LITERARY NOTICES, 



121 



United States Commission of Fish and 

 Fisheries. Part VI. Report of the 

 Commissioner FOR 1878. A. Inquiry into 

 the Decrease of Food-Fishes. B. The 

 Propagation of Food-Fishes in the Wa- 

 ters of the United States. Washington : 

 Government Printing-Office. 1880. Pp. 

 988. 



The present report brings down the his- 

 tory of the work of the commission to the 

 end of 1878, and a part of it, especially 

 that connected with the propagation of salm- 

 on, to the date of the actual planting and 

 disposition of the young fish in 1879. The 

 scale of operations was increased during 

 the yeai*, in correspondence with the in- 

 creased appropriations made by Congress, 

 without bringing any material addition to 

 the expense of the management. The his- 

 tory of the operations includes the record 

 of the progress of the planting of different 

 varieties of salmon, of which we may men- 

 tion the planting of California salmon in 

 the Southern rivers, and of the measures to 

 promote the increase of the white-fish, shad, 

 herring, carp, and cod. The attempt to in- 

 troduce the sole met with a second failure. 

 An experiment in the artificial propagation 

 of the sponge of commerce, by planting 

 cuttings of live sponges, was successful, and 

 gave much encouragement. The supple- 

 mental papers are of great interest, and 

 constitute of themselves a respectable li- 

 brary of ichthyological literature. They em- 

 brace numerous articles, by American, Scan- 

 dinavian, and German writers, on subjects 

 connected with fishery expositions, the sea- 

 fisheries, deep-sea research, the natural his- 

 tory of marine animals, and essays general, 

 special, and practical, on the propagation of 

 the different kinds of food-fishes. 



Natural Theology. By John Bascom. 

 New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1880. 

 Pp. 302. Price, $1.50. 



Dr. Bascom, who is widely and favor- 

 ably known as one of the strongest thinkers 

 within theological lines, has here recast the 

 theistic argument, and has endeavored to 

 present it in a form which shall meet the 

 changed conditions and enlarged knowledge 

 of to-day. The argument is conducted in 

 excellent temper, and is in many respects a 

 strong and able presentation of what the 

 intuitive philosophy has to offer upon this 



fundamental question. His attitude toward 

 current scientific doctrine and the spirit in 

 which he approaches his work are indicated 

 in the following quotation from the preface : 

 " The opposition has changed front, and so 

 renders a corresponding change necessary 

 on the part of the defense. This shifting 

 of the conflict has attended on a great in- 

 crease of knowledge, and new views of the 

 methods of development in the physical 

 world. We wish to recognize most fully 

 the value of these attainments, and to see 

 clearly their relation to theism. We are 

 quite prepared to accept evolution the 

 present intellectual solvent of physical 

 problems in all the facts it offers, while 

 we are still at liberty to give those facts 

 the interpretation which is most in keep- 

 ing with the two kingdoms, physical and 

 spiritual, which make up the universe in 

 its outer form and inner force. It is ex- 

 actly here that we hope to add something 

 to the work of our predecessors 1. In a 

 more complete recognition of all the results 

 of scientific inquiry ; and, 2. In pointing out 

 the relation of these facts to an intellectual 

 exposition of the universe." Dr. Bascom, 

 in his discussion of the nature of the Deity, 

 reaches the conclusion that a sufficient, posi- 

 tive, and consistent idea of his nature is ob- 

 tainable ; and he then, after stating the kind 

 of proof necessary, carries his search for it 

 through the organic world and into the " ra- 

 tional kingdom," closing his argument with 

 a consideration of the goodness of God and 

 the bearing the evidence of this has upon 

 his existence. The concluding chapter of 

 the work is devoted to a discussion of im- 

 mortality, its relation to natural theology, 

 and the proofs of it from the constitution 

 of man, and the character of the Deity. 



Drainage for Health; or, Easy Lessons 

 IN Sanitary Science. By Joseph Wil- 

 son, M. D., Medical Director, United 

 States Navy. Philadelphia : Presley Blak- 

 iston. 1881. Pp. 68. Price, $1. 



The author attempts, in this work, to 

 present the subject, briefly and correctly, so 

 far as he goes, in simple style and language, 

 and in so familiar a manner as to make easy 

 reading. He first discusses the subject of 

 land-drainage on farms and in country dis- 

 tricts ; next the drainage of cities and town- 

 houses, closets, and plumbing. 



