LITERARY NOTICES. 



417 



in four periods down to the codification by 

 Justinian, and in a fifth period to the pres- 

 ent time. In this part are given accounts 

 of the study of the law and its force in dif- 

 ferent States. The second part of the book 

 discusses the general principles of the Ro- 

 man law under the heads of the law of per- 

 sons, the law of things, and the law of ac- 

 tions. 



A Thousand Questions in American Uis- 

 TORT. Syracuse, N. Y. : C. W. Bar- 

 deen. Pp. 247. Price, $1. 



This book presents an outline of the 

 history of the United States in the form 

 of questions and answers. It was prepared 

 by a teacher for use in his own school, and 

 deals not merely with events, but with causes, 

 and with the side issues that have played 

 important parts in American politics. It 

 may be found a useful aid to teachers in 

 directing their attention to the events and 

 aspects of events on which they can make 

 their classes dwell with the most advan- 

 tage. 



The Book of Plant Descriptions : or, Rec- 

 ord of Plant Analyses. By George G. 

 Groff. Lewisburg, Pa. : Science and 

 Health Publishing Company. Pp. 100. 

 Price, 35 cents. 



This is a book of blanks, for the bo- 

 tanical descriptions of plants as elucidated 

 by the student in his analyses. Each plant 

 is given a page, containing skeleton forms, 

 to be filled in, in separate lines for each 

 part, with characteristic descriptions respect- 

 ively, of the root, stem, leaf, inflorescence, 

 and other distinctive features ; it being sup- 

 posed that the student will insert nothing 

 but what he himself has observed. For his 

 aid are also provided a synopsis of the terms 

 most frequently used in the description of 

 plants, a schedule of work to be performed 

 in the botanical laboratory, and a list of sub- 

 jects suitable for theses. 



Signing the Document — The Laocoon of 

 Labor — Chopping Sand— and other 'Es- 

 says. By Wheelbarrow. Chicago : 

 "The Radical Review." Pp. 132. 

 The author of these essays assumes the 

 name of " Wheelbarrow," he asserts, be- 

 cause he once labored with pick, shovel, and 

 wheelbarrow on a railroad. lie also states 

 that he was once " clerk " to a brick-layer 

 VOL. XXVI. — 27 



— that is, that he carried bricks for him. 

 The series of essays was begun under 

 prompting of the thoughts suggested by 

 the telegraphers' strike of 1883 ; and most 

 of them have grown out of other move- 

 ments of working-men to better their con- 

 dition. The burden of them is to expose 

 the folly of the present management of 

 those movements, and this is done in the 

 most vigorous manner, whether it relates to 

 trades-union despotism and exclusiveness, 

 to the silver craze, or to any of the various 

 tricks by which demagogues and monopo- 

 lists, of whatever rank, seek to impose upon 

 men who work — and all without hostility 

 to any association for their real benefit. 

 " In the present condition of society," says 

 the author, " not to organize would be the 

 very imbecility of resignation on the part 

 of working-men. They may follow unwise 

 principles for a time, but out of that or- 

 ganization a correct education will come at 

 last." 



Wonders and Curiosities of the Railway ; 

 or. Stories of the Locomotive in Every 

 Land. By William Sloane Kennedy. 

 Chicago : S. C. Griggs & Co. Pp. 254. 

 Price, $1.25. 



A PLEASANT book of history, gossip, and 

 anecdote, about the origin and development 

 of railways in Europe and America. The 

 statements of fact are derived from authen- 

 tic sources, and the anecdotical serves to 

 give variety to the solid part. The volume 

 is illustrated by cuts of various engines and 

 cars, including the earliest made, that give 

 graphic representations of the modest origi- 

 nals from which the present provisions for 

 the accommodation of travelers have been 

 worked out. 



Lessons in Chemistry. By William H. 

 Greene, M. D. Philadelphia : J. B. Lip- 

 pincott & Co. Pp. 357. Price, $1.26. 



The author of the " Lessons " is Pro- 

 fessor of Chemistry in the Philadelphia High 

 School. He has prepared them upon the 

 theory that the object of a limited course in 

 chemistry is not to make chemists of the pu- 

 pils, but to teach them what the science is, 

 what it has accomplished, and what it may 

 accomplish ; and that the study of the sci- 

 ence can be made attractive only by arous- 

 ing natural curiosity as to the cause of the 



