^ PREFACE. 



Charles F. Wingate, the well-known sanitary engineer, of New York. Under 

 Adulteration of Food, and Canned Provisions, the housekeeper will find valuable 

 information drawn from the most recent investigations. 



In addition to the usual article on Geographical Discovery, we have this year 

 one on the opening up to commerce of the great Congo country, illustrated with 

 a map, and one on Mountain Exploration, noting some remarkable achievements ; 

 while recent discoveries in Archaeology and Paleontology are chronicled and 

 illustrated. 



The peculiar Presidential contest of 1884 is recorded in the articles United 

 States, Grover Cleveland, and James G. Elaine, with full statistics of the results ; 

 while the articles on some of the States and Territories exhibit movements and 

 tendencies that may give shape to the political struggles of the near future. 

 The topic of Reform in the Civil Service, an important factor in the great prob- 

 lem, is treated by Edward O. Graves, Assistant Treasurer of the United States, 

 who has been among the foremost in the movement. This and the Reform 

 article of our volume for 1883 make together an exhaustive history of the sub- 

 ject. What was done in the business world may be learned from the articles on 

 United States Finances ; Railway Service, from the pen of Edward Atkinson ; 

 Financial Review of 1884, contributed by Mr. Carey of the " Journal of Com- 

 merce " ; and the analysis of the peculiar course of the Metal Market. The 

 Exposition at New Orleans and the Electrical Exhibition at Philadelphia are 

 described and illustrated. 



Some important decisions in Constitutional Law that were reached in the 

 course of the year are recorded, and the history of a novel question in jurispru- 

 dence is given under the title Mignonette Case. The wonderful recent develop- 

 ment of taste in ornament is discussed under Decorative Art in America ; the 

 proposed Spelling Reform is presented by one of its devotees in its own peculiar 

 style ; and the subject of Photography for amateurs is suggestively treated. 



Under Obelisk the reader will find not only a description of the New York 

 monolith, but tabulated information concerning nearly all the known obelisks in 

 the world, contributed by the venerable Dr. Weisse, who has made a long study 

 of the subject The completed Washington Monument is described in an article 

 by itself. Among the other topics of curious interest, treated in occasional arti- 

 cles, are Navigable Balloons, Catamaran, Crape-Stone, Clubs, the Dynamite Gun, 

 Dogs, and Net-Making. 



While no yearly record can be absolutely complete within the compass of a 

 single volume, it is hoped that this presentation of the world's progress in 1884 

 will be found reasonably full and judiciously presented. At the close of the 

 book we give an analytical index that covers the nine volumes (including the 

 present one) of the New Series. 



NKW YORK, May 1, 1886. 



