Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 47.djvu/287

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LITERARY NOTICES.
277

near St. John, N. B., by W. D. Matthew; The Geology of Essex and Willsboro Townships, Essex County, N. Y.; and Microscopic Organisms in the Clays of New York State, by Heinrich Hies. Several are illustrated with plates or cuts. Appended to the volume is a catalogue of the articles shown at the first annual reception and exhibit of recent progress in science held by the academy, March 12, 1894.

The Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1892-'93 is a record of work of the usual character done in the institution and its several allied bureaus—the United States National Museum, Bureau of Ethnology, National Zoological Park, and Astro-Physical Observatory. In accordance with the custom of several years past, the progress of science during the year of the report is represented by a considerable number of papers, mostly reprinted or translated from scientific journals, but some appearing first here. The subjects thus represented include photography in colors and photography of moving objects, aërial navigation, the ice age, polar exploration, American bows and arrows, descriptions of biological and meteorological stations, and a biographical sketch of Henry Milne-Edwards.

The operations carried on under the direction of the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries in 1891-'92, as set forth in his Report, comprise inquiries into the causes of the decrease of food fishes in the waters of the United States, the collecting of statistics and accounts of methods of the fisheries, culture of fish at twenty-two stations and their distribution to the number of 228,000,000 fry, 75,000,000 eggs, and 2,000,000 adults and yearlings. Preparations for the extensive exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition of the following year were carried on. Appended to the Report are several papers, the most considerable of which is on the Parasites of Fishes, by R. R. Gurley. Some Notes on the Oyster Industry of New Jersey are furnished by Ansley Hall, and there is a bibliography on oysters, by C. H. Stevenson.

The large and handsomely printed volume numbered two, which has been issued by the Iowa Geological Survey, is a full account of the Coal Deposits of Iowa, by Charles R. Keyes. After a general description of the carboniferous basin of the Mississippi Valley, the geology of the Iowa coal region is described in more detail, and the lithology and stratigraphy of the coal measures in this area are successively set forth. The coal beds now operated throughout the State are then taken up by counties, after which the composition and properties of Iowa coals are stated, and some information on waste in coal mining and the extent of the coal industry in the State is given. The volume is illustrated with many maps, views, and diagrams.

From the Sixty-second Annual Report of the Perkins Institution, of Boston, it appears that the total number of blind persons in the school, kindergarten, and workshop for adults, including sixteen employees, was 237 in September, 1893, an increase of twenty-seven daring the preceding year. Music is so often a source of remunerative employment for the blind that this department receives special attention. There were three blind and deaf children—Edith Thomas, Willie Robin, and Tommy Stringer—in the school, and making more than satisfactory progress. Their portraits and special accounts of their school work are given. Ten or a dozen books were issued from the printing office in the course of the year. A second building for the kindergarten had been completed, and the number of pupils in that department had increased to sixty-four.



PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Agricultural Experiment Stations. Reports and Bulletins. Connecticut: Eighteenth Annual Report. Parts II, III, and IV. Pp. 224.—Cornell University: Peach Yellows. B. L. H Bailey. Pp. 20.—Massachusetts: Nos. 54, 55, and 57. Meteorological Summaries and Analyses of Food, Fodder, and Manures. Pp. 8, each.—New Jersey: Fungous Diseases of Beets. By P. D. Halsted. Pp. 13.—Field Experiments with Fungicides. By B. D. Halsted and J. A. Kelsey. Pp. 32.—New York: No. 81, Manufacture of Cheese. Pp. 64. No. 83. Insects and Insecticides. Pp. 32. No. 84. Spraying Pear and Apple Orchards. Pp. 36. No. 85. Analyses of Commercial Fertilizers. Pp. 28.—North Dakota: Meteorological Summary, February. Pp. 13.—Ohio: No. 55. The Russian Thistle. Pp. 16, with Plates.—The San Jose Scale. Pp. 16, with Plate. University of Illinois: No. 34. Experiments with Wheat and Oats. Pp. 24. No. 35. The Russian Thistle. Pp. 4. No. 37. Corn Experiments. Pp. 24.

Alvarez, Antonio M., Director. Revista Potosina (weekly). San Luis Potosi, Mexico: José Guerre. Pp. 8.

American Forestry Association. Proceedings, Vol. X. Pp. 93-140.

American Society of Naturalists. Records. Vol. I, Part XIV. Boston. Pp. 32.