Popular Science Monthly/Volume 38/November 1890/Literary Notices
American Spiders and their Spinning-work. By Henry C. McCook, D.D. Vol. II. Published by the author: Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Pp. 480, quarto. Price, $30 for set of three volumes.
The high character of the first volume of this work is fully kept up, if not excelled, in the second. We have here the same careful observation that marked the first volume, the same painstaking description, the same clear and picturesque language, and more than an equal wealth of illustrations, for, in addition to the four hundred cuts, Volume II contains five colored plates. These last may be taken as samples of those that are to form so large a feature of the concluding volume. Upon the completion of Volume III, which is now well under way, the price of the set will be raised to $50. This has been found necessary, in order to reimburse the author for the cost of publication. The early portion of the present volume is devoted to the courtship and mating of spiders. Here are described the search of the male for a mate, his approaches, made cautious by the knowledge that his prospective bride may eat him if she does not feel amiable, his actions in the union, and his flight for life afterward. The males of some species execute curious dances to win the favor of the females; the water-spiders have special habits of mating due to their mode of life; and various other peculiarities are observed in other species. Maternal industry and instincts are next taken up, this subject comprising the making of cocoons, and the means employed to protect their contents from exigencies of climate and weather, and assaults of enemies. The habits of orb-weavers are taken as the basis of the account, but the cocoonery of many other species is fully described for the purpose of comparison. The early adventures of the young form another phase of spider-life that receives similar detailed attention. One of the most interesting chapters is that dealing with the ballooning habit of spiders, or their practice of sailing through the air borne up by several streaming threads. The habit is by no means confined to one species, Dr. McCook deeming it probable that the young of most spiders are more or less addicted to this mode of motion. There is a chapter on the senses of spiders, in which the anatomy of the sense-organs is described. In speaking of color and the color-sense, Dr. McCook contradicts the popular idea that spiders as a class are ugly, and says that as fair and brilliant colors may be found among the spiders as among the butterflies. Other topics treated are the influence of hostile agents in causing mimicry on the part of spiders, in modifying their habits, and in causing the feigning of death. Dr. McCook does not accept the theory of fear-paralysis as regards spiders, but believes that their assuming of death-like stillness in the presence of stronger enemies is entirely voluntary. The bodies of spiders are so easily destroyed that many readers will be surprised to find a chapter on fossil spiders in this book; yet thirty-two species have been found in America and one hundred and ninety in Europe. Of these European spiders one hundred and sixty-eight were preserved in amber. In the course of this volume the author has been brought in contact with many of the modern problems of biology, lie has not taken sides in any controversies, but the facts that he has recorded concerning the araneads can not fail to throw light on some of the matters in dispute. His contributions to science, already notable, are made much more so by this splendid work; and when it is remembered that his observations have been made in the moments that could be spared from a busy professional life, his achievements excite wonder as well as admiration.
School Supervision. By T. L. Pickard, LL. D. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 175. Price, $1.
Not only superintendents and teachers, but all those concerned in the management of children, will find helpful hints in this volume. It is the outcome of twenty years of keen observation in the superintendency of schools, such excellent oversight that Dr. Harris writes of it, that "In the visits of inspection made to the principal cities of the country in the decade 1867 to 1876... he found no system to compare with that of Chicago while under the supervision of Mr. Pickard." The first subjects treated are the qualifications and duties of the superintendent in the State, the county, and the city. The work of the State Superintendent is largely advisory; he needs to be upright, broadminded, forcible, and judicial. The county superintendent comes closer to the schoolroom, while the city superintendent finds his chief duty supervision of instruction. The relation of the superintendent to pupil, teacher, parent, and Board of Education is considered in special chapters. In discussing courses of study, a vigorous argument for the high school is given. The author points out in the preface that his views of promotions and examinations have changed materially in later years. "Examinations appear too frequently as the end of schoolwork rather than as a means to an end. So prominent has been the error, and so ruinous its acceptance, that wise men are tending to an opposite extreme." Other important topics which receive attention are physical training, moral training, and government of pupils.
Two obstacles to the progress of the public schools are noted: "1. The large proportion of inexperienced teachers employed. 2. The lack of professional spirit." About twenty-two per cent of new teachers are required annually. The majority are women who make teaching a temporary matter rather than a life-work. To effect a change the superintendent must meet the old theory that "'competition determines wages,' with the newer theory that salary is attached to place and not to person, and, where places are vacant, the most competent persons available should be called to fill them without regard to sex." Professional schools are needed as well as advancement in normal schools. Among the means suggested for the improvement of teachers are teachers' meetings, the use of good periodicals, and "lines of study outside of school-work," such as scientific societies and summer schools afford. The book contains besides an index two appendices one in which a strong plea is made for moral influence in the school, and another devoted to a study of boys.
Hypnotism. By Albert Moll. The Contemporary Science Series. New York: Scribner & Welford. Pp. 410. Price, $1.25.
While this subject is doubtless still in its infancy, it has already engaged the efforts of so many and so able investigators, and has aroused such a wide popular interest, that no list of books on the science of the time would be complete without a treatise upon it. Dr. Moll's book is a survey of the whole subject, adapted to the general reader. The author passes over the history of hypnotism very briefly. His method of giving the reader an idea of the phenomena of hypnotism is by relating several experiments, and this leads to a short consideration of the methods of inducing hypnosis, who can be hypnotized, and what distinct stages of hypnosis there are. On this last point Moll accepts provisionally a classification lately published by Max Dessoir, dividing the states into two large groups, which are distinguished thus: "In the first group merely the voluntary movements show changes; in the second group abnormities in the functions of the sense organs are added. In the first group, also, only those functions are abnormal which we attribute to the centrifugal nerves, while in the second group the functions of the centripetal nerves are likewise disturbed." The longest and most important chapter in the book is that on the symptoms of hypnosis. These he arranges under the headings Physiology and Psychology, but merely for convenience, as the bodily functions become abnormal only in consequence of changed mental states. The physiological symptoms concern "the voluntary and involuntary muscles, the organs of sense, common sensation, the secretions, metabolism, and, in rare instances, also the cell-power of organization." As to whether reflex movements that do not appear under normal conditions appear in hypnosis, as Charcot and Heidenhain assert, the author is inclined to say "not proven." Under psychology he names abnormity of the memory, the performance after being wakened of actions suggested during hypnosis, the habit of hypnotics trying to find reasons for absurd suggested acts, etc. In his opinion we can not speak of loss of consciousness in hypnosis, nor is the subject devoid of will power, as is often shown by resistance to suggestions. In concluding this division of the subject, Dr. Moll delivers a caution against mistaking the results of training for essential hypnotic phenomena. For instance, Delbœuf artificially induced the stages of Charcot in one of his own subjects in a few hours. A discussion of states cognate to hypnotism follows. Dr. Moll begins by saying, "I do not think we can make a close comparison between sleep and hypnosis," but seems to contradict himself by stating, in conclusion, that "hypnosis by no means needs to be sharply distinguished from sleep." Next the author takes up the theory of hypnotism, and passes in review the various actions in the brain that have been supposed to account for hypnotic phenomena. He gives a little attention to the subject of simulation, because disbelievers in the reality of hypnotism are very fond of crying fraud. lie also considers respectively the medical and the legal aspects of hypnotism in a suggestive style, and closes with a tolerant glance at the alleged phenomena of animal magnetism, telepathy, etc. Two indexes and a short list of the books the author chiefly recommends are appended to the volume. The author is himself an experimenter and frequently alludes to his own results, but his tone throughout is that of a judge rather than that of the advocate of any special theory. His pages bristle with parentheses, inclosing names of men to whom he credits observations and opinions. The work claims to be thoroughly up to date, it gives evidence of having been carefully written, and it has already had the benefit of one revision.
Practical Sanitary and Economic Cooking adapted to persons of moderate and Small Means. By Mrs. Mary Hinman Abel. American Public Health Association: Rochester, N. Y. Pp. 182. Price, 40 cents.
This little work is the essay for which was awarded the prize of five hundred dollars offered by Mr. Henry Lomb, of Rochester, in 1888. Its great superiority over the other essays offered in the competition may be inferred from the fact that no one of the other sixty-nine was adjudged worthy of the second prize of two hundred dollars offered at the same time. The basis of the treatise is an explanation of what is meant by food principles, with the amounts of each that are required by a man, a woman, and a child, respectively, and the percentages to be found in different kinds and cuts of meat, in vegetables, etc. This theoretical matter is illustrated by practical directions for cooking all the reasonably economical foods. The recipes are grouped under the three headings, Proteid-containing Foods, Fats and Oils, and Carbohydrate-containing Foods. In describing methods of cooking meat, the author first answers the question which probably few housewives have ever thought to ask Why do we cook it at all? Several ways of cooking each kind are given, and the rank of each in the scale of economy is told. In the short chapter On Fats and Oils, the importance of fat in the diet is emphasized, and several ways of preparing cheaper fats so as to take the place of butter are described. The cooking of grains and vegetables, and the making of bread, fritters, and puddings, are described in like manner with the cooking of meat. Soups, being among the most economical of dishes, receive a large share of attention. The author advises the housewife to make use of the full range of seasonings at her command, so as to increase the number of stimulating flavors that can be given to the food of the family. In conclusion, there are given twelve bills of fare for a family of six, costing on the average seventy-eight cents a day, twelve costing one dollar and twenty-six cents, and twelve dinners to be taken by a man to his work and eaten mostly cold. Other topics, namely, drinks at meals, cookery for the sick, and the buying of meat, are treated, and the author has deemed a few words on the arrangement of the kitchen not out of place. Mrs. Abel's mode of presenting her subject is thoroughly scientific, and at the same time is attractive and encouraging, and not above the comprehension of an ordinarily intelligent woman, if she is not afraid of columns of percentages, and such words as "proteid" and "carbohydrate." The book is sold for a nominal price, in order that the information it contains may be widely diffused. It is published in both paper and cloth covers, and in the German as well as the English language, and may be obtained by addressing Essay Department, American Public Health Association, P. 0. Drawer 289, Rochester, N. Y.
A Treatise on Massage, Theoretical and Practical. By Douglas Graham, M. D. Second edition, revised and enlarged. New York: J. H. Vail & Co. Pp. 342. Price, $2.75.
The history, mode of application, and effects of massage, indications and contra-indications, are also included in the title of this book. The author is known to the readers of the Monthly from his having published in it, in October, 1882, a description of General Massage, which was one of the fullest and most intelligible and satisfactory popular accounts of the subject that had till then been given, and which we believe did much to bring massage into general notice. The first edition of this work was published a little more than two years afterward, for the purpose of recalling the facts and observations scattered in numerous medical memoirs, and uniting them with the author's own experience. For the present edition, the work has been thoroughly revised, and enlarged with numerous additions, many of them confirmatory of statements previously regarded as doubtful. Two new chapters have been added—one on local massage for local neurasthenia, and the other on the treatment of scoliosis by means of massage. Much new and valuable information from European doctors is introduced on the uses of massage in affections of the ear, in scoliosis, in affections near and into joints, and in affections of the abdominal organs. The summary of the history of massage, to which two chapters are devoted, traces the development of the process from the rubbings of the most ancient times. According to Prof. Billroth, massage is as old as surgery itself and that means as old as mankind. Rubbing is spoken of by Homer, and was practiced among the Greeks and Romans, by people of different classes, in their gymnasia and their baths, among whom it seems to have been highly appreciated by men of note, eminent as physicians or philosophers, poets or historians; and so it has come down to us—not been discovered. It is also familiar and efficacious among many barbarous and savage peoples. In the chapter on the mode of applying massage, the point is maintained that the matter should not be left to novices, to persons who "have a knack" for it, or to those who take it up without instruction, or with imperfect instruction, but is one in which intelligence and professional skill have an important place, and which doctors should not be above engaging in personally. The study of the physiological effects of massage is declared to be commensurate with that of physiology itself. It "rouses dormant capillaries, increases the area and speed of the circulation, furthers absorption, and stimulates the vaso-motor nerves. . . . Seeing that more blood passes through regions massed in a given time, there will be an increase in the interchange between the blood and the tissues, and thus the work done by the circulation will be greater, and the share borne by each quantity less." The process is then shown, in particulars, to be beneficial in affections of the nervous system. In the succeeding chapters its application is discussed, with numerous citations of illustrative cases in each which are preferred to deductions—in nervous exhaustion and anæmia, in affections of the uterus and other internal organs, in local neurasthænia, in affections of the central nervous system, in writer's cramp and allied affections; in neuralgia, peripheral paralysis, muscular rheumatism, muscular rupture, elephantiasis, œdema, scoliosis; in sprains and affections of the joints; in disorders of the head, face, eyes, ears, and throat, and in catarrhal affections.
Sanity and Insanity. By Charles Mercier. Contemporary Science Series. New York: Scribner & Welford. Pp. 395. Price, $1.25.
The author has endeavored, not so much to describe and enumerate, as to account for the phenomena of insanity. It is agreed that certain occurrences are occasional, others common, and others invariable in insanity, and that certain occurrences are frequently associated; but why such connections should exist has never been explained, nor, so far as the author knows, inquired into. Many hypotheses are experimentally applied in the pursuit of the inquiry thus outlined, without claiming that they are the true explanations of the facts, but because "at any rate, they are explanations of some kind," the author believing that the state of our science "has reached a point at which some explanation of the facts of insanity has become desirable, and that any hypothesis, even if erroneous, is a step toward the attainment of truth, and is better than a mere unorganized accumulation of facts." A more clear distinction is insisted upon than is observed by some physio-psychological writers—perhaps the careless ones—between nervous processes and the mental states that accompany them. While there is no thought or mental condition without a nervous process, the relation between the two is like that of a shadow, equivalent, obverse, or accompaniment of inexplicable association. It is found, in the search for a definition of insanity, that in every case of the affection three factors are present—"disorder of the highest nerve arrangements, disorder of conduct, and disorder of consciousness; and in every case the disorder of consciousness includes disorder of thought and of feeling, of self-consciousness, and of consciousness of the relation of self to the surroundings. In no two cases, however, are these various factors combined in quite the same way, and thus no two cases precisely resemble one another. On the way in which they are combined depends the form which the insanity assumes." Among the causes of insanity are those arising from heredity, which may work under the law of inheritance or under that of sanguinity, in which are involved the effects of different degrees of similarity or dissimilarity in parents; direct stress, or the action of noxious agents immediately on the nerve-centers; and indirect stresses—which are of internal origin when the agent is some commotion in the organ itself, as in the case of morbid affections; or of external origin, when the agent is some commotion in the environment, as when cares of family or business or social and political relations worry. The forms of insanity are various, and are hardly susceptible of a fixed classification. They may be arranged from different points of view, and may run into one another. The author treats idiocy, imbecility, sleep, old age, and drunkenness as being marked by one or more of the features that may enter into insanity, and discusses the forms of the real affection under the heads of melancholia, exaltation, and dementia. The discussion of the points brought up is lively and bold, and the observations upon them are pungent and often witty.
The Antiquities of Tennessee and the Adjacent States, and the State of Aboriginal Society in the Scale of Civilization represented by them. By Gates P. Thruston. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke k Co. Pp. 369, with Plates. Price, $4.
The author is Corresponding Secretary of the Tennessee Historical Society. He does not in this work expound a theory, but presents a series of historical and ethnological studies, very largely his own, but with those of others often brought in for illustration and comparison, the aim of which is to exhibit precisely the evidence which the mounds and their contents afford of the degree of civilization attained by the builders and the character of their social life. The book has grown out of the author's labors in describing the fine types of pottery and other objects found in the large aboriginal cemetery which was discovered near Nashville about two years ago. The material worthy of illustration accumulated so rapidly that it was found impossible to do justice to it in the modest pamphlet that was contemplated. It became necessary, also, to consider the general subject of ancient monuments and antiquities in Tennessee, in order properly to introduce the new material discovered, and thus make the publication useful to a larger class of readers. The people whose relics are described here are called by the author the Stone-Grave race, because their dead were placed in cists or box-shaped graves built of stone slabs, and sometimes constructed with much care. A hundred or more of these graves are occasionally found, deposited in several tiers or layers, in a single burial mound. The utensils and treasures laid away with the bodies are generally well preserved, and "tell the story of domestic life in the Cumberland and Tennessee Valleys with remarkable exactness, and unravel secrets that the most imposing monuments of the native races have failed to disclose." Besides the graves, the remains of the forts, villages, and settlements of the same people have been discovered in considerable numbers; and, on the whole, Tennessee appears to have afforded one of the most fruitful fields that the American archaeologist has been privileged to explore. The articles—inscribed stones, idols, images, totems, potteries, pipes, implements of chipped stone, smooth stone, copper, bone, and shell—betoken an artistic taste and technical skill beyond that of our Indians or of the mound-builders of the States farther north, and are more on the level of the best New Mexican work. Among the most remarkable of them are some finely finished large flints, from sixteen to twenty inches long, which the author designates as scepters, and others equal to them in degree, which he classifies as ceremonial implements. The most remarkable, perhaps, are the shell gorgets, carved with intricate figures, in which the human form may be discerned, the style of which suggests Mexican and Central American work. One of these, from the MacMahon Mound, Sevierville, represents two human figures in combat, and is regarded as the highest example of aboriginal art ever found north of Mexico. A unique stone in the collection of the Tennessee Historical Society has engraved upon it the representation of a group of mound-builders, with their banners, weapons, costumes, and manner of dressing the hair clearly shown. The author, who is an original investigator, and not liable to be deceived, vouches for the authenticity of all that he describes. A chapter is devoted to the study of the ancient houses, which are compared with those of the Mandans, and the aboriginal trade, which seems to have been co-extensive with the continent. In age the people were probably pre-Columbian, but may have lived down to the days of the Spanish explorers. In ethnic relations they were a branch of the general stock of our Indians, in a more advanced stage of civilization than any of them now are, but not in other respects differing more from them than some of the tribes differ from others.
The Criminal. By Havelock Ellis. Contemporary Science Series. New York: Scribner & Welford. Pp. 33V. Price, $1.25.
Mr. Ellis has attempted in this work to present to the English reader a critical summary of the results of the science now commonly called criminal anthropology. The study of the problems of this science—which deals with the criminal as he is in himself and as he becomes in contact with society, and with the social bearings of the subject—has been carried on with great activity during the past fifteen years in many countries, and has given rise to a considerable number of elaborate and thorough-going treatises, most of which are inaccessible to general English readers, and, by reason of their magnitude or of the special, detailed character of the research, are not likely to become familiar. Mr. Ellis has reviewed them and picked out the conclusions to which they lead with much skill and apparently without prepossession in favor of any special theory. Besides doing his workman's work in a workmanlike manner, he has shown a capacity to handle the subject independently, as one who has made himself master of it, and has matured his own manner of regarding it. First, the chief varieties of the criminal are enumerated; the causes of crime are classed as cosmic—the influence of the external organic world; biological—the personal peculiarities of the individual; and social. The history of the study of criminality is next sketched, and its importance is indicated. The physical characters of criminals are considered and compared with those of other men, after the example set by Lombroso, with reference to various anatomical peculiarities as well as to the broader factors of general structure, physical sensibility, and heredity. Of psychical factors, moral insensibility, intelligence, vanity, emotional instability, sentiment, and religion are presented as those to the influence of which, on one side or the other, the most importance may be attached. The working of these factors is illustrated by reference to the custom of tattooing, thieves' slang, prison inscriptions, criminal literature and art, and criminal philosophy. The results of criminal anthropology are reviewed in the fifth chapter; they are sometimes obscure and even contradictory; but we can not afford, in dealing with criminals, to dispense with such science of human nature as we may succeed in attaining. The lesson is drawn that criminality is a natural phenomenon to be studied gravely and carefully, according to natural methods; and that by natural and reasonable methods alone can the problem of its elimination be faced with any chance of success. The general character of some of these methods is indicated.
Protoplasm and Life, one of the Fact and Theory papers series, published by N. D. C. Hodges, New York, contains two biological essays by Charles F. Cox. In the former essay, entitled The Cell Doctrine, the author reviews the history of the theory of protoplasm and the discussions upon it, and reaches the conclusions that the original idea of the cell, as propounded by Schleiden and Schwann, has gradually faded away; that there appears to be no one visible and tangible substance to which the name protoplasm is rigidly and exclusively applied; and that life is as much a mystery as ever. In the second essay, which is on the Spontaneous Generation theory, he endeavors to show that a transition from not living matter to living forms is an essential step in the process of evolution; that at the point at which experimental proof is applicable (namely, present and continued archebiosis) the theory of such transition is discredited, if not disproved; and that "the general theory of evolution is still in the stage of hypothesis, and that in the gap between lifeless substances and living forms we have the veritable 'missing link.'"
In preparing his book on Tornadoes (New York, N. D. C. Hodges, Fact and Theory papers) Prof. H. A. Hazen has aimed to present in popular style the theories bearing on the subject, and the facts that have accumulated from year to year, otherwise scattered through many volumes. Efforts have been made to sift theories to their sources; to review Espy's work, which lies at the basis of modern theories of tornado formation; to obtain an estimate of the tornadoes that have occurred in this country since 18*73; and to compare the destruction by tornadoes with that by fire. Some suggestions are given about tornado insurance. The sun-spot theory and the possibility of predicting tornadoes are touched upon. The Louisville tornado is described; and directions are given for observing tornadoes.
The Chief Signal Officer of the Army complains in his Report for 1889 that the military branch of the corps is deteriorating for the lack of facilities for the practical training and drilling of the officers and men, but makes a full exhibit of meteorological work. The issue of weather forecasts and storm warnings has been continued, and the demands for them have increased. As the field to which they are applied expands, modifications have to be made in their shape; they become more general, and local work has more to be left to local observers; and in this department obligations are acknowledged to certain newspapers in the larger cities. Defects in the predictions are excused by pleading the amount of work that is imposed upon the persons who have to make them. Thus the chief forecast official has forty-nine minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes at night at his disposal for what is a very complicated task. Yet, the percentage of correct predictions is rising 78·3 in 1887, 81·6 in 1888, and 83·8 in 1889. Weather reports from the West Indies have been resumed. A special study is being made of cold waves. Weather signals are supplied at 1,056 stations. Observations of atmospheric electricity have been discontinued, as not promising, under present conditions, to lead to valuable results. The weekly weather crop Bulletin has been continued, and its value has been appreciated. Special attention is given to the height of risers at seventy places on twenty-six rivers.
The second volume of the report consists of a treatise by Prof. Cleveland Abbe of Preparatory Studies for Deductive Methods in Storm and Weather Predictions. Together with already known conclusions and principles, it brings forward many new results; discusses the relative importance of various forces and resistances, the prominent features of vortex motion, the turbulent flow of the atmosphere, and the dynamic origin of the diurnal variation of the barometer connected with it; gives much space to the vertical motion due to buoyancy, to the formation of clouds, and to the conclusions to be drawn from their study. It seeks for the source and maintaining power of the storm, and for the conditions that influence the movement of the storm center.
The Reference Handbook for Readers, Students, and Teachers of English History, by E H. Gurney (Ginn & Co.), is a series of tables of the historical families of England. It gives the descent of William the Conqueror, of the kings of England and their families, the descent of the present reigning families, the nobility of England, counselors and statesmen from 1066 to 1889, the principal British writers, and the dates of principal events.
Mr. John Kennedy, author of the Stem Dictionary of the English Language (A. S. Barnes & Co.), has proceeded on the opinion that there is a more satisfactory and more useful way of enlarging one's vocabulary than by definition. The definition of-a word built up out of a familiar primary word is superfluous, because the word explains itself. If we know the stem, we can readily determine the meaning of the words into which it enters. This leads to the study of stems and to the adoption of word-structure as the basis of elementary education. This book is prepared as an aid to the study. In it the principal stems of the language are presented in alphabetical sequence, together with the value of each; first the primary value, then the line of transition into the secondary or derived use. In connection with each stem is given a list of its principal applications, together with such parenthetical remarks as may be helpful in connecting the stem value with the present use of the word. The list is liberally illustrated with quotations from standard authors, showing how many of the words have been used in their writings. It is also freely garnished with notes that embody literary, scientific, or historical lore. The stem-list is preceded by a word list which may be consulted when the stem is to be found, and is followed by a list of prefixes.
The first six books of The Annals of Tacitus, edited by the late Prof. William F. Allen, has been added to the "College Series of Latin Authors" (Ginn, $1.65). About half of each page is occupied with notes, and an introduction of thirty-two pages embodies information about the works of Tacitus and their characteristics, Tiberius, the condition of the Roman Empire in his time, etc. Appended to the volume are some textual notes, an index of proper names, and an index to the notes.
The Pleroma (Putnam, $2.50) is an account of creation in blank verse, in which the author, Rev. E. P. Chittenden, combines the biblical story with the revelations of science. It is in what the author calls semi-dramatic form—that is, like the form of the second part of Faust, the characters, or "voices," being mostly angels, spirits, forces, forms, etc.
The question of reading the Bible in the public schools is briefly reviewed in an essay by Joseph Henry Crooker (Wisconsin State Journal Printing Company). The stimulus to the publication of this pamphlet was a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin prohibiting the use of the Scriptures for religious instruction in the schools of the State, and a subsequent address by Dr. Bascom criticising such action. The author finds a "fundamental fallacy" in the claim that Bible reading can be warranted in the schools of a secular state. It is not read as literature, nor as history, but as a supernatural revelation. He considers the decree "a friendly act" toward the Bible, since it prevents the use of archaic texts and passages obnoxious to young minds. The conclusion is reached that not only is the decision of the court in accordance with the Constitution of Wisconsin, but that it is illustrative of "the holiest motive of human affairs, . . . the sentiment of universal justice," and indicates the dawn of "the modern state."
A series of articles originally contributed to Science by Oscar Browning is republished in revised form by the Industrial Education Association, under the title Aspects of Education. In this a study is made of the theories of teaching that have influenced the world since the Reformation. These are resolved into three classes: humanism, or the study of language; realism, a study of things; and naturalism, training for the art of living. The author claims in favor of language study that weighing the shades of meaning in words cultivates a subtler tact than either mathematical reasoning or biological discrimination. The realistic method of teaching, although indebted to Comenius and Milton, received its greatest impetus from the examples of Pestalozzi and Froebel. "There is no fear that, in the present day, the learning of things instead of words will be neglected." It is observed that "natural education will always have advocates and apostles, especially in times when there appears to be a danger of over-refinement or over-pressure; but the wise educationalist will turn to it as a repository of cautions and warnings rather than as an armory of weapons fit for fighting against the ever-present enemies of ignorance and sloth." The pamphlet concludes with a historical sketch of the English public schools. Winchester, Eton, Harrow, and Rugby still adhere to the classical curriculum, so that "a public school man means one who has been educated mainly in Greek and Latin." The suggestion is made anent the boarding school system, that "an idea may grow up that the home is, after all, the best place for children."
Nos. 10 and 12 of Quiz Compends (Blakiston, $1 each), are at hand. The former is A Compend of Chemistry, inorganic and organic, including urinary analysis, by Henry Leffman, M. D., which has reached its third edition. It gives a cursory view of the field of general chemistry, dealing also with biological chemistry, and is intended to serve medical students partly or wholly in place of written lecture notes. As to changes from the preceding editions, the author says that he has endeavored to bring the work up to date, and has given more space to explanations of the nature and functions of acids and radicles. He has also treated the organic substitution compounds more at length.
No. 12 of this series has for its subject Equine Anatomy and Physiology. It is by William R. Ballou, M. D., and contains twenty-nine graphic illustrations selected from Chauveau's Comparative Anatomy. The facts and descriptions are given very concisely, and are arranged under heads and sub-heads, divisions of different ranks being distinguished by different type. In order that the eye may readily find any item of which the reader is in search, each subhead begins a new line.
From the same publishers we have received the third edition of The Essentials of Medical Chemistry and Urinalysis, by Sam E. Woody, M. D. (price, $1.25). It contains more matter than the usual volumes of lecture notes, and may be described as a brief treatise. Directions for a considerable number of experiments are inserted in the form of foot-notes, and processes and arrangements of apparatus, etc., are shown in sixty-two cuts. The chapter on urinalysis is quite full, and contains figures showing the appearance under the microscope of various solid matters, crystalline substances, etc.
Also from the Messrs. Blakiston comes a little volume in the same style as the last, but much briefer, on Electro-Chemical Analysis, by Prof. Edgar F. Smith (price, $1). It is designed to make students acquainted with the methods of quantitative analysis by electrolysis. The author describes the plan of the book as comprising "a brief introduction upon the behavior of the current toward the different acids and salts, a short description of the various sources of the electric energy; its control and measurement; after which follow a condensed history of the introduction of the current into chemical analysis, and sections relating to the determination and separation of metals, as well as the oxidations possible by means of the electric agent. . . . The methods of determination and separation given preference are not those of any one individual, but have been selected from all sources after an experience of many years, care being taken to present only those which actual tests have shown to be reliable and trustworthy." The volume contains twenty-five illustrations.
A new and revised edition is published by William Wood & Co. of Mr. Henry Kiddle's Text-Book of Physics, in which are incorporated the alterations needed to adapt the book to the present state of science. The work itself is an adaptation or simplification of Ganot's work, and regard has been had, in carrying out the revision, to the changes and improvements that have been made in the successive editions of the prototype. A large number of experiments, with new illustrations, have been added in the department of "Application of Principles."
Health for Little Folks (American Book Company) is the book for primary grades in the "Authorized Physiology Series." It teaches what the laws now require in regard to alcoholic beverages and tobacco, with frequent iteration, and states briefly the general rules of health and the structure of the body. Physiology and anatomy, however, are treated in the first two books of the series merely as aids "to enable the pupil to comprehend the topic which is the real object of study, viz., the laws of health and the nature of alcoholic drinks and other narcotics, and their effects upon the human system." The volume is written in simple language, it is clearly printed, and is made attractive with many illustrations. The series is indorsed by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
The Open Court Company, Chicago, publishes by special license of the author, Three Lectures on the Science of Language and its Place in General Education, which were delivered at the Oxford University Extension Meeting of 1889, by Prof. F. Max Müller. In the first lecture the author finds a mark of distinction between man and animals in the use of language transmitted from generation to generation, and shows how the enormous vocabulary of the English language has grown up from a comparatively small number of primitive roots. In the second lecture these roots are shown to correspond with distinct concepts in the mind of man, of which animals have none; and the lesson taught by the science of language—which is shown to have a practical value—is expounded. In the third lecture the author maintains that language—which is the key to thought—affords a surer test of race affiliations than physical characteristics can, and insists upon his theory of the Asiatic origin of the Aryans as against the Scandinavian theory of some modern students. To the three lectures are added an essay, entitled My Predecessors, in which Prof. Müller disclaims originality for his idea of the identity of thought and language, and strives to show that it has been taught by the nominalists and other philosophers in the past. (Price, 75 cents.)
A group of stories from Norse Mythology has been published by Mary E. Litchfield, under the title The Nine Worlds (Ginn, 60 cents). The style of the book is intended to be simple enough for children, but not too simple for adults. The author says: "I have written the story of the gods as it has formed itself in my mind after much reading and thinking. Whatever is coarse or unpoetic in the old stories has been left out, and much has been added from my own imagination." She has taken various liberties with the ancient legends, such as putting certain prophecies into the mouth of Odin, because he is represented as knowing the future, supplying connecting links in the history, and giving added prominence to certain characters.