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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ing and relaxing, and the time required for 

 nerve transmission; discusses the chemical 

 changes that take place in a muscle when 

 working and its analogy to a heat engine ; 

 and, after showing that a muscle generates 

 an electric current, closes his course with a 

 consideration of the electric organs found in 

 certain fishes. 



Elements or Qualitative and Quantitative 

 Analysis. By G. C. Caldwell, Ph. D. 

 Second edition, revised and enlarged. 

 Philadelphia : P. Blakiston, Son & Co. 

 Pp. 175. 



The author, who is Professor of Chem. 

 istry in Cornell University, has brought to- 

 gether in this book the material that he has 

 published before in handbooks of analysis, 

 together with much new matter. The vol- 

 ume is divided into five parts : in the first of 

 these the processes and manipulations of 

 analytical chemistry are described quite 

 fully ; the second sets forth the systematic 

 course of qualitative analysis ; the third is 

 devoted to the operations of quantitative 

 analysis ; directions for examples in quanti- 

 tative analysis constitute part four ; and lists 

 of apparatus and reagents, various tables, etc., 

 make up part five. This is the first book 

 that we have seen to use the new spellings of 

 chemical terms originated by the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. 



Life Histories of North American Birds. 

 By Charles Bendire, Captain U. S. Army. 

 Washington : Smithsonian Institution. 

 Pp. 446, quarto. 



The Smithsonian Institution has begun a 

 series of Special Bulletins, designed to illus- 

 trate the collections in the National Museum, 

 and Captain Bendire' s work, covering part of 

 the collection of birds' eggs, appears as the 

 first of the series. The present volume is con- 

 fined to gallinaceous birds, pigeons, and birds 

 of prey, embracing a total of one hundred 

 and forty-six species and subspecies. Besides 

 describing the eggs and nest, the author 

 gives the breeding habits of each species, its 

 migratory and breeding ranges, so far as 

 these have been determined, and other facts 

 of its life history. The classification given 

 in the Code and Check List of the American 

 Ornithologists' Union has been followed, and 

 the synonymy and nomenclature used in this 

 list have been adopted also. The value of 



the work is greatly enhanced by twelve ele- 

 gant colored plates of eggs, embracing a 

 total of one hundred and eighty-five varie- 

 ties. Captain Bendire is Honorary Curator 

 of the Department of Oology in the National 

 Museum. 



History of Higher Education in Massa- 

 chusetts. By George Gary Bush. Wash- 

 ington : Bureau of Education. Pp. 445. 



The best friend of Harvard University 

 can not help seeing a great want of propor- 

 tion in a history of Massachusetts colleges 

 that gives more space to Harvard than to 

 thirteen other institutions combined, yet this 

 Prof. Bush's book does. The author gives a 

 connected history of Harvard in his first 

 three chapters, then describes the various 

 departments of the university, tells how its 

 instruction is given, sets forth the "forma- 

 tive influences" at Harvard which constitute 

 student life, and closes with a sketch of the 

 presidents of the college and university and 

 a Harvard bibliography. Next comes a brief 

 history of Williams College (chartered in 

 1793), by Eben Burt Parsons, D. D., secretary 

 of the faculty. Then follow similar accounts 

 of Andover Theological Seminary, Amherst 

 College, Tufts College, Massachusetts Insti- 

 tute of Technology, Worcester Polytechnic 

 Institute, and Boston College, by persons 

 connected with the respective institutions. 

 Accounts of Boston University, Massachu- 

 setts Agricultural College, and Clark Uni- 

 versity, compiled from official records, are 

 also included. There are three histories of 

 women's colleges — Mount Holyoke, Welles- 

 ley, and Smith — prefaced by a general chap- 

 ter on Higher Education for Women, by 

 Mrs. Sarah D. (Locke) Stow. The volume is 

 well illustrated with plates, representing the 

 buildings of the various colleges. 



Physical Eddcation in the Public Schools. 

 By R. Anna Morris. New York : Amer- 

 ican Book Co. Pp. 192. Price, $1. 



This is a manual of gymnastics that 

 may be performed in a school-room, some 

 without any and some with simple apparatus. 

 It provides for a graded course, extending 

 from the first year of school to the high 

 school. The movements are explained, and 

 many are illustrated. There are directions 

 for marching, which include a set of fancy 



