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Popular Science Monthly/Volume 47/September 1895/Literary Notices

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LITERARY NOTICES.

Handbook of Psychology. Senses and Intellect. 1890. Pp. 343. $1.80. Handbook of Psychology. Feeling and Will. 1894. Pp. 339. $2. Elements of Psychology. 1892. Pp. $1.50. By James Mark Baldwin, Stuart Professor of Psychology in Princeton University. New York: Henry Holt & Co.

Prof. Baldwin expresses the hope in the preface to Senses and Intellect that no book upon psychology will hereafter satisfy the requirements of higher education for more than a generation. He says that the philosophical conception of the sphere and function of psychology now prevalent is widely different from that of twenty years ago, when many of the works were written which are yet used as introduction and strong support to the philosophy taught in the universities—"the new conception, namely, that psychology is a science of fact, its questions are questions of fact, and that the treatment of hypotheses must be as rigorous and critical as competent scientists are accustomed to demand in other departments of research." It is no new complaint that outworn and effete ideas continue to drag through school books long after they have been exploded in the world of living science. The hypothesis of caloric was still taught to the young when the doctrine of the correlation and conservation of forces had become firmly established in the minds of scientific men. The old dual chemistry held on in education, though all out of harmony with well-known facts, and though discussion and speculation were rife concerning the chemical constitution of bodies. When at last the compilers of text-books could no longer ignore the new state of things and seriously undertook to keep their works abreast of discovery, the advance was so rapid that new books and new editions were needed every eight or ten years at most It is the same now in psychology. The accumulation of facts in this field and the activity of speculation about them are quite as remarkable. Since the appearance of Prof. Bain's great work on the Senses and Intellect forty years ago, wherein the physical basis of mind for the first time received adequate treatment in a book of instruction, there has been a most productive activity of observation, experiment, inquiry, and speculation, and several new divisions of psychological science have taken distinct form. Not to speak of psychiatry, or abnormal psychology, we have psychometry, psychophysics, and neurology pursued independently and with promising results. An excellent feature also is his "Further Problems for Study," given at the end of each chapter, indicating partially unexplored fields in which students may engage themselves in an original way. It is thus that tastes are strengthened in early life, that character is formed, and philosophers are made. When, therefore, the attempt is made to give such a presentation of the science as will meet the needs of our higher education and of an intelligent reading public, great judgment is required in choosing and rejecting material lest the work overrun all practical bounds, like that of Prof. James's, or for the most part omit the discussion of unsettled questions, like Sully's. A judicial quality is also needed to enable the author to deal fairly and in proper proportion with all branches of his vast subject. Prof. Baldwin's handbook may be commended in both these directions. He not only gives the facts, but he discusses theories and presents the important aspects of disputed questions. He does not burden the text with difficult points that are unsettled, but puts them in smaller print for students who like to know all sides and to go to the bottom of the case.

The first volume of the handbook, Senses and Intellect, opens with a short introduction, of which Chapter I is on the nature of psychology, Chapter II on method, and Chapter III on classification. Part I, containing two chapters, deals with the general characteristics of consciousness and attention. Part II, on the intellect, has nine chapters, and the book concludes with a short chapter on The Rational Function.

Oddly enough, we have to wait till the second volume, On Feeling and Will, before we are given an account of the structure and functions of the nervous system. Why this is so does not appear, although it is evidently by design. Prof. Baldwin states the truth about the connection between mind and body plainly enough, but does not emphasize it or enlarge upon it. Perhaps he had some jealousy of physiology, for he says in the preface to the second edition of Senses and Intellect that the object of the work was "largely, to demonstrate the independence of psychology," and a parade of pictures from the physiologies at the very outset might prejudice the case. His metaphysical training would be apt to generate such a feeling. However, in The Emotions and Will full consideration is given to the physiological side of the subject in three chapters: Chapter I, The Nervous System; Chapter II, The Nervous System and Consciousness; Chapter III, Nature and Divisions of Sensibility. Four chapters follow upon the Feelings and four upon the Emotions before we reach the division of the Will, to which a hundred pages are given. The headings of the chapters and of the paragraphs look very attractive, and we have dipped into the work sufficiently to perceive the thoroughness of Prof. Baldwin's preparation for his undertaking, his deep earnestness and abounding enthusiasm. He must have looked upon his first venture as an experiment, and we can imagine his delight when within a year of its publication the unexpected demand was made upon him for a new edition of Senses and Intellect. This alone is a proof of its adaptation to present needs, while the interest aroused by it in the author's "philosophical point of departure" is another guarantee of its quality. Still another, were it needed, may be found in the request made by a number of teachers of psychology in the universities that a single, compact volume should be made of the larger work, such as could be furnished at reasonable cost. This request has been complied with in the Elements of Psychology, wherein the exposition of the larger work is simplified, whole sections having been rewritten and chapters recast, while more illustrative facts and illustrations are furnished than are given in the large work. The treatment of the nervous system has been put at the beginning, as "a concession," and references to the corresponding fuller treatment of subjects in the larger work are given at the beginning of each chapter. And so, by slightly reduced type, we have the newest essentials of the science put within reach of everybody. We may add that Prof. Baldwin's large work has been welcomed and strongly commended abroad as well as at home. Fault may doubtless be found with details of its execution, but the spirit in which it is written, its power to awaken interest, enthusiasm, and a thirst for inquiry, are matters of greater importance, and in these respects the work is admirable.

Actual Africa; or, The Coming Continent. By Frank Vincent. With Map and over 100 Illustrations. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 541. Price $5.

Mr. Vincent's tour of Africa began in Morocco, where customs, institutions, and public affairs are dominated by the despotic Mohammedan religion. He describes the cities, bazaars, roads, and open country, tells how the Jews and Moors live, and gives us an idea of the architecture and wonderful arabesques of the mosques. Tangier, Mequinez, Fez, Wezzan, and a number of smaller Moroccan towns were visited, and our traveler then proceeded to Algeria. While in this country, now a French colony, he made a trip to an oasis in the edge of the Sahara and saw several Roman ruins. In Tunis other Roman remains and the ruins of Carthage were. visited. There is naturally more or less sameness in the cities of the Barbary states, but with the ascent of the Nile we enter upon new scenes. Mr. Vincent takes us to the sphinx and the pyramids, and in succession to the temples and tombs at Memphis, Sakhara, Beni Hassan, Assiout, Denderah, Luxor, Karnak, Edfou, Kom Ombo, Kalabshah, Aboo Simbel, and Abydos, penetrating into Nubia as far as Sarras. While describing these monuments of severe grandeur he does not neglect to give us a realistic panorama of the river banks and landing places, showing the native boats and fishermen, style of agriculture, devices for irrigation, crocodiles, donkey-boys, relic peddlers, fields of sugar cane, sugar mills, etc., etc. From Egypt he takes us through the Red Sea and southward to Mauritius and Réunion. Before returning to the mainland an extended tour is made through Madagascar, where the French are now carrying on a war with the natives. Any one who would understand the condition and resources of the country, and the character and relations of its three races of inhabitants, should study Mr. Vincent's account. He next crosses to Zanzibar, sees Tippoo Tib, and has an audience with the Sultan, who "decorates" him. Proceeding down the coast to Natal, our traveler turns inland to Johannesburg—the city of Gold—and Kimberley, going thence to the Cape Colony. In coming up the west coast the first district visited is Angola, where the habits of the natives and the arrangements for trading with them furnish much material of interest. Mr. Vincent made an extended exploration of the Congo Free State, having an opportunity to accompany the managing director of the Upper Congo Company in an expedition to explore branches of the Congo where no settlements of whites existed, and establish posts upon them. The Cameroons, the Niger Territory, the Guinea Coast, the Cape Verde, Madeira, and Canary Islands are visited in turn, and the circumnavigation of the continent is completed when Gibraltar is passed once more. The illustrations, all full-page plates from photographs, are a valuable feature of the book. They include views of cities and native village-!, portraits of prominent personages, pictures of natives showing their characteristic dress (or lack of it), dancing girts, scenery, industrial operations, etc., etc. The author's descriptions are eminently satisfying, and they are so because, in addition to the main facts, he is not too dignified to put in those characteristic details which fill the gaps between the outlines and give continuity to his word-pictures.

Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America. By Frank M. Chapman. Illustrated. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 421. Price, $3.

This is one of the most attractive and, at the same time, useful books that has come to our notice on this subject. Mr. Chapman is particularly well qualified, by long and enthusiastic study, to teach us about birds; and he has adopted an arrangement in this work which makes the subject extremely interesting, and the book a very easy one to use.

It is unfortunate that many of us are so entirely ignorant of bird life that one of the most varied and beautiful of Nature's creatures has no place in our landscape pictures; and as for their language, we are in even a worse plight. During a recent walk through the woods with a city friend, a wood thrush suddenly gave voice some little distance ahead of us. The friend immediately remarked that he didn't know crows lived in the woods. Such absolute ignorance as this is of course rather rare, but some of us are little better off. For many, a knowledge of bird lore is simply an addition to the pleasure obtained from out-of-door life; but to the large agricultural class it has an important economic value, and to the scientific philosopher the bird fills an important place in the evolutionary scheme. Mr. Chapman divides the science of ornithology into three branches—systematic, philosophic, and economic. The systematist classifies birds according to what are apparently their true relationships. "He is the ornithological storekeeper, and, having taken an account of stock, it is his duty to keep the books of the firm in order." The philosophic ornithologist, with the aid of these books, attempts to explain the reasons for and the effects of what he finds existing. "He is a seeker of causes." The economist, essentially practical, is impressed by the important part which birds play in the economics of Nature, and the value to the agriculturist of a knowledge as to whether their influence is, in a particular case, for good or evil. He says: "Few persons realize the value of birds to man. They are the natural check upon the increase of insect life; . . . indeed, it is not too much to say that without birds the earth would not long be habitable." On the last page of the introductory chapter is a heading, The Sentiment of Ornithology, under which the aesthetics of the science are considered. What impresses one most strongly in these few paragraphs is the enthusiasm of Mr. Chapman over his science. A perusal of simply this portion of the book assures one that the author's "whole heart is in his work," and that of course implies the very best results of which he is capable. In the next chapter he tells us how to study birds out of doors. How and when to find them requires a study of their haunts and migratory habits; how to identify them in the field, a consideration of the necessary outfit, such as gun, field-glasses, etc. This chapter is closed with some hints on keeping note-books and journals. Chapter III deals with collecting and preparing birds, nests, and eggs for museum specimens, and the care necessary to keep them in good condition after their installation in the museum. A few pages are then given to an explanation of the plan of the work. One of the many valuable features of the book is a color chart containing thirty different color combinations.

The remaining three hundred and sixty pages are occupied by the descriptive matter. The distinguishing characteristics of each order are first considered, including cuts of both bill and foot when necessary. Then the families and their individuals are studied. The technical description is, in most cases, followed by some observations on the origin of the bird's common name, on a curious habit which it may have, or other interesting facts, from the pen of some careful observer in the regions where this particular specimen abounds. There are a number of very pretty full-page illustrations. The book is tastefully and strongly bound, and may readily be carried in the pocket of a fishing or hunting coat.

Thinking, Feeling, Doing. By E. W. Scriptore, Ph. D. (Leipsic). Meadville, Pa.: Flood & Vincent. Pp. 304. Price, $1.50.

In this volume the director of the psychological laboratory in Yale University sets forth the methods of what may be called the new psychology—"a psychology of fact," as he terms it, "a science of direct investigation of our thinking, feeling, and doing." He gives twenty chapters of directions for laboratory tests of reaction-time and thinking-time, steadiness, attention, power of discrimination by the senses, emotion, memory, etc., most of them requiring apparatus of more or less complex construction. The author affects no occult profundity in this work. His style is popular and the illustrations that he uses to bring home the nature of the several faculties to the student or reader are drawn from everyday life or well-known occurrences. Thus he begins the chapter on attention by declaring frankly that he can not tell what attention is. He proceeds to illustrate the process by describing the image thrown by a camera, in which the object in focus is distinctly seen while surrounding objects appear in successively greater degrees of dimness according to their distances from the focus. He then describes experiments which consist in showing pictures, letters, words, etc., to the observer for a brief time, and from which it has been learned that four or five such objects can be grasped at the same time. The following extract from his statement of the methods of forcing attention to an object will serve as a sample of his mode of treatment:

The first law I shall state is: Bigness regulates the force of attention. Young children are attracted to objects by their bigness. Advertisers make it a business to study the laws of attention. American advertisers in the past and also largely in the present rely chiefly on the law of bigness. They know that one large advertisement is worth a multitude of small ones. A certain New York life-insurance company puts up the biggest building, the New York World builds the highest tower. Churches frequently vie in building not the most beautiful but the largest house of worship. . . . Bigness, however, costs. The art of successfully applying this law of bigness lies in finding the point at which any increase or any decrease in size lessens the profit.

Four other laws are stated and exemplified in similar manner, and the discussions of other topics and directions for experiments are quite as lively and simple in language as the foregoing. In the two concluding chapters the ways in which the new psychology differs from both materialism and spiritualism are pointed out and some account is given of the labors that have most contributed to its rise, with portraits of Herbart, Fechner, Helmholtz, and Wundt. There are over two hundred other illustrations showing apparatus, persons, and animals being experimented upon, diagrammatic records, etc.

The Source and Mode of Solar Energy. By I. W. Heysinger, M. A., M. D. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company. Pp. 363.

The author takes as his guiding principle the theory that the true source of solar energy is not to be found in the sun itself, but in the potential energy of space, and that this energy is transmitted to the sun in the shape of electric currents of inconceivably high potential generated by the movements of the planetary system, which is really a huge induction machine. "All planetary space," he says, "is pervaded with attenuated vapors or gases, among which aqueous vapor occupies a leading place. The planets and all planetary bodies having opposite electrical polarity from the central and relatively fixed sun, by their orbital motions around and constant subjection thereto act as enormous induction machines which generate electricity from the ocean of attenuated aqueous vapor, each planet being surrounded by an enormous electrosphere carried with the planet in its axial and orbital movements, the successive atmospheric envelopes gradually diminishing in rotational velocity until merged into the outer ocean of space. As the planets advance in their orbits they plunge into new and fresh fields, and as the whole solar system gradually moves onward through space these fields are never reoccupied. These electrospheres by their rotation generate enormous quantities of electricity at an extremely high potential—so high that we can scarcely even conceive it—and this electricity flows in a constant current to the sun, where it disappears as electricity to reappear in the form of solar light and heat." A chapter is given pointing out the difficulties in the way of accepting present theories. The book is readable and interesting, contains numerous extracts from astronomical authorities, and some well-executed cuts.

The Story of "Primitive" Man. By Edward Clodd. With Illustrations. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 190. Price 40 cents.

The second of the little books in the Library of Useful Stories deals with the fascinating science of man, and with that division of it concerning which Dr. Johnson said but little more than a century ago, "We can know no more than what the old writers have told us." A great deal that seemed unknowable in Johnson's time, however, is now known, and Mr. Clodd here gives the general reader a comprehensive view of what we are told by the old river beds, lake bottoms, caverns, sepulchres, and refuse heaps concerning man's doings before there were any writers. Mr. Clodd is well known as the author of The Story of Creation, A Primer of Evolution, and The Childhood of Religions, and is thoroughly acquainted with the subject which he here epitomizes. After discussing the place of man in the earth's life history and the earth's time-history, he describes the implements and other remains of primitive man that have been found, and tells what may reasonably be inferred from them concerning human life at the time they were laid down. He divides this ancient period into the customary ages, but records his conviction that no hard-and-fast line can be drawn between the two stone ages. "The revolution wrought by metals," he says, "is the greatest that the world has yet seen or that it will ever see." Mr. Clodd has fully attained the ideal of the series to which he contributes this little volume. He has succeeded in telling his story in an eminently readable style, explaining all uncommon words that he was obliged to use and avoiding hosts that he might have used. He takes frequent occasion to call attention to the workings of evolution in human affairs, thus showing his emancipation from the sentiment that man is not really a part of Nature, which still hampers some men of science. There are an abundance of instructive illustrations, and for frontispiece the author has chosen the clever picture by Gabriel Max showing the probable appearance of-the "ancestors of man."

Principles and Practice of Agricultural Analysis. By Harvey W. Wiley. Volume I, Soils. Easton, Pa.: Chemical Publishing Co. Pp. 607.

The chemist of the United States Department of Agriculture has undertaken the task of preparing a comprehensive manual for the estimation of soils, fertilizers, and agricultural products, and the first volume of the work is now before us. After some account of the origin of soils the author describes a variety of methods of taking samples for analysis and the preliminary treatment of the samples. Proceeding to the analysis, he takes up first the determination of physical properties, including behavior to heat, cohesion, adhesion, absorption of salts, and porosity. Another division of the work relates to the flocculation of soil particles and the separation of soil particles by a liquid, together with some miscellaneous determinations, and a chapter is given to estimations of gases. Coming to the chemical examination, methods are given for the determination of potash, lime, magnesia^ manganese, iron, phosphoric and sulphuric acids, chlorine, silica, kaolin, and nitrogen. Some forty pages are devoted to determinations of oxidized nitrogen, and a few matters of less general application are grouped at the end. Following each of the eight parts into which the volume is divided is a list of authorities cited in that part. There are ninety-three figures, mostly of apparatus. Prof. Wiley uses the new spelling of bromin, bromid, sulfur, and similar words adopted by the Chemical Section of the American Association. In gathering the material for this work he states that he has drawn freely upon the results of experience in all countries, though paying more particular attention to what has been accomplished in the United States.

Introduction to the Pedagogy of Herbart. By Chr. Ufer. Translated by J. C. Zinser. Edited by Charles de Gaumo. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. Pp. 123. Price, 90 cents.

It is not possible to use an elementary text-book to the best advantage unless one has 6ome conception of the point of view and ends which the author has in mind. This work attempts to give in simple, concrete manner a bird's-eye view of the ends and means of education as seen by Herbart, and serves as a guide not only to the works of Herbart himself, but also to the writings of his school. Although it has been impossible to make all the hard things easy, yet the author has certainly rendered it possible for the thoughtful teacher to make a profitable beginning.

Animal Rights. By H. S. Salt, with an Essay on Vivisection by Albert Leffingwell, M. D. New York: Macmillan & Co. Pp. 176. Price, 75 cents.

It is unfortunate that the reformer so generally overstates and misapplies his views that the people are often misled as to their real value. His zeal for his one reform obscures all other considerations, thus leading him to make impracticable and ridiculous applications of it. This has been a feature in the "prevention of cruelty to animals" movement, and the book before us is no exception. There is nothing in it especially worthy of mention; it rehearses all the old arguments, insists that we are trespassing on the animal's rights in using it for food or by catching it in a trap to protect our granaries and chicken houses, and says that we are parties in a crime when we allow our students, after the utmost precaution has been taken to avoid giving pain, to examine the workings of the vital machine in the animal. The first few paragraphs of the introductory chapter are rather deceptive, their tone leading one to expect a thoughtful and moderate discussion of the question.

Geology. By Charles Bird, F. G. S. London and New York: Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. 429. Price, $2.25.

Although described on the title-page as "a manual for students in advanced classes and for general readers," this may properly be called an elementary book. It is written in a simple and readable style, and, so far as a necessarily brief examination shows, it omits no topic needed by one who is beginning his acquaintance with geology. Moreover, it does not go into any of the abstruse questions of the science. To facilitate the use of the book in teaching, a summary and a list of questions are given at the end of each chapter, and to enhance its worth for general readers matter has been inserted to illustrate the various points of contact which geology has with practical life, including its application to such questions as water supply, agriculture, mining, and building material. There are three hundred cuts in the text, and at the end of the volume are examination papers, a classification of the fossils, and an index.

Edward Knobel has hit upon an idea for the study of Nature that ought to prove popular. He has made A Guide to Find the Names of all Wild-growing Trees and Shrubs of New England by their Leaves, consisting of fifteen plates, on which are tastefully grouped leaves of two hundred and fifteen trees and shrubs, a key occupying the pages facing the plates. The whole is printed on heavy glazed paper in the form of an oblong booklet with a cardboard cover. He has undertaken a series of such guides, the second, already issued, being devoted to Ferns and Evergreens of New England. In this the plates are printed in white on black, which brings out the delicate tracery of the ferns very effectively. The subjects of other booklets in preparation are: Day Butterflies and Dusk-fliers, Beetles of New England, Moths of New England, Fresh-Water Fishes, and Frogs, Turtles, and Snakes (Whidden, 50 cents each).

An introduction to the subject of Electrical Measurements, by Edward Trevert (Bubier Company, $1), is a neatly arranged little book, of convenient size for the pocket. For an amateur who is attempting practical work the book ought to be a very handy one. Its four chapters, Electrical Units, The Measurement of Resistance, Current Measurements, and Potential Measurements, occupy 117 16mo pages. There are numerous illustrations.

A condensed and convenient Handbook of Practical Mechanics comes to us in the shape of a 16mo from Charles H. Saunders, of Hartford, its author and publisher. It is intended for use in the shop and draughting room, and contains rules and formula? for the solution of practical problems. There are numerous tables and illustrations where necessary. The last few pages contain a collection of "workshop receipts."

In Robinson's New Intellectual Arithmetic (American Book Company, 35 cents) we have a carefully arranged system of meutal arithmetic; a science, the study of which is of great value in developing the thinking and reasoning powers, and which has a direct utility for the business man. The general divisions of the subject—addition, subtraction, etc.—are treated in the same order as in an ordinary arithmetic, and the problems are much the same, but more carefully graded.

Elementary Lessons in Algebra (American Book Company, 50 cents) is a series of lessons inculcating a knowledge of algebraic processes and giving facility in the use of algebraic symbols. They set before the learner the combinations of literal quantities into sums, differences, products, and quotients, with little reference to arithmetical processes and without associating number values to the letters—often a source of confusion to the beginner. The book is intended for use in grammar schools.

The puzzling problem of money is treated by Arthur Kitson in A Scientific Solution of the Money Question (Arena Publishing Company, cloth, $1.25; paper, 50 cents). Although acknowledging important services rendered to political economy by Jevons, the author criticises him and other economists for confusing the subject of value. He further maintains that there is no such thing as an invariable unit of value, but that there may be such a unit of purchasing power, and undertakes to show how the latter may be obtained. In his view the only proper kind of money is one that is itself valueless and the issuance of which is not made a monopoly by law, He advocates the abolition of all laws restricting the issue of currency, and says that the result would be the rise of a variety of competing systems the fittest of which would survive. During the continuance of the struggle for existence people would have to depend on their own discrimination to determine whose money it was safe to take.

The third of the Occasional Papers issued by the trustees of the John F. Slater Fund is an outline of the Education of the Negroes since 1860, by J. L. M. Curry. It tells of educational work done while the civil war was yet in progress, sketches the labors of the Freedmen's Bureau, and of various religious and benevolent associations, and gives some account of the operations under the Peabody and Slater Funds (Baltimore: The Trustees).

Mr. C. Osborne Ward, who is the author of several books on the labor question, has issued a volume in advocacy of communism, under the title The Equilibration of Human Aptitudes and Powers of Adaptation (National Watchman Company, Washington, $1.25). He maintains that the competitive system is a failure, and points out its defects, giving especial prominence to the piracy of inventions and plagiarism of literary productions. He praises the trades unions for having made important progress in the right direction, and touches upon a multitude of minor topics to illustrate or enforce his contentions. In his last chapter he gives the average longevity in a large number of occupations and comments upon the injustice that allows quicksilver miners and brakemen to die at the age of twenty-six, while the rich of no occupation, farmers, judges, and some others live till past sixty. The author gives evidence of a wide reading, and expresses himself clearly and vigorously.

Several essays on The Nature of the State, by Dr. Paul Cams, which first appeared as editorials in The Open Court, have been collected into a half number of The Religion of Science Library (The Open Court Publishing Company, 25 cents). It is explained in the preface that the immediate occasion for the editorials was a defense of the Homestead rioters by General M. M. Trumbull, who was a contributor to The Open Court. The booklet which has now been made from them takes up first the questions, Does the state exist? and Was the individual prior to society? and goes on to discuss the nature of the modern state and the rights of its citizens to revolution.

The question of a Divine Existence is discussed by a nameless author in a small volume under the title Matter, Force, and Spirit (Putnams). He is neither materialist nor spiritualist, for while, as the result of his analysis, he affirms the existence of "substance—real and of final units; force dynamic, represented by motion; and force in being, represented in its aggregate form by the attractive power of matter," he emphatically denies that "an atom and motion explain all." In the laws and phenomena of matter and force he finds conclusive evidence of a Supreme controlling Spirit, and in the phenomena of life and intelligence he sees proof "that our own being has to some degree the spiritual essence of the Divine nature." He regards God as an absolute and impersonal, but at the same time a sympathetic, near, and loving spirit.

Early in the spring a very practical (though needlessly embellished) Spray Calendar, compiled by E. G. Lodeman, was issued from the Agricultural Experiment Station at Ithaca, N. Y. It tells in tabular form when to use the spraying solutions and also gives recipes for making them. With this in the hands of every fruit-grower the bugs would have a hard time.

An account of a field investigation of The Devonian System of Eastern Pennsylvania and New York, made by Charles S. Prosser, has been issued as Bulletin No. 120 of the United States Geological Survey. The investigation was left unfinished, but it is hoped that the contribution may be of some assistance in working out the correlation of the Devonian system of this region.

The first special report of the Factory Inspectors of Illinois on Smallpox in the Tenement-house Sweat-shops of Chicago is instructive to all concerned with the public health of large cities. It recounts a considerable number of instances in which garments were being made on the premises where there were cases of smallpox in the epidemic of 1894 in Chicago, and tells of the artifices practiced by the Polish and Bohemian garment-makers to evade the sanitary provisions of the State factory law. It gives also a list of sweat-shops by streets, with the location of smallpox cases in the radius from which these shops draw their employees.

Bulletin No. 10 of the Minnesota Geological Survey is an account of The Iron-bearing Rocks of the Mesabi Range, by J. Edward Spurr, in which are considered the structure and character of the iron-bearing rocks, the changes they have undergone, and the length of time since their transformation. The volume is illustrated with stratigraphical sections and maps, the latter in colors, and microscopic sections of rocks.