LITERARY NOTICES. 



249 



A Treatise on the Diseases of the Ner- 

 vous System. By William A. Ham- 

 mond, M. D. New York : D. Appleton 

 & Co. Pp. 8S3, with 109 Illustrations. 

 Price, $6. 



The standing of this work may be in- 

 ferred from the fact that it has gone to the 

 sixth edition, and, having been out of print 

 a year, reappears rewritten, enlarged, and 

 much improved. Dr. Hammond has made 

 the subject of this work a specialty, and 

 his extensive medical practice in the de- 

 partment of nervous diseases can hardly 

 fail to give much practical value to his 

 treatise upon the subject. The work is 

 written for medical students and the pro- 

 fession, but other people can collect a great 

 deal of information from it, curious and 

 valuable, in regard to nervous actions, con- 

 ditions, and disorders. 



In his preface Dr. Hammond says : " One 

 feature I may, however, with justice claim 

 for this work,, and that is, that it rests to a 

 great extent on my own observation and ex- 

 perience, and is, therefore, no mere compi- 

 lation. The reader will readily perceive that 

 I have views of my own on every disease 

 considered, and that I have not hesitated to 

 express them." Obviously, the great ob- 

 scurity and unsettledness of our knowledge, 

 both of the physiology and pathology of 

 the nervous system, offer a strong tempta- 

 tion to confident minds to form and pro- 

 mulgate positive opinions concerning them, 

 but the same causes should enforce caution 

 upon the student in their acceptance. 



Painters' Magazine. Monthly, pp. 40. A. 

 G. Sullivan, Editor and Publisher. 



The eighth number of the second annual 

 volume has just been published, and pre- 

 sents to its readers an excellent and varied 

 table of contents, besides some useful illus- 

 trations for the practical painter, artist, etc. 

 The contributions are from some of the 

 best writers of the day upon the various 

 branches of painting. This magazine must 

 be useful not only to the painter, but also 

 to the architect and builder. That a better 

 idea may be had, we give the headings of 

 leading articles, viz. : House-Painting ; In- 

 terior or Mural Decoration; Pigment and 

 Color; Hints on Drawing; Answers to 

 Correspondents ; Railway-Car Painting, etc. 

 Price, $1.50 per annum. 



Magnetism and Electricity. By F. Guth- 

 rie. New York : Putnams. Price, $1.50. 



In this little volume, Prof. Guthrie, of the 

 Royal School of Mines, London, presents to 

 the general student of magnetism and elec- 

 tricity a very full compendium of that sci- 

 ence. In directness of statement and clear- 

 ness of expression this treatise is deserving 

 of very high praise, and these qualities it 

 doubtless owes to the circumstance that it is 

 based upon the notes of the lectures deliv- 

 ered by the author for many years to min- 

 ing students and science-teachers. The 

 work is illustrated with over 300 woodcuts. 



Notes on Building Construction. For 

 sale by Lippincott, Philadelphia. 



This is the first of a series of three vol- 

 umes, intended to assist pupils who are pre- 

 paring for the examinations in building 

 construction held annually under the direc- 

 tion of the Science and Art Department of 

 the British Government. This first part 

 treats of the points laid down as necessary 

 for the examination in the elementary 

 course. The subjects discussed are : Wall- 

 ing and arches ; brickwork ; masonry ; car- 

 pentry; floors; partitions; timber roofs; 

 iron roofs ; slating ; plumbing ; cast-iron 

 girders ; joinery. 



Legal Chemistry. By A. Naquet. Pp. 

 178. Price, $2. New York : Van Nos- 

 trand. 



The title of this work sufficiently indi- 

 cates its purport, namely, the solution of 

 chemical problems arising in the adminis- 

 tration of justice. As a matter of course, 

 the subject of the detection of poisons re- 

 ceives the most attention ; but the author 

 also describes the processes to be adopted 

 for examining sundry alimentary and phar- 

 maceutical substances, for examining writ- 

 ten documents, blood-stains, etc. The trans- 

 lator of the work, Dr. J. P. Battevshall, ap- 

 pends a list of books and memoirs on the 

 subject of toxicology and the allied branches. 



Principal Characters of the Dinocerata. 

 By Prof. O. C. Marsh. 



This is a reprint from the American 

 Journal of Science and Art. Besides the 

 letter-press, the paper contains six litho- 

 graphic plates giving views of the skull, den- 

 tition, jaw, feet, etc., of Dinocerata. 



