37^ 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



been careless. After discussing tlie subject 

 very fully, the author concludes with these 

 words : " I would say to those agriculturists 

 of the East who are in any way alarmed by 

 what hus been written on this subject, and 

 who hesitate to use the Paris-green mixture 

 profit by the experience of your more 

 Western brethren, and do not allow the vo- 

 racious Dorypliora to destroy your potatoes, 

 when so simple and cheap a remedy is at 

 hand." 



The aggregate loss to Missouri farmers, 

 in 1S74, Irom the chinch-bug, is estimated 

 at $19,000,000. The only measure at pres- 

 ent known to be effectual against this pest, 

 when it has spread, is irrigation. On the 

 subject of the grape Fhylloxera, Prof. Riley 

 is an authority both at home and in Eu- 

 rope. A few facts, of interest to entomolo- 

 gists, in the life-history of this insect, are 

 noted in the present volume. Mr. Riley 

 gives a brief narrative of the researches 

 made in France during the year, with a 

 view to discovering a means of destroying 

 this pest. Dumas's method is as follows : 

 A hole is bored with an auger in the earth, 

 near the foot of the vine, and in it are 

 placed about four ounces of alkaline sulpho- 

 carbonate. By decomposition the sulphuret 

 of carbon is formed, which kills the Phyl- 

 loxera, without injuring the vine. We see, 

 from the report of a recent meeting of the 

 French Academy of Sciences, that this meth- 

 od " has been tried with great success in 

 several of the more important vine-growing 

 districts." 



The territory in Missouri ravaged by 

 the Rocky Mountain locust in 1866, and 

 again in 1874, is represented in a map, in 

 which is also indicated the direction in 

 which the insects came during the latter 

 year. Last May the Governor of Missouri 

 proclaimed a day of fasting and humiliation 

 as a stratagem in the anti-locust war. Prof. 

 Riley, last year, " prophesied " that the lo- 

 custs of 1874 would come too late to do much 

 damage. He then asserted, and now as- 

 serts, that beyond the extreme western tier of 

 counties Missouri need not dread these in- 

 vaders. The event has confirmed the ac- 

 curacy of Prof Riley's conclusions. The 

 Governor would have done well had he 

 given ear to this truthful prophet, before 

 he uttered his cry of distress. 



Determination anh Classification of Min- 

 KRALS. By Jamks C. Fove, a. M., Pro- 

 fessor of Chemistry and Physics, Law- 

 rence University, Wisconsin. Pp. 38. 

 Price 75 cents. Chicago : Jansen, Mc- 

 Clurg k Co., 1875. 



The object of this little work, as the 

 author says, is to furnish tables by which 

 the student may, with as few easy tests as 

 possible, determine with precision, and clas- 

 sify, minerals found in the United States, 

 and become familiar with their principal 

 characteristics. 



Annual Report of the Board of School 

 Commissioners of the City of Mil- 

 waukee, for the Year ending August 31, 

 1874. 



Nothing neater, as respects typography 

 and book-making, can be found in any edu- 

 cational document East. The table of ex- 

 aminations of teachers shows, in the large 

 number of rejections, that honest work is 

 attempted. Superintendent McAllister's 

 scheme for uniform examination of the 

 schools seems to us philosophical. 



Systematic Catalogue of Yertebrata of 

 THE Eocene of New Mexico ; collected 

 in 1874. E. D. Cope, A. M. 



This is a morccau of Lieutenant Wheel- 

 er's Reports. Of this essay the writer says 

 it completes the determination of the fossil 

 vertebrate species obtained in the Eocene 

 of New Mexico during the field-work of 

 1874. The total species of mammalia is 

 forty-seven, of which this essay "introduces 

 twenty-four for the first time," besides 

 some i-eptilia and fishes. 



PUBLICATIONS EECEIVED. 



The Keys of the Creeds. Pp. 200. New 

 York: Putnams. Price, $1.25. 



The Miracle of To-Day. By Charles B. 

 Warring. Pp. 292. New York : Scheimer- 

 horn & Co. Price, $2.00. 



Heat, Light, Electricity, and Magnetism. 

 By Charles Skelton, M. D. Pp. 75. Tren- 

 ton, N. J. : Naar, Day & Naar. 



Curious Anomaly in the History of Larvae 

 of Acronycta Oblinita. By Thomas G. Gen- 

 try. Pp. 30. 



Mysteries of Hierarchy. Pp. 14. 



