37 6 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Insanity in Ancient and Modern Life. 

 With Chapters on its Prevention. By 

 Daniel Hack Tuke, M. D. New York: 

 Macniillan & Co. Pp.226. Price, $1.75. 

 This is a popular volume by an authority 

 upon the subject which it treats, and which 

 is becoming constantly of greater general 

 interest. Formerly belonging to the med- 

 ical profession, questions of insanity are 

 now engaging the attention of legislators, 

 educators, and sociologists. The historical 

 chapters are curious and interesting, and 

 those on the management necessary for pre- 

 venting attacks of mental disorder are in- 

 structive and important. 



The Boy Engineers. What they did 

 and how they did it. By Rev. J. 

 Lukin. New York : G. P. Putnam's 

 Sons. Pp. 344. Price, $1.75. 

 The design of the author of this book 

 is to inspire boys with an interest in engi- 

 neering aud mechanical work, and to devel- 

 op any latent capacity they may possess in 

 that direction. The work is written in the 

 form of a simple autobiography, wherein a 

 boy is supposed to chronicle his own and 

 his brother's labors as amateur mechani- 

 cians and engineers. Still the volume con- 

 tains something more than a record of boy 

 engineering, though at the same time, as the 

 author remarks, there is no work described 

 in it which a persevering and industrious 

 lad might not accomplish. The " Boy En- 

 gineers" cannot fail to exert a healthy in- 

 fluence on its youthful readers. 



Intercultural Tillage. By Dr. E. Lewis 

 Sturtevant. Reprinted from the " Re- 

 port of the Secretary of the Connecticut 

 State Board of Agriculture." Pp. 42. 

 By " Intercultural tillage," Dr. Sturte- 

 vant means tilling, stirring the soil while the 

 plant is growing. The value of intercultu- 

 ral tillage has long been understood, but 

 not so its rationale. Hoeing and ploughing 

 serve to remove weeds, also to loosen the 

 soil, and both of these things favor the growth 

 of the plant. But Dr. Sturtevant finds that 

 the main advantage derived from intercult- 

 ural tillage is the pruning of the roots, caus- 

 ing them to branch out abundantly in every 

 direction, in search of food. He cites sun- 

 dry experiments made by himself, which go 

 to show that this is the true theory of " in- 

 tercultural tillage." The pamphlet is well 

 worthy of the attention of farmers. 



Journal of the Academy of Natural Sci- 

 ences of Philadelphia. New Series. 

 Vol. VIII., Part III. Pp. 127, with 14 

 Plates. 



Two paleontological memoirs arc con- 

 tained in this number of the Journal, viz., 

 a "Description of Vertebrate Remains, 

 chiefly from the Phosphate Beds of South 

 Carolina," by Prof. Joseph Leidy, and a 

 " Description of a Collection of Fossils 

 made by Dr. Antonio Raimondi in Peru," 

 by William M. Gabb. The vertebrate re- 

 mains determined by Prof. Leidy embrace 

 species of Equus, Hipparion, Elephas, Mas- 

 todon, Manatus, Cetacea, Fishes, and other 

 land and marine animals. Dr. Raimondi's 

 collection represents the labors of eighteen 

 years, and was described in part by Prof. 

 Leidy, some years ago, in the American Jour- 

 nal of Conchology. The work is now com- 

 plete, and there is appended a pretty full 

 " Bibliography of South American Paleon- 

 tology," together with a " Synopsis of South 

 American Paleontology." 



Chemical Experimentation : Being a Hand- 

 book of Lecture Experiments in Inor- 

 ganic Chemistry. Systematically ar- 

 ranged for the Use of Lecturers and 

 Teachers in Chemistry, as well as for 

 Students in Normal Schools and Col- 

 leges, and for Private Study. By Sam- 

 ual P. Sadtler, Ph. D., Assistant Pro- 

 fessor of Chemistry in the University of 

 Pennsylvania. Louisville : J. P. Morton 

 & Co. Pp. 225. Price, $2.50. 



This is a hand-book of chemical experi- 

 ments, and makes no claim to be a chemical 

 text-book. Following the order of Barker's 

 " College Chemistry," the work is desigued 

 to give full instructions for the illustration of 

 chemical lectures. A large variety of experi- 

 ments are fully described, from which teach- 

 ers may draw for such as are thought best 

 for class-room illustration. It is an excel- 

 lent compilation for an important purpose, 

 and cannot fail to be useful in institutions 

 which have ample command of chemical ap- 

 paratus. The illustrations are large, numer- 

 ous, and admirably executed. 



At toe Court of King Edwin : A Drama. 

 By William Leighton, Jr. Philadel- 

 phia : J. B. Lippincott & Co. Pp. 157. 

 Price, $1.25. 

 This is said to be considerable of a 



poem, and we know nothing to the contrary. 



