LITERARY XOTICES. 



A97 



spiratory food, not a poison under all cir- 

 cumstances, as held by some ; as a stimu- 

 lant, it enables the system to use some of 

 its reserve force ; when the brain is wor- 

 ried, alcohol may be taken at bedtime with 

 benefit ; tobacco in moderation is harmless, 

 except to the young and growing." Chap- 

 ter VII. treats of the "Effects of Inherit- 

 ance ; " VIII., " The Election of a Pursuit 

 in Life ; " IX., " Overwork, and Physiologi- 

 cal Bankruptcy ; " X., " Mental Strain and 

 Tension," with this as one of its proposi- 

 tions : " Chloral hydrate is a much more 

 objectionable narcotic than either opium or 

 alcohol." In Chapter XI., under the head- 

 ing " Hygiene," the author treats, in sepa- 

 rate sections, of " The House we live in ; " 

 " The Air-Supply ; " "Ventilation;" "The 

 Water-Supply ; " " Sewage ; " " Fevers ; " 

 " Disinfectants and Antiseptics ; " " Vac- 

 cination ; " " Accidental Poisoning." Chap- 

 ter XII. is devoted to the treatment of 

 " Emergencies," Chapter XIII. discusses 

 the influence of climate and telluric con- 

 ditions on health, and concludes the book. 

 The author's style is easy and entertaining, 

 and his book contains a large amount of 

 valuable information. 



The Geological Story briefly told. An 

 Introduction to Geology for the General 

 Header and for Beginners in the Sci- 

 ence. By James D. Dana, LL. D., Pro- 

 fessor of Geology' and Mineralogy in 

 Yale College. 263 pages, 12mo. Xew 

 York : Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & Co., 

 1875. Price, $1.50. 



Now that the stories of science are be- 

 ing simplified and told in so many ways, 

 that everybody may hear them. Prof. 

 Dana comes forward and briefly tells his 

 favorite story the geological one. This 

 little book is one of the most interesting 

 and instructive of the briefly-told stories of 

 science published. It fills well the place 

 for which it was intended an introduction 

 to geology for the general reader and for 

 beginners in the science and will be spe- 

 cially welcomed as a source of ready and 

 concise information in this branch of study. 

 Scientific terms are defined as they are met 

 with, and the whole narrative is made as 

 popular as possible. After some prefatory 

 suggestions about practical out-door study, 

 the subject of " Rocks, or what the Earth is 

 made of," embracing constituents of rocks, 

 VOL. t:i. 32 



kinds of rocks, and structure of rocks, forms 

 the opening part of the book. Part second 

 treats of the methods by which the diffei'- 

 cnt kinds of rocks have been made, and the 

 causes in geology which have formed the 

 geographical features of the earth's surface. 

 Part third deals with historical geology, 

 tracing the succession in the formation of 

 the rocks of the earth, and the progress 

 of life plants and animals from the sim- 

 pler forms of early time up to man. The 

 book is finely illustrated. 



Art-Life and Theories of Richard Wag- 

 ner. Selected from his Writings and 

 translated by Edward L. Burlingame. 

 New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1875. 



There is probably no subject which a 

 hasty public opinion would more quickly 

 exclude from the cycle of the sciences than 

 music ; and public opinion would be, as 

 usual, both right and wrong. The strictly 

 scientific part of music the systematic col- 

 lection of the general principles and leading 

 truths relating to it is of no immediate 

 use to the composer ; neither is any par- 

 ticular theory of atoms important to the 

 I analytic chemist. Chemistry, however, al- 

 though at present chiefly an art, claims a 

 place among the sciences, and the modern 

 school of music formulates its theories in 

 scientific guise, and demands a judgment 

 on intellectual and scientific grounds. We 

 must not forget, too, that among the seven 

 sciences of the ancients music was the peer 

 of geometry. 



This volume of selections and transla- 

 tions from the writings of Wagner, the 

 founder and the chief exponent of the new 

 school of music, is almost the only means 

 by which Americans can arrive at a con- 

 ception of the principles which animate it, 

 and of the ideals which it seeks. Wagner 

 is a voluminous writer, and many of his es- 

 says are of a quite special nature, so that 

 great judgment was required in selectincr 

 such of them as should give the reader a 

 rounded conception of Wagner as a man, 

 as a composer (in reference to his own 

 works), and as a musician, or musical the- 

 orist (in reference to the function which 

 music should fulfill, and to the means for 

 attaining its ideal). 



With only a casual acquamtance with 

 Wagner's complete works, we may yet un- 



