850 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the erection of stations for the triangula- 

 tion running south from Chicago, and wa- 

 ter-level observations on the lakes. Prog- 

 ress has also been made on the survey of the 

 Mississippi River. The longitudes and lati- 

 tudes of Louisiana, Missouri, Rock Island, 

 Illinois, and Red Wing, Minnesota, have 

 been determined. Several of the coast- 

 charts of Lakes Ontario and Erie, and 

 charts of the Mississippi south of Memphis, 

 have been completed. Among the impor- 

 tant facts noticed is the observation of 

 sand-waves in the Mississippi at Helena, 

 which in water from thirteen to thirty feet 

 deep are moving down the river at an aver- 

 age rate of eighteen feet a day. They had 

 an average length, counting from crest to 

 crest, of about three hundred and thirty 

 feet, an extreme length of about five hun- 

 dred feet, and an average height of about 

 five feet and an extreme height of eight feet 

 from valley to crest. The existence of sand- 

 waves of so large dimensions, and moving 

 with such a velocity, does not seem to have 

 been observed before on the lower Missis- 

 sippi. 



The Microscopist's Annual for 1879, No. 

 1. New York: The Industrial Publica- 

 tion Company. 1880. Pp. 48. Price, 

 25 cents. 



The object of this publication is to keep ' 

 microscopists informed of what is going on 

 that is of particular interest to them. It 

 contains a list of microscopical societies in 

 the United States and of a few foreign so- 

 cieties, and the names, alphabetically ar- 

 ranged, of manufacturers and dealers in 

 microscopes, objects, apparatus, etc., in the 

 United States and Europe, with other prac- 

 tical information. 



The North American Entomologist. July, 

 1879, to April, 1880. A. R. Grote, Edi- 

 tor. Buffalo, N. Y. : Reinecke, Zesch & 

 Ealtz. Monthly. Pp. 8. Price, $2.00 

 a year. 



This magazine was begun with the pur- 

 pose of presenting original articles of value 

 both to the specialist and the agriculturist 

 on the subject of North American insects 

 and notices of current entomological litera- 

 ture. The articles in the ten numbers be- 

 fore us show the results of careful research, 

 present new facts, and are many of them 

 well illustrated. 



Heveenoid: The Rubber of the Future. 

 By Henry A. Mott, Jr., Ph. D., etc. New 

 York: Trow's Printing Company. Pp. 

 13. 



Heveenoid is India-rubber combined with 

 camphor and vulcanized by sulphur. It was 

 invented by Henry Gerner, and is offered 

 as a new product to supplant the common 

 soft and hard vulcanized India-rubber, over 

 which it is claimed to possess many points 

 of superiority. These points are set forth, 

 and the process of manufacture is described, 

 in the pamphlet. 



The Oriental and Biblical Journal. Ed- 

 ited by Rev. Stephen D. Peet. Chica- 

 go : Jameson & Morse. 1880. Pp. 52. 

 Quarterly. Price, $2.50 a year. 



The object of this magazine is to give 

 the results of the latest researches in all the 

 Oriental lands and in the countries of clas- 

 sical history. It is intended also to embrace 

 many subjects of a more general character, 

 such as the manners and customs of all na- 

 tions, their traditions, mythologies, religious 

 notions, language, and literature. In the 

 present number, Professor T. O. Paine de- 

 scribes two Osirids of ancient Egypt owned 

 by persons in the United States ; and, in an 

 article on " The Antiquity of Sacred Writ- 

 ings in the Valley of the Euphrates," Mr. 

 O. D. Miller seeks to prove that the mate- 

 rials of the Book of Genesis were derived 

 through Abraham from the same originals 

 whence the oldest Chaldean writings came. 



The Thousand Islands of the River St. 

 Lawrence ; with Descriptions of their 

 Scenery, as given by Travelers from Dif- 

 ferent Countries, at Various Periods, and 

 Historical Notices of Events with which 

 they are associated. Edited by Frank- 

 lyn B. Hough. Syracuse, N. Y. : Davis, 

 Bardeen & Co. 1879. Pp. 307. Price, 

 $1.25. 



The title gives as clear an idea of the 

 character of this book as can be gained from 

 a fuller description. The historical sketch 

 is ample and satisfactory. The travelers' 

 descriptions date from Charlevoix, in 1721,' 

 are favorable and unfavorable, and are 

 quoted from a host of authors of various 

 nationalities. They are followed by a chap- 

 ter on the poetical associations, and by 

 notices of the camp-meeting parks, geology, 

 names, and other features of the islands. 



