LITERARY NOTICES. 



711 



The System of High Licenses : How it can 



BE MADE SUCCESSFUL. By G. ThOMANN. 



New York : The United States Brewers' 



Association. Pp. 36. 



The imprint of tiiis publication indicates 

 the point of view from which the subject is 

 considered. The paper is a plea for dis- 

 crimination in the imposition of licenses in 

 favor of what arc called the lighter drinks. 

 The author cites, in support of his views, 

 from the records of licensing and liquor- 

 selling in Switzerland and various places in 

 Germany. 



An Iron Crown : A Tale of the Great Re- 

 public. Chicago: T. S. Denison, 1885. 

 Pp. 560. Price, $1.50, 



In the course of this story the attempt 

 is made to show the dangers to free govern- 

 ment threatened in the growing abuses of 

 corporate power. It deals with million- 

 aires, mining, railroads, etc., and takes the 

 side of the people against the " daring 

 freebooters who would seize the people's 

 rights." 



The Fixed Idea of Astronomical Theory. 

 By August Tischner. Lsipsic : Gustav 

 Fock. Pp. 86. 



We several months ago noticed the book 

 by this author, " The Sun changes his Posi- 

 tion in Space, therefore he can not be re- 

 garded as being in a Condition of Rest," in 

 which the competency of the present astro- 

 nomical system is attacked because it is 

 based on the assumption of a fixed sun. 

 In the present work the author postulates a 

 new theory which takes the motion of the 

 sun into account. 



Free Cities in the Middle Ages. By L. R. 



Klemm. Ilamilton, Ohio. Pp. 22. 



This paper, which was read before a 

 local literary and scientific society, is after 

 the German of G. F. Kalb, and sketches one 

 of the most remarkable and interesting phe- 

 nomena of modern history — the develop- 

 ment and life of those free communities 

 which maintained a prosperous and in- 

 dependent existence amid the degradation 

 and conflicts of mediaeval times, holding 

 their own against the military barons and 

 princes who would have crushed them if 

 they could, and whose part was most im- 

 portant in preserving civilization and giv- 

 ing life to industry and art. 



Bulletins of the United States National 

 Museum, No. 28. A Manual of Ameri- 

 can Land-shells. By W. G. Binney. 

 Pp. 528. No. 29, Results of Ornitho- 

 logical Explorations in the Command- 

 er Islands and Kamchatka. By Leon- 

 hard Stejneger. Pp. 382, with Eight 

 Plates. 



The " Manual of American Land-shella " 

 appears as an enlarged and revised edition 

 of "The Land and Fresh-water Shells of 

 North America, Part I," which was pub- 

 lished by the Smithsonian Institution in 1869. 

 Subsequently described species are added. 

 Fuller attention is given in separate chapters 

 to the subjects of geographical distribution, 

 organs of generation, jaw and lingual den- 

 tition, and classification. In description, the 

 species are grouped geographically rather 

 than systematically. The work was pre- 

 pared with Mr. Thomas Bland, who died in 

 August, 1885, as co-author. The mono- 

 graph by Mr. Stejneger is the first attempt 

 to present a complete list of the birds known 

 to have been observed in Kamchatka. It is 

 divided into three parts, consisting of a re- 

 view of the species of birds collected or ob- 

 served by the author in the Commander Isl- 

 ands and at Petropaulski, a synopsis of 

 the birds reported to inhabit Kamchatka, 

 and conclusions. The second part is given 

 to make the account of the birds of Kam- 

 chatka as complete as possible. 



Reception Day, No. 4. New York: E. L. 

 Kellogg & Co. Pp. 156. Price, 25 

 cents. 



This is a collection of fresh and origi- 

 nal dialogues, recitations, declamations, and 

 short pieces for practical use in public and 

 private schools. The compiler has aimed to 

 have the pieces short, easy to be compre- 

 hended, infused with life and spirit, fitted 

 for average pupils in the schools, and free 

 from double-meanings and all that can verge 

 on impropriety or vulgarity. 



Notes on the Opium-Habit. By Asa P. 

 Meylert, M. D. Fourth edition. New 

 York : G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 49. 



Some additional data relative to the treat- 

 ment of the habit have been inserted in this 

 edition ; and the author gives the result of 

 his investigations on the administration of 

 cocaine hydrochlorate as a specific. 



