SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



279 



same relation to the geology of the earth as 

 comparative anatomy to the anatomy of man. 

 His special application of it is to the geology 

 of the planets compared with that of the earth. 

 The fruits of his studies are now embodied in 

 a book bearing that title, which is published 

 by Felix Alcan, Paris, in the French Interna- 

 tional Scientific Series. Though the materials 

 for such a study may at first sight seem lack- 

 ing, M. Meunier has found enough, in the re- 

 sults of telescopic and spectroscopic and other 

 observations, particularly of the moon and 

 Mars and the examination of meteorites, to 

 make possible a fairly distinct outline, and 

 to prompt further inquiry into this field. 



In the Report of the Commissioner of 

 Education for 1891-9% most of the statis- 

 tics are relegated to the second volume, while 

 the first volume is devoted mainly to essays 

 on special subjects. Among the more ex- 

 tended of these are an account of the modes 

 of training teachers employed in Germany, 

 Austria, and Switzerland, by the able educa- 

 tional writer Dr. L. R. Klemm ; also a de- 

 scription of German universities translated 

 from a book prepared for the German 

 educational exhibit at the Chicago Exposi- 

 tion, and a suggestive paper on preparation 

 for the civil service in France and Prussia, 

 by W. F. and W. W. Willoughby. James 

 C. Boykin contributes an essay of nearly a 

 hundred and fifty pages on Physical Train- 

 ing, half of which consists of a history of 

 the subject from the siege of Troy to Dio 

 Lewis, while the rest is of greater practical 

 value, consisting of descriptions of various 

 modes of training in present use, with il- 

 lustrations and statistics. Coeducation is 

 treated by A. Tolman Smith, who supple- 

 ments his discussion with a large number of 

 opinions of educators and a bibliography. 

 The summer schools have now become so 

 important that a history of them comes in 

 very appropriately here. It was prepared by 

 W. W. Willoughby. 



The treatise on Rocks and Soils, by 

 Horace Edward Stockbridge, has come to a 

 second edition (Wiley). The author, who 

 held a professorship in the Imperial College 

 of Agriculture at Sapporo, Japan, when the 

 first edition appeared, is now President of 

 the Agricultural College of North Dakota. 

 Numerous changes and additions have been 

 made in the new edition, which may be 



found by a comparison with the former 

 edition. 



Home Geography for primary grades, by 

 C. (7. Long (American Book Company, 25 

 cents), is a thoughtfully arranged introduc- 

 tion to the study of this science. The aim 

 is to give the child object lessons by the use 

 of the surrounding landscape ; by directing 

 his attention to some neighboring hill, im- 

 press the idea mountain upon him; some 

 small level space indicates a plain ; a brook 

 represents a river, a pond or lake the ocean, 

 etc. The idea is a good one, and is well 

 carried out. 



How the Republic is Governed, by Noah 

 Brooks (Scribners, 76 cents), consists of a 

 brief consideration in small compass of the 

 fundamental principles which direct our 

 actions as a nation. Among the special 

 topics are The Federal Constitution; The 

 Government of the United States in its Three 

 Departments Legislative, Executive, and 

 Judicial ; National and State Rights ; the In- 

 dians ; Patents and Copyrights ; Pensions ; 

 Declaration of Independence, and the Con- 

 stitution. 



Another attempt to solve the problem of 

 gravitation is made by Mr. Robert Stevenson 

 in his paper, A New Potential Principle in 

 Nature Elasticity a Mode of Motion. His 

 principle comprises kinetic energy in the 

 line of motion of a body, and kinetic stabil- 

 ity tending to prevent displacement trans- 

 verse to that line. The latter acts partly as 

 a force of restitution to the original direc- 

 tion, with the resultant of causing a curvi- 

 linear motion. The author conceived his 

 idea while he was a student of Sir William 

 Thomson. 



Notes on the Geology of the Island of 

 Cuba is based upon a reconnoissance made 

 by the author, Mr. Robert T. Hill, for Alex- 

 ander Agassiz. Mr. Hill spent about a 

 month on the island, accompanied by some 

 American engineers who were familiar with 

 the country, and who, by reason of their 

 knowledge, were of great assistance to him. 

 Going into the interior to Villa Clara, to ac- 

 quaint himself with that region, he exam- 

 ined the features of the older nucleal area of 

 Cuba ; then made a thorough study of the 

 cut of the Yumuri River at Matanzas, and of 

 the limestone formations of the vicinity ; in- 

 vestigated the geology of Havana; and 



