134 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



impart. It presents chemistry as a philo- 

 sophic system, and it deals with the facts 

 of the science only so far as they illustrate 

 this system. It is not intended in any re- 

 spect to take the place of laboratory teach- 

 ing, but solely to supplement it. Not until 

 the student has become familiar with chem- 

 ical phenomena, at least to some limited ex- 

 tent, is he prepared to study the science in a 

 systematic way ; but all who have this prep- 

 aration will acquire most rapidly a general 

 knowledge of the whole field when the sub- 

 ject is presented in a deductive form. 



Report of the Director of the Astronom- 

 ical Observatory of Harvard Col- 

 lege. By Edward C. Pickering. Cam- 

 bridge: University Press. Pp. 16. 



This is the thirty-sixth annual report of 

 the institution. Mention is made of. the 

 improved position that has been given the 

 Observatory for conducting researches by 

 means of the subscription which was raised 

 in 1878. Observations have been made on 

 eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, the spectra 

 of particular stars, the comets of 1881, 

 variable stars, and the working of the in- 

 struments, and also photometric observa- 

 tions. Some interesting results have been 

 derived from the observations on stellar 

 spectra, one of them giving a hint toward 

 a more rapid method of detecting variable 

 stars, another suggesting analogies between 

 the spectrum of a certain star and that of 

 the great comet of 1881. Mr. Chandler, of 

 the observatory staff, is engaged in collat- 

 ing, for comparison, the observations of 

 stars of known or suspected variability. 



The Palaeolithic Implements of the Val- 

 ley of the Delaware. Cambridge, 

 Massachusetts : Peabody Museum of 

 American Archaeology and Ethnolosrv. 

 Pp. 25. 



This publication contains communica- 

 tions which were made on the subject 

 named in the title to the Boston Society of 

 Natural History at one of its meetings, as 

 follows: "Historical Sketch of the Discov- 

 ery of the Implements," by C. C. Abbott ; 

 " A Comparison of them with Palaeolith- 

 ic Implements from Europe," by H. TV. 

 Haynes ; " On the Age of the Trenton Grav- 

 el," by G. F. Wright ; " Statement relating to 

 the Finding of an Implement in the Grav- 



el," by Lucien Carr ; and " On the Litholog- 

 ical Character of the Implements," by M. E. 

 TVadsworth. Mr. F. TV. Putnam furnishes 

 the concluding remarks, in which he de- 

 scribes the finding of three implements by 

 himself and a companion, and adds, " Cer- 

 tainly the evidence that has been brought 

 forward to-night will clear away all doubts 

 as to the importance and reliability of Dr. 

 Abbott's discoveries and investigations, 

 which have proved the former existence of 

 palaeolithic man in the valley of the Dela- 

 ware." 



Chemical and Physical Analysis of Milk, 

 Condensed Milk, and Infants' Milk- 

 Foods, with Special Regard to Hygiene 

 and Sanitary Milk-Inspection. By Dr. 

 Nicholas Gerber. Translated and ed- 

 ited by Dr. Hermann Endemann. Illus- 

 trated. New York. Pp. 101. 



The author of this treatise has been 

 engaged, scientifically and practically, in the 

 dairy industry for several years, and is now 

 manager of a milk-product company in the 

 interior of the State of New York. Having 

 often himself felt the need of a uniform 

 method of analysis for milk and its products 

 which would satisfy practical wants, and 

 possess scientific accuracy, he has aimed to 

 give in this volume a short and exact method 

 for the examination of the various milks and 

 milk-foods, expecting to follow it up with 

 another volume on other milk-products and 

 substances employed in the dairy industry. 

 He claims superiority for his method over 

 the methods known before 1877, in accu- 

 racy, in simplicity, and in cheapness and 

 economy of time. 



The Brain of the Cat. By Burt G. Wild- 

 er, M. D. Pp. 39, with Four Plates. 



This paper, which was originally read 

 before the American Philosophical Society, 

 is the first of a series of contributions to the 

 knowledge of the brain of the domestic cat, 

 and is to be followed with a " Description 

 of the Cerebral Fissures, together with their 

 Svnonomy." The author believes that the 

 cat offers superior advantages over other 

 easily accessible animals for preliminary 

 anatomical work. He also proposes a re- 

 vision of anatomical nomenclature, with a 

 schedule of alterations for abbreviating and 

 simplifying it, and making it more intel- 

 ligible. 



