566 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



his views, which have, at least, the rare merit 

 of being very brief. So wide is the range of 

 this discussion, and so many big books have 

 been written upon it, and so diverse are the 

 theories maintained about it, that it was cer- 

 tainly no small exploit to put " The Philoso- 

 phy of a Future State " in sixteen pages of 

 large and readable type, but our author does 

 not pretend to exhaust the subject. The 

 argument is predominantly psychological, 

 and, if not altogether original, is, at any rate, 

 ingenious. 



Elementary Text-Book on Physics. By 

 Professor William A. Anthony and 

 Professor Cyrus F. Brackett. New 

 York: John Wiley & Sons. Pp. 246. 

 Price, $1.50. 



In the Introduction, the place of physics 

 among the natural sciences is defined, its 

 methods are stated, and the operation of 

 measuring together with certain measuring 

 instruments, are described. The section on 

 mechanics includes, under " Mechanics of 

 Fluids," the subject called hydraulics in 

 the old books. Ileat is treated chiefly in 

 relation to mechanics. A second volume is 

 to follow, treating of electricity and mag- 

 netism, acoustics and optics. By this ar- 

 rangement the connection between light 

 and sound, as being results of vibratory 

 motions, is more emphasized than the con- 

 nection between light and heat, and the 

 laws of radiation are not presented in the 

 chapters on heat. The book has been pre- 

 pai'cd for college classes, and is one which 

 students can work hard over. It attacks 

 the subject from the mathematical side, and 

 requires no laboratory work. The knowl- 

 edge of mathematics which it presumes in- 

 cludes plane trigonometry. 



Young Folks' Ideas By the author of 

 " Young Folks' Whys and Wherefores." 

 Illustrated. Philadelphia : J. B. Lippin- 

 cott & Co. Pp. 243. Price, $2. 



This book contains much scientific and 

 technical information, ranging from bread- 

 making and mining to the nature of money 

 and the law of wills, joined by a thin thread 

 of story. Children who care only for stories 

 will not find it hard to skip the useful knowl- 

 edge, but in following the narrative they 

 will meet with a great many long words, 

 and will have their attention drawn to the 



vicissitudes of Wall Street, and to that oc- 

 cupation known as " waiting for dead men's 

 shoes." There are good stories which give 

 considerable scientific information, and there 

 ai'e scientific books which are as interesting 

 as any story, but this book belongs to nei- 

 ther class. 



An Appeal to C^sar. By Albion W, 

 TouRGEE. New York: Fords, Howard, 

 & Hulbert. Pp. 422. Price, $1. 



This is a warm plea for national educa- 

 tion of the South. Its points are supported 

 by vigorous arguments, and re-enforced with 

 telling statistics and diagrammatical illus- 

 trations. The author begins by attempting 

 to show that the difference in the structure 

 of Northern and Southern society is funda- 

 mental — not a merely temporary affair to 

 be wiped out in a few years after the war — 

 but a matter which lay away back of the 

 war, and was its cause ; and that under the 

 most favorable circumstances its removal 

 must be the work of a very long time. 

 The difficulty has not been simplified but 

 rather complicated by emancipation, which 

 has brought the two elements of black and 

 white into irrepressible rivalry. This rival- 

 ry will not diminish, but will grow with the 

 increase of the colored element, which has 

 been going on, and will continue to go on, 

 with amazing rapidity, while the growth of 

 the white population will be stationary or 

 retrograde. On this matter, while regarding 

 the subject from an opposite point, and, 

 with an opposite bias from those of Pi'o- 

 fessor Gilliam (Northern as opposed to 

 Southern), the author quotes approvingly 

 that gentleman's assertion in " The Popular 

 Science Monthly" for February, 1883, that 

 a fusion of the two races is impossible, say- 

 ing that his conclusion is indisputable " dur- 

 ing any period with regard to which specu- 

 lation may be properly and reasonably ex- 

 tended. Certain it is that the influences 

 now existent will render his words as true 

 a hundred years from now as they are to- 

 day. What change may possibly be wrought 

 in the tone and sentiment of generations 

 more remote and under circumstances 

 which can not be foreseen, it is, of course, 

 impossible to estimate. . . . We are com- 

 pelled to indorse his views in this respect 

 almost without the least modification " ; 



