708 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



brief statement of the industrial applications 

 of all substances that have important uses. 

 The volume is well printed, and contains 

 seventy-eight illustrations and a colored 

 plate of spectra. 



A very attractive and well-made text- 

 book for beginners is the Elementary Geol- 

 ogy, by Charles Bird, which is one of Long- 

 mans' Elementary Science Manuals (Long- 

 mans, 80 cents). It is written in a simple 

 and easy style, giving a vivid idea of how 

 geological changes have taken place, and 

 with examples, mostly English, of the for- 

 mations described. The economic use of 

 each rock mentioned is also generally stated, 

 and there are 24*7 helpful illustrations, and 

 a colored geological map of the British 

 Isles. The sort of teaching that the author 

 gives is well indicated in his preface. He 

 reports the successful use of the lessons in 

 this book before they were printed, saying 

 that they sent many town boys on long 

 walks into the country, and enabled practi- 

 cally the whole class to pass the South Ken- 

 sington elementary examination. But he 

 deems the abiding interest aroused in natu- 

 ral phenomena and outdoor objects " a more 

 valuable and useful possession than even a 

 South Kensington certificate." 



A Text-Book of Practical Plane and Solid 

 Geometry, by /. H. Morris, has been added 

 to the same series (Longmans, 80 cents). 

 It is devoted to the construction of geo- 

 metrical figures or geometrical drawing, and 

 contains several hundred problems, which 

 range from the simplest to those of consid- 

 erable complexity. The part of the volume 

 dealing with plane geometry leads up to the 

 drawing of spirals of different kinds and 

 other curves. This is followed by a chap- 

 ter on the application of geometry to the 

 construction of patterns and simple tracery, 

 including geometrical tracery windows. The 

 drawing of plans, elevations, and sections 

 of solids, such as prisms, pyramids, and 

 cones, in simple positions is then taken up. 

 The second section of the book deals with 

 the projection of points and lines, and the 

 representation of planes by their traces on 

 co-ordinate planes, and also the projections 

 of solid objects of simple form. Lists of 

 exercises consisting of problems taken from 

 the examination papers cf various English 



colleges are introduced at intervals. The 

 diagrams appear in all cases on the page 

 opposite the problems. 



The Geography of Europe, by James Sime, 

 corresponds in character with the preceding 

 volumes of Macmillan's Geographical Series, 

 to whioh it belongs (Macmillan, 80 cents). 

 The chief feature of the book is the atten- 

 tion it gives to the past evolution of politi- 

 cal divisions. The historic associations of 

 towns have also been made prominent. The 

 author states, as to the information he has 

 aimed to include in the volume: "In the 

 case of each country the physical features 

 arc first described ; then an attempt is made 

 to mark the stages of its history, so far as 

 they are related to geography. Next I have 

 brought together some of the leading facts 

 relating to government, population, and na- 

 tional character, religion and education, and 

 industry and trade. Finally, an account is 

 given of the principal towns, these being 

 generally grouped under the historic di- 

 visions to which they respectively belong." 

 As there is a volume devoted to the British 

 Isles in this series, only a short chapter on 

 the United Kingdom is included in the pres- 

 ent work. There are thirty-three cuts rep- 

 resenting characteristic buildings and places. 



In the same series has just appeared a 

 volume on India, Burmah, and Ceylon, by 

 Henry F. Blanford (price, *T0 cents). The 

 subject-matter of this book may be described 

 as wholly geographical, and the author says 

 that, in order to bring so large a subject 

 within lcs3 than two hundred pages, it has 

 been necessary to restrict the description 

 to the most important features. But few 

 historical allusions are to be met with in 

 these pages. The text is illustrated with 

 twenty-seven cuts. Neither this nor the 

 preceding book contains maps, as both are 

 designed to be used with an atlas. 



From the Smithsonian Institution we 

 have received a number of monographs, in 

 pamphlet form, which are to constitute parts 

 of volumes soon to be issued. The Report 

 on the National Museum for 18SS, by 67. 

 Brown Goode, assistant secretary in charge, 

 contains some facts in regard to the history 

 and organization of the museum, a review 

 of the work of the year, a list of the more 

 important accessions, and other information. 

 During the year a Department of Living 



