668 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 41. 



proposals of the commission were embodied in a bill 

 which passed the House of Lords during the last ses- 

 sion, but was lost in the House of Commons through 

 the ' obstructive tactics of interested parties.' It is 

 believed that the bill which will be presented during 

 the next session will meet with better success. As 

 pointed out by Professor Huxley in his address at the 

 London hospital, ' three grave defects remain to be 

 remedied:' viz., the low standard of examination 

 allowed by some of the licensing bodies; the grant- 

 ing of licenses which do not involve i^roof of the 

 holder's acquaintance with all three of the great 

 branches of medical practice (namely, medicine, sur- 

 gery, and midwifery) ; and the present state of the law, 

 which does not permit the medical council to enforce 

 equality of minimvim examination, and the threefold 

 qualification, before admitting a medical practitioner 

 to the register. All of these points are included in 

 the proposed bill. 



It is further urged by those interested in the im- 

 provement of the profession, that liberal education 

 should be a more general characteristic of its mem- 

 bers, and that the student should bring to his medi- 

 cal course a more thorough preparation in physics, 

 ehemiitry, and biology. Both of these ends will be 

 furthered by the provision recently made in the two 

 great universities for the sciences specified. 



Socially the medical profession does not compare 

 favorably with the other professions in England. The 

 fact is curiously illustrated by an extract from a recent 

 book quoted by Mr. W. H. Bennet in his address at 

 St. George's hospital. " This choice of a profession," 

 says the autlior, "is not an easy matter, when, as a 

 rule, the church, the army, the bar, and the diplo- 

 matic service are almost the only professions open to 

 a young fellow." Evidently, as Mr. Bennet observes, 

 "the thought of medicine had never for an instant 

 entered the writer's mind." 

 — Mr. Henry Brooks has prepared a useful series 

 ■ of specimens of the wood of several of the important 

 timber-trees of the eastern states, for the use of teach- 

 ers and students of natural history. 



Each species is represented by three thiia transpar- 

 ent sections of wood framed together, and cut in the 

 direction of the layers of annual growth, at right 

 angles with the grain, so as to show a cross-section 

 of the trunk. The specimens mounted between thin 

 sheets of mica permit a satisfactory examination of 

 the position and size of the different ducts, cells, 

 medullary rays, etc., besides showing admirably the 

 color and general character of different woods. Ar- 

 chitects and biiilders, therefore, as well as teachers, 

 will find Mr. Brooks's contribution to a knowledge of 

 our trees of considerable practical value. Complete 

 sets, representing seventeen sxseeies, or single sheets, 

 can be obtained by addressing Mr. Henry Brooks, 3.5 

 Bedford Street, Boston. 



RECENT BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS. 



Aramburu, F. Esamen raicroBc6pico del trigo y do la 

 barilla, con algunas ilidagaciones de procedimientoa analittcos 

 para determinar sil composicidn quimica y la del pan. Madrid, 

 1883. 166 p., illuatr. 4°. 



Bacas, I)., and Escaddn, U. Tcorla clcracntnl do Inn da- 

 toimiiiantPB, y SU9 aplicatlonea al nlL'i'bra y li la IrlgonumolrU. 



Madrid, 1883. lUli p. 4°. 



Berthelot, M. P. E. Explo«ivo matoiials. Translalcd by 

 JI. lii-njamin. Willi a sliort historical skclch of gunnowilcr, 

 uanslated from liio Oeiman of Karl Braun by Lieut. .1. V. WU. 

 «cr, U.S.A., and a bibliography of works on cxploBivca. New 

 York, Van Noetraiul, 188a. (Van Nostrand'a ac. ser., no. 70.) 

 180 p. 24°. 



Bott^ro, K., and MagistrelU, C II lelefono; con pro- 

 fiizione del I'ictro Bhiserua. Torino, Loesc/ier, 18S3. 82 p. «". 

 Bourguignat, J. H. Apercu aur lea Unlonidao do la pC-nln- 

 BUle llalique. I'aria, 188:). 117 p. 8°. 



Brelow, tJ., andHoyer, E. Lcxikon dcrraechanlHchcn tech- 

 noiogie. Leipzig, 1883. 824 p., illustr. 8°. 



Carrara Zanotti, L. Influenza del clima sulla salute. 

 Trevigliii. Stiibiliinento sociale, 1SS3. 112 p. 16°. 



Coote, W. The Weatern Pacific; being a deecripllon of tho 

 •.'roups of islands to the north-east of Ibe Australian continent. 

 London, 1SS3. 200 p., map, illustr. 8°. 



Dammer, O. Lexikon der cheraiscbcn teclinologie. Leip- 

 zig, 1883. 875 p., illustr. 8°. 



Dragendorff, G. Plant-analysis, qualitative and quanti- 

 tative. Translated bv G. Greenish. London, JiaiUih'et 1883. 

 8°. 



Ermacora, G. B. Sopra un modo d'interpretarc i fenomeni 

 elettrosUitici : eaggio sulla teoria del polenziale. Padova, Dra- 

 ghi, 7.883. 40+468 p. S°. 



Exposition d'elcctricife, Paris. Expirlcncea faites par Al- 

 lard, Le Blanc, Potier, et Tresca. Methodes d'obsevvalion; ma- 

 chines et lampcs iicouiant continu, acourants alternallfs; lampo 

 ^ incandescence; aecumuhUeur; transport electrique du travail; 

 machines diverses. Paris, 1S83. illustr. 12°. 



Franck, L. Kleine vergleicbcnde anatoiiiie der haustbicre. 

 Stuttgart, 1883. 400 p., illustr. 8°. 



Girard, M. Hiatoire naturello; denxiemeannfie. 1. 1. No- 

 tions generales; anatoraie ct pbysiologie ; mammifercs; oiscaiix. 

 Paris," Oetoffratje, 1883. 11+708 p., illustr. 16°. 



Gressent. Eintriiglicher obstbau. Neueanleitung, auf klel- 

 neni raura mit massigen koalen regelmassig vieie und schone 

 friiclite in guten aorten zu erzielcn. Berlin, 1883. illustr. 8°. 



Hartmann, R. Die menschenabnlicben afl'en und ihre or- 

 ganisation im vergleicb zur menscblichen. Leipzig, 1883. 313 

 p., illustr. 8°. 



Huet, L. Nouvelles recbercbes sur les crustac^es IsopodeB. 

 Paris, 1883. 136 p., illustr. 8°. 



Issel, A. Le oscillazioni lente del auolo o bradiaismi. Sag- 

 glo di geologia storica. Geneva, 1883. 422 p., map, Illuatr. 8°. 



Kroman, K. Unscro naturerkenntniss. Beitriige zu einer 

 fbeorie der matbematik und pbysik. Ins deutsche iibersetztvon 

 K. V. Fischer.Benzon. Kopenliagen, 1883. 478 p. 8°. 



Le'wandowski, R. Die eiectro-tecbnib in der praktisclien 

 heilkunde. Wien, 1883. (Elcktro-tecbn. bibl., xviii.) 400 p., 

 illustr. 8°. 



Leydigr, F. Ueber die cinheiniiscbeii scblangen. Zoolo- 

 gisebe und anatomiscbe bemerkungoD. Frankfurt, 1883. 4°. 



McCay, L. W. Beitrag zur kenntniss der kobalt-, nickel-, 

 und eiaenkiese. Inaug. dias. Freiberg, Craz i£- Grrlacli, 1883. 

 46 p. 8°. 



Morwood, V. S. Wonderful animals ; working, domestio, 

 and wild. Their atruclure, habits, homes, and usee ; descriptive, 

 anecdotal, and amusing. London, 1883. 288 p., illustr. S*. 



Nadaillac, Marquis de. L'-Vraerique pr6bistoriquc. Paris, 

 1883. 696 p., illustr. S°. 



Pancic, J. Orthoptera in Serbia liucdum detecta, (Serb, 

 conscr.) Belgrad, 1883. 172 p. 8°. 



Paolis, N. de. Qtieationi arcbeologicbe, storiche, giuridichc, 

 araldiclie, a rifermare la aua ' Dissertazione aullo stemnia di Mar- 

 cianise' (Caserta, 1878) e ribattere le opinion i opposle. 2 vols. 

 Catania, Up. Mobile, 1882. 8°. 



Phipson, E. The animal lore of Shakspeare'a time, includ- 

 ing quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fisb, and insects. London, Paul, 



1883. 492 p. 8°. 



Richter, M. M. Tabellen der koblenstoff-verbiiidungen 

 nncb deren empiriaeher zusammeneelzung geordnet. Berlin, 



1884. 8+617 p. ,8°. ...» 



Robustelli, G. Dalle statisticbe deli' cmigrazione. Itoiiia 

 tip. Forzani, 1883. 100 p. 8°. 



Schneidemiihl, G. Lage der eingeweide bel der Ilnus- 

 saugethiereii nebal anleitung zu exenteration fiir anatomiscbe 

 und patbolog. -anatomiscbe zwecke. Hannover, 18S3. 173 p. 8°. 



Wood, J. G. New Illustrated natural history : with dealgiis 

 by Wolf, Zwecker, Weir, and others. London, 1883. 7(16 p- 

 royal 8°. 



