LITERARY NOTICES. 



647 



and the sunlight, streaming through the 

 opening of the dense canopy of foliage 

 above, fell upon the ground in flickering 

 patches. A slumberous silence filled the 

 air ; and I confess that, as I traced out the 

 labyrinthine system of earthworks here dis- 

 played, with its great circles and squares, 

 its octagons, gate-ways, parallel roads, and 

 tumuli, the whole spread over an area of 

 several square miles, and as I speculated 

 upon the purposes of their construction, 

 and on the origin and extinction of the peo- 

 ple by whom they were reared, I was pro- 

 foundly impressed." 



The first chapter of the work gives an 

 excellent summary of the general argument 

 on the antiquity of man, as illustrated by 

 European evidences. The second chapter 

 discusses the same question, on the basis of 

 evidence furnished in the United States. 

 Chapter III. opens the question of the 

 mound-builders, and the geographical dis- 

 tribution of their works ; and the fourth 

 chapter treats of shell-banks and shell- 

 heaps, and the character of the crania found 

 associated with them. Chapters V., VI., 

 and VII., amplify the discussion of the 

 mound-builders, their enclosures, their arts 

 and manufactures, and the character of 

 their ancient mining. The cranial and ana- 

 tomical characters of the mound-builders 

 are dealt with in Chapter VIII., while Chap- 

 ter IX. considers their manners and cus- 

 toms, on the basis of ethnic relations. The 

 problem of the old American civilizations is 

 here entered upon, preparatory to the ques- 

 tion, " Who were the mound-builders ? " con- 

 sidered in Chapter X. Chapter XI. sum- 

 marizes the discussion of the unity of the 

 human race ; and Chapter XII. closes the 

 work, by treating of chronometric measure- 

 ments, as applied to the antiquity of man. 

 The whole exposition is condensed into 400 

 pages, and the publishers have done their 

 part, in the fine execution of the engravings, 

 and the beautiful typography of the book. 



Foons. By Edward Smith, M. D., LL. B., 

 F. R. S. New York : Appletons, 1873, 

 pp. 485, price $1.75. 



When the editor of this periodical was 

 in Europe, in 1871, arranging with authors 

 to write for the International Scientific 

 Series, he was assured, by good authority, 



that the ablest man in England to treat the 

 subject of foods was Dr. Edward Smith. 

 This gentleman had made important re- 

 searches into the character and physiologi- 

 cal effects of aliments, and his results were 

 accepted among men of science as of great 

 value. He was a Government Inspector of 

 Dietaries, and had published several works 

 upon Food and Diet. His services were 

 secured for the undertaking, and the little 

 treatise he has produced shows that the 

 choice of a writer on this important subject 

 was most fortunate, as the book is unques- 

 tionably the clearest and best-digested com- 

 pend of the Science of Foods that has ap- 

 peared in our language. 



The excellent work of Pereira was pub- 

 fished thirty years ago, and nothing better 

 has been issued during the past generation ; 

 but the advances in our knowledge of the 

 subject have been so great that it is now 

 out of date, and is but rarely referred to. 

 Dr. Smith's book is not only scientific but 

 practical : besides explaining the nature 

 and properties of foods, as determined by 

 the chemist, he shows how they are altered 

 in taste and digestibility by the operations 

 of the kitchen ; and presents the informa- 

 tion in so simple and intelligible a form, 

 that it may be apprehended by everybody. 

 Dr. Smith's " Foods " is emphatically a book 

 for the people ; not a mere receipt-book, 

 although it contains many excellent direc- 

 tions for the preparation and use of aliments, 

 but a summary of facts and principles 

 for those who desire to understand the sub- 

 ject. His classification is simple and com- 

 prehensive. The term foods, as he uses it, 

 embraces all forms of matter that are intro- 

 duced into the living system to carry on the 

 vital processes, and his leading divisions 

 are into solid foods, liquid foods, and gas- 

 eous foods. Part I., treating of solid foods, 

 takes up first animal foods, which are 

 grouped as nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous, 

 and the vegetable foods are then considered 

 under the same groups. Part II. treats of 

 liquids water, milk, tea, coffee, and the 

 various beverages, including alcohols. Part 

 III. treats of atmospheric air, from the ali- 

 mentary point of view. As it costs nothing, 

 requires no cooking, and is not passed into 

 the stomach for digestion, air is not gen- 

 erally included among foods ; but, as it is 



