134 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



pality, and a city absorbing the county, 

 down to the operation of the present char- 

 ter, which went into effect in IS?*?. Mr. 

 Snow believes that a careful study of this 

 charter " will convince any impartial man of 

 its great worth as a framework for a sys- 

 tem of municipal government. The length 

 of the term of its municipal officers ; the 

 carefully-framed provisions to secure hon- 

 est registration of voters and an honest vote 

 at the polls ; the guards and checks upon all 

 who administer the financial affairs of the 

 city ; the provisions against an undue in- 

 crease of the public debt ; the plan by which 

 the important offices filled by the mayor's 

 appointment are not vacant until the be- 

 ginning of the third year of his term of 

 office, so that as rewards of political work 

 done during a heated campaign they are too 

 far in the dim distance to prejudice seriously 

 the merits of an election — these are a few 

 of its important advantages as a plan of 

 city government. Since its adoption it has 

 worked well, and but few amendments have 

 been suggested." 



An In'troduction to the Study of Embry- 

 OLOGY. By Alfred C. IIaddon, M. A., 

 M. R. I. A., Professor of Zoology in the 

 Royal College of Science, Dublin. Il- 

 lustrated. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, 

 Son & Co. Pp. 336. Price, $6. 



Tins work is especially designed for 

 medical students, and for those who have a 

 knowledge of the main facts of comparative 

 anatomy and systematic zoology. There 

 are eight chapters, dealing with maturation 

 and fertilization of the ovum, segmentation 

 and gastrulation, formation of the meso- 

 blast, general formation of the body and 

 development of the embryonic appendages, 

 organs derived from the epiblast, hypo- 

 blast, and mesoblast, respectively, and clos- 

 ing with a chapter of general considera- 

 tions. Certain structures and processes 

 which are of secondary importance, or pre- 

 sent especially difficult problems, have been 

 briefly mentioned or omitted. Where hy- 

 potheses have been introduced, care has 

 been taken that the student may not mis- 

 take them for facts. Important matter has 

 been distinguished by large type, and most 

 of the figures have been so drawn as to ad- 

 mit of distinctive coloring. The classifica- 

 tion of genera adopted is embodied in an 



appendix. The volume is furnished also 

 with an analytical table of contents, an in- 

 dex, and a bibliography. 



The Claim of Moral Insanity in its 

 Medico -Legal Aspects. By James 

 Hendrie Lloyd, M. D., Philadelphia. 

 Pp. 16. 



The author, who has had a large expe- 

 rience with cases of insanity, has not seen 

 one case which answers to the description 

 given in the books, of moral insanity ; that 

 is, of pure and simple dislocation of the 

 moral nature ; but all cases were accom- 

 panied with perversions of the understand- 

 ing. He believes, therefore, that the con- 

 ception of " the cerebrum as an individual 

 unit, whose special act is always a reflex 

 process of ideation, tends to a satisfactory 

 definition and classification of insanity, as 

 well as to an intelligible application of our 

 knowledge to the solution of medico-legal 

 questions much superior to anything attain- 

 able by the distinctions of the metaphysi- 

 cians or the arbitrary tests of the judges." 



The Fortunes of Words. Letters to a 



Lady. By Federico Garlanda, Ph. D. 



New York : A. Lovell & Co. Pp. 225. 



Price, ?1.25. 



This is a series of popular essays on 

 English philology, which, together with 

 much curious and useful information, con- 

 veys a vivid idea of the contrast between 

 the modern method of scientific research in 

 the department of language and the ways 

 of the old etymologists. Separate chapters 

 show how the development of industry, 

 ethical feelings, the color-sense, and calcu- 

 lation may be traced in language. In an- 

 other chapter the chief reasons why words 

 change their meanings are given. The au- 

 thor does not utterly condemn slang, but 

 points out that language gains some of its 

 most vigorous expressions from the better 

 class of slang. 



Health Lessons. A Primary Book. By 



Jerome Walker, M. D. Illustrated. 



New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp.194. 



Price, 56 cents. 



No child can fail to be interested and 

 instructed by this little book. The subject- 

 matter is embodied in simple and vivid lan- 

 guage, and is illustrated by an abundance 

 of original and entertaining pictures. These 



