LITERARY NOTICES. 



55 



E. D. Cope, on extinct vertebrata from New- 

 Mexico. The fossils here described and de- 

 termined represent four geological periods, 

 in basins that had not previously been ex- 

 plored, viz., the Trias, the Eocene, the 

 Loup-Fork Epoch, and the Postpliocene of 

 the Sandia Mountains. The first vertebrate 

 fossils ever determined from the Trias of 

 the Rocky Mountains are included in this 

 memoir. Of the high intrinsic value of 

 Prof. Cope's work there is no need for us 

 to say anything: his memoirs on the pa- 

 leontology of our Western Territories are 

 authoritative documents throughout the 

 world of science. But we cannot refrain 

 from commending the truly admirable lith- 

 ographic plates by which the text is illus- 

 trated and adorned. 



The Future of Sanitary Science. An Ad- 

 dress before the Sanitary Institute of 

 Great Britain. By B. W. Richardson, 

 M. D. Macmillan & Co. Pp. 47. Price, 

 25 cents. 



Dr. Richardson has become the prophet 

 of our sanitary future, and discourses of its 

 prospects in this pamphlet in his peculiar 

 style. He does not fail to magnify his call- 

 ing, and presents its claims in a quite extraor- 

 dinary way, saying : " All political troubles 

 have a physiological cause. To the states- 

 man not less than to the physician, physi- 

 ology is the only true source of knowledge. 

 A society such as ours, therefore, possess- 

 ing as it does professed physiological skill, 

 may render most important service by trac- 

 ing out for the legislator the simplest sci- 

 entific means for removing atmospheric im- 

 purities, and by preparing for that sanitary 

 future when men universally shall breathe 

 purity even with their freedom." 



Cerebral Hyperemia : The Result op 

 Mental Strain or Emotional Disturb- 

 ance. By William A. Hammond, M. D. 

 New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 

 108. Price, $1. 



This is a very important little mono- 

 graph by an eminent medical authority, who 

 has had large special experience in all that 

 pertains to morbid conditions of the brain. 

 The reason for and character of his little 

 book are thus well represented by the au- 

 thor in his preface : 



"The disease which Is considered iD the en- 

 suing pages is more common, according to my 



experience, than any other affection of the ner- 

 vous system. It is especially an outgrowth of 

 our civilization, and of that restless spirit of en- 

 terprise and struggle for wealth so characteris- 

 tic of the American people. It is an easily pre- 

 ventable disorder, not for this purpose requiring 

 extensive hygienic operations, but simply the 

 acts of the individual in using his or her brain 

 with the same regard for its well-being as is or- 

 dinarily extended by the humane carter to the 

 muscular system of his horse. The brain of man 

 is strong: it will endure a terrible amount of ill- 

 usage ; but there are limits to the abuse which 

 may be inflicted upon it with impunity, and few 

 there be who do not pass them. 



" It is, perhaps, too much to expect the emo- 

 tions to be entirely under the control of the in- 

 dividual, nor is it desirable that we 6hould be 

 reduced to the condition of intellectual auto- 

 mata, moved always by reason and judgment, 

 and never by feeling. But it is entirely within 

 the power of every one, by that self-discipline so 

 seemly in all, to obtain such a degree of mastery 

 over unworthy or excessive passions as will 

 prevent them dominating over the whole mind 

 and body, to the detriment of both. 



"Ill-regulated emotions are even more pro- 

 lific of brain-disorders than severe mental labor, 

 and many a person considered to be suffering 

 from what is called nervous prostration or ex- 

 haustion is simply the subject of emotional dis- 

 turbance and a consequent condition of cerebral 

 hyperemia." 



First Principles op Agriculture. By 

 Henry Tanner, F. C. S. New York : 

 Macmillan & Co. Pp. 95. 



This is a very good little summary of 

 elemeutary scientific facts and principles re- 

 lating to agriculture. The difficulty about 

 it is that it is too small a mere primer ; but 

 those who want an introduction to the sub- 

 ject, to be followed by the use of larger 

 works, will find it serviceable. Scientific 

 agriculture, from the complexity of all its 

 problems and the obscurity of many of 

 them, requires to be studied with some thor- 

 oughness, in fact to be mastered, before it 

 can be made practically and safely avail- 

 able. 



A Dictionary op Music and Musicians. 

 Edited by George Grove, D. C. L. Vol. 

 I., Part II. New York: Macmillan & 

 Co. Pp. 127. Price, $1.25. 



The second number of this elaborate 

 work is now ready, and its topics range 

 from Ballad to Bo'i'eldieu. Its character is 

 well sustained, and the admirable sketch of 

 Beethoven, with the analysis of his music, 

 is alone worth the price of the work. 



