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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



The Popular Health Almanac, for 1877. 

 Edited by Frederick Hoffmann. New- 

 York : E. Steiger. Pp. 40. Price, 10 

 cents. 



This is a valuable and most useful com- 

 pilation of applied health-knowledge, such 

 as should be found in every family. The 

 first number was issued last year, and was 

 so well appreciated that it is followed by 

 another this year, and we hope the series 

 will be continued. One of its most im- 

 portant features is to expose the traffic in 

 patent medicines, and, to show their fraud 

 and worthlessness, the chemical composi- 

 tion of many popular nostrums is given. 

 We fully agree with the following estimate 

 of this almanac, given by Dr. Elisha Har- 

 ris: "Accept my thanks and very hearty 

 congratulations for the admirable little 

 manual which you have justly entitled ' Pop- 

 ular Health Almanac.' It certainly is the 

 most acceptable and well-arranged compila- 

 tion for public instruction on sanitary mat- 

 ters I ever saw ; indeed, it is far more and 

 better than a compilation, so happily has 

 Dr. Hoffmann studied and crystallized the 

 limits and substance of sanitary knowledge 

 in the modest and beautiful little Health 

 Mentor which, in all particulars, has been 

 so wonderfully well designed and executed 

 that thousands of families will sincer/iy 

 thank its editor and publisher." 



The First Fonakigrafik Teacher : A 

 Guide to a Practical Acquaintance with 

 the Literary Style of the Art of Phona- 

 chygraphy. An Improved Substitute 

 for Long-Hand Script, etc., etc. Am- 

 herst, Mass., U. S. A.: John Brown 

 Smith, Author and Publisher. Pp. 24. 

 Price, 25 cents. 



For such a humble little print as this 

 the pretensions are very lofty, as it aims to 

 make a revolution in the future modes of 

 printing and writing. Following out the 

 idea that " to save time is to lengthen life," 

 the author remarks : " The saving of time 

 in acquiring an education would be almost 

 one-half if fonakigrafi (?) was exclusively 

 used for both print and script, thus doing 

 away with the absurdity of having half a 

 dozen different alphabets for print and 

 script as in use at present." Mr. Smith 

 will, however, probably have to rack his 

 brain again before he can invent a svstem 



that will completely set aside Pitman and 

 his imitators or improvers. Undoubtedly, 

 improvements will be made in the art of 

 short-hand writing, but what direction they 

 will take is not determined by this tract. 



Matter and Force : A Course of Lectures 

 on Physics. By J. K. Macomber. 

 Ames, Iowa : Agricultural Steam-print. 

 Pp. 95. 



During the past few years Prof. Macom- 

 ber has delivered the contents of this book, 

 as a series of nine lectures, to his classes 

 in Natural Philosophy. They are adapted 

 to persons who have completed the element- 

 ary study of physics, and include the more 

 recent views respecting matter and force. 

 He treats, among other subjects, of " Poten- 

 tial Energy," and the " Correlation of Vital 

 and Physical Forces," and gives the modern 

 speculations in regard to the " Sun as a 

 Centre of Force," with its relation to the 

 existence of the solar svstem. 



The Surface-Drainage of the Metropol- 

 itan District. By C. W. Folsom, C. E., 

 of Cambridge. Boston : Wright & Pot- 

 ter, State Printers. 



Mr. Folsom discussed this subject in the 

 " Seventh Report of the Massachusetts State 

 Board of Health," but its importance has 

 warranted its separate publication. He 

 does not attempt to treat surface-drainage 

 exhaustively, but rather suggests its neces- 

 sity, and the diseases to which its neglect 

 gives rise, pointing out the particular dis- 

 tricts in the neighborhood of Boston which 

 are in greatest need of treatment. 



TnE Essential Piety of Modern Science. 

 A Sermon. By John W. Chadwick, 

 Minister of the Second Unitarian Soci- 

 ety in Brooklvn. For sale by Charles 

 P. Somerby, 139 Eighth Street, N. Y. 



Mr. Chadwick read this sermon or ad- 

 dress before the National Conference of 

 Unitarian and other Christian Churches, 

 held at Saratoga in September. He shows 

 a decided liking for modern scientific ten- 

 dencies, and believes that there is that in 

 scientific thought which directly fosters all 

 those sentiments which are the life-blood of 

 religion. 



