848 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



to ascertain the effect of each and all upon 

 religious opinions and principles. Among 

 the diversified phases of the subject, as it 

 ia presented by the different authors, he 

 finds himself "led into the presence of a 

 series of most interesting problems, but not 

 a single solution finished," and has, there- 

 fore, been obliged to widen his investiga- 

 tion, "and to discuss even all imaginable 

 possibilities. The beneficent result of this 

 comparison was," he continues, "that reli- 

 gion and morality not only remain at peace 

 with all imaginable possibilities of scientific 

 theories, but can also, in the realm of the 

 philosophy of the doctrines of nature, be 

 passive spectators of all investigations and 

 attempts, even of all possible excursions 

 into the realm of fancy, without being obliged 

 to interfere." Only in metaphysics is an 

 antagonist found, in the attempt to elimi- 

 nate from" nature the idea of design, whose 

 victory would be dangerous ; but this thought 

 is dismissed as in opposition " not only to 

 the whole world of facts, but also to all 

 logical reasoning." 



Manual of the Mosses of North America. 



By Leo Lesquereux and Thomas P. 



James. Boston : S. E. Cassino & Co. 



Pp. 445, with Six Plates. 



Mr. Lesquereux is known as one of the 

 oldest and most experienced American bota- 

 nists, and as one of the highest authorities 

 in those fields of the science in which he 

 has been engaged during his working life. 

 In 1848 William S. Sullivant published, in 

 the first edition of Gray's " Manual of Bota- 

 ny," descriptions of 205 species of mosses 

 and 66 of hepaticae ; and in the second edi- 

 tion of the same work, in 1856, descriptions, 

 with illustrative plates, of 410 mosses and 

 107 hepaticae. He then began, in connec- 

 tion with Professor Lesquereux, a separate 

 volume on mosses, but the work was inter- 

 rupted by disability of Professor Lesquereux 

 and the death of Mr. Sullivant. It has since 

 been resumed and pushed to completion, 

 with the aid of the material already col- 

 lected, by Professor Lesquereux, assisted by 

 Mr. James in microscopic analysis ; M. T. Re- 

 nauld, a French bryologist, in special exami- 

 nations ; and Mr. Sereno Watson, in revising 

 and editing. The result is the present noble 

 volume, which includes descriptions of all 

 the species of mosses (about nine hundred) 



that are known to occur on our continent, 

 within the limits of the United States and 

 northward. 



On a Carboniferous Ammonite from Texas. 

 By Professor Angelo Heilprin, of Phil- 

 adelphia. Pp. 3. 



This is a monograph on a new ammonite, 

 named by the author Ammonites Parkeri, 

 obtained from the carboniferous strata of 

 Wise County, Texas, which is noteworthy as 

 being the first ammonite that has been de- 

 tected in any American formation below the 

 Mesozoic series. Carboniferous ammonites 

 have also, however, been found in India. 



Fire-Proof Buildings with Wooden Beams 

 AND Girders. New York : W. H. Dol- 

 man, 229 Broadway. Pp. 14. 



An exposition of the character and mer- 

 its of Dolman's fire-dampers, a device for 

 fire-proofing wooden beams and floors by 

 packing the beams or deafening the space 

 under the floors with ashes, which is claimed 

 to be cheap, effective, and easy to adapt. 



Wages and Trade in Manufacturing In- 

 dustries in America and Europe. By 

 J. Schoenhof. New York : G. P. Put- 

 nam's Sons. Pp. 25. Price, 15 cents. 



This essay is published, with an intro- 

 duction by R. R. Bowker, under the auspices 

 of the New York Free Trade Club. It is 

 intended to answer the communications in 

 the " New York Tribune " of Mr. Robert P. 

 Porter on the same subject, who, having 

 been dispatched to Europe as a special cor- 

 respondent in the interest of protection, 

 "did what he was sent to do," and "pre- 

 sented a picture of the distress of England 

 under free trade and of the prosperity of 

 France and Germany under a protective tariff 

 that was much of a surprise to those who 

 know most of those countries." An oppo- 

 site view is here given. 



A Hand-Book of Hygiene and Sanitary 

 Science. By George Wilson. Fifth 

 edition, enlarged and carefully revised. 

 Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. 

 Pp. 512. Price, $2.75. 



This is a very full and at the same time 

 closely condensed manual of facts and prin- 

 ciples in the whole field indicated by the 

 title, arranged under the general heads (with 

 many divisions and subdivisions) of " Public 



