LITERARY NOTICES. 



417 



certain the position of the sun in the Galac- 

 tic Cluster, this volume of the " Annals " fills 

 a place which no other work yet published 

 can make any pretense to. Whether we 

 consider the perfection of the instrument 

 employed, the plan of observatiop pursued, 

 the accuracy and care with which the ob- 

 servations were made, the large number of 

 stars observed, the completeness of the rec- 

 ords, or the exhaustive comparisons that 

 have been made of the observations with 

 those of other astronomers, we are equally 

 satisfied that, so far as the photometric ob- 

 servation of all stars visible to the naked 

 eye in northern latitudes is concerned, the 

 work of Professor Pickering and his able 

 assistants leaves nothing to be desired. 



The Chemistry of Cookery. By W. Mat- 

 tieu Williams. New York: D. Apple- 

 ton & Co. Pp. 328. Price, $1.50. 



Since the publication of Johnston's 

 " Chemistry of Common Life," thirty years 

 ago, no book so important has appeared in 

 this line of inquiry as the volume before us. 

 Johnston's work was of broader scope, and, 

 in fact, contributed little to the science of 

 the culinary preparation of foods, to which 

 Williams's work is devoted. Much has been 

 done in this direction in the last generation, 

 and a work was needed embodying the most 

 important practical results. This Professor 

 Williams has now given us in a very satis- 

 factory form. Of the extent and impor- 

 tance of the information conveyed in his 

 pages nothing need be said to the readers of 

 " The Popular Science Monthly," in which 

 the successive articles have appeared ; but, 

 now that they are collected together and 

 offered as a treatise on the science of cook- 

 ery, it is proper to state that the work has 

 been ably done, and is entitled to rank as 

 a standard upon its subject. Mr. Williams 

 has given us " the present state of knowl- 

 edge " on the chemical changes to which 

 alimentary substances are subjected by cus- 

 tomary kitchen operations. His facts and 

 his chemistry are to be relied upon, and his 

 conclusions are generally made with judg- 

 ment, but some of his speculations may be 

 extreme, and will be received with caution. 

 His work has been criticised as if he had 

 made too much of the test-tube and analyti- 

 cal operations, and built unwarrantably upon 

 vol. xxvii. 27 



their results. There are, of course, many 

 things about organic substances and their 

 subtile changes which chemistry can not ex- 

 plain, and it certainly can not give us a 

 complete science of foods. But the author 

 of the present work is quite aware of this, 

 and we do not think he has unduly strained 

 the resources of his science in his efforts to 

 elucidate the subject. His book will prove 

 invaluable to read, for practical instruction, 

 for reference in using common cook-books, 

 and as a text-book for classes wishing to 

 study the science of cooking in a careful 

 and thorough manner. 



A Text-Book of Hygiene. By George H. 

 Rohe, M. D., Professor of Hygiene, Col- 

 lege of Physicians and Surgeons, Bal- 

 timore. Baltimore: Thomas & Evans. 

 Pp. 324. 



Every important division of the subject 

 receives some attention in this treatise. It 

 is intended to present the essential facts 

 upon which the art of preventive medicine 

 is based, in such manner as to form a guide 

 for the American student, practitioner, and 

 sanitary officer. Beginning with general 

 considerations in regard to air, water, food, 

 and soil, the author goes on to the special 

 hygiene of dwellings, hospitals, and schools, 

 and takes up also industrial, military, ma- 

 rine, and prison hygiene. Several chapters 

 are devoted to personal hygiene. Histories 

 of the epidemic diseases are given, and the 

 subjects of disinfectants, quarantine, and 

 vital statistics are also included. A list of 

 special works is given with each chapter. 

 The author makes little claim to originality ; 

 the qualities which he has especially sought 

 are comprehensiveness and reliability. 



The Microtomist's Vade-Meccm. By Ar- 

 thur Bolles Lee. Philadelphia: P. 

 Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp.424. Price, $3. 



This work " a hand-book of the meth- 

 ods of microscopic anatomy" has been 

 prepared chiefly with the design of furnish- 

 ing a complete but concise account of all 

 the methods of preparation that have been 

 recommended as useful for the purposes of 

 microscopic anatomy. In order to make 

 it also a suitable guide for beginners, a gen- 

 eral introduction has been added, and intro- 

 ductory paragraphs have been prefixed, 

 when needful, to the different chapters, 



