608 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 39. 



cult it is to find the thing they are seeliing. Between 

 those piled up and stowed in great collections and 

 those bid away in private museums, much time is 

 wasted. Now, the anthropologists of Germany long 

 ago felt the necessity of publisliing the catalogues of 

 the specimens in their great museums; and already 

 have appeared five of these in former numbers of 

 the Archiv. The current numbgr devotes 30 pages to 

 the Senckeuberg museums in Frankfort-a.-M., with 

 tables of measurements and descriptions ; and 25 pages 

 to the anthropological collection in the Grossherzogli- 

 chen naturalien-cabinets im alten schlosse, in Darm- 

 stadt, also with measurements and descriptions. 

 Comparisons, of course, are always odious; but it 

 cannot fail to strike our American anthropologists 

 that the especial merit of the German system, that 

 is, co-operation, is wanting with us. It may also be 

 mentioned that none of the foreign anthropological 

 societies seem to know any thing about the work in 

 progress at the surgeon-general' s oflSce at Washington. 



— There have been issued by the government, under 

 the direction of Gen. W. B. Hazen, chief signal-officer, 

 the meteorological and physical observations on the 

 east coast of British America, by Orray Taft Sherman, 

 as no. 11 of the 'professional papers.' Nos. 8 and 12 

 consist of papers on the ' Motions of fluids and solids ' 

 and ' Popular essays on the movements of the atmos- 

 phere,' by Prof. W. Ferrel ; the first edited, with notes, 

 by Mr. Frank Waldo. No. 9 contains cWarts and 

 tables showing the geographical distribution of rain- 

 fall in the United States. 



— The new British patent law will go into efiect 

 Jan. 1, 1884. The patent fee is reduced to about a 

 hundred dollars for all fees, including agents' ordi- 

 nary charges. Provisional protection is extended to 

 nine months. Annual taxes are substituted for the 

 stamp-duties now charged, although no change has 

 been made in the total amount. The new provisions 

 apply to applications now in the office. No change 

 has been made in regard to examinations. The pat- 

 ent is issued to any applicant who chooses to pay the 

 fees, and without formal examination. A system of 

 comparison of the patent claim with the claim for 

 which provisional protection has been granted, is, 

 however, established, — a commendable innovation, 

 and one which might well be supplemented by the 

 system of complete examination practised in the 

 United States. The duration of the patent is to be 

 fourteen years in all cases, irrespective of the expira- 

 tion of earlier foreign patents on the same device. 

 The publication in Great Britain of the foreign speci- 

 fication of the invention does not, under the new 

 law, invalidate the British patent. The new law 

 will evidently greatly favor the inventor, and the 

 change will be likely to prove to be very greatly to' 

 the advantage of that country as well. 



RECENT BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS. 



Bodlander, G- Das optische drehungsverDiogen isomorpher 

 mifichungen aus den ditbionaten des bleis und des BtroDtiums. 

 Inaug. diss. Breslau, Kohler, 1883. 34 p. 8°. 



Ed'wards, Emory. Modern American locomotive engines; 

 their design, construction, and management: a practical work 



for practiuul men. rhiludulpLia, Eiiird, 1883. 383 p., illuBtr. 

 12°. 



Houston, Edwin J. Tbe elements of clicmislry : for the 

 use of schools, academies, and colleges, rbiladelpbia, Eldrtfiat, 

 1S83. 444 p. 12°. 



Johonnot, J. A natural history readc^r, for school and 

 home. New 'iork, Jp/)Won, 18+414 p., illustr. 12°. 



Ladenburg. Ilandwiirterbuch der cbemie. band 1. il- 

 lustr. 8°. 



Planteau, H. Developpement de la colonnc vcrtebrale. 

 Paris, 1883. 116 p., illustr. 4°. 



Pouy, F. Les ancleunes vues d'optique. Amiens, impr. 

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Rochebrune, A. T. de. De I'emplo! des moilusnues cbez 

 les peiiples anciens et modernes. i. Aroerique. livr. 1. Paris, 

 Leroux, 1883. 23 p. 8°. 



Rohde, E. Beitrjige zur Icenntniss der anatomic der nema. 

 toden. Inaug. dies. Breslau, ioViter, 1883. 26 p. 8°. 



Routledge, R. Discoveries and inventions of the 10th cen- 

 tury. London, 1883. 8°. 



Euhnke, C. Die einwirkung von alkyljodiiren auf triazo- 

 henzoesaure. Inaug. diss. Gottingen, randen/ioecA tey?HprtfcA«, 



1882. 36 p. 8°. 



Schuver, J. M. Reisen im oberen Nilgchiet. Gotha, 1883. 

 95 p., map. 4°. 



Siebenmann, F. Die fadenpilze Aspergillus flavus, niger 

 und fumigatus; Eurotium repens (und Aspergillus glaucus) und 

 ibre beziehungen zur Otomycosis AspergiJIina. Medlcinisch- 

 botaniscbe studien auf grund esperimenteller untersuchungen. 

 Mit vorwort von Dr. Alb. Burckhardt-Merian. 8°. 



Smith, Adolphe. Pneumatic drainage : a description of the 

 Berlin method. New York, Span, 1883. 60 p., 6 pi. S°. 



Society crittogamologica italiana. Memorie. vol. i. Varese, 

 Up. Malnuti, 1883. 10+616 p. 8°. 



Staude, O. Geometrischc deutung der additionstheoreme 

 der hyperelliptischen integrale und functionen erster ordnung im 

 system der confocalen fliicbeu zweiten grades. UabiUtations- 

 schrift. Breslau, Eohler, 1883. 71 p. 8°. 



Ste'wart, A. Nether Lochaber. Natural history, legends, 

 and folk-lore of the West Highlands. Edinburgh, 1883. 424 p. 

 8°. 



Streintz, H. Die physikaUscben grundlagen der mechanlk. 

 Leipzig, Teubner, 1883. 12+142 p. 8°. 



Studer, Th. Die fauna der pfahlbauten des Bieler Sees. 

 Bern, 1883. 100 p., 6 pi. 8°. 



Swinburne, J. Practical electrical units popularly ex- 

 plained. London, SpoiL, 1883. 62 p., illustr. 12°. 



Tresca, Coux-s de mdcanique appliquec. division i. Paris, 



1883. 327 p. 4°. 



Van Tricht, V. Les enregistreurs en metdorologie. De- 

 scription d'un nouveau m(iteorographc ^iectrique. Bruxolles, 

 1883. 75 p. 8°. 



Waechter, F. Die anwendung der elektricitiit fiir militar- 

 ische zwecke. Wien, 1883. 266 p., illustr. 8°. 



Wfthnschaffe, M. Vcrzeichness der im gebiete des Aller- 

 vereins zwischen Helmsledt und Magdeburg aufgefundenen 

 kafer. Ncub.aldenslehen, ^j/rai(rf, 1883. 5+465 p. 8\ 



Wainwright, S. Scicutiflc sophisms: a review of current 

 theories concerning atoms, apes, and men. New York, I\tnk i& 

 Wagnalls, ISSi. (Standard lib., no. 97). 302 p. 12°. 



Waitz, K. Ueber den einfluss der galvanischen polarisa- 

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 Tubingen, Fues, 1883. 39 p. S°. 



. W^alter, H., und Dunikowski, E. von. Das petroleura- 

 gebiet der galizischen Westkarpathen. Wien, Mavz, 1883. 4+ 

 100 p., 2 pi., 1 map. 8°. 



Ward, G. Mason. A compend of chemistry. Philadelphia, 

 BU(kiston, 1883. HI p. 8°. 



"Wenghoffer, L. Lehrbuch der anorganischen, reinen, und 

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 der fortschritte der technik, weseutlich fiir studirende uuf uni- 

 versitiiten und tecbnische lehraustalten, etc. abth. i. Stuttgart, 

 Witlwer, 1883. 302 p., illustr. 8°. 



Willgrod, H. FlUckcu, welche sich durch ibre kriimmungs- 

 linien in imendlicbe kleine quadrate thcilcn lassen. Inaug. 

 diss. Goli\ng(in,Vandenhoeclc&IiuprcvM,lSWl. 60 p. 8°. 



Wilke, A. Die volkswirthsebaftUcbe bedeutung der elek- 

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Zeitschrift, Internationale fiir die elektrisclie ausstellung 

 in Wien 1883. Red. : J. Kramer und Dr. Ernst Lecher. Wochen. 

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Ziegler, .T. M. Ein geograpbiscber test zur geologischen 

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