LITERARY NOTICES. 



419 



How TO TELL THE PaRTS OF SpEECH ; AN 



Introduction to English Grammar. 

 By the Rev. Edwin A. Abbott, D. D. 

 American edition, revised and enlarged, 

 by John G .L. McElroy, A. M. Boston : 

 Roberts Brothers. Pp. 143. Price, 75 

 cents. 



Dr. Abbott is also the author of other 

 works on the construction of the English 

 language, which, with this, have the com- 

 mon characteristics that, in them, the artifi- 

 cial rubbish that overloads nearly all Eng- 

 lish grammars is rejected, and the endeavor 

 is made to place the study of the language 

 on a basis of common - sense. They are 

 prepared under the conviction that it is the 

 business of a teacher to teach the boy not 

 how to speak, but how to understand, Eng- 

 lish, and how to see the reasons for the 

 anomalies in the language ; that the pupil 

 should first learn to perceive the function of 

 the word, and thence deduce its grammatical 

 quality, rather than to give first the gram- 

 matical definition, and afterward seek the 

 reason for it. 







A Fourth State of Matter. By Alexan- 

 der E. Outerbridge, Jr. Philadelphia. 

 Pp. 11. 



This is the substance of a lecture which 

 was delivered before the Franklin Institute, 

 February iVth last, when some of the experi- 

 ments of Professor Crookes were repeated 

 and his theory was explained with familiar 

 illustrations and a reference to the " vortex 

 atom theory " of Sir William Thomson. 



Eeport of the Director of the Detroit 

 Observatory of the University op 

 Michigan to the Board of Regents. 

 For the Period beginning October 1, 

 1879, and ending January 1, 1881. Ann 

 Arbor, ;Michigan : Published by the Re- 

 gents. Pp. 20. 



In the astronomical department of the 

 observatory two comets were discovered, one 

 of which was new ; the other had been seen 

 the evening before at Strasburg. The me- 

 teorological observations were directed to 

 the study of the c'imate of Ann Arbor, the 

 daily fluctuations of the meteorological ele- 

 ments,, and the character of local storms. 

 As collated and summarized in the report, 

 and compared with the general observations 

 of the Signal Service, they furnish facts of 

 much value. 



Report of the Superintendent of the 

 United States Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey. Appendix No. 10, Meteoro- 

 logical Researches. By William Fer- 

 rel. Part II. On Cyclones, Torna- 

 does, and Water-Spouts. W^ashington : 

 Government Printing - Office. Pp. 95, 

 with Six Plates. 



The theory of cyclones is wrought out in 

 the first chapter with great care and elabo- 

 ration. In the second chapter, the practi- 

 cal applications of the theory, as its opera- 

 tion is modified by the encounter with act- 

 ualities, ai'e discussed, and the theoretic 

 results are compared with those of observa- 

 tion. The third chapter is devoted to the 

 phenomena of tornadoes, hail-storms, and 

 water-spouts. 



Our Trees in W'inter. By John Robin- 

 son. From the Bulletin of the Essex 

 Institute. Vol. XII. Pp. 16. 



This is the substance of a paper which 

 was read at the first winter field meeting of 

 the Essex Institute, at Chebacco Pond, held 

 in January last. It discusses the faculty 

 which many trees possess of adapting them- 

 selves to different climates ; the manner in 

 which trees escape injury from freezing 

 through the withdrawal of water from their 

 tissues in winter; and the opportunities 

 which winter affords for the study of trees, 

 which are better for many purposes than 

 those given by summer. 



Report of the Cruise of the United States 

 Revenue Steamer Corwin in the Arc- 

 tic Ocean. By Captain C. L. Hooper, 

 U. S. R. M. Washington : Government 

 Printing-office. Pp. 73, with Five Charts. 



The Corwin left Oonalaska June 8, 1880, 

 and proceeded by way of Nunivak Island, 

 St. Lawrence Island, Kotzebue Sound, the 

 " ice-deposits " of Elephant Point, and the 

 coal-veins of Cape Lislmrn, to Point Bar- 

 row, and thence to Herald Island and within 

 twenty-five miles of Cape Wrangel, whence 

 it returned. Dui'ing the cruise, observations 

 were taken on the lands and the people, the 

 illicit trade of the coast was looked after, 

 and the Jeannette was inquired for. The 

 report contains fresh and valuable anthro- 

 pological notes, observations on natural his- 

 tory, and " the ice and its habits," and 

 views of prominent points. 



