8 5 4 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Diagnosis. Philadelphia : J. B. Lippincott &. Co. 

 l'p. 501. 



United States Geological Survey : Mineral Re- 

 sources of the United States, 18s5. Washington : 

 Government Printing-Omce. Pp. 576. 



Sutton, Francis. Volumetric Analysis. Phila- 

 delphia : P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp." 41)1. $4.50. 



Crosby, W. O. Tables for the Determination of 

 Common Minerals. Boston : J. Allen Crosby, l'p. 

 74. 



Fox, Cornelius B. Sanitary Examinations of 

 Water, Air, and Food. Philadelphia : P. Blakiston, 

 Son & Co. Pp. 593. $4. 



Bascom, John. Sociology. New York and Lon- 

 don : G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 2&4. $1.50. 



Van Dyke, John C. Principles of Art. New 

 York : Fords, Howard & Uulbert. Pp. 291. $1.50. 



POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



The Glass-Snake. — We publish in this 

 number of the "Monthly" two letters re- 

 specting the so-called joint-snake, of which 

 the one by Dr. Hammond gives a clear and 

 correct account of the natural history of the 

 reptile, and ought to dissipate all doubts as 

 to the origin and value of the stories that 

 have been told respecting its peculiarities. 

 It appears that the rejoining of the dissev- 

 ered pieces of the animal is the only part 

 of the stories that does not rest upon a ra- 



than the preceding species [Scheltopusid 

 Pseudopus Palla-fii of Africa]. The generic 

 title of Ophisaurus is of Greek origin, sig- 

 nifying snake-lizard, and is given to the rep- 

 tile on account of its serpentine aspect. 

 The reader will remember that on page 48 

 there is an account of the saurophis [Sau- 

 rophis tclradactylus of South Africa, which 

 has four insignificant, very weak limbs], a 

 name which is exactly the same as that of 

 the present species, except that the one is 

 called the lizard-snake and the other the 

 snake-lizard, a distinction which, in the 

 present case is without a difference, so that 

 the two reptiles might exchange titles and 

 yet be appropriately named. The glass- 

 snake is indeed so singularly like a serpent 

 that it can only be distinguished from those 

 reptiles by certain anatomical marks, such 

 as the presence of eyelids, which are want- 

 ing in true serpents, the tongue not sheathed 

 at the base, and the solid jaw-bones, which 

 in the serpents are so loosely put together 

 that the parts become widely separated when 

 the mouth of the creature is dilated in the 

 act of swallowing its prey. The glass-snake 



Glass-Snake (Ophisaurus ventra!L<). 



tional foundation. The Ophisaurus of Dr. 

 Hammond is also figured and described in 

 Wood's " Natural History," from which the 

 accompanying illustration is borrowed (Vol. 

 Ill, p. 51), under the name of "the glass- 

 snake." After speaking of the reptile as a 

 native of North America, Dr. Wood says : 

 " In this creature there is not even a vestige 

 of limbs, so that it is even more snake-like 



is one of the earliest of the reptile tribe to 

 make its appearance in the spring. ... It 

 is generally found in spots where vegetation 

 is abundant. ... It is fond of frequenting 

 the plantations of sweet-potato, and during 

 harvest-time is often dug up together with 

 that vegetable. The home of this reptile is 

 made in some dry locality, and it generally 

 chooses some spot where it can be sheltered 



