new system of instruction arranged for this purpose, and a manual of directions for the use of teachers) it contains songs and music of varied character for all grades of schools.
Authors and others, sending papers and monographs for notice, will please specify, for general information, where they can be procured.
Proposed Ordinance, and Rules and Regulations on Plumbing and House Drainage for Philadelphia. By the Committee of Twenty-one. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Sou & Co. Pp. 14. 10 cents.
Report of the Director of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History. 1881-83. By S. A. Forbes. Normal, 111. Pp. 12.
The Sphingidæ of North America. By A. R. Grote, A. M. Washington, D. C. Pp. 5.
Books for the Young. Compiled by C. M. Hewins. New York: F. Leypoldt. Pp. 94. 25 cents.
University of Pennsylvania, Catalogue and Announcement, 1882-'83. Philadelphia. Pp. 116.
Entomological Papers from the "Transactions of the Iowa State Horticultural Society," 1882. Des Moines: F. M. Mills. Pp. 42.
"The American Fruit-Drier, or Pneumatic Evaporator." Waynesboro, Pa.: American Manufacturing Company. Pp. 48.
The Cornell University Register, 1882-'83. Ithaca, N. Y. Pp. 123.
The Physiology of Protoplasmic Motion. By Tb. W. Engelmann, M. D. Translated by Charles S. Dolley, M. D. Rochester, N. Y.: Davis & Leyden. Pp. 40. 50 cent?.
Proceedings of the Davenport (Iowa) Academy of Natural Sciences. You III, Part III. Pp. 311, with Four Plates.
Lectures delivered to the Employé's of the B. & O. R. R. Co. By Professor H. Newell Martin and Drs. H. Sewall, W. T. Sedgwick, and W. K. Brooks. Baltimore: B. & O. R R. Co. Pp. 98.
The Q. P. Index Annual for 1882. Bangor, Me. Pp. 51.
The Bacteria. By T. J. Burrill, Ph. D. Springfield, 111.: n. W. Rokker. Pp. 65. 50 cents.
Report of the United States Bureau of Statistics on Imports, Exports, Immigration, and Navigation, September 30 to December 31, 1882. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 359.
The Great Ice Age in Pennsylvania. By Professor II. Carvill Lewis. Pp. 21, with Map.
Scripture Opened. A Topical and Analytical Commentary. Acts. By Rev. J. M. Coon, Beaver Dam, Wis.
The Maintenance or Health. By J. Milner Fothergill. M. D., M. R. C. P. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 366. Paper, 60 cents.
"Appalachia." April. 1883. Boston: W. B. Clarke & Carruth. Pp. 202. 50 cents.
Register of the Appalachian Mountain Club for 1883. Boston: W. B. Clarke & Carruth. Pp. 36.
The Higher Professional Life. By J. M. Da Costa, M. D. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. Pp. 18.
Reports of Experiments on Insects injuriously affecting the Orange-Tree and the Cotton Plant. United States Entomological Bureau. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 62.
Reports of Observations on the Rocky Mountain Locust and the Chinch-Bug. United Stales Entomological Bureau. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 36.
United States Monthly Weather Review for February, 1883. Washington: Office of the Chief Signal-Officer. Pp. 52, with Maps.
Parish Institutions of Maryland. By Edward' Ingle, A. B. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University. Pp. 48. 40 cents.
Report of the Board of Commissioners of the Tenth Cincinnati Industrial Exposition. 1882. Cincinnati: James Barclay. Pp. 320.
Illustrated Art Notes of Fifty-eighth Spring Exhibition, National Academy of Design. By Charles M. Kurt. New York: Cassell. Petter, Galpin & Co. Pp. 84. 25 cents.
A Roman Catholic Canard. Boston: "Investigator" Office. Pp. 16.
Two Great Works to be done on our Sidereal System. By Jacob Ennis. Washington, D. C.: Rudd & Detweiler. Pp. 12.
On the Action of Certain Vegetable Acids on Lead and Tin. By Francis P. Hali. Boston, Mass. Pp. 13.
Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Florida. By E. K. Foster. Tallahassee, Fla.: Charles E. Dyke. Pp. 24.
Alcoholic Inebriety. By Joseph Parrish, M. D. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston. 1883. Pp. 185. $1.25.
Home Gymnastics. By Professor T. J. Hartelius, M. D. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1883. Pp. 94.
The Possibility of not Dying. By Hyland C. Kirk. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 112. 75 cents.
French Forest Ordinance of 1669. With Historical Sketch of Previous Treatment of Forests in France. Compiled and translated by John C. Brown, LL.D. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd. Pp. 180.
The American Citizen's Manual. Part II. By Worthington C. Ford. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 184. $1.
Marianella. By B. Perez Galdós. From the Spanish by Clara Bell. New York: William S. Gottsberger. Pp. 264.
Libraries and Schools. Papers selected by Samuel S. Green. New York: F. Leypoldt. Pp. 186. 50 cents.
Libraries and Readers. By William E. Foster. New York: F. Leypoldt. Pp. 136. 50 cents.
Brain-Rest. By J. Leonard Corning, M. D. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 108. $1.
On Work and Wages. By Sir Thomas Brassey, K. C. B., M. P. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 296. $1.
The Sciences among the Jews before and during the Middle Ages. By M. J. Schleiden, Ph. D. Baltimore: D. Binswanger & Co. Pp. 64.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Poet, Litterateur, Scientist. By William Sloane Kennedy. Boston: S. E. Cassino & Co. Pp. 356.
Dr. B. C. Faust's Laws of Health. Translated and improved by Herman Kopp. Brooklyn: H. Kopp & Co. Pp. 37. 20 cents.
The Advanced Question-Book. By Albert P.
Southwick. Syracuse, N.Y.: C. W. Bardeen. Pp. 366. $1.50.
The Modern Sphinx, and some of her Riddles. By M. J. Savage. Boston: George H. Ellis. Pp. 160. $1.
Man before Metals. By N. Joly. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 365.
Manual of Assaying Gold, Silver, Copper, and Lead Ores. By Walter Lee Brown, B.Sc. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg & Co. Pp. 318. $1.75.
Authors and Publishers. A Manual of Suggestions for Beginners in Literature. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 96. $1.
Eureka—The Mysteries of the World Mysteriously Revealed. By Asa T. Green. Cincinnati: A. G. Collins. Pp. 141.
History of Medical Economy during the Middle Ages. By George F. Fort. New York: J. W. Bouton. Pp. 488.
Life of Sir William E. Logan, Kt. First Director of the Geological Survey of Canada. By Bernard J. Harrington. Montreal: Dawson Brothers. Pp. 432.