Popular Science Monthly/Volume 24/January 1884/Literary Notices
The Law of Heredity. A Study of the Cause of Variation, and the Origin of Living Organisms. By W. K. Brooks, Associate in Biology, Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore: John Murphy & Co. Pp. 336.
This work combines in a very unusual degree the two traits that are so rarely found to coexist in scientific books: it is both original and independent in its views and is at the same time a most lucid and popular presentation of its subject. While the work is as far as possible from being a compilation, and will be sure to take its place as a valuable contribution to philosophic biology, the author has, nevertheless, given us such a survey of the general subject as will prove interesting and instructive to all readers. We needed a good exposition of the nature and present condition of the fundamental problems of heredity, and we here have it by one who has labored systematically and effectively in the direction of their solution; and what is perhaps still more to the purpose, we have it in the light of a new and advanced theory of the subject of extreme interest, and which will probably prove a permanent and valuable contribution to the inquiry.
Dr. Brooks devotes his first chapter to the question, "What is heredity?"—and he gives his readers a vivid idea of the marvels which it involves. Of course, people who have no real or accurate knowledge on the subject of life are but ill prepared to appreciate its subtilties, and our author observes that such people are apt to "regard an adult animal with feelings similar to those with which an intelligent savage might regard a telephone or a steamboat. ... A dog with all the powers and faculties which enable him to fill his place as man's companion is a wonder almost beyond our powers of expression; but we find in his body the machinery of muscles and brains, digestive, respiratory, and circulatory organs, eyes, ears, etc., which adapts him to his place; and study has taught us enough about the action of this machinery to assure us that greater knowledge would show us in the structure of the dog an explanation of all that fits the dog for this life—an explanation as satisfactory as that which a savage might reach in the case of the steamboat by studying its anatomy.... Let our savage find, however, while studying an iron steamboat, that small masses of iron without structure, so far as the means at his command allow him to examine and decide, are from time to time broken off and thrown overboard, and that each of these contains in itself the power to build up all the machinery and appliances of a perfect steamboat. The wonderful thing now is, not the adaptation of wonderful machinery to produce wonderful results, but the production of wonderful results without any discoverable mechanism; and this is, in outline, the problem which is brought before the mind of the naturalist by the word heredity.... In the mind of the naturalist the word calls up the greatest of all the wonders of the material universe: the existence in a simple, unorganized egg, of a power to produce a definite adult animal with all its characteristics, even down to the slightest accidental peculiarity of its parents—a power to reproduce in it all their habits and instincts, and even the slightest trick of speech or action."
Dr. Brooks then proceeds to state various other striking and subtile phenomena involved in heredity, and then intimates that, notwithstanding their refinement and obscurity, they are unquestionably capable of being cleared up so as to be as fully understood as other scientific laws. He says: "We may not be able as yet to penetrate its secrets to their utmost depths, but I hope to show that observation and reflection do enable us to discover some of the laws upon which heredity depends, and do furnish us with at least a partial solution of the problem; that we have every reason to hope that in time its hidden causes will all be made clear, and that its only mystery is that which it shares with all the phenomena of the universe."
Chapter II, on the "History of the Theory of Heredity," is of extreme interest. He traces the most notable speculations upon the subject that have been made in past times, and points out their inadequacy both from defective knowledge and from erroneous views of the nature of life, and shows that no explanations of the phenomena could be at all satisfactory until biology had fully accepted and broadly planted itself upon the evolution hypothesis. Dr. Brooks's summary in this chapter of the fundamental facts that have been established in this field of inquiry, and which he presents as requisites of a theory of heredity, is very discriminating and helpful in the prosecution of the inquiry. In Chapter III the same line of historic analysis is pursued more closely, and the author is here brought to the consideration of Darwin's theory of pangenesis, one of the latest forms of the explanation of hereditary phenomena. Dr. Brooks finds the hypothesis of Darwin to be unsatisfactory, in that it does not recognize such a difference in the functions of the reproductive elements of the opposite sexes as the facts require and now seem to warrant. And, after his review of the various theories that have been thus far offered, our author then proceeds to the main thesis of his work, which is the establishment of a new theory of heredity based upon the different powers and functions of the respective reproductive elements.
It will not be possible here to give any full or satisfactory account of Dr. Brooks's theory as elaborated and illustrated in the volume before us, nor will it be so necessary to the readers of the "Monthly," as Vol. XV of this magazine contains two articles upon the subject by the author representing his views, and exemplifying some of their higher applications. It may be stated, however, that while Darwin holds that male and female give equal elements in their combined offspring, Dr. Brooks maintains that they are not only different, but that the difference rises to the import of a general law. While the function of the female is conservative, or to preserve and hand on all the parts that belong to the race—all that has been acquired, with little or no tendency to vary from the race type—on the other hand, the male, leading a more varied and adventurous life, stamps the tendency to variation, the impulses to higher development, upon the common product of organization. There is more than plausibility, more even than probability, in this idea, and those who look critically into the evidence adduced by the author can hardly fail to recognize that he has seized upon an important principle in this field of investigation.
The English Grammar of William Cobbett. Carefully revised and annotated by Alfred Ayres. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 254.
"'Cobbett's Grammar,'" says the editor of this edition, "is probably the most readable grammar ever written. For the purposes of self-education it is unrivaled." This is probably because it is not strictly a grammar according to the common ideas of a grammatical text-book, but is rather a series of familiar, practical letters on the use of the English language. Technicalities are absent, and paradigms are rare, and given only in illustration of the discussions of the text. The editor's work has been chiefly to call attention to the points in which Cobbett's teachings differ from what is now considered the best usage, a matter in which changes may have occurred or more strict distinctions have been established since the first edition of the "Grammar" was published in 1818; to note the few errors of diction to be found in the letters; and to emphasize a more discriminating use of the relative pronouns than is customary in English literature. The last is a point on which the editor appears to set much store. The rule he announces on the subject is that "who and which are properly the co-ordinating relative pronouns, and that is properly the restrictive relative pronoun. Whenever a clause restricts, limits, defines, qualifies the antecedent—i. e., whenever it is adjectival—explanatory in its functions—it should be introduced with the relative pronoun that, and not with which, nor with who or whom. . . . Who and which are the proper co-ordinating relatives to use when the antecedent is completely expressed without the help of the clause introduced by the relative." The rule seems to be a useful one, other things being equal; but as we read the thats which the editor has inserted in brackets after Cobbett's who's and which's wherever he judges the change should be made in accordance with his rule, and as we observe in other places, we find it will not do to establish the maxim as obligatory, but that it must be made very often to yield in favor of euphony or considerations of grace in style. One of the most commendable features in the present edition is its complete and excellently arranged index.
Das Studium der Staatswissenschaften in Amerika (The Study of the Political Sciences in America). By Dr. E. J. James. Jena: Gustav Fischer. Pp. 26.
The substance of this publication was originally contributed by the author, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania, to the "Jahrbücher fur Nationalökonomie und Statistik." It comprises a clear review of the present condition of the teaching of political economy and other branches relating to public polity and administration in the colleges of the United States, with specific notices of the courses in those institutions in which more particular attention is given to it.
Twelfth Annual Report of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. By F. V. Hayden. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Part I. Pp. 809, with 154 Plates. Part II. Pp. 503, with 80 Plates and 17 Maps.
These volumes and the accompanying portfolio constitute the final report of the Hayden Survey, and cover the work done in 1878 and until the close of the existence of the survey, June 30, 1879. The first part includes the reports of Dr. C. A. White on Geology and Paleontology, and of Professor A. S. Packard, Jr., and R. W. Schufeldt on Zoölogy. The second part relates to the Yellowstone National Park, and comprises the "Geology" of that region, by W. H. Holmes; "The Thermal Springs," by Dr. A. C. Peale; and the "Topography," by Henry Gannett, E. M.
Sea-Sickness: Its Cause, Nature, and Prevention without Medicine or Change in Diet. By William H. Hudson. Boston: S. E. Cassino. Pp. 147. Price, $1.25.
Sea-sickness is regarded in this treatise as the result of offenses against gravity, aggravated by attempts to resist them. The irregular motions of the ship are constantly displacing the center and the direction of gravity of the body and its parts, while the muscular efforts made to counteract those efforts produce other shocks. Consequently, the system becomes thoroughly disorganized. The remedy recommended is to submit to the conditions. Secure a complete relaxation of the muscles, and there will be, it is asserted, no trouble.
Cumulative Method for learning German. By Adolphe Dreyspring. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 253. $1.50.
The theory on which Mr. Dreyspring has worked is that of repetition. His aim is to teach the student German by the same kind of process as that by which a native learns it, and so to drill him that he shall know when a phrase is formed aright, not by having to go through the painful process of a grammatical analysis, but simply because it "sounds right." The method is then generally oral and conversational. The first stumbling-block the student in German has to meet is the "chaos," as the author well styles it, of genders. Mr. Dreyspring meets it by drilling the pupil in series of exercises on single words in connection with the articles and pronouns and some adjectives. By the time he has pronounced the word in a dozen or twenty recurrences with the adjectival terminations, er, e, or es, that may be appropriate to the so-called gender of the word marking as many adjectives, he will be very apt to have gained the power of detecting a wrong use at once by its sounding wrong. Drills governed by this idea are supplemented by exercises and reading-lessons, with a stock of words that is considered ample for the practical wants of every-day life and conversation; and when, the author believes, "by constant and ever-varying repetitions, these words are fully mastered, the student will possess a thorough knowledge of the practical framework of the language."
Questões Hygienicas (Hygienic Questions). By Dr. João Pires Farinha. Rio de Janeiro: Typographia Nacional. Pp. 54.
Dr. Farinha is physician to the houses of detention and correction in Rio de Janeiro. The pamphlet before us is a collection of articles which he has contributed to the "Uniao Medica" and the "Jornal do Commercio" of that city, on such subjects as "Animal Emanations," "The Sewers of Rio de Janeiro and their Influence upon the Public Health," and "Popular Counsels on Matters of Hygiene."
Dangers to Health: A Pictorial Guide to Domestic Sanitary Defects. By T. Pridgin Teale, M. A., Surgeon to the General Infirmary at Leeds. Fourth edition. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 163. Price, $3.
A most vivid presentation of the ills which follow in the track of the botching plumber and drain-builder is this by Dr. Teale. Convinced that pictures are more effective than words, the author depicts in seventy plates various faults of sewerage, most of them actual cases, and accompanies each with a few paragraphs of explanation or history. The course of sewer-gas is indicated by blue arrows, and the flow, the leakage, and infiltration of sewage are also represented in blue. Among the faults described are untrapped waste and overflow pipes passing directly into a soil-pipe, traps emptied by evaporation or by the flow of water past their outlets, drain-pipes of poor quality or badly joined, and drains running uphill. A particularly striking group of pictures, entitled "How People drink Sewage," shows the danger to be expected from drains passing near or over wells. Among the interesting histories is the following: "Enteric (typhoid) fever broke out in a gentleman's house, from which it spread into the village. On examination I found that the water-closet was in the center of the house, and that the soil-pipe discharged into a common stone drain running under a tiled entrance-hall. This drain was almost without fall, so much so that it had become blocked, and the sewage had found its way under the flooring of the passage and rooms. It goes to a man's heart to take up a tiled hall in order to inspect a drain. Moral—the drain ought never to have been placed under the hall." Some twenty additional defects are noted without plates, and methods for detecting the escape of sewer-gas are given. The book contains also some hints on ventilating houses and carriages.
History and Uses of Limestones and Marbles. By S. M. Burnham. Boston: S. E. Cassino & Co. Pp. 392, with Forty-eight Chromo-lithographs.
The modest aim of the author of this book has been, in the absence of any work exclusively devoted to limestones and marbles known to him, to present the facts and speculations of original writers "so selected and arranged as to illustrate the value of limestones in some departments of geology, but more especially their use in the mechanic and fine arts, and their history in civilization." These stones are so abundant and so diversified, their uses are so multifarious, and they play so important a part in every field, that there is certainly room and use for a book of this kind. Mr. Burnham does not claim that he has entirely filled the vacant place. That would be more than it were possible for one compiler to do at a first effort. But he has made a creditable attempt, and has produced a book embodying a large amount of authentic information concerning limestones in all parts of the globe, and their uses in all periods of history. The first chapters are devoted to a scientific consideration of limestones, describing the different classes, the fossils so abundant in them, and of which many of them are so largely composed, and the general divisions of geological time. The more particular account of the several classes of limestones and marbles follows, beginning with those of the United States, which are grouped by "regions"—Atlantic, Mississippi, and the Rocky Mountains and Pacific coast. Other limestones are classified and described as those of British America, the West India Islands, Mexico, and South America. European stones are similarly described, by countries, as well as those of Asia, Australia, and Africa. The description of the Grecian marbles is accompanied with a few remarks on their application in Greek art; and in the later chapters are given accounts of the "Antique Marbles," "Antique Alabasters, Serpentines, Basalts, Granites, and Porphyries," "Antique Stones and Works of Art in Modern Rome," and "Antique Stones used to decorate Roman Churches." The appendix gives tabular views of the "Age and Locality of the Principal Limestones," "French Marbles," and "Marbles of Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, etc." The chromolithographs give clear and brilliant representations of the color and grain of some of the finer European, African, antique, and American stones.
Muster Altitalienischer Leinenstickerei (Patterns of Old Italian Linen-Embroidery). Collected by Frieda Lipperheide. First Part. Pp. 32, with 30 Plates. Second Part. Pp. 36, with 30 Plates. Berlin: Franz Lipperheide. Price, six marks each part.
The custom of embroidering articles of household linen with designs in colored silk or wool went nearly out of vogue in the last century, but still survives in parts of Italy, and traces of it may be found elsewhere. An attempt is now made to revive it and commend it. The publication in the Berlin "Modenwelt," and afterward in books, of a collection of patterns of old German embroideries revealed a richness in beautiful specimens of art of this kind that the world was not aware it possessed. The publisher might have supplemented his collection with another, as large, of additional patterns, in the same style, but he has preferred to vary it by presenting a second one in a distinct style, the old Italian. In the German embroideries, the figure is brought out in stitch-work, while the ground is left in plain linen. In the older Italian work the opposite motive generally prevails, and it is the figure that is left plain, and is embroidered around; yet there are variations, and both styles may sometimes be found in the same piece. The Italian patterns are gracefully drawn, evenly parceled off, and always conventionalized and wholly ornamental. Some of them may be ultimately of Grecian origin, but they all come to the collectors from Italy. They seem to have enjoyed an extensive diffusion, for works in Italian stitch may be found among nearly all nationalities; and we are given in these volumes, besides the Italian and Grecian designs proper, Moroccan, Persian, and Spanish-Moorish groups, all congenial in motive, but having each traits and beauties peculiar to themselves. The designs reproduced by Frau Lipperheide are taken from authenticated specimens of from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, or from Italian pattern-books of the sixteenth century. The letterpress preceding the plates furnishes full, clearly illustrated instructions for executing the work in the various stitches.
THE BERLIN REPORT.
The Question of a Division of the Philosophical Faculty. Inaugural Address on assuming the Rectorship of the University of Berlin. Delivered in the Aula of the University, on October 15, 1880, by Dr. August Wilhelm Hofmann, Professor of Chemistry. Second edition, with an Appendix containing Two Opinions on the Admission to the University of Graduates of Realschulen, presented to his Excellency the Royal Minister of Public Instruction, by the Philosophical Faculty of the Royal Frederick William University, in the Years 1869 and 1880. Boston; Ginn, Heath & Co. 1883. Pp. 77.
This is the somewhat formidable title under which the celebrated "Berlin Report" on classical and scientific education appears in English. The first part of it, embracing thirty-five pages, consists of the elaborate inaugural address of Dr. Hofmann, delivered October 15, 1880, devoted to a general discussion of the policy of dividing the Philosophical Faculty of the German universities so as to create a new faculty of the natural sciences. Dr. Hofmann opposes this on various grounds, and then passes to the question as to the admission for graduates of the real schools to the university, which he resists, and which is also a part of the general question of the unity of the Philosophical Faculty. Following the address is the opinion of the Philosophical Faculty of the Berlin University, given in 1869, against the proposed admission of the real-school graduates, and then comes the adverse report of the same faculty, made in 1880, after the real-school students had been admitted. The remainder of the appendix consists of notes and extracts from various authorities confirmatory of the views taken in the reports. The pamphlet contains a preface by John Williams White, of Harvard College, giving various interesting explanations. As the subject is one of considerable prominence just now, the appearance of this document in an English form will be helpful in the discussion, and will be welcomed by many readers.
Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission. Vol. I, for 1881, pp. 466; Vol. II, for 1882, pp. 467. Washington: Government Printing-Office.
The "Bulletin" is now published by the authority of an act of Congress, in two forms, a part of the edition being distributed signature by signature as the matter is collected and put in type, while the other part is bound up at the end of the year in an annual volume. Two classes of readers are thus accommodated those who wish to get the matter as fast as it appears, as news, and those who prefer to have it in permanent form, in bound volumes. The two volumes now before us, being the first published under the new system, contain numerous articles on a variety of subjects relating to the description, propagation, catching, habits, and care of fish, the value of which is both scientific and practical; of American and of foreign origin; and original, relating to the home observations of the agents or direct correspondents of the commission, or selected from an extensive range of living ichthyological literature, and the reports of other countries. We regret the absence of an adequate classified index to the volumes. A copious general alphabetical index is given, and an index by authors, and they should not be dispensed with; but, in a work marked by the fullness of matter that characterizes these volumes, another index seems to be needed, giving the titles of articles.
Animal Life: Being the Natural History of Animals. By E. Perceval Wright, M. D. London, Paris, and New York: Cassel, Petter, Galpin & Co. Pp. 618. $2.50.
The author of this attractive work is Professor of Botany in the University of Dublin. He has prepared his book especially in view of "that class of readers who, while they take an intelligent interest in the study of natural history, have but little taste for the technical details which would naturally form the bulk of a scientific manual on the subject. With this view, nearly two thirds of the contents have been devoted to the mammals and birds. Nevertheless, the other classes have not been neglected, but a fair degree of consideration is given to the reptiles, fishes, insects, mollusks, and the lower divisions of the animal kingdom. The book has grown to its present form out of the series of lectures on zoölogy which Dr. Wright delivered several years ago to the natural history classes of his university, and the matter of it, enriched with copious citations from travelers distinguished for their researches in natural history, has been systematized and reduced to its present comprehensive and connected form, under advantages which only long-maturing thought can confer, and which a book prepared to meet a present demand can not so well enjoy. The systematic method is faithfully followed, and the animals are described by classes, orders, families, and the other related groups, in regular order, with the scientific distinctions carefully noted, so that a clear view is given of all that comes within the scope of the work. The adaptation of the style to the mind not familiar with technical language, the beauty of the broad pages with their clean paper, sharp type, and the profusion of appropriate and excellently executed illustrations, make the work eminently pleasant and suitable to the family and to general readers, and one which should attract all the young, who have any taste in that direction, to the study of natural history.
Mineral Resources of the United States. By Albert Williams, Jr. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 813.
This volume represents one of the divisions of the United States Geological Survey under the direction of the Hon. J. W. Powell. It is intended to furnish an account of every mineral, whether a metallic ore, a useful salt, a building material, or a fertilizer, that is economically mined in the United States, with notes of the localities where they are found, and estimates of the production and trade value of the stuff.
Ueber das galvanische Verhalten der Amalgame des Zinkes und des Cadmiums (On the Galvanic Behavior of the Amalgams of Zinc and of Cadmium). By William L. Robb, A. B. Berlin: Gustav Schade. Pp. 30.
This is the inaugural dissertation by the author, an American student, on receiving at the University of Berlin, in August last, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
The Physician's Visiting List for 1884. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston & Co. Price, $1.
This, as the title implies, is a sort of annual hand-book or note-book for doctors, which now reappears in the thirty-third year of its publication. It is in a compact and convenient form, and is arranged for twenty-five patients weekly. Its dose-table has been revised to accord with the late changes in the Pharmacopœia, and has a list appended with suggestions for their exhibition. There are several other tables for ready reference, and aids for calculation, and the leaves for addresses, memoranda, etc., are arranged upon a plan at once simple and comprehensive. There are more advertisements included than it seems necessary for a physician to carry round in his pocket.
The Handy Book of Object-Lessons. From a Teacher's Note-Book. By J. Walker. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. Pp. 129. $1.25.
This work is intended as an aid to teachers, in furnishing them with material for their lessons, and suggestions as to the way it may be used. The matter is ruled into two columns one, headed "Matter," containing the information to be imparted, while the other, headed "Method," is intended, not to be dogmatically adhered to, but to furnish what may serve as specimens of the various expedients to which teachers may resort. Two series of lessons are furnished. In the first series are given lessons on the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, and, in the second series, lessons on physiology, physical geography, and manufactures; besides which, each series contains a department of "Miscellaneous" lessons.
King's Hand-Book of Boston. Cambridge, Mass.: Moses King. Pp. 360. $1.
This work is designed to describe every noteworthy feature and institution of Boston. The subjects are systematically arranged, beginning with a sketch of the history of the city, after which are described the "Arteries," the "Arms" (railroads, steamers, etc.), the "Hotels and Restaurants," the "Public Buildings," and so on, through the list. The matter is periodically revised, so as to bring the successive editions of the book up to the time of their issue. The whole furnishes a comprehensive and useful account of a very interesting city, presented in the best typographical style, with illustrations worthy of their subject.
Johns Hopkins University. Studies from the Biological Laboratory. Professors H. Newell Martin and W. K. Brooks, editors. Vol. II, No. 3. Baltimore: N. Murray. Pp. 96.
The Geology and Topography of Iowa in a Sanitary Point of View. By P. J. Farnsworth, M. D. Pp. 12. Typhoid Fever of America: Its Nature, Causes, and Prevention. By E. J. Farquharson, M. D. Pp. 12. Hospitals for Contagious Diseases, and their Proper Location. By E. J. Farquharson, M.D. Pp. 12. Ventilation. By Justin M. Hull, M. D. Pp. 48. All published at Des Moines, Iowa, by the Iowa State Board of Health.
The Oyster Epicure. New York: White, Stokes & Allen. Pp. 61. 80 cents.
English as She is Spoke. "Her Seconds Part." New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 56. 20 cents.
The Antipyretic Treatment of Typhoid Fever. By G. C. Smythe, M. D., Indianapolis, Ind. Pp. 24.
Annual Report of the Kansas City Public Schools, 1882-'83. Kansas City, Mo.: Ramsey, Millett & Hudson. Pp. 157.
The Despotism of Words in Relation to Science. By Orpheus Everts, M. D., College Hill, Ohio. Pp. 8.
An Examination of Some Controverted Points on the Physiology of the Voice. By T. Wesley Mills, London. Pp. 28.
Description of a Revolving Astigmatic Disk. By Charles A. Oliver, M. D., Philadelphia. Pp. 7.
Ocean Grove Camp-Meeting Association. Fourteenth Annual Report. Ocean Grove, N. J. Pp. 76.
Experimental and Inductive Chemistry. Prospectus and Proof-sheets. By Charles R. Dreyer, Fort Wayne, Ind. Pp. 32.
Chicago Astronomical Society and Dearborn Observatory Reports, 1883. Chicago: Knight & Leonard. Pp. 15.
University of Georgia, Medical College, Closing Exercises. Pp. 4.
The Treatment of Wounds, as based on Evolutionary Laws. By C. Pitfield Mitchel. New York: J. H. Vail & Co. Pp. 29. 50 cents.
"Scandinavia: A Monthly Journal," 29 N. Clark Street, Chicago. Pp. 24. 20 cents; $3 a year.
Diccionario Tecnológico: Inglés-Español y Español-Inglés. (Technological Dictionary: English-Spanish and Spanish-English.) By Nestor Ponce de Leon. In Twelve Parts. New York: N. Ponce de Leon. Pp. 48 each part. 50 cents each.
Historical Essay on the Art of Bookbinding. By H. P. DuBois. New York: Brad street Press. Pp. 42.
The Evolutionary Significance of Human Character. By Professor E. D. Cope. Pp. 12.
State Asylum for Insane Criminals. Twenty-third Annual Report. Auburn, N. Y.: W. J. Moses. Pp. 40.
Calendar of American History, 1884. By Delia W. Lyman. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 865 Leaflets and Index. $1.
Directory to the Charitable and Beneficent Societies and Institutions of the City of New York. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 169.Felicitas. A Romance. By Felix Dahn. New York: William 8. Gottsberger. Pp. 208.
Explosive Materials. By M. P. E. Bertholet. New York: D. Van Nostrand. Pp. 180. 50 cents.
Wonders of Plant-Life under the Microscope. By Sophie Bledsoe Herrick. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 248. $1.50.
A Hand-Book of Hygiene and Sanitary Science. By George Wilson. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 510. $2.75.
Manual of Chemistry, Physical and Inorganic. By Henry Watts, F.R.S. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 595. $2.25.
The Organs of Speech. By G. H. von Meyer. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 349.
Queen Victoria. Her Girlhood and Womanhood. By Grace Greenwood. New York: John E. Anderson & Henry S. Allen. Pp. 401.
The Human Body. By H. Newell Martin, D.Sc. New York: Henry Holt & Co. Pp. 355. $1.50.
Text-Book of Popular Astronomy. By William G. Peck, Ph.B. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co. Pp. 330.
Zoölogy. By A. 8. Packard, Jr. Now York: Henry Holt & Co. Pp. 334. $1.40.
Destructive Influence of the Tariff. By J. Schoenhof. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 112.
World-Life, or Comparative Geology. By Alexander Winchell, LL.D. Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co. Pp. 642. $2.50.
Dangers to Health. A Pictorial Guide to Domestic Sanitary Defects By T. Pridgin Teale. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 172.
History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North. By Frederik Winkel Horn, Ph. D. Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co. Pp. 507. $3.50.
The Natural Genesis. By Gerald Massey. New York: Scribner & Welford. 2 vols. Pp. 552, 535.
Report of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, 1860. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 1060, with Plates.
A Practical Treatise on Materia Medica and Therapeutics. By Roberts Bartholow. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 738.
Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1881. Pp. 840.
Cruise of the Revenue Steamer Corwin in Alaska and the Northwest Arctic Ocean in 1881. Notes and Memoranda. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 120, with Plates.