LITERARY NOTICES. 



271 



sounds were all emotional and inarticulate. 

 Now, when so many details of a complex 

 game bring out a variety of symphenomenal 

 expressions, why may we not insist that the 

 so-called speech of monkeys as well as of 

 other animals is of the same nature ? 



We do not doubt Mr. Garner's earnest- 

 ness, but lament his impetuous tendency 

 to see one side of the question only. His 

 experiments with the phonograph and his 

 studies of the subject should be encouraged, 

 as the collection of facts will be of great 

 value, even if his theory of speech falls to 

 the ground. The book is interesting read- 

 ing throughout. 



Lessons in Elementary Biology. By T. 

 Jeffery Parker, F. R. S., Professor of 

 Biology in the University of Otago, Dun- 

 edin, New Zealand. London and New 

 York : Macmillan & Co. Pp. 408. Illus- 

 trated. Price, $2.25. 



This work differs essentially in purpose 

 and treatment from the standard Practical 

 Biology. Although the author admits the 

 value of Prof. Huxley's " sound canon of in- 

 struction," to proceed from the known to 

 the unknown, yet he clings to the earlier 

 method pursued in teaching biology, analo- 

 gous with the order of evolution, advancing 

 from the simple to the complex, and defends 

 it upon logical grounds. He recognizes the 

 danger of overwhelming the hapless student 

 at once with unfamiliar objects, new means 

 of observation, and a strange tongue, and 

 suggests a compromise. Disregarding the ar- 

 rangement of the book, practical class-work 

 may begin with a study of a flowering plant 

 and of a vertebrate animal. The pupil will 

 then be sufficiently acquainted with the ter- 

 minology and microscopical work to take up 

 the lessons in the order given. 



The book, however, is designed for the 

 study rather than the laboratory, and the 

 life processes of different types are described 

 and illustrated with such detail that actual 

 handling of the objects is not essential to 

 a fair acquaintance with their changes of 

 structure. Beginning with amoebae, repre- 

 sentative forms are considered in the or- 

 der of increasing complexity until exam- 

 ples of the higher plants and animals are 

 reached. At intervals, special lessons are 

 devoted to important topics : cell structure 

 and nuclear division ; biogenesis, homogene- 



sis ; the origin of species ; distinctive char- 

 acters of animals and plants ; reproduction 

 and embryology. The various modes of nu- 

 trition, digestion, movement, and generation 

 are treated in connection with each indi- 

 vidual organism. 



The aim of the author, " to give a fairly 

 connected account of the general principles 

 of biology," is very carefully carried out, and 

 those who desire to gain an insight into the 

 science are materially assisted by a glossary. 

 In this the author has given to several bo- 

 tanical terms a zoological meaning, striving 

 toward a more consistent nomenclature ; but 

 the student will be grateful, without regard 

 to these innovations, to be saved the thank- 

 less labor of searching for words that the 

 average dictionary does not define. 



Transformers. By Caryl D. Haskins. Bu- 

 bier Publishing Company, Lynn, Mass., 

 1892. Pp. 150. Price, $1.25. 



It not infrequently happens that an ap- 

 paratus, machine, or method of work which 

 was discarded in the early stage of a devel- 

 oping industry, becomes later, by the prog- 

 ress of the industry, to be very important. 

 This has been the case in the application of 

 electricity to the production of light. It be- 

 gan with the alternating current, and is now 

 returning to it. The use of this type of cur- 

 rent is now becoming so general that it would 

 not be beside the mark to say that future 

 progress in the application of electricity 

 will all be in this direction. An increasing 

 amount of incandescent lighting is being done 

 with it, and it needs only the development of 

 a satisfactory alternating-current motor to 

 render it available for all power purposes for 

 which the continuous current is now em- 

 ployed. The marvelous flexibility of this 

 form of current is what constitutes it's great 

 commercial advantage. You can start with 

 a current of any tension and volume ycu 

 please, and produce at the operating point a 

 current of any other tension and volume that 

 you desire within the limits of the original 

 energy. You can step up to higher tension 

 or down to lower tension, or do both in suc- 

 cession. All this is accomplished by the use 

 of the transformer — a form of induction coil 

 This, which is the vital part of the alternating- 

 current system of distribution, forms the sub- 

 ject of this little volume of Mr. Haskins. 



