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Greone, 'Vrilliaiu II. "VTurtz's Elements of Mod- 

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Marks. William Dennis. Nystrom's Pocket- 

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Knox. Thomas W. Decisive Battles since Wa- 

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Eidj^way, Pobert. A Manual of North Ameri- 

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Jackson, Edw.wd P. A Manual of Astronomi- 

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 73. 



Afunroe, Charles E. No'^es on the Literature 

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Land, Dr. C. H.. Detroit, Mich. The Inconsist- 

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Lewis, T. II. Incised Bowlders in the Upper 

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Holmes, Mary E. The Morphology of the Cari- 

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POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



Recent Advances in Sanitary Science. — 



According to a review of the subject in " Na- 

 ture," the principal fields in which advance 

 has been recently made in sanitary science 

 are the etiology of such diseases as Asiatic 

 cholera, typhoid fever, diphtheria, and tu- 

 bercular disorders of the lungs. The or- 

 ganism observed by Koch may not yet have 

 been proved to be the actual cause of chol- 

 era ; but it has been shown to be different 

 in its mode of growth from all other organ- 

 isms asserted to be identical with it, and is 

 therefore diagnostic of the disease. In any 

 event, the validity of the measures relied 

 upon to prevent cholera from breaking out 

 and spreading is not affected by the results 

 of Koch's researches. While no micro or- 

 ganism has yet been found wliich can be 

 asserted to be the peculiar origin of typhoid 

 fever, the view that that disease arises from 

 a specific contagion, and is not propagated 

 cfe novo^ is gaining ground ; and we have 

 learned so much regarding the mode of ori- 

 gin and spread of the disease, that the dis- 

 covery of its active cause would probably 

 not greatly aifect the measures now taken 

 for its prevention. Ko results that can be 

 exactly formulated have been obtained re- 

 specting diphtheria. It is not invariably 

 dependent on insanitary conditions, and 



some facts indicate that the presence in the 

 air of products of coal-combustion is unfa- 

 vorable to it. The character of the seasons 

 when it is most prevalent favors the theory 

 that its specific contagium is a mold or 

 fungus, which flourishes most strongly in a 

 damp and smokeless air. Koch's discovery 

 of the Bacillus tuberculosis as the specific 

 contagium of tubercular disease places that 

 malady in the class of contagious disorders. 

 The fact that milk has been found capable 

 of conveying disease directly or indirectly 

 suggests the prudence of boiling it whenever 

 suspicion of danger exists. Advances in do- 

 mestic sanitation have mostly been limited 

 to applications of principles already ascer- 

 tained, especially in the drainage and water- 

 supply of dwellings. The belief is steadily 

 gaining ground that water once polluted by 

 sewage can not be regarded as safe for drink- 

 ing. The introduction of constant supplies 

 of water into towns has been of great bene- 

 fit. The separation of rainfall from sewage 

 is growing in favor. The puiification and 

 utilization of sewage are receiving increased 

 attention. The present condition of knowl- 

 edge on the subject demands that sewage 

 should, wherever it is possible, be utilized 

 on land, as manure, in the production of 

 crops and dairy produce ; failing in this, it 

 should be freed from its solids by precipi- 

 tation, and then purified on land laid out as 

 filter-beds. In all cases, efficient purifica- 

 tion, not the production of crops, should be 

 the controlling object. 



Cliinese in America. — Professor Stewart 

 Culin, in the American Association, de- 

 scribed the characteristics of the Chinese 

 immigrants in America. They all come 

 from the departments of Kwang Chan and 

 Shan-King, in the province of Kwantung. 

 They describe themselves as "Puntis," or 

 natives, as distinguished from the tribes 

 called " Hal-Kus," or " Shangers," who sel- 

 dom emigrate, and divide themselves into 

 the people of the Sam-Yup (three towns) 

 and those of Sz'-Yup (four towns), from 

 terms applied to difFerent divisions of their 

 native province. The people of the differ- 

 ent districts show distinguishing peculiari- 

 ties of speech and customs. Representa- 

 tives of some twenty or thirty clans only are 

 found among the immigrants. The stores 



