854 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tjon of the methods and of the apparatus 

 used," Prof. Nichols continues, " I have al- 

 ways had in view the greatest possible direct- 

 ness and simplicity, rather than the highest 

 degree of accuracy. The inexperience and 

 the immaturity of the reader and the neces- 

 sarily inadequate equipment of school labora- 

 tories have been likewise borne in mind." 

 The applications of physics to the arts, which 

 in some books are pointed to with pride, he 

 has rigidly excluded. As in most elemen- 

 tary works, mechanics, being the simplest 

 division of the science, comes first, and 

 the chapter here includes something of hy- 

 drostatics and pneumatics. This is followed 

 by heat ; while electricity, often left till the 

 last, comes third, being followed by sound 

 and light. Practical directions on the use 

 of apparatus are given in appendixes. Four 

 hundred and fourteen cuts, nearly all from 

 new drawings, illustrate the text. 



The extraordinary activity in the deter- 

 mination of atomic weights since 1884, re- 

 sulting in the accumulation of a great mass 

 of new material, has led Prof. F. W. Clarke 

 to prepare a revised and enlarged edition of 

 his Recalculation of the Atomic Weights. It 

 appears as Part V of the series of volumes 

 on the constants of nature published by the 

 Smithsonian Institution. 



The small treatise on Metals in the Text- 

 books of Science Series, a new edition of 

 which has been prepared by ^. ^. Hunting 

 ton and W. G. McMillan, is based on one 

 by Bloxam published in 1872, and rewritten 



by Prof. Himtington in 1882 (Longmans, 

 $2.50). Its aim is " to make clear the prin- 

 ciples which have guided the evolution of 

 the metallurgical arts and industries, avoid- 

 ing multiplicity of detail, which tends to ob- 

 scure main issues." The volume opens with 

 an extended chapter on the characters and 

 modes of preparing the various fuels used 

 in metallurgy, from charcoal to water gas. 

 Several forms of apparatus for producing or 

 utilizing various kinds of gas are also de- 

 scribed. This chapter is followed by a few 

 pages on refractory materials and fluxes. 

 In passing to the treatment of the various 

 metals, their common properties are set forth 

 and certain general processes for crushing, 

 dressing, and roasting ores are described. 

 Because of its importance iron is given first 

 place, and nearly two thirds as much space 

 is devoted to it as to all other metals to- 

 gether. The chief ores of iron are described, 

 and something is told of the Catalan and 

 other primitive smelting methods. The vari- 

 ous processes in present use for the produc- 

 tion of iron and steel are then described, 

 particular care being given to stating the 

 reasons for each step, and to telling the 

 properties of combinations of iron with small 

 quantities of other elements. The other 

 metals used in the arts are similarly treated. 

 Among the less common ones to which a 

 page or two is given are cadmium, iridium, 

 palladium, bismuth, magnesium, and sodium. 

 Tables and a full index are appended. There 

 are one hundred and twenty-two cuts of fur- 

 naces and other apparatus. 



PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. 



American Chemical Society. Journal. August, 

 1897. Vol. XIX. No. H. Eastou, Pa.: Chemical 

 Publishing Company. Pp. 100. $.5 a year. 



American Forestrv Association. Proceedings, 

 Fifteenth Annual Meeting, 18t)7. Pp. 1-UU. Wash- 

 ington, U. C. 



Baldwin, J. Mark. Princeton ContribntionB to 

 Psychology. Vol. II. Nos. 1 and 2 March and 

 September, 1897. Pp. 59 and 70. Semiannual, 50 

 cents each. 



Beal, F. E. L. The Blue Jay and its Food. 

 Washington: United States Department of Agri- 

 culture. Pp. 10. 



Borden, John. An Essay on Value, with a 

 Short Account of American Currency. Chicago: 

 Kand, McNally & Co. Pp. 232. 



Brinton, Daniel G. Religions of Primitive Peo- 

 ples. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp.264. 

 $1.50. 



Butts, First Lieutenant Ednnmd L. Manual of 

 Physical Drill, United States Anny. New York: 

 D. Applelon and Company. Pp. I'i'S. $1.25. 



Call, M. Ellsworth. La Cartographie de Mam- 

 moth Cave, Kentucky. Pp 10. 



Cannon, Hon. rank J., Tillman, Hon. B. R., 

 Butler, Hon. Manin, and Allen, Hon. William V., 

 United States Senator. Speeches on the Tariff 

 (Bounties). Pp. 41. 



Chavannes, Albert, Editor and Publisher, 

 Knoxville, Tenn. The Philosopher. A Monthly 

 Magazine for Progressive People. August, 1897. 

 (Vol. I, No. 4.) Pp.24. 5 cents. 50 cents a year. 



Chester, Albert H. A Catalogue of Minerals 

 Alphabetically Arranged, with their Chemical 

 Composition and Synonyms. New York : John 

 Wiley & Sons. Pp. 56. 



Cockcrell, T. D. A. The Food Plants of Scale 

 Insects. Washington : United States National 

 Museum. Pp. 00. 



Colgate University, Department of Geology and 

 Natural History. Fifth Annual Circular of Infor- 

 mation, 1896-'97. Pp. 16. 



Colles. George W. The Metric versus the Duo- 

 decimal System. Pp. 1*0. 



