706 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



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 Associa- 

 tion. In gathering the material for this 

 work he states that he has drawn freely 

 upon the results of experience in all coun- 

 tries, though paying more particular atten- 

 tion 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, con- 

 crete 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 impos- 

 sible to make all the hard things easy, yet 

 the author has certainly rendered it possible 

 for the thoughtful teacher to make a profit- 

 able beginning. 



Animal Rights. By H. S. Salt, with an Es- 

 say on Vivisection by Albert Leffing- 

 well, 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 ob- 

 scures 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 tbe book before us is no ex- 

 ception. 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 stu- 

 dents, 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 lead- 

 ing one to expect a thoughtful and moderate 

 discussion of the question. 



Geology. By Charles Bird, F. G. S. Lon- 

 don 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 begin- 

 ning his acquaintance with geology. More- 

 over, 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 in- 

 serted to illustrate the various points of 

 contact which geology has with practical 

 life, including its application to such ques- 

 tions 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 classi- 

 fication 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 sec- 

 ond, 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, 



