77 8 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



fungi. The author of the latter paper is 

 Charles H. Peck ; all the others are by Au- 

 gustus R. Grote. Mr. Grote is well known 

 to entomologists as an authority on the sub- 

 jects which he discusses, and the Buifalo 

 society is to be congratulated for being the 

 medium through which the laborious and 

 valuable researches of so able a naturalist 

 are published to the world. The papers are 

 strictly scientific and technical, being in- 

 tended solely for those who pursue method- 

 ically the special branches of science to 

 which they refer. They are not popular 

 expositions, but rather brief notes on cer- 

 tain departments of natural science, to be 

 understood and valued only by the initiated. 

 The Bulletin is handsomely printed on good 

 paper, in octavo form. Subscription price, 

 $2.50 per volume. 



Atmospheric Theory op the Open Polar 

 Sea : with Remarks on the Present State 

 of the Question. By William W. Wheil- 

 don. First Paper. Boston, 1872. 



This paper was read at the meeting of the 

 American Association for the Advancement 

 of Science, held at Newport, R. I., in 1860, 

 and was published in the volume of proceed- 

 ings of the Association for that year. The ex- 

 traordinary interest taken in Arctic affairs 

 during the past two years has led to its re- 

 issue in pamphlet form, with brief introduc- 

 tory observations on the present state of the 

 problem. Accepting the view, now quite gen- 

 erally held, that an open sea, or at least a 

 much ameliorated climate, exists in the vi- 

 cinity of the pole, the author, in this paper, 

 aims to show that such a condition of things 

 " is largely if not entirely due to the cur- 

 rents of the air from the equatorial regions 

 which move in the higher strata of the 

 earth's atmosphere, bearing heat and moist- 

 ure with them." How well he succeeds in 

 this undertaking, we leave the readers of 

 the argument to judge. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



"Washington Catalogue of Stars. By or- 

 der of Rear- Admiral Sands, U. S. N. Wash- 

 ington, 1873. 



First Annual Report of the Minnesota 

 State Board of Health. St. Paul, 1873, 

 pp. 102. 



Scientific and Industrial Education. A 

 Lecture. By G. B. Stebbins. Detroit, 1873, 

 pp. 24. 



The Railroads of the United States. By 

 Henry V. Poor. New York : H. V. & H. W. 

 Poor, 68 Broadway, pp. 29. 



Cosmical and Molecular Harmonics, No. 

 II. By Pliny Earle Chase, M. A. Philadel- 

 phia, 1873, pp. 16. 



Nickel. By Dr. Lewis Feuchtwanger, 

 pp. 19. 



Diminution of Water on the Earth, and 

 its Permament Conversion into Solid Forms. 

 By Mrs. George W. Houk. Dayton, 0., 1873, 

 pp. 39. 



Sixth Annual Report of the Trustees of 

 the Peabody Museum of American Archaeol- 

 ogy and Ethnology. Cambridge, 1873, pp. 

 27. Mr. Gillman's report of his explora- 

 tions of the ancient mounds on the St. Clair 

 River is an important contribution to ar- 

 chaeology. The museum is in a flourishing 

 state, and growing steadily. The Niccolucci 

 collection of ancient crania and implements 

 was the most important addition made 

 during the past year. 



MISCELLANY. 



Utilization of Waste Coal. The English 

 Mechanic gives an historical sketch of the 

 various processes suggested for the utiliza- 

 tion of the waste of coal-mines. From this 

 account it would appear that so early as the 

 close of the sixteenth century the waste of 

 small coal attracted notice. About the year 

 1594 one Sir Hugh Piatt proposed a mixture 

 of coal-dust and loam, together with such 

 combustible materials as sawdust and tan- 

 ners' bark : the loam being the cement 

 which was to hold the other ingredients to- 

 gether. But Sir Hugh's suggestions did not 

 receive much attention in those early times, 

 when coal was but little used, wood being 

 the staple fuel of England. 



It was only at the beginning of the 

 present century that this question began to 

 receive serious attention. A patent was 

 then granted for a mixture of refuse coal 

 with charcoal, wood, breeze, tan, peat, saw- 

 dust, cork-cuttings, and other inflammable 

 ingredients. A capital objection to such a 



