LITERARY NOTICES. 



2/7 



philosophy, and the relation in which it 

 stands to conduct and to the practical wel- 

 fare of mankind. Following the discussion 

 of these questions is the speaker's expression 

 of the conviction that the more he studies 

 and teaches the science the deeper the im- 

 pression that it is able and destined to con- 

 tribute greatly to the welfare of mankind 

 by contributions toward the improvement of 

 the art and practice of teaching ; to the sci- 

 ence and practice of medicine, especially in 

 the department of neurology ; to the diagno- 

 sis and treatment of the insane, the incor- 

 rigible, and the idiotic. " In general, why 

 should we not expect to see our science con- 

 tributing to the improved conduct and char- 

 acter of men in the school, in the court- 

 room, the prison, and the asylum," to the 

 work of the religious teacher and the mother ? 

 This address is followed by a study of the 

 case of John Bunyan, by Josiah Royce ; 

 Studies from the Harvard Psychological 

 Laboratory, by Hugo Munsterberg ; shorter 

 contributions on Arithmetic by Smell, by 

 Francis Galton ; The Psychology of Infant 

 Language, by John Dewey ; Work at the 

 Yale Laboratory, by E. W. Scripture ; Dis- 

 cussion of Works by Prof. Wundt Jand Mr. 

 James Ward ; and notices of psychological 

 literature. 



THE CANADIAN ICE AGE : Being Notes on the 

 Pleistocene Geology of Canada, with Spe- 

 cial Reference to the Life of the Period 

 and its Climatal Conditions. By Sir J. 

 WILLIAM DAWSON. Montreal: William 

 V. Dawson ; New York : Scientific Pub- 

 lishing Company. Pp. 801. 



THE subjects discussed in this book have 

 occupied the attention of the author to a 

 greater or less extent since 1855, and he has 

 published from time to time several papers 

 and one pamphlet Notes on the Post-plio- 

 cene of Canada upon it. The present book 

 is an attempt to collect in a convenient form 

 the large mass of information included in 

 the papers bearing on the history of the 

 northern half of the continent of North 

 America during the Ice age. Not satisfied 

 with undertaking to explain the widespread 

 and complex glacial formations of Canada 

 by one dominant cause, the author is con- 

 vinced that we must take into account the 

 agency of both land ice and sea-borne ice in 

 many forms, along with repeated and com- 



plex elevations and depressions of large por- 

 tions of the continent. He is disposed, how- 

 ever, to seek for the causes of changes in 

 climate rather in geological and geographical 

 agencies than in astronomical vicissitudes. 

 He notes the fact that no change, even of 

 varietal value, has taken place in species 

 since the beginning of the Pleistocene period 

 as one of extreme significance with reference 

 to theories of the modification of species in 

 geological times. While not attempting to 

 extend his generalizations south of Canada, 

 he warns geologists hi our country who in- 

 sist upon portentous accumulations of ice 

 within its territory, " that the material can not 

 be supplied to them from Canada. They must 

 establish gathering grounds within their own 

 territory." 



FIRST LESSONS IN CIVIL GOVERNMENT. By 

 JESSE MACY. Boston: Ginn & Co. Pp. 

 229. Elustrated. Price, 70 cents. 



THE expansion in the sphere of govern- 

 ment in the United States has far outstripped 

 popular education in the duties of citizen- 

 ship. This undoubtedly is one of the causes 

 of the current failure in government, de- 

 plored in every State and Territory of the 

 Union. Hence the incalculable value of in- 

 struction such as Prof. Macy's, which takes 

 boys and girls just as they are and interests 

 them in the affairs of their county and State 

 and the nation. Our author maintains that 

 when a child is drawing a map of its town- 

 ship it readily comprehends that a township 

 elects officers and cares for the highways ; 

 so, also, when drawing a map of its county 

 and State it can easily understand that these 

 are not mere pieces of land, but that they 

 represent governments as well. Beginning 

 with the public school which a child is at- 

 tending, the government of the school dis- 

 trict is shown as linked to that of the State ; 

 next, the county governments are studied in 

 their various forms. As typical States, Prof. 

 Macy has selected Massachusetts, New York, 

 Pennsylvania, and Virginia ; the government 

 of each is described, and the governments of 

 all four are compared ; provision is made for 

 the study of any other State government. 

 Lastly, the Government of the United States 

 is briefly explained. Thus, with the practiced 

 hand of a teacher for many years successful 

 in this branch of education, Prof. Macy begins 



