LITERARY NOTICES. 



753 



Contributions to North American Eth- 

 nology. Vol. I., pp. 3G1, with numer- 

 ous Plates. Washington: Government 

 Printiug-Ofiice. 



For many years Prof. J. W. Powell, 

 ceolcnst in charge of the United States sur- 

 vey of the Rocky Mountain region, has made 

 the languages of the Indian tribes an object 

 of special study, the result being the collec- 

 tion of a large number of vocabularies. 

 Having decided to prepare this material for 

 publication, he invited the cooperation of 

 the Smithsonian Institution, whose collec- 

 tions of similar materials are very extensive. 

 Prof. Henry, secretary of the Institution, 

 promptly consented to place in the hands 

 of Prof. Powell all this material, consisting 

 of several hundred MS. vocabularies, to- 

 gether with voluminous grammatical notes 

 on the dialects of the Indians throughout 

 the greater part of North America. This first 

 volume of the " Contributions " is made up 

 of two parts, the first, by William H. Dall, 

 treating of the "Distribution, Population, 

 Origin, and Condition, past and present, of 

 the Native Races inhabiting our Extreme 

 Northwestern Territory;" and the second by 

 Dr. George Gibbs, on " The Indians of West- 

 ern Washington and Northwestern Oregon." 



A Manual of Heating and Ventilation. 

 By F. Schumann, C. E. Pp. 89. New 

 York : Van Nostrand. Price, $1.50. 

 The design of this manual is to furnish 

 to the hand of the engineer and the archi- 

 tect, in such shape as to be fitted for prac- 

 tical application, the formulae and data ne- 

 cessary for computing the dimensions and 

 determining the other conditions of heating 

 and ventilating appliances. A manual of 

 this kind is simply indispensable to the pro- 

 fessions for whose use the work was com- 

 piled. 



A Manual of Inorganic Chemistry. Vol. 



II. The Metals. By T. E. Thorpe, Ph. 



D. Pp. 406. New York: Putnams. 



Price, $1.50. 



The properties and combinations of the 

 metals are here fully and clearly described, 

 the text being very efficiently supplemented 

 by numerous well-executed wood engrav- 

 ings. The volume belongs to the excellent 

 "Advanced Science Series," published si- 

 multaneously in Glasgow and New York. 

 vol. xn. 48 



The Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithologi- 

 cal Club has been enlarged, the number of 

 pages being now 48, whereas formerly it 

 was only 24. It is gratifying to observe 

 this sign of prosperity, and we have no 

 doubt that the Bulletin is now on the high- 

 road to assured success. It is eminently 

 deserving of support from all lovers of the 

 delightful branch of zoological science to 

 which it is devoted. The Bulletin is edited 

 by Mr. J. A. Allen, with the active assist- 

 ance of Prof. S. F. Baird, and Dr. Elliott 

 Coues, and the foremost ornithologists of 

 the United States are frequent contributors 

 either of set articles, or of brief notes of ob- 

 servation. For the scientific ornithologist, 

 no less than the amateur, it is indispensa- 

 ble. Subscription, $2 a year. Address, 

 Ruthven Deane, Cambridge, Mass. 



The Silver Country, or the Great South- 

 west. By A. D. Anderson. Pp. 221, 

 with Map. New York : Putnams. Price, 

 $1.75. 



The "Great Southwest" of this author 

 is the " New Spain" of the period of Span- 

 ish power in America. In successive chap- 

 ters the author describes the physical and 

 political geography of this region ; its wealth 

 in silver and gold ; other wealth than the 

 precious metals, i. e., its agricultural pro- 

 ductions, luxuries, and attractions, with sec- 

 tions on such topics as facilities for acquir- 

 ing wealth, scenery, and wonders, antiqui- 

 ties, etc.; foreign commerce of Mexico; 

 advance of railways. Finally, there is a very 

 full bibliographical chapter on the " authori- 

 ties " whose works have been of service in 

 collecting materials for the work. 



A Guide to the Determination of Rocks. 

 By Edward Jannettas. Translated from 

 the French by George W. Plympton, 

 C. E , A. M. Pp. 161. New York: D. 

 Van Nostrand, 18*77. Price, $1.50. 



This is a plain, brief, but comprehensive 

 introduction to the study of the more com- 

 mon rocks, and of the minerals of which 

 they are composed. The English synonyms 

 for the rock-names are from Von Cotta's 

 " Rocks classified." 



Part III., giving the method to be fol- 

 lowed in the practical determination of 

 rocks, will be found of especial value to 

 beginners. 



