LITERARY NOTICES. 



Mi 



tinued, as not promising, under present con- 

 ditions, to lead to valuable results. The 

 weekly weather crop Bulletin has been con- 

 tinued, and its value has been appreciated. 

 Special attention is given to the height of 

 risers at seventy places on twenty-six rivers. 



The second volume of the report consists 

 of a treatise by Prof. Cleveland Abbe of Pre- 

 paratory Studies for Deductive Methods in 

 Storm and Weather Predictions. Together 

 with already known conclusions and princi- 

 ples, it brings forward many new results; 

 discusses the relative importance of various 

 forces and resistances, the prominent feat- 

 ures of vortex motion, the turbulent flow of 

 the atmosphere, and the dynamic origin of 

 the diurnal variation of the barometer con- 

 nected with it ; gives much space to the 

 vertical motion due to buoyancy, to the 

 formation of clouds, and to the conclusions 

 to be drawn from their study. It seeks for 

 the source and maintaining power of the 

 storm, and for the conditions that influence 

 the movement of the storm center. 



The Reference Handbook for Readers, 

 Students, and Teachers of English History, 

 by K H. Gurncy (Ginn & Co.), is a series of 

 tables of the historical families of England. 

 It gives the descent of William the Con- 

 queror, of the kings of England and their 

 families, the descent of the present reigning 

 families, the nobility of England, counselors 

 and statesmen from 1066 to 1889, the prin- 

 cipal British writers, and the dates of prin- 

 cipal events. 



Mr. John Kennedy, author of the Stem 

 Dictionary of the English Language (A. S. 

 Barnes & Co.), has proceeded on the opinion 

 that there is a more satisfactory and more 

 useful way of enlarging one's vocabulary 

 than by definition. The definition of- a word 

 built up out of a familiar primary word is 

 superfluous, because the word explains itself. 

 If we know the stem, we can readily deter- 

 mine the meaning of the words into which it 

 enters. This leads to the study of stems 

 and to the adoption of word-structure as the 

 basis of elementary education. This book is 

 prepared as an aid to the study. In it the 

 principal stems of the language are presented 

 in alphabetical sequence, together with the 

 value of each ; first the primary value, then 

 the line of transition into the secondary or 

 derived use. In connection with each stem 



is given a list of its principal applications, 

 together with such parenthetical remarks as 

 may be helpful in connecting the stem value 

 with the present use of the word. The list 

 is liberally illustrated with quotations from 

 standard authors, showing how many of the 

 words have been used in their writings. It 

 is also freely garnished with notes that em- 

 body literary, scientific, or historical lore. 

 The stem-list is preceded by a word list 

 which may be consulted when the stem is to 

 be found, and is followed by a list of pre- 

 fixes. 



The first six books of The Annals of 

 Tacitus, edited by the late Prof. William F. 

 Allen, has been added to the " College Series 

 of Latin Authors" (Ginn, $1.65). About 

 half of each page is occupied with notes, 

 and an introduction of thirty-two pages em- 

 bodies information about the works of Taci- 

 tus and their characteristics, Tiberius, the 

 condition of the Roman Empire in his time, 

 etc. Appended to the volume are some 

 textual notes, an index of proper names, 

 and an index to the notes. 



The Pleroma (Putnam, $2.50) is an ac- 

 count of creation in blank verse, in which 

 the author, Rev. E. P. Chittenden, combines 

 the biblical story with the revelations of 

 science. It is in what the author calls semi- 

 dramatic form that is, like the form of the 

 second part of Faust, the characters, or 

 " voices," being mostly angels, spirits, forces, 

 forms, etc. 



The question of reading the Bible in the 

 public schools is briefly reviewed in an essay 

 by Joseph Henry Crooker (Wisconsin State 

 Journal Printing Company). The stimulus to 

 the publication of this pamphlet was a recent 

 decision by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin 

 prohibiting the use of the Scriptures for re- 

 ligious instruction in the schools of the State, 

 and a subsequent address by Dr. Bascom 

 criticising such action. The author finds a 

 "fundamental fallacy" in the claim that 

 Bible reading can be warranted in the 

 schools of a secular state. It is not read as 

 literature, nor as history, but as a super- 

 natural revelation. He considers the decree 

 " a friendly act " toward the Bible, since it 

 prevents the use of archaic texts and pas- 

 sages obnoxious to young minds. The con- 

 clusion is reached that not only is the de- 

 cision of the court in accordance with the 



