7?6 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



A Guide to the Microscopical Examixa- 

 TioN OF Drinking-Water. By J. D. 

 Macdosald, M. D., F. R. S. Pp. 113. 

 With twenty-four Lithographic Plates. 

 Price, $3. Philadelphia : Lindsay & 

 Blakiston. 1875. 



This volume is an important contribu- 

 tion to our knowledge of the extent and 

 nature of the impurities found in drinking- 

 water, and the most ready means of de- 

 tecting and classifying them. In clearness 

 of method and statement, and style of its 

 illustrations, the work is admirable. The 

 author does not attempt to link particular 

 forms of impurity with specific sanitary 

 effects, but says further observation may 

 show their deep sanitary significance. 



No one now hesitates to condemn a wa- 

 ter containing bacteria and fungi, or swarm- 

 ing with the lower forms of life. 



The means by which sediments and float- 

 ing impurities in water maybe best obtained 

 and studied is pointed out in a brief intro- 

 duction. 



Section 1 treats of the mineral matters 

 found in drinking-water ; section 2 gives an 

 account of the dead and decaying, section 

 3 of the living forms found in water. 



The twenty-four plates comprise over 

 four hundred figures ; frequently, however, 

 the same object is presented under different 

 forms. The volume is an excellent hand- 

 book, and will greatly facilitate the study 

 of the important subject of which it treats. 



Exploration of the Colorado River of 

 THE West and its Tributaries ix 18G9, 

 18Y0, 1871, AXD 1872. Washington: 

 Government Printing-OfEce. Pp. 291. 



This is the first installment of Major J. 

 W. Powell's exploration and survey of the 

 Colorado River region. The book consists 

 of three parts, in the first of which wc have a 

 journal of the exploration of the canons of 

 the Colorado in the year 1869 ; in the sec- 

 ond, an account of the physical features of 

 the valley of the Colorado ; and in the third, 

 three chapters on the zoology of the region 

 explored. The two chapters of the second 

 part were published in the Moxthlt last 

 summer. Major Powell kindly permitting us 

 to copy from advanced sheets, and supply- 

 ing us with the woodcuts. The present 

 volume is an exceptionally interesting and 

 instructive description of the strange and 

 picturesque country explored. 



The Cholera Epidemic of 1873 ix thk 

 United States. Pp. 1025. Washing- 

 ton : Government Printing-Office. 



CoNTAixs reports made to the Treasury 

 Department by Dr. Woodworth, superintend- 

 ent surgeon of the Marine Hospital Service, 

 and to the War Department by Dr. J. K. 

 Barnes, Surgeon-General U. S. Army. Dr. 

 Woodworth's report is brief, and traces 

 the history of the introduction of cholera 

 through the agency of the mercantile ma- 

 rine. The War Department report is di- 

 vided into three parts, the first being writ- 

 ten by Dr. Ely McClellan, U. S. Army. This 

 gives a history of the epidemic of 1873 in the 

 United States. The second part, by Drs. J. 

 C. Peters and Ely McClellan, is devoted to 

 the history of the travels of Asiatic cholera. 

 In the third part is given the bibliography 

 of cholera by Dr. J. S. Billings, U. S. Army. 



Notes on Certain Explosive Agents. By 

 Walter N. Hill, S. B. Boston : John 

 AUyn, 1875. Pp. 71. 



This pamphlet contains a large amount 

 of practical information about several of 

 the more important explosives now in com- 

 mon use, suoh as nitro-glycerine and its 

 various preparations, gun-cotton, and the 

 picrates and fulminates. Their chemical 

 composition, mode of preparation, manner 

 of firing, and the reactions which occur 

 during explosion, are clearly set forth, and 

 tables are also given exhibiting their rela- 

 tive explosive power. 



The Taxidermist's Manual : or. The Art 

 or collecting, preparixg, and preserv- 

 iXG Objects of Natural Histop.y. By 

 Thomas Brown, F. L. S. New York : 

 G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 150. Price, 

 $1.25. 



This is a practical guide to the art of 

 taxidermy, giving detailed directions for all 

 the operations required in the preparation 

 and mounting of natural history specimens. 

 It contains several plates and a full index. 



Soul Problems, with Other Papers. By 

 Joseph E. Peck. New York : Charles 

 P. Somerby. Pp. 63. Price, 70 cents. 



The problems considered in this essay 

 are the materiality or immateriality of the 

 mind, and future personality.. The other 

 papers are on "The Theological Amend- 

 ment," and " The State Personality Idea." 



