LITERARY NOTICES. 



129 



"The Tonicity of the Heart and Blood- 

 Vessels " ; and the articles in number II, 

 "On the Proteid Substances contained in 

 the Seeds of Plants," "The Influence of 

 Season and of Temperature on the Action 

 and the Antagonisms of Drugs," and " The 

 Elastic Properties of the Arterial Wall," 

 are especially noteworthy, and their conclu- 

 sions of much scientific interest. The sup- 

 plement gives an extensive list of titles of 

 books and papers upon physiological ques- 

 tions, in all the modern languages, that have 

 appeared in 1880. Six numbers form a 

 volume of about 500 pages, the American 

 subscription of which is $5, and may be re- 

 mitted to Mr. W. T. Sedgwick, Johns Hop- 

 kins University, Baltimore, Maryland. The 

 American edition of the Journal now ap- 

 pears under the auspices of that institution. 



INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SERIES. 

 NO. XXXY. 



Volcanoes: What they Are and what 

 they Teach. By John W. Judd, F. R. 

 S., Professor of Geology in the Royal 

 School of Mines. With 96 Illustrations. 

 New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 

 381. Price, $1.75. 



In no field has modern research been 

 more fruitful than in that of which Pro- 

 fessor Judd gives a popular account in the 

 present volume. The great lines of dynami- 

 cal, geological, and meteorological inquiry 

 converge upon the grand problem of the in- 

 terior constitution of the earth, and the vast 

 influence of subterranean agencies. The 

 subject was first comprehensively dealt with 

 in the light of modern scientific views by 

 the late Mr. Poulett Scrope, who published 

 two systematic treatises upon different di- 

 visions of it in the years 1S25 and 1827. 

 Professor Judd was a student and disciple 

 of this master, who, before he died, com- 

 mitted to him the task of preparing a popu- 

 lar exposition of the present condition of 

 our knowledge on volcanoes. Since the 

 time of Scrope's pubiication many impor- 

 tant additions have been made to the sub- 

 ject, and these the author has faithfully in- 

 corporated in the book now issued. The 

 plan and spirit of the work are thus indi- 

 cated in his preface : 



"In order to keep the work within the 

 prescribed limits, and to avoid unnecessary 

 repetitions, I have confined myself to the 

 vol. xx. 9 



examination of such selected examples of 

 volcanoes as could be shown to be really 

 typical of all the various classes which exist 

 upon the globe ; and I have endeavored 

 from the study of these to deduce those 

 general laws which appear to govern vol- 

 canic action. But it has, at the same time, 

 been my aim to approach the question from 

 a somewhat new standpoint, and to give an 

 .account of those investigations which have 

 in recent times thrown so much fresh light 

 upon the whole problem. In this way I 

 have been led to dwell at some length upon 

 subjects which might not at first sight ap- 

 pear to be germane to the question under 

 discussion such as the characters of lavas 

 revealed to us by microscopic examination ; 

 the nature and movements of the liquids in- 

 closed in the crystals of igneous rocks ; the 

 relations of minerals occurring in some vol- 

 canic products to those found in meteorites ; 

 the nature and origin of the remarkable 

 iron-masses found at Ovifak in Greenland ; 

 and the indications which have been dis- 

 covered of analogies between the composi- 

 tion and dynamics of our earth and those of 

 other members of the family of worlds to 

 which it belongs. While not evading the 

 discussion of theoretical questions, I have 

 endeavored to keep such discussions in strict 

 subordination to that presentation of the re- 

 sults attained by observation and experi- 

 ment, which constitutes the principal object 

 of the work." 



We are not acquainted with any other 

 work of Professor Judd, but he is an ex- 

 perienced and very agreeable writer, and is 

 evidently a master of the art of statement. 

 His book is very far from being a mere dry 

 description of volcanoes and their eruptions ; 

 it is rather a presentation of the terrestrial 

 facts and laws with which volcanic phenom- 

 ena are associated. We give an extract in 

 our editorial pages which well represents 

 the quality of the book. The illustrations 

 are numerous, well chosen, and especially fine 

 in execution ; and the volume is among the 

 best of the series to which it belongs. 



The Bible and Science. By T. Lai-per 

 Brunton, M. D., D. S. C, F. K. S. With 

 Illustrations. Macmillan & Co. 1881. 

 Pp.415. Price, S2. 50. 

 This book is an example on a small 



scale of the common remark that " history 



