Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 8.djvu/778

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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.

Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences. 1875. Buffalo, N. Y.: The Courier Company, Printers. Pp. 120.

This issue is No. 4 of Vol. II., and comprises nine articles, with an index to the volume. The articles are No. 16 to No. 24 of the series, eight of which are upon subjects of entomology, and all of value to specialists in that science.

No. 18 is a check-list of the North American sphinxes by Aug. R. Grote, and No. 20 is a valuable paper by Dr. Scudder, being a synonymic list of the butterflies of North America north of Mexico.

Article No. 22, by M. C. Cooke, M. A., of London, is a synopsis of the discomycetous fungi of the United States, in which very full credit is given to American mycologists (or assistance rendered.

Necessity of a Mechanical Laboratory. By Prof. R. H. Thurston. Pp. 10.

Prof. Thurston here defines what a mechanical laboratory ought to be, its province and its methods. Such a laboratory the trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology, he informs us, have consented to establish. Such bodies as the Railway Master-Mechanics' Association, the Society of Civil Engineers, and the Iron and Steel Association, have pledged themselves to give aid and advice in promoting the enterprise.

Some Account of Zapus Hudsonius and Lagopus Leucurus. By Dr. E. Coues. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 14.

Zapus is the name given by Dr. Coues to a genus which includes only one species, the "long-legged mouse of Hudson's Bay." This animal, usually referred to the Muridœ, differs from the Muridæ, says Dr. Coues, to a degree warranting the recognition of a family Zapodidœ. With respect to Lagopus leucurus (the white-tailed ptarmigan). Dr. Coues remarks upon its breeding-habits, its nest, and its eggs.

The Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. By W. S. Forwood, M. D. Philadelphia: Lippincott. Pp. 241.

This is an excellent account of the great Kentucky Cave. It is not only a trustworthy guide for the visitor, but something far better than an ordinary guide-book—an historical and descriptive account of the Mammoth Cave, giving explanations of the causes concerned in its formation, its chemistry, geology, etc., together with full scientific details of the eyeless fishes. The volume has twelve lithographic illustrations, also an original map.

Geological Notes. By Prof. William B, Rogers. Pp. 13.

The two papers contained in this pamphlet are reprinted from the "Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History." The first of the papers treats of the Newport conglomerate, and the second of the gravel and cobble-stone deposits of Virginia and the Middle States.

Weights, Measures, and Money, of All Nations. By F. W. Clarke, S. B. Pp. 117. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Price, $1.50.

This is a very useful little volume, enabling the reader to reduce to United States standards the money, measures, and weights of every commercial nation in the world. The work is divided into two parts, in the first of which we have a classification according to countries, arranged alphabetically, and, in the second, a set of tables, giving the value of each unit both in English and in metric standards.


PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Washington Astronomical and Meteorological Observations (1873). Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 429.

Reconnoissance of Northwestern Wyoming. By W. A. Jones, U. S. A. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 332.

Algebraical Equations. By J. Macnie, A. M. Pp. 194. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co. Price, $2.50.

History of the United States. By J. A. Doyle. Pp. 404. New York: Holt & Co. Price, $1.40.

Beliefs of the Unbelievers. By O. B. Frothingham. New York: Putnams. Price, $1.

French Political Leaders. By E. King. Pp. 326. Same publishers. Price, $1.50.