S CIENTIFIC LIT ERA T URE. 



129 



knowledge are not of great use in classi- 

 fication. The main part of the book is 

 the account of the structure of the dif- 

 ferent groups of birds, which is treated 

 of to a considerable extent; and a large 

 number of facts, some of which are re- 

 corded for the first time, are incorpo- 

 rated in the systematic part of the book. 

 While all the principal facts pertaining 

 to the subject are believed to have been 

 given, and nothing of importance to 

 have been left out, references are made 

 in each section to most of the memoirs 

 already published. The majority of 

 the facts of bird structure have been 

 verified by the author, especially those 

 relating to osteology and anatomy, and 

 he has drawn liberally on the notebooks 

 of his two predecessors. The book gives 

 first an account of the general struc- 

 ture of birds; next of the reproductive 

 and renal organs, the circulatory, re- 

 spiratory, and muscular systems, oste- 

 ologj-, brain and nervous system, and 

 affinities of birds, and, finally, the classi- 

 fication. 



BusTi Fruits * is the first of a pro- 

 posed series of monographs on the vari- 

 ous types of American fruits, to be pub- 

 lished under the editorial direction of 

 Prof. L. H. Bailey. Its purpose is to 

 present both the practical and the tech- 

 nical phases of all the important ques- 

 tions concerned in the cultivation and 

 domestication of the fruits that grow 

 on bushes; and the attempt is made to 

 present these two sides separate from 

 the details of history, botany, and en- 

 tomology, so that the practical reader 

 may be introduced at once to the in- 

 formation he is seeking. The aim is 

 made to treat general truths and prin- 

 ciples rather than mere details of prac- 

 tice, leaving the reader to think out 

 and solve the local problems for him- 

 self. The author, Mr. F. W. Card, who 

 presented the work originally as a Cor- 

 nell University thesis, was first a bush- 

 grower, and then a student and teacher, 

 acquiring first the practice and then the 

 theory. The fruits treated of are rasp- 

 berries, blackberries, dewberries, cur- 

 rants, gooseberries, buflfalo berry, 



* Bush Fruits. A Horticultural Monograph of 

 Raepberriee, Blackberriee, Dewberries, Currants, 

 Gooseberries, and other Shrublike Fruits. By 

 Fred W. Card. New York: The Macmillan Com- 

 pany. Pp. 537. Price, S1.50. 

 VOL. LV. — 10 



gounie, huckleberries, Juneberries, the 

 cranberry, barberry, and sand cherry — 

 all, as to their important types, except 

 the currants, evolutions from the spe- 

 cies of our own woods. A useful list 

 of American books on bush fruits is 

 given in the appendix. 



The History of the World, from the 

 Earliest Historical Time to the Year 

 1898,* is the latest addition to the Con- 

 cise Knowledge Library, " a series of 

 volumes on great subjects, containing 

 in an abridged form a wealth of exact 

 information which can be thoroughly 

 relied upon by the student, and yet of 

 such a popular character as to meet the 

 needs of the general reader." This com- 

 pact volume of 790 pages presents a 

 complete survey of the world's history. 

 After a brief introduction describing 

 the various races that have furthered 

 civilization, ancient history proper be- 

 gins with the Egyptians, the people of 

 whom we possess the earliest records, 

 and who were the first to emerge out of 

 the darkness of prehistoric times. Close- 

 ly connected with them, both by racial 

 affinities and political ties, were the 

 other great empires in the southwestern 

 part of Asia that one after the other 

 rose, flourished, and fell into decay. The 

 interesting part of the book here is the 

 constant reference to the familiar facts 

 of the Bible, the connection of the 

 known with the unknown. The rise and 

 development of Greece and Rome, follow- 

 ing in due course, bring us down to the 

 middle ages. Mediaeval history has for 

 its stage Europe, and for its argu- 

 ment the upbuilding of the states on 

 which our modern political institutions 

 rest. Modern history, dating from the 

 discovery of America, then turns the 

 eyes of the nations westward, to found 

 empires beyond the sea. Nor is the 

 East forgotten. Asia, the cradle of 

 man, and Africa, where he first rose 

 into consciousness of himself and re- 

 corded his deeds, again claim the histo- 

 rian's attention. But now it is China 

 and Japan on the one continent, and 

 the conquests and colonies of the Eu- 

 ropeans on the other. Neither is the 

 country youngest in civilization, Aus- 



* The History of the World, from the Earliest 

 Historical Time to the Tear 1898. By Edgar San- 

 derson. With Maps. New York: D. Appleton 

 and Company. 1898. 



