LITERARY NOTICES. 



853 



present volume, after noticing the extrava- 

 gant views that were at first entertained of 

 the machines, the editors say : " Now the 

 dynamo is likely to take a fair stand in the 

 rank of useful machines ; for a time it was 

 a machine regarded as likely to revolution- 

 ize all the mechanical world ; now it is 

 coming to be considered in its true light as 

 a very valuable aid and auxiliary to steam 

 and other prime movers, extending their 

 sphere, and making more easy their appli- 

 cation. For these reasons, it is assumed 

 that the public interested in such technical 

 matters are desirous of a more intimate 

 knowledge of the principles of these ma- 

 chines, and this knowledge it is the object 

 of the present hand-book to supply." 



Lectures on the Science and Art of Edu- 

 cation, with other Lectures and Essays 

 by the late Joseph Payne. Reading- 

 Club edition. Syracuse, N. Y. : C. W. 

 Bardeen, publisher. Pp. 281. 



Among the multitude of books that are 

 teeming from the press on the subject of 

 education, this is one of the soundest and 

 safest, and really the most advanced in its 

 spirit, and in the principles it labors to in- 

 culcate. Its editor says in his preface: "It 

 must be remembered that this volume was 

 not prepared by the author as a text-book, 

 but is simply a compilation of addresses and 

 papers delivered at different times and un- 

 der different circumstances. Hence the same 

 truth is often repeated, not only in different 

 expression, but with different application." 

 Only by an intelligent comparison of these 

 various statements can Professor Payne's 

 views be thoroughly understood ; and, for 

 this comparison, these analyses are almost 

 indispensable. The central principle of Pro- 

 fessor Payne's system stands out boldly, and 

 is reiterated at every opportunity, that the 

 pupil " knows only what he has discovered 

 for himself, and that in this process of dis- 

 covery the teacher is only a guide." 



He thus closes his masterly lecture on 

 " The True Foundation of Science-Teach- 

 ing " : "I do not for a moment deny that 

 much is to be gained from the study of sci- 

 entific text-books. It would be absurd to 

 do so. What I do deny is, that the reading- 

 up of books on science which is, strictly 

 speaking, a literary study either is or can 

 possibly be a training in scientific method. 



To receive facts in science on any other au- 

 thority than that of the facts themselves ; to 

 get up the observations, experiments, and 

 comments of others instead of observing, 

 experimenting, and commenting ourselves ; 

 to learn definitions, rules, abstract propo- 

 sitions, technicalities, before we personally 

 deal with the facts which lead up to them 

 all this, whether in literary or scientific edu- 

 cation and especially the latter is of the 

 essence of cramming, and is therefore en- 

 tirely opposed to, and destructive of, true 

 mental training and discipline." 



Lectures on Teaching, delivered in the 

 University of Cambridge, during the 

 Lent Term, 1880. By J. G. Fitch, M. 

 A., Assistant Commissioner to the late 

 Endowed Schools Commission, and one 

 of her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. 

 New edition. With a Preface by an 

 American Normal Teacher. New York : 

 Macmillan & Co. 1885. Pp. 393. Price, 

 $1. 



We have previously spoken in emphatic 

 praise of this able educational work, and 

 are glad to see that it has now been brought 

 out in a cheaper edition. Fitch is probably 

 the best authority on general education con- 

 nected with the English school system. He 

 is thoroughly informed and thoroughly prac- 

 tical, and his book should be in the hands 

 of every teacher who has capacity or liberty 

 to think upon the subject of teaching. 



Talks Afield : About Plants and the 

 Science of Plants. By L. H. Bailey, 

 Jr. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Pp. 173. 

 Price, $1. 



This little book has many pictures, and 

 contains many interesting explanations and 

 descriptions of vegetable processes and gen- 

 eral plant phenomena. It will interest all 

 who have botanical tastes, and will assist 

 to develop those tastes where they do not 

 exist. 



Lessons in Elementary Practical Physics. 

 By Balfour Stewart, F. R. S., and W. 

 W. Haldengee. Vol. I. General Physi- 

 cal Processes. Macmillan & Co. Pp. 

 291. Price, $1.50. 



This is a manual for the physical labo- 

 ratory, and is mainly devoted to instruments 

 and apparatus. It deals chiefly with experi- 

 mental determinations of length, angular 

 measurement, mass, density, elasticity, press- 



