256 



HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



(London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co.). This is 

 a new and enlarged edition of a very noteworthy 

 little book, written by a botanist who is a fre- 

 quent contributor to our pages. We have before 

 expressed our liking for the book, and are glad to 

 see it revised and enlarged. All young botanists 



would do well to get it. " The Creation of Moses 



and Science in Harmony," by Dr. Alex. Stewart 

 (London : Elliot Stock), is another of those laboured 

 productions in which so much intellectual force is 

 thrown away in attempting to harmonize what have 

 never been disturbed, except by men themselves. 

 They frequently consist of bad geology and weakened 

 theology, and are usually unsatisfactory. Correct 

 science needs no harmonizing : incorrect science soon 

 gets corrected. Meantime the great truths which 

 theology has in its keeping have a sphere entirely 

 apart from scientific investigation. As might be 

 expected, the greater part of the book under notice 

 is devoted to demolishing the theory of evolution. 

 Would that such writers were wise in time ! No 

 " reconciliations " would then be needed. 



To turn from these unsatisfactory subjects to note 

 the appearance of the ninth edition of Proctor's 

 "Half-Hours with the Stars " (London : Hardwicke 

 & Bogue), is a pleasant change. The twelve plates 

 of the maps are new, and in bolder execution, so 

 that the astronomical student is considerably aided 

 thereby. It augurs well for the spread of astro- 

 nomical science when books of this class are so well 

 received and largely circulated. 



A capital little book on human physiology, simply 

 but attractively written, is Mrs. F. Fenwick Miller's 

 "House of Life" (London: Chatto & Windus). 

 It is a work which should be in every family library, 

 not to lie idly on the shelves but to be read by every 



member. "The Sight, and how to Preserve it," by 



Dr. H. C. Angell (London : Hardwicke ik Bogue), 

 is another work of a similar kind, bringing within 

 intelligent knowledge those parts of our own frames 

 about which we have hitherto been in such culpable 

 ignorance. Perhaps no sense is so much valued by 

 us as that of sight, and there is scarcely any other so 

 abused. Take one hundred people whom nobody 

 would call other than educated, and let them answer a 

 few questions as to the structure of the eye and the 

 nature of vision, and perhaps not five would pass the 

 examination entitled to an elementary certificate ! 

 This ought not to be ; and it is pleasant to see the 

 leading medical specialists devoting what little spare 

 time they have to popularly instructing the masses in 

 the subjects to which the former have devoted long and 

 useful lives. Nothing could be more understandable, 

 more practical, or more useful, than Dr. Angell's re- 

 marks on " The Sight and how to Preserve it," and 

 everybody with eyes ought to read them. 



"Nutrition in Health and Disease," by J. H. 

 Bennet, M.D. (London, J. & A. Churchill). 

 This is the third edition of a valuable work, 



chiefly written for public rather than special 

 readers, but which the latter cannot fail to estimate 

 very highly. The title is a very happy one, and 

 rightly expresses the character of the work. Its 

 aim is the same as that of the two little works just 

 mentioned, — the endeavour to make people acquainted 

 with their own bodies, and what is taking place in 

 them every hour of the day under the name of 



"nutrition." " Phosphates in Nutrition." by M. 



F. Anderson (London : Bailliere, Tindall, & Cox), is a 

 work of a similar important nature. Its endeavour is 

 to show the importance of certain inorganic materials 

 in the food, and their functions in the tissues. In 

 this way the author's views lead him to some novel 

 explanations of the causes of certain diseases hitherto 

 but little understood. The chapter on the "Mineral 

 Theory of Wasting Diseases " is especially noteworthy. 

 "English Folk-Lore," by the Rev. T. T. Dyer, 

 M. A. (London: Hardwicke & Bogue), cannot 

 fail to be a popular and widely-read book. " Folk- 

 Lore," or the wisdom of the common people, as 

 expressed in their proverbial and other sayings, has 

 of late years been a fruitful study. All of us are 

 acquainted with some of these sayings, and their 

 quaint utterance frequently carries us back to the days 

 of our childhood. There are scarcely any natural 

 phenomena which have not been thus noticed ; whilst 

 the pages of our best poets frequently sparkle with the 

 richest and quaintest of these gems of folk-lore. 

 Mr. Dyer's book is a very attractive-looking volume, 

 both outside and inside, for it has been given to the 

 world in a handsome cover and good paper and 

 print,— the very auxiliaries to make such a work 

 successful. The author is very happy in his style, 

 for it is light and airy without being flippant. Evi- 

 dently he is interested to his subject, as he sometimes 

 rises almost to enthusiasm. We have chapters on 

 the folk-lore of plants, birds, animals, insects, and 

 reptiles ; the moon (a fruitful source of old-world 

 sayings) ; besides half a volume relating to birth, 

 death, marriage, &c. 



MICROSCOPY. 



The Congress of Microscopists, held at 

 Indianapolis, Ind., August 14th, 15th, 16th, and 

 17th, was a great success as regards numbers pre- 

 sent and results arrived at. Delegates were in 

 attendance from all parts of the Union, sixteen 

 societies being represented by delegates. Many 

 papers of value to the working microscopist were 

 read. Amateurs had ample opportunity to profit by 

 the work of older workers. Results were compared, 

 and many delightful acquaintances formed. Dr. R. H. 

 Ward, of Troy, N.Y., was elected President, and Mr. 

 II. F. Atwood, of Chicago, Secretary. One evening 

 was devoted to a "conversazione," at which the 

 public attended, and were duly pleased with the 

 popular slides which were chosen for their entertain- 



