THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the professional library of his brother, the 

 late Dr. Samuel Brown, who has been called 

 " the last of the alchemists," from his advo- 

 cacy of a belief in the transmutability of the 

 elements. The work of issuing the publica- 

 tions is now more punctually performed than 

 heretofore. One of the aims of the museum 

 to aid students and others engaged in 

 scientific work by lending them material to 

 be used in their researches has been carried 

 out in a number of loans ; and other students 

 have availed themselves of the privilege of 

 examining the collections. A summary is 

 given in the report of the cases of co-opera- 

 tion with the work of the museum by various 

 departments and bureaus of the Government, 

 from which many valuable results have ac- 

 crued. The papers contributed by mem- 

 bers of the museum staff describing and 

 illustrating the collections include The Gene- 

 sis of the National Museum, by G. Brown 

 Goode ; Ethnological Collections in the United 

 States National Museum from Kilimandjaro, 

 East Africa, by Dr. W. L. Abbott; The 

 Bernadon, Allen, and Jouy Korean Collec- 

 tions in the United States National Museum, 

 by Walter Hough ; Shinto, or the Mythology 

 of the Japanese, The Ancient Burial Mounds 

 of Japan, and Some Ancient Relics in Japan, 

 by Romyn Hitchcock ; Prehistoric Naval 

 Architecture of the North of Europe, by 

 George H. Boehmer; and First Draft of a 

 System of Classification for the World's Co- 

 lumbian Exposition, by G. Brown Goode. 



LECTURES ON SANITARY LAW. By A. WYN- 

 TER BLYTH. New York: Macmillan & 

 Co. Pp. 287. Price, $2.50. 



THESE twelve lectures were delivered by 

 the author at the College of State Medicine, 

 as part of the usual course of instruction in 

 sanitary science. They are republished on 

 account of their possible value to those who 

 desire to obtain, in a small compass, a gen- 

 eral view of the powers and duties of (Eng- 

 lish; local authorities in relation to the pub- 

 lic health. Having described the division 

 into sanitary districts and the functions of 

 authorities, the lectures concern Nuisance; 

 Sewerage and Drainage; Water; Sanitary 

 Appliances, Regulations, and By-laws ; Statu- 

 tory Provisions with Regard to the Preven- 

 tion of Disease ; the Law under the Infec- 

 tious Diseases Notification and Prevention 



Acts ; Port Sanitary Law ; the Housing of 

 the Working Classes Act, 1890 ; Canal Boats 

 and Metropolitan Sanitary Law. In the ap- 

 pendix are given examples of by-laws relat- 

 ing to offensive trades, with other matters, 

 and the statutes specially treating of the in- 

 spection and examination of food. 



The eighth volume of the Mineral Re- 

 sources of the United States, compiled by 

 David T. Day, Chief of the Division of Min- 

 ing Statistics and Technology, contains 63d 

 pages of statistical data relative to the prog- 

 ress made from year to year in the produc- 

 tion of minerals. A complete statement of 

 the mineral products of 1891, with compara- 

 tive tables, occupies the greater portion of 

 the volume, the remainder being devoted to a 

 very important examination of the new dis- 

 coveries of mineral deposits and explana- 

 tions of improved technical processes by 

 which minerals have been made more avail- 

 able and the yield increased, etc. The sum- 

 mary shows an increase in value in the entire 

 mineral products of $9,501,139 over 1890, 

 chiefly in silver, copper, lead, and coal, the 

 iron and steel production having fallen off 

 nearly one million tons in 1891. Washing- 

 ton, 1893. 



In Bulletin No. 3 of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, 1893, A. K. 

 Fisher, M. D., Assistant Ornithologist, con- 

 tributes an interesting report upon the ffaicks 

 and Owls of the United States. From an ex- 

 amination of seventy-three species and sub- 

 species of these birds, Dr. Fisher has ar- 

 rived at the conclusion that instead of their 

 being pests or enemies, all except six species 

 of the hawks and owls of this country are 

 really among the farmer's best friends. This 

 conclusion was arrived at after an examina- 

 tion of the stomachs of 2,700 of these birds, 

 when it was found that the principal food of 

 sixty-seven of the species examined, com- 

 prising 2,212 birds, consisted of "mice and 

 other small mammals " which are a constant 

 source of annoyance and loss to the farmer. 

 The work, which is illustrated with twenty- 

 six colored plates, is a valuable contribution 

 to the natural history literature of the coun- 

 try, and can not fail to be widely appreciated 

 by ornithologists and lovers of the feathered 

 tribe. The color, food, locality, and habits 

 of each of the seventy-three species are de- 



