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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ology, which such students have been using, 

 with something adapted to their special 

 needs. The physiology of man is so differ- 

 ent from that of most of the domestic ani- 

 mals, that books of the former class are 

 very unsatisfactory for the use of veterinary 

 students. Prof. Mills has accordingly pre- 

 pared a volume somewhat smaller than his 

 Animal Physiology, embodying the same 

 general plan, but with greater specializa- 

 tion for the domestic animals. The plan 

 of both books is thus described : " I have 

 endeavored to set before the student a short 

 account of what has been deemed of most 

 importance in general biology ; to furnish a 

 full account of reproduction ; to apply these 

 two departments throughout the whole of 

 the rest of the work ; to bring before the 

 student enough of comparative physiology 

 in its widest sense to impress him with the 

 importance of recognizing that all medicine, 

 like all science, is, when at its best, compara- 

 tive ; and to show that the doctrines of evo- 

 lution must apply to physiology and medi- 

 cine as well as to morphology." Its com- 

 prehensive scope and clearness of style make 

 it an excellent introduction to the study of 

 comparative physiology for the use of the 

 general student. The volume is finely print- 

 ed and contains 476 illustrations. Among 

 the pictures of especially wide usefulness 

 are several pages of cuts showing the ap- 

 pearance of the teeth of horses, oxen, and 

 other domestic animals at different ages. 



An American Geological Railway Guide. 

 By James Macfarlane, Ph. D. Second 

 edition, revised and enlarged. Edited by 

 James It. Macfarlane. New York : D. 

 Appleton & Co. Pp. 426. Price, $2.50. 



There are three classes of people whom 

 this book is intended to serve: first, the 

 general traveler who is interested in the in- 

 terpretation of the various aspects of na- 

 ture ; second, geologists, and especially stu- 

 dents of geology ; and, third, those who wish 

 to know where useful minerals are likely to 

 be found. The body of the work consists of 

 lists of the stations on the railroads of the 

 United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the 

 name of the geological formation at each 

 place. The distance of each station from one 

 terminus of the road is given, and the alti- 

 tude above sea-level of most. Prefixed to 

 these lists are descriptions of the geological 



formation " intended for railway travelers 

 who are not versed in geology." A multitude 

 of foot-notes give interesting facts in addi- 

 tion to the information contained in the lists. 

 To the traveler this work offers an opportuni- 

 ty to learn something of geology during the 

 usually tedious hours of railway journeys ; to 

 the geologist it will furnish aid in selecting 

 routes for geological excursions ; to the man 

 interested in the material development of new 

 regions it may serve as a key to the capabili- 

 ties of any given locality as regards products 

 of the soil and underground wealth. The 

 second edition, edited by the son of the au- 

 thor, contains twice as much matter as the 

 first. The editor has had the assistance of 

 the State Geologist or of some other gentle- 

 man well acquainted with the local geology in 

 each State. The lightness which the traveler 

 demands in what he carries has been secured 

 in this volume by the use of thin but tough 

 paper and a strong, flexible cloth cover. 



Economic and Social History of New 

 England: 1620-1789. By William B. 

 Weeden. In two volumes. Boston: 

 Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Price, $4.50. 



History, which formerly chronicled only 

 the doings of kings and chieftains, and later 

 developed into the life-record of the state, 

 has now extended its scope to the affairs of 

 the people. Its field is thus made to include 

 a multitude of forces, individually small but 

 mighty in the aggregate, which have always 

 had a potent influence in shaping the courses 

 of nations and in causing the success or the 

 overthrow of rulers. Events otherwise inex- 

 plicable are seen to be natural sequences, 

 when the temper of a people becomes knor/n 

 as revealed in their conduct of commercial, 

 social, religious, and family affairs. Probably 

 no region with an equal length of history is so 

 rich in materials for a record of social life as 

 New England. The early New-Englanders con- 

 scientiously recorded their business and pub- 

 lic transactions, and complacently wrote out 

 their ideas and opinions upon current topics, 

 and later generations have proudly preserved 

 these memorials, nencc the wealth of de- 

 tail that Mr. Weeden has been able to in- 

 clude in his panorama. Among the impor- 

 tant institutions of New England to which 

 the author early calls attention are the 

 towns. These, he states, " were founded on 



