296 
treated in the text. The titles are conveniently 
arranged, and, on the whole, accurate, although 
the proof-reader might have been more consist- 
ent in spelling and more careful in reading the 
titles of foreign publications. The entire omis- 
sion in the discussion of anatomical characteris- 
tics peculiar to the race as a whole and of the 
characteristics of the inner organs is, of course, 
repeated in the Bibliography. 
The omission of all detailed and tabular mat- 
ter have helped to give the book an attractive 
and popular form, but it has made it impossible 
to substantiate adequately any of the theories 
which the author advocates. It is to be feared 
that this method may mislead the general 
reader to believe that physical anthropology 
has accomplished much more than it actually 
has done, and that it may tend to perpetuate 
opinions which are likely to be materially 
altered by further inquiries. 
FRANZ Boas. 
QUARRY INDUSTRY AND QUARRY GEOLOGY. 
UNDER this title comes to us from the pen of 
Dr. O. Herrman, teacher in the Technological 
Institute at Chemnitz, Saxony, and from the 
press of Borntraeger Brothers, Berlin, an inter- 
esting volume of 428 pages on ‘ technical geol- 
ogy with practical hints for the commercial use 
of stone,’ having special reference to the quarry 
industries of the Kingdom of Saxony. The 
briefest glance over its pages gives rise to the 
wish that we had as thorough a work on the 
building stones of our own country, for, in addi- 
tion to its fullness of information, it possesses 
that rare quality of careful arrangement which 
is so seldom found in books. The work opens 
with a bibliography of the field covered, a list 
of institutions where building materials may be 
tested, with a brief tabulation of the modes of 
testing and a list of the geologic museums and 
larger study collection of rocks in Saxony. 
The scientific discussion opens with a de- 
scription of the rock-making minerals and their 
distribution ; then follows a careful discussion 
of the rocks, their texture, composition and 
geographic distribution; next is discussed the 
physical and chemical properties of the min- 
erals and rocks and the bearing of these upon 
the utility of the latter, and finally are consid- 
SCIENCE. 
[N.S. Vou. X. No. 244. 
ered certain geologic phenomena and their re- 
lation to the utilization of stone. Spaceis then 
given to the discussion of the most important 
uses of the more common stones worked in 
quarries. A,chapter on modes of quarrying 
follows in proper order, concluding with a de- 
scription of the methods for dressing the quar- 
ried stone. 
The second section of the book, which is full of 
geologicand technical detail, is devoted to a dis- 
cussion of the rocks of the Kingdom of Saxony. 
The work closes with an appendix in which 
are discussed Saxon materials for road building 
and pavements, statistics of the quarry indus- 
tries and a very useful tabular statement of the 
scientific and commercial characters of the dif- 
ferent kinds of rock available for constructive 
purposes. 
This work in its systematic arrangement is to 
the technological student what the classic works 
of Rosenbusch are to the petrographer. It must 
be conceded that we owe much to Germany 
for original research on the structure and classi- 
fication of rocks and also for careful and ac- 
curate discussion of the facts determined. In 
our own country, unfortunately, at the present 
time, the knowledge of the architect and en- 
gineer on the subject of building stones is 
somewhat empirical and while accurate, since 
it is based on actual experience, is not fully 
collated and recorded in any one book to which 
one may turn for exhaustive information. It 
is to be earnestly hoped that the example of 
Dr. Herrman’s publication will influence some 
one of our many competent authorities to group 
together and classify for publication all that is 
known about the building stones of North 
America. 
F, J. H. M. 
THE DEPOPULATION OF FRANCE. 
THERE are interesting and important books 
on various subjects and there are also various 
books on interesting and important subjects. 
To the latter class belongs Natalité et Démocratie, 
written by M. Dumont and published at Paris 
by MM. Schleicher. Thestatistics are so badly 
arranged that it is difficult to find definite in- 
formation, while the discussion does not carry 
much weight. But the problem is of extreme 
