LITERARY NOTICES. 



277 



distinction from " town," studies early bor- 

 ough government in Germantown as the 

 first borough organized in the State, and in 

 Bristol as a type of the boroughs of the 

 eighteenth century, and examines the char- 

 acter and the possibilities of the present 

 borough. 



Proceedings of the American Society of 



Microscopists. Eighth Annual Meeting, 



1885. Pp. 258. Price, $2. 



Among the numerous essays printed in 

 this volume many of which will undoubt- 

 edly prove enjoyable reading for the spe- 

 cialist are a few which will claim the in- 

 terest of a wider circle. 



"The Cultivation of Bacteria, and the 

 Cholera Bacillus,'' by Lester Curtis, treats 

 of the mode of growth and development of 

 this peculiar bacillus that has of late cre- 

 ated such a stir and commotion in the 

 learned world abroad. The differences be- 

 tween the bacillus of Koch and that of 

 Finkler-Prior, with which it was by some 

 considered identical, are clearly pointed out. 

 To the author, " the proof that this bacil- 

 lus is unlike any other form, and is peculiar 

 to cholera, seems conclusive." And further 

 on he states, " That it is the cause of the 

 disease seems to me scarcely less so." 



Considerable comfort will be derived 

 from the statement that cholera is a disease 

 not contagious as small-pox and measles 

 are ; it is only caused by the bacillus gain- 

 ing entrance to the intestinal canal, and can 

 therefore, by simple precautions, be readily 

 guarded against. Moreover, the germ is 

 easily destroyed; exposure to superheated 

 steam for half an hour or so will, it is 

 claimed, cause its death. Cold will retard 

 the development of these organisms, but 

 does not kill them. 



An article on " Poisonous Dried Beef," 

 by H. J. Ditmers, seeks to ascribe to the 

 presence of certain micrococci, of which a 

 great number were found in the meat ex- 

 amined, the sickness caused by its consump- 

 tion. That is to say, to these micrococci 

 is ascribed the formation of the poisonous 

 principle present. 



From the fact that nearly all pathogenic 

 bacteria are powerless to cause harm unless 

 conditions suitable for their development 

 are offered by the animal organism, the 

 writer further infers that the beef in ques- 



tion was the flesh of some animal or ani- 

 mals that were in a dying, or else in a high- 

 ly frenzied, condition when slaughtered. 

 That the meat of an animal in such a con- 

 dition is sometimes not always very poi- 

 sonous, is a matter of record, and meat 

 obtained from such a source should be 

 condemned as unfit for food. 



Studies in General History. By Mary 

 D. Sheldon, formerly Professor of His- 

 tory in Wellesley College and Teacher of 

 History in Oswego Normal School, New 

 York. Students' Edition. Boston: D. 

 C. Heath & Co. 1885. Pp.656. $1.60. 



This text-book is not designed for chil- 

 dren, but for pupils well on in their teens 

 and twenties. It is an attempt to apply 

 what is known as the " Objective Method " 

 of teaching science to the study of history. 

 To this end, instead of memorizing the con- 

 clusions of others, the pupil is put in such 

 relations to the data of history that he will 

 draw his own conclusions. Temples, walls, 

 aqueducts, pyramids, men have built ; coun- 

 tries they have conquered, settled, aban- 

 doned ; their laws, arts, literature, amuse- 

 ments, their heroes, enemies, gods, are the 

 sort of " historical realities presented, with 

 accompanying pictures, maps, stories, quo- 

 tations, and facts. Questions and problems, 

 such as will compel thought upon these data 

 and their relations, are an important part 

 of this unique plan of converting one of the 

 last strongholds of rote-learning into a train- 

 ing of the reflective faculties." 



Second Report on the Injurious and 

 other Insects of the State of New 

 York. By J. A. Lintner, State Ento- 

 mologist. Albany: Weed, Parsons & 

 Co. Pp. 265. 



The present publication presents mainly 

 studies and observations that were made in 

 the years 1882 and 1883, with a few of a 

 later date. The insect depredations during 

 these two years were less than for the pre- 

 ceding year, and no formidable new pest 

 was remarked as threatening any principal 

 crops. The years, of late, the report adds, 

 in which such additions have not been 

 made, are unfortunately exceptional ones. 

 The zebra-caterpillar was unusually destruc- 

 tive on mangold-beets. While the grass- 

 lands were relieved from the Vagabond 

 Crambus which had visited them in 1881, 



