LITERARY NOTICES. 



707 



of insects. The contrasts in the geological 

 features of the State influence the botany, 

 and this affects the character of the insect 

 forms. There are no large collections of 

 insects in the State. Collectors are few. 

 Some aid was got from collectors in New 

 York and Philadelphia, but their excursions 

 into New Jersey covered only a limited area, 

 and were mainly directed in special lines. 

 Except in Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, New 

 Jersey is practically unexplored, and the 

 northern and northwestern regions are not 

 represented, even in the collected orders. 

 The author himself, collecting in all orders, 

 in different parts of the State, though for 

 too short a time, has been able to add con- 

 siderably to all the lists, from his own ex- 

 perience. His catalogue includes 6,093 spe- 

 cies, of 2,307 genera and 238 families, and 

 is arranged after the Linncean system. Mr. 

 Nelson's catalogue of vertebrates is a re- 

 vision of Dr. Abbott's catalogue of 1S68, 

 and it has been found a laborious task 

 merely to incorporate the changes in nomen- 

 clature and classification which have been 

 made within the last twenty years. Mr. 

 Nelson has added descriptions of each spe- 

 cies, with particular reference to features 

 distinguishing it from its allies ; and the 

 descriptions have been made most complete 

 for birds and fishes. 



Principles of General Organic Chemistry. 

 By Prof. E. Hjelt, Helsingfors. Trans- 

 lated by J. B. Tingle, Ph". D. London 

 and New York : Longmans, Green & Co. 

 Pp. 220. 



Every one who has had anything to do 

 with the teaching of organic chemistry will 

 assent to the statement of Prof. Hjelt that 

 students are very apt to overlook general 

 principles and relations in their endeavor to 

 remember particulars concerning single sub- 

 stances. To remedy this defect he has made 

 a book, intended as a supplement to ordi- 

 nary text-books, which is devoted to the 

 chemical philosophy of the carbon com- 

 pounds. Its object is to extend and sys- 

 tematize the knowledge of these substances 

 which the student has obtained from other 

 sources. In Part I the composition, consti- 

 tution, and classification of organic . com- 

 pounds are discussed and explained. Part 

 II is devoted to illustrating the connection 

 between the constitution of organic com- 



pounds and their chief physical properties. 

 Part III deals with the chemical behavior of 

 organic compounds. The reactions described 

 in this section are arranged according to the 

 results dehydration processes, for instance, 

 being all classed together. Two editions of 

 the work having been received favorably in 

 Swedish, a German version was prepared by 

 the author, and from the latter the English 

 translation has been made. 



The Coast Indians op Southern Alaska 

 and Northern British Columria. By 

 Ensign Albert P. Niblack, U. S. N. 

 Washington : Smithsonian Institution. 

 Pp. 161. 



There is much to tell about the Alaskan 

 " wards of the nation " and their relatives 

 in the British dominions. Sufficient, evi- 

 dence is given in this monograph to show 

 that the Indians of the Northwest coast 

 have a high degree of skill in many arts, 

 industries, and pursuits, a systematic tribal 

 organization, interesting customs and cere- 

 monies, and traditions and folk-lore which 

 are instructive to the student. The infor- 

 mation here presented is based on the col- 

 lections of objects in the United States Na- 

 tional Museum, and on the personal obser- 

 vation of the author in connection with the 

 survey of Alaska. Subdivisions of the 

 above topics are treated with varying full- 

 ness in fifteen chapters, the text being illus- 

 trated with seventy full-page plates. The 

 carvings in wood and slate, and the woven 

 garments and baskets here figured, display 

 much ingenuity, while the accounts of the 

 way in which these peoples have adapted 

 themselves to the ways of civilization give 

 proof of much mental strength. 



Inorganic Chemistry, Theoretical and 



Practical. By William Jago, F. C. S. 



London and New York : Longmans, 



Green & Co. Pp. 45S. 



The author of this work is an experi- 

 enced writer of chemical textbooks. The 

 present volume is described as a manual for 

 studentsinadvancedclasses that is,for those 

 who have some acquaintance with the com- 

 mon elements, and some knowledge of chem- 

 ical reactions. It does not omit any essen- 

 tial subject, but elementary matters are 

 treated briefly, while larger space is given 

 to the laws of chemistry and to manufact- 

 uring processes. A feature of the book is a 



