LITERARY NOTICES. 



419 



Indian Pharmacopoeias. The chief new feat- 

 ure is the extended section on organic chemis- 

 try. By means of the index of fifty-six pages 

 all the information in this comprehensive vol- 

 ume is made readily accessible ; eighty-eight 

 cuts show the forms of apparatus needed for 

 the operations described. 



Strength : How to Get Strong and Keep 

 Strong By Richard A. Proctor. Lon- 

 don and New York : Longmans, Green & 

 Co. Pp 178. Price, 75 cents. 



The scope of this book is well set forth 

 in the following sentences from the introduc- 

 tory pages : " Men, and women too, though 

 they may have no occasion to acquire skill 

 in athletic exercises, have great occasion to 

 possess sound bodies, unless they are pass- 

 ing absolutely useless lives, when they may 

 do as they please so far as their value to the 

 community is concerned. ... I propose in 

 this little treatise to show how, by devoting 

 a few hours weekly to well-arranged exer- 

 cises, this end can be attained. No violent 

 exertions are necessary, no difficult feats 

 need be attempted, no special form of exer- 

 cise need occupy much of the time and atten- 

 tion." Successive chapters are devoted to 

 the description of exercises, many without 

 apparatus, the others with only simple ap- 

 pliances, adapted to the expansion of the 

 chest, and to the development of the mus- 

 cles of the chest, abdomen, loins, arms, and 

 legs. There are also chapters on reducing 

 fat, the adapting of exercise to advancing 

 years and to weakness, some " notes on row- 

 ing," and directions for learning to swim. A 

 comparison of "Nature's Waist and Fash- 

 ion's " is included, to which a lady contrib- 

 utes her experience in discarding the corset 

 and adopting the divided skirt. The volume 

 is illustrated with figures of classic statuary 

 and of gymnastic apparatus. 



The Story of the Bacteria. By T. Mitch- 

 ell Prcdden, A. M. New York : G. P. 

 Putnam's Sons. Pp. 143. Price, 75 cents. 



Everybody has heard of bacteria ; many 

 with a conscientious desire to keep informed 

 upon the progress of science have undertaken 

 to read up aboit them ; and a large propor- 

 tion of these inquirers must have retreated 

 baffled from the task. But if those who 

 have been discouraged by the technicalities 



of the learned treatises on micro-organisms 

 would still like to know what the bacteria 

 are and do, and how they are cultivated and 

 examined , they can find out very pleasantly 

 by reading Dr. Prudden's simple and fasci- 

 nating " Story of the Bacteria." The au- 

 thor describes the chief forms of bacteria, 

 and several kinds which are curious from 

 their color, power of emitting light, etc. 

 He then tells how they act in producing 

 surgical diseases, consumption, and typhoid 

 fever, and what means are taken to repel 

 their attacks. He also sets forth what is 

 believed in regard to the relations of bacte- 

 ria to Asiatic cholera, diphtheria, pneumonia, 

 scarlet fever, etc. diseases in which the ac- 

 tion of the germs is less easily demonstrable. 

 He points out, further, how impure food, air, 

 water, and even ice may serve as sources of 

 bacterial infection ; and in conclusion gives 

 the layman an intelligent view of the pres- 

 ent standing of investigation in this field. 

 This little book shows how perfectly a sci- 

 entific subject may be freed from perplexing 

 technicalities, and may well serve as a model 

 of popular scientific writing. 



According to the Report of the Commis- 

 sioner of Fish and Fisheries for 1886 (United 

 States Fish Commission), the work of the 

 year included explorations along the eastern 

 coast of North America from the Straits of 

 Florida to Newfoundland, in order to ascer- 

 tain the winter range and habits of the 

 mackerel, menhaden, blue-fish, and other 

 important food fishes that resort to the 

 eastern shores of the United States in the 

 warmer months. Observations of the tem- 

 peratures and densities of the water were 

 made continuously at all the stations of the 

 Commission, from the Commission's vessels, 

 and at many light-houses and light-ships. 

 The schooner Grampus, intended as a mod- 

 el for off-shore fishing smacks, and also 

 containing a well for the conveyance of live 

 fishes, was completed and added to the fleet 

 of the Commission in this year. The dis- 

 tribution of the eggs and fry of food fishes 

 was continued. The papers appended to 

 the report comprise a comprehensive account 

 of "The Sea Fisheries of Eastern North 

 America," by the late commissioner, Spen- 

 cer F. Baird ; " A Review of the Flounders 

 and Soles of America and Europe," by 



