LITERARY NOTICES. 



7S7 



Alcohol ; its Combinations, Adultera- 

 tions, AND Physical Effects. By Colo- 

 nel J. G. Dudley. New York : G. P. 

 Putnam's Sons. 68 pages. 25 cents. 



This useful pamphlet is a popular re- 

 statement of the chief facts and arguments 

 derived from science, upon which the op- 

 ponents of alcoholic beverages rest their 

 case. For his motto, Colonel Dudley quotes 

 the pithy observation of Dr. Willard Parker 

 that " the laws of health are the laws of 

 God, and as binding on man as the Deca- 

 logue;" and he then proceeds to show how 

 the laws of health are violated by the use 

 of spirituous drinks. The author does not 

 profess to have made any new contributions 

 to the question, but only to present the 

 opinions of eminent authorities, who have 

 given great attention to the subject. His 

 pages present many startling facts suited to 

 awaken serious reflection on the part of 

 those who are in danger from the use of 

 alcoholic beverages, but the freshest por- 

 tion of the statement is his expose of the 

 outrageous system of cheating practised by 

 the dealers in spirits. Of all the frauds of 

 commerce, according to this writer, none 

 will for a moment bear comparison with 

 the adulterations and sophistications of* in- 

 toxicating liquors. He gives recipes enough 

 for the manufacture of all kinds of choice 

 liquors to start a manufacturer in business, 

 and shows, by the cheapness of the mate- 

 rial used, how immensely profitable such a 

 business must be. To the rising genera- 

 tion, who cannot have the benefit of the 

 teachings of the old temperance campaign, 

 such works as this of Colonel Dudley will 

 prove valuable, and its wide circulation 

 among them is to be strongly commended. 



Epidemic Delusions. By Frederic R. Mar- 

 vin, M. D. New York: Asa K. Butts 

 & Co. 28 pp., 12mo. 



In a lecture before the Liberal Club of 

 New York City, the author endeavored to 

 point out the causes of popular delusion in 

 general. The lecture is here produced in 

 book-form. Inherited tendencies to passion 

 and ignorance in the masses, automatic ac- 

 tion, sympathy, and the desire to imitate, 

 are assigned as the causes. The cultivation 

 of a healthy public sentiment is regarded as 

 the only cure. 



A Record op Experiments shotting the 

 Character and Position op Neutral 

 Axes. A Paper read before the Ameri- 

 can Society of Civil Engineers,_by Louis 



NiCKERSON, C. E. 



This paper records a series of experi- 

 ments undertaken to ascertain the charac- 

 ter and position of neutral axes (unsti-ained 

 parts) in beams and columns under press- 

 ure, and attempts to establish, as the re- 

 sult of such experiments, " that the neutral 

 axis is a flexible line truly parallel to the 

 top and bottom sides of the rectangular 

 beam, and passing through the centres of 

 gravity of its sections only when the load 

 is evenly distributed from end to end ; . . . 

 but that, when there is a local pressure, the 

 neutral axis is more or less governed in its 

 direction and form by the strain passing 

 from the point of local pressure to the 

 point of support." 



Papers chiefly Anatomical. Read before 

 the American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science, August, 18*73, by 

 Burt G. Wilder, M. D. 



These are : Discussions of the Outer Cer- 

 ebral Fissures of Mammalia, especially the 

 Caruivora ; Cerebral Variation in Domestic 

 Dogs ; Lateral Asymmetry in the Brain of a 

 Double Human Monster, and Papillary Rep- 

 resentation of two Arms in the Same ; Hab- 

 its and Parasites of Epeira Riparia ; Need 

 of a L'niform Position for Anatomical Fig- 

 ures ; Lateral Position of the Yent in Am- 

 phioxus and in Certain Batrachian Larvae ; 

 Composition of the Carpus in Dogs ; Pres- 

 ent Aspect of the Question of Intermembral 

 Homologies ; Yariation in the Condition of 

 the Sense-Organs in Foetal Pigs of the Same 

 Litter ; Pectoral Muscles of Mammalia, and 

 Yariation of the same in Domestic Dogs. 

 The papers are illustrated by numerous 

 plates. 



The Mechanical Properties op Mate- 

 rials OP Construction. Read before 

 the American Society of Civil Engi- 

 neers, by Prof. R. H. Thurston. 



This is an attempt to formulate methods 

 for determining the homogeneousness, elas- 

 ticity, and cohesive power, of metallic sub- 

 stances, as well as the effects produced in 

 them by shocks or blows, strains, and varia- 

 tions of temperature. 



