852 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



versity calendars, are appended. There are 

 also separate index-glossaries for the two 

 parts of the book, though a single index 

 would be more convenient. The text is il- 

 lustrated by one hundred and fifty -eight 

 figures. In the vegetable part, represent- 

 atives of the fungi, algas, mosses, and ferns 

 are described. The Scotch fir is taken to 

 represent the gymnosperms ; but as the 

 angiosperms show such a great variety in 

 form and structure, a general outline of the 

 group is given, the various points being 

 illustrated by, for the most part, common 

 examples, instead of describing two or three 

 species as representatives of the group. The 

 part devoted to animals occupies about twice 

 the space of that devoted to plants. The 

 vertebrates are represented by the frog, 

 pigeon, and rabbit. While the book con- 

 tains no directions for manipulation of 

 specimens, the parts of each organism are 

 fully described, and the numerous cuts are 

 minutely lettered. 



Synoptical Flora of North America : The 

 GamopetaljE. Vol. I, Part II, and Vol. 

 II, Part I. By Asa Gray, LL. D. Pub- 

 lished by the Smithsonian Institution. 

 New York : Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & 

 Co. Pp. 480 and 494. 



The two portions of the late Prof. Gray's 

 monumental work which have been so far 

 published are reissued in the present vol- 

 ume. These parts together comprise all the 

 gamopetalous dicotyledons. Vol. II, Part I, 

 first published in 1878, has been extended 

 by a supplement of seventy pages, and a 

 complete index of genera, species, etc. A 

 few pages of the text have been recast, and 

 various minor corrections have been made. 

 To the other part, published in 1884, a sup- 

 plement of eleven pages has been added, 

 and its full index has been made anew. The 

 completed division constitutes the middle 

 half of the entire flora, the author's design 

 being to prefix an account of the Polypetdce, 

 forming Part I of Vol. I, and to add a sec- 

 ond part of Vol. II, dealing with the ApetalcB, 

 and Vol. Ill on the Bfonocotylcdons. Vol. I 

 would thus cover the ground of the two vol- 

 umes of a " Flora of North America," pub- 

 lished by Profs. Torrey and Gray in 1840 

 and 1843. Prof. Gray was occupied with 

 his great work close up to the time of his 

 death. All botanists will share the regret 



that he could not have been spared to bring 

 the " Flora " to its completion, and will hope 

 to see the remaining labor finally performed 

 by hands familiar with the methods of the 

 beloved master. 



The Tariff History of the United States : 

 A Series of Essays. By F. W. Taussig. 

 New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 

 269. Price, $1.25. 



The papers comprised in this volume 

 were written at different times and have 

 been published through different channels ; 

 but they have been revised, pruned, and 

 added to so as to form a harmonious whole, 

 and as they now appear give a fairly con- 

 nected history of tariff legislation and its 

 workings from 1*789 to 1887. The author 

 admits that there may be conditions in the 

 history of a country where a temporary quali- 

 fied protective policy may be of advantage. 

 Thus, " the transition from a purely agri- 

 cultural state to a more diversified system 

 of industry may be retarded, in the complete 

 absence of other occupations than agricult- 

 ure, beyond the time when it might advan- 

 tageously take place. Secondl}', when great 

 improvements take place in some of the arts 

 of production, it is possible that the new 

 processes may be retained in the country in 

 which they originate, and may fail to be ap- 

 plied in another country, through ignorance, 

 the inertia of habit, and perhaps in conse- 

 quence of restrictive legislation at the seat 

 of the new methods. Here, again, the ob- 

 stacles to the introduction of the new indus- 

 try may be of that artificial kind which can 

 be overcome most easily by artificial means." 

 Yet, notwithstanding " both these sets of 

 conditions seem to have been fulfilled in the 

 United States at the beginning of the pres- 

 ent century," the lesson drawn from the 

 history of each of several leading branches 

 of manufacture is, that protection has been 

 of very little effect upon its growth. While 

 cotton was probably assisted by the tariff of 

 1816, its manufacture was securely estab- 

 lished before 1824, and "the further appli- 

 cation of protection in that and the follow- 

 ing years was needless, and, so far as it had 

 any effect, harmful. ... It appears that di- 

 rect protective legislation had even less influ- 

 ence in promoting the introduction and early 

 growth of the woolen than of the cotton 

 manufacture." And it is concluded that 



