420 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



complete, but certainly, in respect of volume 

 and mass of information, the book before 

 us is well ahead of its rivals. It includes 

 nearly everything of interest, both as to Eu- 

 rope and America, relating to commerce, 

 industry, agriculture, manufactures, finance, 

 education, politics, and history. Elaborate 

 tables, embodying the latest results, and in 

 many cases comparative tables showing the 

 aggregates of different years from a decade 

 to a half-century, enable one to grasp the 

 growth of each interest at a moment's 

 glance. It may be said that in all such books 

 it is not practicable to secure an orderly 

 and systematic arrangement. Mr. McCarty 

 has met the difficulty as well as possible by 

 giving a very thorough index to the con- 

 tents. The material seems to have been 

 gathered with great care and industry, and 

 presumably the citations of figures are 

 trustworthy, except so far as errors have 

 crept in through bad proof-reading. Mr. 

 McCarty's plan appears to have been to 

 make this a most exhaustive book of its 

 class, and in the extent of the field he cov- 

 ers he has not fallen short of his aim. It 

 is not easy to overrate the amount of labor 

 essential in the compilation of such a work, 

 and its value to the public is in direct ratio. 

 About one half of the book is devoted to 

 the United States. In addition to statistical 

 matter proper there are about one hundred 

 pages devoted to scientific, mechanical, and 

 commercial facts and formulas. 



Thoughts on Science, Theology and Eth- 

 ics. By John Wilson, M. A. London : 

 Triibner & Co., pp. 197. 



" The object of this little book," says 

 the preface, " is to give a correct sketch of 

 the main lines of modern thought in small 

 compass and in language simple enough to 

 be easily understood." This object, it seems 

 to us, has been attained with more than 

 usual success. It is an excellent work to 

 put into the hands of the young who are 

 beginning to think and seeking to learn how 

 to think. The distinction drawn between 

 science and theology with respect to the 

 meaning of the word " God " illustrates the 

 theoretical doctrines of the author. " God," 

 he says, is " the Omnipotent Power which 

 exists behind the facts of the universe. 

 Of this power science asserts the existence 



to be a necessary supposition, but the na- 

 ture to be to us unknowable and incon- 

 ceivable. Theology, on the other hand, as- 

 serts its nature to be known, and conceives 

 it to be manlike." This is exceedingly well 

 put. Proceeding from this declaration, the 

 points of opposition between science and 

 theology arc made very clear. The neces- 

 sity of a scientific foundation for ethics is 

 set forth in the second part of the work. 

 The first part treats, in successive chapters 

 of " What is Science ? " " What is the Use 

 of Science?" and "The Methods of Sci- 

 ence." Part second deals with " The Object 

 and Scope of Ethics," "The Origin and 

 Nature of the Moral Code," and " The Sanc- 

 tion of the Moral Code." We hope this 

 meritorious book will be widely circulated. 



VAN NOSTRAND'S SCIENCE SEEIE8. 



No. 90. Analysis of Rotary Motion, as 

 applied to the Gyroscope. By Major 

 J. G. Barnard, A. M. New York : D. 

 Van Nostrand. Pp. 66. Price, 50 cents. 



Major Barnard's analysis, which is here 

 republished, is based on the works of Pois- 

 on. The author shows first how the par- 

 ticular equations of the gyroscopic motion 

 may be deduced from the general equations 

 of rotary motion, and then points out that 

 the analytical results arrived at contain 

 within themselves the sole clew to the visi- 

 ble phenomenon, and dispel all that is mys- 

 terious and paradoxical. 



No. 91. Leveling ; Barometric, Trigo- 

 nometric, and Spirit. By Ira 0. Ba- 

 ker, C. E. New York : D. Van Nos- 

 trand. Pp. 145. Price, 50 cents. 



The matter in this treatise forms a part 

 of the lectures on geodesy given by the au- 

 thor to his classes at the University of Illi- 

 nois, and is published for the use of his 

 own and other students. The author docs 

 not claim that there is anything new or 

 original in the volume; but he has com- 

 bined in a single book information that here- 

 tofore could only be found scattered through 

 many. His object has been to give all that 

 was necessary for a thorough comprehen- 

 sion of the principles involved, and an intel- 

 ligent understanding of the method of apply- 

 ing them. The attempt has been made to 

 point out all the sources of error, and to 

 give accurate data showing the degree of 



