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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Krupp, a volume entitled Krupp and Be 

 Bange, by E. Montliai/e, captain in the Bel- 

 gian general staff. Its object is to show 

 that the Krupp system of ordnance is supe- 

 rior to the De Bange system, from which it 

 differs in material, construction, and mode 

 of breech-closure. The first chapter is a 

 discussion of various methods of preparing 

 steel for gun-metal ; the second compares 

 the construction of the Krupp and the De 

 Bange guns ; this is followed by an essay on 

 ballistic performance, and a statement of 

 the extent to which the European states use 

 the Krupp guns. The next chapter answers 

 the objections of the adherents of the French 

 gun against the Krupp, and there is a review 

 of the "Belgrade competition" of 1884, in 

 which a Krupp, a De Bange, and an Arm- 

 strong gun participated. An account of a 

 visit to the Krupp works concludes the main 

 part of the book, and to this is appended an 

 analysis by another hand of some criticisms 

 made upon Captain Monthaye's book. The 

 volume is illustrated with diagrams, views, 

 and a portrait of Alfred Krupp. 



A decidedly vigorous pamphlet has been 

 contributed to the " Questions of the Day " 

 series, by Mr. J. S. Moore, entitled Friendly 

 Letters to American Farmers and Others 

 (Putnam, 25 cents). Its purpose is to show 

 the people of the country, regarded as con- 

 sumers, what the present tariff costs them. 

 The letters are strengthened by abundant 

 statistics, and the following specimen head- 

 ings will indicate their character: " What it 

 costs the Farmer for Lumber," " What it 

 costs the Farmer for Crockery, Glassware, 

 and Cooking Utensils," "Female Labor on 

 Farms and in Factories," "As to Luxuries 

 and Necessities," and " The Champion Tariff 

 Swindle of the World." 



The subject of the next number of the 

 " Questions of the Day " series is American 

 Prisons in the Tenth United States Census 

 (Putnam, 25 cents). It is by Frederick H. 

 Wines, special agent of the tenth census, 

 and presents the numbers of inmates in the 

 prisons of the country, and the crimes for 

 which they are imprisoned, in a great variety 

 of aspects, such as with regard to birth- 

 place, age, sex, color, length of term, and 

 number of arrests by the police. The figures 

 are embodied in a discussion which includes 



suggestions for the improvement of certain 

 State and national prison laws. An inter- 

 esting statement, which reverses the popular 

 judgment somewhat, shows the proportion 

 of prisoners to the number of residents from 

 each of twenty foreign countries. From this 

 it appears that the West Indies send us the 

 most criminals, 1 in 117, while the best 

 showing is made by the Austrians (includ- 

 ing Hungarians and Bohemians), 1 in 1,936. 

 The Scandinavians stand next to the Aus- 

 trians, and the Hollanders are third. The 

 Germans are eighth, with one prisoner in 

 949 German -born residents, the English 

 eleventh, French twelfth, Irish fourteenth, 

 1 in 350, Italians sixteenth, and Chinese 

 next below them, with a proportion of 1 

 in 199. 



Two editions of the PresidenCs Message 

 of 1887 (Putnam, each 25 cents) have been 

 received. One contains annotations by R. 

 R. Boivker, which embrace a large number 

 and variety of facts and figures showing the 

 receipts and expenses of the Government 

 for a number of years, the effects of buying 

 bonds at a premium, what the tariff tax 

 amounts to on many items of the consumer's 

 purchases, the percentages of tax laid on 

 important articles at various times since 

 1789, the variation of wages in Europe and 

 different parts of this country, the amount 

 of wool raised in the United States, the oper- 

 ations of trusts, etc. The other edition is 

 illustrated by Thomas Nast, in his well- 

 known style. 



The most extended and important papers 

 in Reports from the Consuls of the United 

 States, No. 93 (Department of State), are 

 those on " The Cost of Manufacturing Print- 

 Cloths in Massachusetts, Lancashire, and 

 Switzerland," by J. Schoenhof ; " The Prov- 

 ince of Kiang-su," by J. D. Kennedy ; " The 

 Exhibition for the Prevention of Accidents 

 to be held at Berlin in 1889," by F. Raine; 

 "The Trade of South America," by John E. 

 Bacon ; " The Trade and Industries of Rus- 

 sia," by Charlton H. Way ; and " The Re- 

 sources and Trade Relations of Japan," by 

 T. R. Jernigan. 



The pamphlet on Aspects of Education, 

 by Oscar Browning (Industrial Education 

 Association, 20 cents), is a contribution to 

 the history of pedagogy. It discusses the 



