186 
some.of the more obscure cases of vegetable pathology 
depend on the minute fermentative bodies which, it 
should seem, play such an important part in animals. 
Certain it is that yeast globules and bacteria occur in 
vegetables where there is, apparently, no immediate 
communication with the atmosphere, or where, at least, 
it is as obscure as in some cases which engage the atten- 
tion of the students of animal biology. Matters which have 
been long since ascertained to be facts, are still challenged 
by incompetent and uninstructed observers, and every 
one who can remove any portion of the prejudices which 
so materially retard the progress of science, will be doing 
a good work. 
It is to be regretted that the quarto form of the work 
before us makes it very inconvenient for students, and it 
is to be hoped thata revised edition in octavo will secure 
a wider circulation. M. J. BERKELEY 
AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY 
The American Naturalist. A popular illustrated Maga- 
zine of Natural History. Vols. 1, 2, and 3, from March 
1867, to February 1870. (Salem, Mass. Peabody 
Academy of Sciences. London: Triibner.) 
We have several distinct reasons for bringing this 
useful periodical before the notice of our readers. 
In the first place, American Naturalists and writers on 
science generally complain, and not altogether without 
reason, that many of the most important works that issue 
from the Transatlantic press are much less known in this 
country than their merits deserve. Our personal experi- 
ence leads us to believe that this complaint is well founded. 
We lately applied in vain to the Libraries of the Royal 
Society, of the University of Cambridge, and of a Scottish 
University, for the American Naturalist and for Clark’s 
“Mind in Nature ;” and we suspect that very few copies 
of such books as the following are to be found in English 
libraries, namely, a complete set of the works of Agassiz 
since he went to America, Binney’s “ Terrestrial Mol- 
lusks of the United States,” Gould and Binney’s “Report 
on the Invertebrata of Massachusetts,” Tooney and 
Holmes’s “ Fossils of South Carolina,” Samuel’s “ Birds of 
New England,” Dekay’s “ Fishes and Reptiles of New 
York,” the reports on the Pacific and other Railway Sur- 
veys, and the numerous contributions to science published 
during the last few years, by Marsh, Lea, Leidy, Hall, 
Wynam Baird, Coues, Packard, Scudder, Le Conte, 
Stimpson, Verrill, and a host of other writers. 
Our second and chief reason for noticing the Ameri- 
can Naturalist, is on account of its intrinsic value, 
The three volumes now completed contain a series of im- 
portant original contributions, by Professors Bailey, Cope, 
Edwards, Hayden, Henrichs, Orton, and Verrill, Drs. 
Brewer, Cooper, Coues, Hunt, Joseph Jones, Le Conte, 
Lincecum, Norton, A. S. Packard, Perkins, Wood, &c, 
Messrs, Brigham, Dall, Hartt, Hyatt, Lockwood, Morse, 
Russell, Scudder, and many others. Botany, Geology, 
Physical Geography, and Zoology, receive their due shares 
of attention, and in a scientific point of view, the articles 
occupy an intermediate position between those which we 
find in “The Annals of Natural History” and Hard- 
wicke’s “Science Gossip.” Each number contains (1) 
NATURE 
[Fuly 7, 1870 
Original Articles ; (2) Reviews of Works on Natural His- 
tory; (3) Natural History Miscellany, including recent 
discoveries in Geology, Botany, Zoology, and Microscopy, 
and terminating with answers to correspondents ; (4) Pro- 
ceedings of Scientific Societies ; the whole concluding 
with a List of Books Received, and a glossary of all the 
scientific terms occurring in the current number. 
If our readers require any further evidence of the value 
of this periodical, we may add that after one year’s inde- 
pendent existence, it has been issued as a publication ot 
the Peabody Academy of Sciences. The trustees “con- 
sider it one of the legitimate objects of their trust to assist 
in the publication of the Naturalist by advancing funds 
sufficient to enable the editors to continue its publication 
in an improved condition.” 
Our third and last reason for nowurging the claims of this 
periodical is, that being informed by Messrs. Triibner and 
Co., to whom we are indebted for the loan of these 
volumes, that new subscribers can for a time obtain the 
parts already published at a reduced rate; this seems to” 
be an excellent opportunity for natural history clubs and 
libraries, both to obtain the back volumes and to order 
the future numbers, G) ED: 
OUR BOOK SHELF 
The Science and Art of Arithmetic, for the Use of Schools. 
Part I., Integral, By A. Sonnenschein and H, A. Nes- 
bitt, M.A., University College, London. (London: 
Whittaker and Co.) 
Forty years have elapsed since the appearance of Prof, 
De Morgan’s ‘‘ Elements of Arithmetic,” at a time when 
perhaps few teachers, as they submitted the rules of the 
science to their pupils, caredto establish them upon reason 
and demonstration. The effect of this work was that a 
rational arithmetic began to be taught generally, and the 
mere committing of rules to memory took its due subordi- 
nate position in the course of instruction. Such a method 
of treatment will go far to develop and exercise the 
reasoning powers, and in the case of many pupils, there 
is hardly any other subject which can so well be made a 
groundwork for the exercise of the reasoning faculty. 
The book before us is avowedly drawn up in agreement 
with the principles of Mr. De Morgan’s work, and the aim 
of the authors is to lead the student “to the discovery of 
the several rules by some path such as an original dis- 
coverer might have travelled.” In this first part, which 
treats of Integral Arithmetic, we consider that they have 
carried out their principles successfully, and hope they 
will succeed as well with the remaining two parts, which 
are to embrace respectively Vulgar Fractions and Approxi- 
mate Calculations. The rules enunciated are few and tersely 
given ; there is a great store of illustration ; elementary 
difficulties are well stated and honestly grappled with, 
and cleared up in a way that brings the subject to the level 
of the capacities of junior students ; at the same time 
advanced as well as young teachers may gather much that 
is useful from the book. A reader who has carefully gone 
through the work, can hardly fail to master the early 
details of the science; if he fail, it will not be the fault of the 
authors. The subjects treated of are numeration, modes 
of computation, the so-called first four rules, contracted 
operations, scales of notation, and properties of numbers. 
Under this last division we have much yaluable matter 
grouped under the several heads of Divisibility of 
Numbers, Casting out Nines, Resolution into Prime 
Factors, Greatest Common Measure, and Least Common 
Multiple. Throughout and at the end of the work occur 
numerous examples, very varied, all of which are carefully 
