8s6 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ties ' have been abandoned, the schools are 

 nourishing ; where they are maintained, the 

 reverse is true. Among hopeful indications 

 for the future of the common schools are 

 the efforts for the improvement of the teach- 

 ing force and for bringing the rural schools 

 under efficient supervision, and the increase 

 of the local school-tax in sections of the 

 country which have hitherto been negligent 

 of that provision." Brief histories are given 

 in the report of " Governmental Provisions 

 for Education," and of the growth of State 

 and local educational reports. Space is given 

 to the discussion of the methods of colleges, 

 and of the development of the university 

 system, and to the subject of industrial 

 training; and the usual full and detailed 

 information is given concerning the schools 

 in the several States ; the different classes 

 of schools for special and the higher in- 

 struction ; and to the record of educational 

 progress in other countries. 



The Latest Studies on Indian Reserva- 

 tions. By J. B. Harrison. Philadel- 

 phia : Indian Rights Association. Pp. 

 232. 



The author, as a representative of the 

 Indian Rights Association, spent six months 

 in 1886 in visiting the schools at Carlisle 

 and Hampton, and the principal Indian 

 reservations. His purpose was to observe 

 whatever was connected with the condition 

 and character of the schools, farming, home- 

 life, and missionary work, and the general 

 and special relations of the Indians to civ- 

 ilization and their progress therein ; the 

 character and efficiency of the administra- 

 tion of affairs ; and the quality of Indian 

 land and its adaptation to sustain an agri- 

 cultural population. This book embodies, 

 in terse language, the results of his obser- 

 vations. The first part of it consists of 

 picturesque descriptive notes of what he 

 saw ; the second part, of opinions and re- 

 flections suggested to him by it. 



Poetry and Philosophy of Goethe. Ed- 

 ited by Marion V. Dcdley. Chicago : 

 S. C. Griggs & Co. Pp. 300. 



This book comprises the lectures and 

 ex-tempore discussions that were given be- 

 fore the Milwaukee Literary School in Au- 

 gust, 1886. They are an " Address of Wel- 

 come," by President John Johnston ; " Goe- 



the's Wilhehn Meistcr," by Professor W. 

 T. Harris ; " Goethe as a ' Scientist '," by 

 Mr. James MacAlister ; " Goethe's Relation 

 to English Literature," by Mr. F. B. San- 

 born ; " The Divine Comedy and Faust," 

 by Mrs. Caroline K. Sherman ; " Mythology 

 of the Second Part of Faust," by Professor 

 D. J. Snider ; " The Elective Affinities," by- 

 Mrs. M. A. Shorcy ; and "What is most 

 valuable to us in German Philosophy and 

 Literature," by Professor W. T. Harris. To 

 these are added " Some Birthday Tributes," 

 including essays on "Goethe as a Man," 

 by Professor W. T. Hewitt ; and " Goethe 

 as a Writer, Savant, and Citizen," by Mrs. 

 Horace Rublee; a letter by Goethe, poet- 

 ical tributes, and an analysis of " The Erl- 

 King." 



Miscellaneous Papers relating to Anthro- 

 pology. From the Smithsonian Report 

 for 1885. Washington : Government 

 Printing-Office. Pp. 49. 



The first paper in this group " Obser- 

 vations on Stone-Chipping" by George Er- 

 col Sellers, gives the results of the author's 

 personal observations and researches re- 

 garding a prehistoric art of which little is 

 known, and adds to our knowledge on the 

 subject. The other papers, each also having 

 its own peculiar interest, are on " Copper Im- 

 plements from Bayfield, Wisconsin," by Col- 

 onel Charles Whittlesey ; "Ancient Remains 

 in Ohio," by J. P. MacLean ; " A Primitive 

 Store-house of the Creek Indians," by 

 Charles C. Jones, Jr. ; " Shell-Heaps and 

 Mounds in Florida," by James Shepard ; 

 "Ancient Earthworks in China," by Mark 

 Williams; and a " Plan for American Eth- 

 nological Investigation," by the late Henry 

 R. Schoolcraft. 



The Doctorate Address delivered at the 

 Semi Centennial Anniversary of the 

 University of Louisville, Medical De- 

 partment. By David W. Yandell, M. D. 

 Pp. 26. 



Dr. Yandell gives a retrospect of the 

 history of the institution, which was founded 

 in 1817, with brief notices of the many dis- 

 tinguished physicians who have filled chairs 

 of instruction in it. Among these were 

 Dr. Benjamin Silliman, Jr., and Dr. J. Law- 

 rence Smith, who also became famous in 

 general science. A view is also given of 



