SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



421 



exercises and of references to more advanced 

 treatises to further study of the subject. The 

 primer stands in close relation to the author's 

 previously published Outline of Psychology, 

 but, being intended as a first book, its expo- 

 sition is simpler, while its range is wider. 

 Greater emphasis is laid throughout upon 

 the fact of mental evolution. The definition 

 of psychology and its work are discussed in 

 the first chapter and its method in the sec- 

 ond ; and after these follow the several chap- 

 ters on the conditions, operations, and pow- 

 ers of the mind, advancing from the simpler, 

 sensation, etc., to the more complex, mem- 

 ory and imagination, thought and self-con- 

 sciousness, sentiment, etc. The treatise ends 

 with the discussion of abnormal psychology 

 and an exposition of the province and rela- 

 tions of the science. The whole discussion 

 goes, as the author believes, to show that 

 psychology, so far as it has gone, makes up 

 an orderly and systematic body of knowl- 

 edge. 



To the Concise Knowledge Library Maps 

 D. Appleton and Company have added 

 Astronomy^ by Agnes M. Gierke and two 

 other well-known students and writers on 

 the subject.* The aim of the work is to 

 present in concise form a popular synopsis 

 of astronomical knowledge to date. For this 

 purpose authors are employed who are thor- 

 oughly conversant with the science and its 

 literature, with the present theories and with 

 current observations and their results, and 

 who have earned a reputation for ability to 

 present these things in a style intelligible and 

 interesting to the general reader ; and the 

 reports of the most recent work in astron- 

 omy in the United States and abroad have 

 been consulted. The work of authorship is 

 systematically divided among the three writers 

 whose names stand as sponsors for the book. 

 Miss Gierke gives a brief historical sketch of 

 the science from Hipparchus to the present 

 time and furnishes the account of the solar 

 system. Mr. Fowler, demonstrator of astro- 

 nomical physics to the Royal College of Sci- 

 ence, briefly outlines the general principles 

 of spherical and gravitational astronomy, and 

 describes the instrumental means now at the 



* The Concise Knowledge Library. Astrono- 

 my. By Agnes M Clerks, A. Fowler, and J. El- 

 lard Gore. New York : D. Appleton and Com- 

 pany. Pp. 581, with plates. Price, $8. 



command of observers in the various branches 

 of astronomical research ; and Mr. Gore treats 

 of the sidereal heavens. The work is illus- 

 trated by a large number of diagrams, and 

 other designs prepared expressly for it, and 

 by a number of reproductions of photo- 

 graphs and drawings made by distinguished 

 astronomers in Europe and America. Among 

 the observers and others to whom acknowl- 

 edgments are made we find the names of 

 American astronomers frequent and con- 

 spicuous. 



A great deal of useful information and 

 as much good taste are embodied in Mr. 

 Bailey's little book on Garden Making^ and 

 it is further full of suggestions for readers 

 who may be able and disposed to plan and 

 carry out gardening enterprises beyond the 

 limits of the immediate teachings of the 

 book. It deals with the kitchen garden and 

 the ornamental grounds, their laying out, the 

 tools to be used upon them and the best 

 methods of operating, what to put into them, 

 and all matters pertaining to their care and 

 cultivation. The first section is General Ad- 

 vice, the second on the Plan of the Place. 

 Then follow hints and instructions on Plant- 

 ing the Ornamental Grounds, the Fruit Plan- 

 tation, the Vegetable Garden, lists of trees, 

 shrubs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables, and 

 calendars of operations for the North and 

 the South. The author has been aided by 

 L. R. Taft, F. A. Waugh, and Ernest Walker, 

 professors of horticulture in Michigan, Ver- 

 mont, and South Carolina. 



A manual of Laboratory Experiments on 

 the Class Reactions and Identification of Or- 

 ganic Substances, prepared by Prof. Arthur 

 A. Noyes and Prof. Samuel P. Mulliken and 

 published by the Chemical Publishing Com- 

 pany, Easton, Pa. (50 cents), describes exper- 

 iments upon the class reactions of organic 

 compounds ; experiments illustrating the 

 methods of detection of nitrogen, sulphur, 

 and halogens in organic compounds ; and 

 methods of identification and separation of 

 unknown organic substances. While the pri- 

 mary purpose of the experiments described 

 is to illustrate the characteristic reactions 

 of organic compounds, the importance of 



* Garden Making ; Suggestions for the Utiliza- 

 tion of Home Grounds. By L. H. Bailey. New 

 York: The Macmillan Company. Pp.417. Price, 



$1. 



