S66 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



which everywhere presents itself in the 

 operations of the human mind. The most 

 prominent words relating to love in the 

 Aryan languages may, in the author's view, 

 be traced back to one or two ruling ideas — 

 one intimating a similarity or likeness be- 

 tween the persons loving, and the other a 

 wish or desire; the former conveying the 

 notion that the feeling is mutual, the latter 

 that it is stronger on one side than on the 

 other. The subject is studied from this 

 point of view in the Algonquin, Nahuatl, 

 Maya, Qquichua, and Tapi-Guarani lan- 

 guages. 



The Relations of Geology and Agricul- 

 ture. By W. J. McGee. Washington ; 

 Judd & Detweiler. 



This paper is an address which was de- 

 livered at the meeting of the Iowa State 

 Horticultural Society in 1882. The author's 

 object is to point out the importance of ap- 

 plying geologic principles to the investiga- 

 tion of the soil. It is premised that the 

 soils of the earth are immediately derived, 

 through mechanical and chemical action, 

 from the underlying deposits forming the 

 Bubsoil — pre-eminently the agencies with 

 which the geologist has to deal. The appli- 

 cation of the principle is illustrated by cita- 

 tions from the author's studies of the drift 

 of Iowa. 



An Inquiry into the Transmission of In- 

 fectious Disease through the Medium 

 of Rags. By Charles F. Withington, 

 M. D. Pp. 69. 



The author concludes that small-pox has 

 been transmitted through the medium of 

 rags, to an extent which though not great, 

 is sufBcient to show that there is real dan- 

 ger in the matter ; and that the source of 

 the infection is more frequently domestic 

 than foreign rags. Among the rarer means 

 whereby cholera is transmitted are textile 

 fabrics infected with choleraic discharges. 

 A solitary case is reported, but not fully ac- 

 credited, of transmission by paper rags ; if 

 substantiated, it also will be an offense by 

 domestic rags. Cases have occurred of an 

 epidemic affection of anthrax called "rag- 

 sorter's disease " caused by handling rags. 

 Authenticated cases have not been found in 

 which the other infectious diseases have been 

 transmitted through rags ; and there is no 



evidence to show that rag-sorters as a class 

 are essentially less healthy than other per- 

 sons engaged in indoor operations. Still 

 precaution should be taken against possible 

 danger from rags coming from epidemically 

 infected places, and paper-mills should have 

 means for purifying their rags, and ventilat- 

 ing means for guarding against dust- 

 poisoning ; and whatever precautions are 

 used should be applied as much to domestic 

 as to foreign rags. 



Bulletin of the Iowa Agricultural Col- 

 lege, from the Botanical Department. 

 Byron D. Halsted, Sc. D., Professor of 



Botany. 



The study of botany is pursued in regu- 

 lar course in the college beginning with the 

 second half of the freshman year. The 

 instruction consists of observations of actual 

 plants assisted by Gray's text-books, begin- 

 ning with leaves and flowers, their forms 

 and arrangement. The studies in the sopho- 

 more year are taken up before the opening 

 of spring, upon branches and buds. Dur- 

 ing the spring, each student prepares an 

 herbarium of fifty species, collected and de- 

 termined by himself. The work is continued 

 during the year in morphology and the 

 general characteristics of plants ; and the 

 pupils are exercised in special topics of re- 

 search in which they prepare papers from 

 their own observations. In the junior year 

 cryptogams and vegetable physiology are 

 studied ; a course in applied botany is given, 

 and three hours a week of laboratory work 

 are provided for. A variety of experiments 

 are recorded, and numerous special papers, 

 mostly brief, are published in the second 

 •part of the "Bulletin." 



The Best Reading. Third Sebies. A 

 Priced and Classified Bibliography, for 

 Easy Reference, of the more Important 

 English and American Publications for 

 the five years ending December 1, 1886. 

 Edited by Lynds E. Jones. New York 

 and London : G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 

 108. Price, §1. 



EvERy one who knows the first and 

 second series of this work will eagerly wel- 

 come the present volume. To those who 

 have not used the preceding volumes, it 

 may be said that no bookseller, no one who 

 buys books for his own or for a public li- 

 brary, and no one who reads systematically, 



