April 3, 1891.] 



SCIENCE. 



193 



to Mount St. Elias, one expedition being that of Lieut. Schwatlja, 

 and the other that of the National Geographic Society and the 

 United States Geological Surve.v. " Fetishism in Congo Land " is 

 liy Mr. E. J. Glave, one of Stanley's pioneer oiBcers In Topics 

 of the Time the following subjects are discussed: cheap money, 

 the effect of Christian science and mind-cure on the regular prac- 

 tice, and country roads. There will be found in Open Letters a 

 little article by L. Clarke Davis of the Philadelphia Ledger on 

 Willard, the new English actor; and a popular review of recent 

 ■experiments and discoveries of Pasteur, Koch, and others, written 

 by Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi of New York. 



— P. Blakiston, Son, & Co., the medical publishers of Philadel- 

 phia, announce for early publication "A Handbook of Local 

 Therapeutics," being a practical description of all those agents 

 used in the local treatment of disease, such as ointments, plasters, 

 powders, lotions, inhalations, suppositories, bougies, tampons, 

 etc., and the proper methods of preparing and applying them. 

 That the various uses of each remedy may be thoroughly set forth, 

 the following gentlemen have assumed the authorship: Harrison 

 Allen, M.D., emeritus professor of physiology in the University of 

 Pennsylvania, laryngologist to the Rush Hospital for Consump- 

 tion, late surgeon to the Philadelphia and St. Joseph's Hospitals; 

 George C. Harlan, M.D., late professor of diseases of the eye 

 in the Philadelphia Polyclinic and College for Graduates in Medi- 

 cine, surgeon to the Wills Eye Hospital, and Eye and Ear Depart- 

 ment of the Pennsylvania Hospital; Charles B. Penrose, M.D., 

 surgeon to the German Hospital, instructor in clinical surgery, 

 University of Pennsylvania; and Arthur van Harlingen, M.D. , 

 professor of diseases of the skin in the Philadelphia Polyclinic and 

 College for Graduates in Medicine, late clinical lecturer on der- 

 matology in Jefferson Medical College, dermatologist to the How- 

 ard Hospital. Each remedy will be taken up- in alphabetical 

 order, and, after a description of their pharmaceutical properties 

 by Dr. George I. McKelway, will be considered with refei'ence to 

 the local treatment of the affections above outlined. 



— In the April Magazine of American History the frontispiece 

 is a copy of the painting of " Columbus at the Court of Ferdinand 

 and Isabella." The leading article, " The Chesapeake and Lieut. 

 Liidlow," by Robert Ludlow Fowler, brings to light some unpub- 

 lished letters about the naval engagements of the war of 1812. A 

 short sketch of the first meeting of Admiral Porter and Gen. 

 Sherman, as described by the admiral, will attract many. The essay 

 of Hon. William Wirt Henry, "'A Defence of Capt. John Smith," 

 takes the reader into the beginnings of Virginia Life. "A Bundle 

 of Suggestive Relics," by Hon. Horatio King, presents a curious 

 exhibit of partisanship in the olden time. " The Power to grant 

 Patents for Inventions," by Levin H. Campbell, gives the pro- 

 ceedings of the framers of the Constitution in 1787, in that line. 

 " President Lincoln and his English Visitors," is a paper contain- 

 ing some readable anecdotes. '■ The Fate of a Pennsylvania 

 Coquette." penned more than half a century ago by Mrs. E. F. 

 EUet; "Two Immortal Letters" of Grant and Sherman, and a 

 " Love-Letter of Alexander Hamilton, written to Elizabeth Schuy- 

 ler a few Weeks before their Marriage," in 1780; and an inform- 

 ing contribution on " Archseology in Missouri," — close the num- 

 ber. 



— Messrs. P. Blakiston, Son, & Co. have issued a second edition 

 of Leffmann & Beam's " Examination of Water for Sanitary and 

 Technical Purposes." Since the publication of the first edition, 

 many processes for water-analysis have been proposed, and these 

 have been included in the present revision, so far as they seemed 

 to be of substantial value. The authors particularly mention 

 among these new methods those recommended by the chemical 

 section of the American Association, and the application of the 

 Kjeldahl process to the determination of organic nitrogen. The 

 section on biological examinations has been considerably ex- 

 tended; and the authors believe that while it would be impossible 

 to overestimate the importance of bacteriology in certain depart- 

 ments of science, yet that until pathogenic microbes are more 

 nearly indicated and described the methods will be of little use in 

 dealing with the problem of the determination of the sanitary 

 and technical value of water-supplies. A chapter is devoted to 



the purification of water, in which are described in some detail 

 the more important systems. 



— The Ocean Steamshii) Series begins in the April number of 

 Scribn&r's Magazine. The following articles have been arranged 

 for. all to be fully illustrated: "Ocean Passenger Travel," by John 

 H. Gould ; " The Shiji's Company,'" by Lieut. J. D. Jerrold Kelly, 

 U.S.N. ; "Safety at Sea," by W. H. Rideing; "Speed in Ocean 

 Steamships," by A. E. Seaton ; and "Ocean Steamship Lines of ' 

 the World." 



— Messrs. Longmans, Green, & Co. have issued Hjelt's "Prin- 

 ciples of General Organic Chemistry," translated by J. Bishop 

 Tingle. This book is intended for students who have some gen- 

 eral knowledge of organic chemistry, and who wish to extend 

 and systematize that knowledge. Part I. is devoted to the com- 

 position, constitution, and classification of organic compounds; 

 Part II., to illustrating the connection between the constitution of 

 such compounds and their chief physical properties; and Part III. 

 deals with the chemical behavior of organic compounds. The 

 book is intended as a supplement to, rather than as a substitute 

 for, ordinary text-books. 



— A book that will be useful in the laboratory of many scientific 

 men has recently been published by Norman W. Henley, New York, 

 entitled " Rubber Hand Stamps and the Manipulation of Rubber." 

 The author is T. O'Conor Sloane, Ph.D. The object of the book 

 is to present in simple form the methods of manipulation of India- 

 rubber. To mould and cure the mixed gum, but few appliances 

 are needed, and these can be made at home. For some reason 

 the methods of moulding the material are not generally known; 

 and while the futility of attempting to melt and cast it has been 

 taught many by sad experience, yet India-rubber is the most 

 plastic of materials when properly treated. 



— A cable despatch to the Publishers' Weekly, dated Paris, 

 March 24, says, " M. Aulard, professor of history at the Sorboime, 

 impeaches the authenticity of the 'Talleyrand Memoirs.' He 

 argues, that, from internal evidence, parts of the papers have been 

 suppressed, and that the gaps have been clumsily concealed. He 

 suggests that the work was done by Bacourt to screen the reputa- 

 tion of Talleyrand or of royal personages, as the published version 

 of the memoirs does not account for the prohibition of their publi- 

 cation for so many years. The Due de Broglie gives an evasive 

 reply to M. Aulard's challenge to produce the original manu- 

 script." 



— Professor Knoflach publishes through G. E. Steohert his 

 ' ' Sound- English Primer," in which he applies the methods of his 

 former book, "Sound-English: The Language of the World," 

 although he has much simplified his system of types and turned 

 letters, and now uses only the accepted English lettering. The 

 little stories of which the primer consists are first printed in 

 phonetic spelling, and are then given in regular spelling, that the 

 child may learn to reason and understand the different combina- 

 tions of sound made by the different combinations of letters. The 

 author thinks children will learn to read by this new method in 

 less than half the time now required. 



— "How to meet Hereditary Physical Traits in Children" is 

 the subject of a series of brief papers begun in Babyhood for April. 

 Other articles in this number are " Tulierculous Joint Diseases in 

 Children," and " Objects and Methods of the Bath." Minor topics 

 are, " Disturbed Sleep." "Early Singing." " Quality of the Teeth," 

 " Hives," etc. 



— One of the most recent of the Elementary Science Manuals, 

 published by Longmans, Green, & Co., is " Practical, Plane and 

 Solid Geometry," by I. H. Morris. Among the special features of 

 the work, the following may be mentioned. The subject is so 

 arranged that, as far as possible, similar problems are grouped to- 

 gether; the diagrams face the text relating to them; a very large 

 number of examples are fully worked out; the notes are numer- 

 ous; and there are an abundance of exercises appended. These 

 exercises, which are carefully selected, are nicely graduated ; and 

 hints for solution, and references to the problems upon which they 

 depend, are given. The concluding chapter of the book is de- 

 voted to graphic arithmetic. 



