128 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



moreover, no community on this side 

 of the Atlantic which is under a larger 

 indebtedness to Science than this one- 

 By virtue of our position we enjoy, far 

 more than any other city, the fruits of 

 the immensely extended commerce of 

 the country, and of the enormous de- 

 velopment of its manufacturing and 

 productive interests, all of which have 

 been carried to tlieir present high state 

 of efficiency by the applications of Sci- 

 ence. Our close relations and rapid 

 intercourse with foreign nations, the 

 constant interchange of objects of use, 

 art, and thought, involving incessant 

 improvement in all departments of hu- 

 man activity, have been fostered and 

 perfected, either directly or indirectly, 

 through the investigations and discov- 

 eries of the workingmen of this and 

 kindred associations ; and all the results 

 thus achieved, whatever their form, 

 pay tribute, in one way or another, to 

 the prosperity of the metropolis. Then 

 we have a right to count upon the so- 

 cial and educational advantages of the 

 presence of the Association among us. 

 By its very character it must elevate 

 the aspirations and tastes of the people 

 among whom it meets, in a way that, 

 though the effect is diminished as the 

 circle extends, is nevertheless very wide- 

 ly felt. Those charged with the care 

 of our educational interests can not fail 

 to be helped by its coming. Above all 

 things, they need the spirit of free and 

 independent inquiry encouraged by its 

 meetings, and a little of which, applied 

 to existing educational methods, could 

 not fail to result in marked improve- 

 ment. That we have something to learn 

 in this respect, and that these visiting 

 Associations may be able to give us ma- 

 terial aid, was shown by the incident 

 of the School Industrial Fair, held un- 

 der the auspices of the "Industrial Edu- 

 cational Association of New York" in 

 this city last year. Many schools out- 

 side of New York were represented by 

 exhibits showing the skill of pupils in 

 the useful and ornamental arts, and re- 

 flecting great credit on the management I 



of those schools. Our city, with its 

 boasted " system," was wholly unrep- 

 resented. But a direct result of the 

 exhibition was to wake up the school 

 authorities, and next time they are not 

 likely to be found so far behind their 

 country confreres. 



It is to be regretted that the ap- 

 pointment of the meeting was so long 

 delayed. Even a full year's notice is 

 not always enough ; indeed, in this re- 

 spect, the example of the British Asso- 

 ciation, which fixes its place of meeting 

 two years in advance, is to be com- 

 mended. But while the time is short 

 for the preparations necessary to make 

 the reception one that shall be wholly 

 worthy this great city, enthusiasm issu- 

 ing in prompt and energetic action may 

 do much to compensate for this; and it 

 is clearly due to our self-respect, and the 

 reputation w r e have for liberality abroad, 

 that we set to work with a determina- 

 tion to make the meeting a notably suc- 

 cessful one in the history of the Asso- 

 ciation. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



Outlines of Classification and Special 

 Morphology of Plants. By Dr. K. 

 Goebel, Professor in the University of 

 Rostock. A new edition of Sachs's Text- 

 Book of Botany. Book II. Authorized 

 English translation. By Henry E. F. 

 Garnsey, M. A. Revised bv Isaac Bay- 

 ley Balfour, M. A., M. D., F. R. S., 

 Sherardon Professor of Botany in the 

 University of Oxford. With 407 Wood- 

 cuts. New York : Macmillan & Co. 

 1887. Pp. 500. Price, $5.25. 



As stated above, this work is a new edi- 

 tion of Part II of Professor Sachs's " Morpho- 

 logical and Physiological Botany." It was 

 prepared at the desire of Professor Sachs 

 because of the rapid growth of discovery in 

 this field since the publication of his work 

 in 1873. Although the researches of Pro- 

 fessor Sachs were largely confined to the 

 lower groups of the vegetable kingdom, 

 especially to the vascular cryptogams, and 

 were here first given to the world, in Part 

 II of his text-book. Of its 850 pages 250 

 sufficed for the treatment of morphology and 

 classification. Such, however, has been the 



