room for the mental training of children. Other books are "A First Lesson in Natural History," by Mrs. Agassiz; and "Commercial and other Sponges, and Common Hydroids, Corals, and Echinoderms," by Professor Alpheus Hyatt. Boston: Ginn Brothers.
The Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of the State of California for THE Years 1878 and 1879 records the progress of the efforts to stock the rivers and lakes of the State with valuable fish; and gives also a report by Mr. W. L. Lockington upon the food-fishes of San Francisco. The introduction of salmon into the Sacramento River has been attended with great success. White-fish have thriven in the lakes. Seventy-four catfish from the Raritan River, planted in lakes near Sacramento in 1874, have increased to millions, and furnish an immense supply of food. Sacramento: State Printing-Office.
The Report of the Entomologist of the United States, Department of Agriculture, is largely occupied with the description of insects affecting the cotton-plant, and of the silk-worm and its culture. It also notices a considerable number of insects which are locally destructive to vegetation. Washington: Government Printing-Office.
A Lecture on Petroleum, its History, Commercial Importance, Uses, and Dangers, by P. Schneitzer, Ph. D., of the Missouri State University, embodies a great deal of information on the subject in a small pamphlet. Printed at Columbia, Missouri.
Vowel Theories, by Alexander Graham Bell, describes investigations into the physiology of the formation of the vowels in the throat and mouth, and experiments with the phonograph, which were undertaken by Mr. Bell with reference to their bearing upon Helmholtz's theory of the harmonic composition of the vowel-sounds. New York: William Wood & Co.
"The Industrial News and Inventor's Guide." This is a new journal, edited by Mr. C. B. Norton, and is the organ of the American Industrial Exhibit Company (limited) of New York. It is a monthly magazine of twenty pages quarto, illustrated, the special object of which is stated to be to bring invention and capital together under favorable circumstances and at little expense. The first number is filled with matter relating to the Australian Exhibitions and new inventions. $2 per annum.
The Form of Seeds as a Factor in Natural Selection in Plants, by Robert E. C. Stearns, is an account of studies on the succession of predominant plants in the fields near the University of California, illustrating the advantages which burr-seeded or bearded-seeded plants possess in the struggle for existence.
On Meteoric Fireballs seen in the United States during the Year ending March 31, 1879, by Professor Daniel Kirkwood, is an account of all the meteors observed during the time which were brought to the notice of the author, with the attendant circumstances and phenomena. Many of the descriptions were given by the observers personally; others are gathered from reports made where the meteors were seen.
Indian Corn, by E. Lewis Sturdevant, M. D., though brief, is an exhaustive treatise on the subject. It gives the botanical definition of the plant, its bibliography, its synonyms in all countries, its history and mythology in America, its European history, accounts of its original varieties and its minor variations, of the Indian cultivation, and of the products from the grain, and the classification of varieties, with numerous references to authorities. Among the special questions discussed is whether corn was not known in Europe before Columbus, having been introduced by the Northmen. It seems to have been known in China as early as the sixteenth century. Charles Van Benthuysen & Sons, Albany, N. Y.
The Action of the United States Tariff. By Alfred Tyler, F. G. S. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sods. 1880. Pp. 16. 10 cents.
What Christians Believe. By Miles Gaylord Bullock, Ph. D. Syracuse, New York: Thomas W. Durston & Co. 1879. Pp. 218. 35 cents.
