852 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



in"'enuity. In the first plate, for instance, 

 the property of center of gravity is illus- 

 trated in a dozen ways, some of them amus- 

 ing, in a two-page picture, which itself has 

 no inconsiderable merit as a composition. 

 Other plates explain the principles of the 

 mechanical powers of simple and compound 

 machines, the parallelogram of forces, den- 

 sity, the fire-engine, pumps, watch and clock 

 works, mills, distilling apparatus, house- 

 heating apparatus, steam-engines, ship-con- 

 struction, electricity and its applications, 

 the aurora borealis, and acoustics and optics, 

 and the instruments in which they are ap- 

 plied, or are made subjects of investigation. 



In the Heart o? Africa. By Sir Samuel 

 Baker. New York : Funk & Wagnalls. 

 Pp. 284. Price, $1. 



No one has done more to make the world 

 acquainted with the regions of the Upper 

 Nile and the Central African lakes than 

 Sir Samuel Baker ; and no one has conveyed 

 the knowledge gained of them in a more en- 

 tertaining and instructive manner than he. 

 His two works, on "The Nile Tributaries 

 of Abyssinia " and " The Albert Nyanza 

 Great Basin of the Nile," are too large and 

 expensive, and out of the reach of the mass 

 of readers. The present volume has been 

 condensed from them in such a manner as 

 to omit that which is dry and only of detail, 

 while the unity and thrilling charm of the 

 narrative and the descriptive parts are re- 

 tained. 



The Globe Pronouncing Gazetteer of the 

 World. Edinburgh : Oliver & Boyd ; 

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

 463, with Thirty-two Maps. Price, $2.50. 



The purpose of this "Gazetteer" is to 

 furnish in a convenient form such a concise 

 dictionary of geography as will, from its 

 special features and cheapness, prove ac- 

 ceptable and useful to the general public. 

 It gives descriptions of the different coun- 

 tries of the globe, and of their physical as- 

 pects and political divisions, and the location 

 of their principal towns, etc., with the pro- 

 nunciation, and, in many cases, the etymol- 

 ogy of the geographical names. The first 

 edition of the " Gazetteer " was published 

 in 1879. The present edition has been thor- 

 oughly revised, and much new matter has 

 been added. 



Sorghum: Its Culture and Manufacture. 

 Economically considered as a Source 

 OF Sugar, Sirup, and Fodder. By Pe- 

 ter Collier, Ph. D. Cincinnati : Rob- 

 ert Clarke & Co. Pp. 570. Price, $3. 



It is the purpose of this work to present, 

 in a systematic manner, all the most impor- 

 tant facts relating to the economical produc- 

 tion of sugar, sirup, and fodder from sor- 

 ghum. The attempt is made to separate 

 that which is demonstrable from the vast 

 accumulation of statements, true and fan- 

 ciful, that have been made since the plant 

 was first introduced into the United States. 

 The actual working results of numerous 

 practical experiments in the production of 

 sugar from this source have been given in 

 detail, together with illustrations and de- 

 scriptions of all necessary apparatus. The 

 author's experience, as chemist of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, has given 

 him excellent advantages for the study of 

 different varieties of sorghum during all 

 stages of development, the results of which 

 he has endeavored to present, condensed 

 and classified, in this volume. He has full 

 faith in the possibility of making the pro- 

 duction of sugar from sorghum profitable. 



A Bachelor's Talks about Married Life 

 AND Things adjacent. By William 

 AiKMAN, D. D. New York : Fowler & 

 Wells. Pp. 272. Price, $1 60. 



Dr. Aikman, infusing into his work the 

 interest of a narrative and the easy grace 

 of the informal essay, has given in this vol- 

 ume a series of sketches, more or less con- 

 nected, on the different phases and events 

 of married life, each of which, and the 

 whole together, are intended to convey a 

 moral or a salutary practical lesson. 



Outline of Lecture Notes on General 

 Chemistry. By John T. Stoddard, Ph. 

 D., Professor of Chemistry in Smith Col- 

 lege. — " The Non - Metals." Northamp- 

 ton, Mass. : Gazette Publishing Com- 

 pany. Pp. 84. 



A brief statement of the general princi- 

 ples of the science occupies the opening 

 pages of this little manual, and this is fol- 

 lowed by notes as to the occurrence, prepa- 

 ration, properties, history, etc., of each of 

 the non-metallic elements. It is adapted to 

 accompany a course of laboratory work and 

 lectures on this division of the elements. 



