LITERARY NOTICES. 



705 



tively fixed sun, by their orbital motions 

 around and constant subjection thereto act 

 as enormous induction machines which gen- 

 erate electricity from the ocean of attenu- 

 ated aqueous vapor, each planet being sur- 

 rounded by an enormous electrosphere car- 

 ried with the planet in its axial and orbital 

 movements, the successive atmospheric en- 

 velopes gradually diminishing in rotational 

 velocity until merged into the outer ocean of 

 space. As the planets advance in their or- 

 bits 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 point- 

 ing out the difficulties in the way of accept- 

 ing present theoi*ies. The book is readable 

 and interesting, contains numerous extracts 

 from astronomical authorities, and some well- 

 executed cuts. 



The Story of "Primitive" Man. By Ed- 

 ward 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 con- 

 cerning man's doings before there were any 

 writers. Mr. Clodd is well known as the au- 

 thor of The Story of Creation, A Primer of 

 Evolution, and The Childhood of Religions, 

 and is thoroughly acquainted with the sub- 

 ject which he here epitomizes. After dis- 

 cussing the place of man in the earth's life 

 history and the earth's time-history, he de- 

 scribes the implements and other remains of 

 primitive man that have been found, and 

 vol. xlvii. 58 



tells what may reasonably be inferred from 

 them concerning human life at the time they 

 were laid down. He divides this ancient pe- 

 riod 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 suc- 

 ceeded in telling his story in an eminently 

 readable style, explaining all uncommon 

 words that he was obliged to use and avoid- 

 ing 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 senti- 

 ment that man is not really a part of Nature, 

 which still hampers some men of science. 

 There are an abundance of instructive illus- 

 trations, and for frontispiece the author has 

 chosen the clever picture by Gabriel Max 

 showing the probable appearance of -the "an- 

 cestors of man." 



Principles and Practice of Agricultural 

 Analysis. By Harvey W. Wiley. Vol- 

 ume I, Soils. Easton, Pa. : Chemical 

 Publishing Co. Pp. 607. 



The chemist of the United States De- 

 partment 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 de- 

 scribes a variety of methods of taking sam- 

 ples for analysis and the preliminary treat- 

 ment 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 de- 

 terminations, and a chapter is given to esti- 

 mations of gases. Coming to the chemical 

 examination, methods are given for the de- 

 termination of potash, lime, magnesia^ man- 

 ganese, iron, phosphoric and sulphuric acids, 

 chlorine, silica, kaolin, and nitrogen. Some 

 forty pages are devoted to determinations of 



