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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



thoroughly traversed. The Song of Songs is 

 characterized as a very noble poem, and 

 the earliest complete book in the Old Tes- 

 tament, its date being about 800 b. c. 



The Apocrypha is treated as the " miss- 

 ing link " between the New Testament and 

 the Old. The apocryphal literature goes a 

 great way, and shows how gradual was the 

 evolution from Malachi to Jesus. The book 

 of Enoch, which only the Abyssinian canon 

 has retained, is further evidence of this, and 

 is of the first importance. We are now al- 

 ready in the New Testament atmosphere, 

 especially in that of the Apocalypse. 



The sixth lecture, after a brief history 

 of the formation of the New Testament, 

 proceeds to consider the Epistles. Of the 

 fourteen commonly ascribed to Paul only 

 eight are found to be authentic — Romans, 

 Galatians, and Corinthians, surely so ; the 

 others not so certainly. From Thessalo- 

 nians and Philippians we have the evolution 

 of Paul's ideal Christ from simple manhood 

 to superangelic power and grace. 



In the seventh lecture the Apocalypse 

 is assigned to the year 69 b. c. The last 

 lecture is on the Four Gospels, and Matthew 

 is assigned to the year 100 a. d. ; Luke to 

 115 A. D. ; Mark to 120 a. d. ; and John to 

 140 a. d. ; these dates are, however, only 

 approximate. A full chronological table, 

 setting forth the dates of all the separate 

 books of the Bible, is prefixed to the vol- 

 ume, in the shape of an analytical index. 



This book represents a great amount of 

 labor and research, and is executed in a 

 manner highly creditable to the scholarship 

 of the author. Though following the great 

 authorities that have preceded him, he is 

 not a servile follower but an independent 

 student. The style of the work is spirited 

 and attractive, and it is inspired with a 

 moral earnestness and a reverent sincerity 

 that will commend it to all unprejudiced 

 and fair-minded readers. 



STOCK-BREEniNG : A Practical Treatise on 

 the Application of the Laws of Develop- 

 ment and Heredity to the Improvement 

 and Breeding of Domestic Animals. By 

 Manly Miles, M. D., late Professor of 

 Agriculture in the Michigan State Agri- 

 cultural College. D. Appleton & Co. 

 Pp. 424. Price $1.50. 



We have here a timely and valuable 

 manual upon a subject the practical impor- 



tance of which is only equaled by its theo- 

 retical interest. A well-digested treatise on 

 the art of cultivating animals through the 

 control of genetic conditions has been long 

 needed. Upon this point the author justly 

 observes, " It is somewhat remarkable, in 

 this book-making age, that there is no sys- 

 tematic work accessible to the student in 

 which the known facts and principles of the 

 art of improving and breeding domestic ani- 

 mals are presented, in convenient form, for 

 study and reference, notwithstanding the 

 importance of live-stock to the farmer, and 

 the wonderful progress that has been made 

 in its improvement since the time of Bake- 

 well." The art of breeding was long pursued 

 empirically, and was developed by number- 

 'ess experiments fi-om which rules were de- 

 duced that, though not rationally understood, 

 were still sufficient to guide breeders in the 

 improvement of stock. Modern biology has 

 given greater precision to observations, has 

 indicated new lines of experimental research, 

 and has established various principles that 

 are of controlling utility in practice. Much 

 is still unsettled, and many questions remain 

 in profound obscurity, yet there has been 

 such a clearing up of old difficulties and 

 such an extension of positive knowledge in 

 this field that it is now necessary to deal 

 with the subject from the scientific point of 

 view. Dr. Miles's work is rich in the varied 

 facts which constitute the foundation of the 

 art, and which have been selected with care- 

 ful judgment in regard to their authenticity, 

 but in the classification and interpretation 

 of his data the author follows the scientific 

 method. Indeed, if a book were to be se- 

 lected simply to illustrate the practical fruit- 

 fulness of modern scientific inquiry, in one 

 of its most recent lines of exploration, we 

 are inclined to think the present volume 

 might well be chosen for the purpose. The 

 book is so full of interesting and valuable 

 information that we should like to trans- 

 fer large portions of it to our columns ; 

 but, as this is impossible, we must content 

 ourselves with quoting a few remarks from 

 the author's preface, indicating the main 

 features of his work : 



" In a popular exposition of the principles of 

 an art that is almost exclusively based upon the 

 experience of practical men there is little oppor- 

 tunity for originality, aside from the classifica- 

 tion and arrangement of facts, and the infer- 



