LITERARY NOTICES. 



277 



the examination of a number of commer- 

 cial products. This section includes de- 

 scriptions of the new indicators derived 

 from the azo-colors, which have been in- 

 troduced recently by R. T. Thompson. The 

 third section deals with analysis by oxi- 

 dation or reduction, and the fourth with 

 analysis by precipitation. The foregoing 

 principles are then applied to the estima- 

 tion of the important elements and radi- 

 cals, which are taken up in alphabetical 

 order. A chapter is devoted to the analysis 

 of urine, potable waters, sewage, etc., and 

 another to gas analysis. In the latter field 

 there has been marked improvement in 

 technical processes since the last edition 

 of this work was issued. The book is well 

 supplied with illustrations showing forms 

 of apparatus, and methods of arranging it 

 for special operations. 



Mineral Resources of the United States. 

 1885. By Albert Williams, Jr. Wash- 

 ington : Government Printing - Office. 

 Pp. 576. 



The present volume is the third of a 

 series designed to present the principal sta- 

 tistics concerning the mineral productions 

 of the United States, together with such 

 descriptive matter as will throw light upon 

 the condition of the industries which those 

 products materially affect, or will aid in 

 utilizing material which has no value at 

 present. The first volume covered 1882 

 and the first half of 1883 ; the second vol- 

 ume continued the record till the end of 

 1884. These volumes were noticed in the 

 " Monthly " when they appeared. The pres- 

 ent volume includes the calendar year 1885. 

 The material for the accounts has been ob- 

 tained by canvass for precise returns where 

 that was practicable ; otherwise, from es- 

 timates of authorities as checked by actual 

 returns from all available sources. Much 

 of it appears in the form of special articles 

 by persons who are experts, or have given 

 particular attention to the subject. The 

 principle is observed of not repeating (ex- 

 cept in the tables^, information given the 

 previous year ; hence it happens that, where 

 no change has been made in the condi- 

 tions, attending any product, that title may 

 temporarily disappear from the record. 

 Prominence is given in the presentation to 

 coal, coke, petroleum, natural gas, and the 



economical metals under some of which 

 headings several articles of special value 

 appear. Thus, Mr. Joseph D. Weeks treats 

 of the manufacture of coke, of natural gas, 

 manganese, and glass materials ; Mr. S. IL 

 Stowell, of petroleum ; J. M. Swank, Gen- 

 eral Manager of the American Iron and 

 Steel Association, gives a review of twenty- 

 one years of progress in manufacture ; C. 

 Kirchhoff, Jr., contributes articles on the 

 copper, lead, and zinc industries of the 

 United States ; Mr. David T. Day, on chromi- 

 um, zirconium, phosphatic rock fertilizers, 

 and iodine ; Mr. N. S. Sproule, on structural 

 materials ; Mr. George F. Kunz, on precious 

 stones; William C. Day, on sulphur and 

 feldspar; Herbert J. Davis, on pyrites; 

 Marcus Benjamin, on mineral paints ; G. F. 

 Perrenoud, on talc ; and A. C. Peale, on 

 mineral waters. 



A Treatise on Algebra. By Professors 

 Oliver, Wait, and Jones, of Cornell 

 University Ithaca, N. Y. : Dudley F. 

 Finch. Pp. 412. 



This work is a text-book for college 

 classes, being planned especially for the 

 classes conducted by its authors. It is, 

 therefore, not a book for beginners, but 

 for students who have already studied the 

 elements of algebra and geometry. In 

 writing it the authors have had two rules 

 for their guidance. One was, to assume no 

 previous knowledge of algebra, but, start- 

 ing from primary definitions and axioms, 

 to develop the elementary principles in log- 

 ical order ; the other was to define clearly 

 every word and symbol used in a technical 

 sense, to state formally every general prin- 

 ciple, and, if not an axiom, to prove it 

 rigorously, to state formally every general 

 problem, and to give a rule for its solution 

 with reasons, examples, and checks. The 

 book contains much matter that is not 

 found in the common college algebras 

 more, in fact, than can be used with ordi- 

 nary classes yet its wide range is expect- 

 ed to make it valuable as a reference-book 

 for teachers, and as a guide for students 

 who wish to pursue the study beyond the 

 usual limits. The authors have pursued a 

 course which they believe accords with the 

 tendencies of modern algebraic work, in 

 utilizing graphic representation, the ele- 

 ments of infinitesimal analysis, and the 



