136 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVIII. No. 448 



ing. While it is intended as a text-book on the physical diagnosis 

 of diseases of the heart and lungs, the author has confessedly 

 given prominence in this book to some questions which especially 

 interested him. The author's modification of the Cammann stetho- 

 scope and the binaural hydrophone are carefully described. The 

 averages of the measurements of the heart by auscultatory per- 

 cussion are from tables made by the author's father, the late Dr. 

 G. P. Cammann, and have heretofore been published only in part. 



— D. Appleton & Co. will publish shortly a revised edition of 

 Professor Joseph Le Conte's "Evolution and Its Relation to Re- 

 ligious Thought." First issued about three years ago, this work 

 has already had four editions, and has proved to be one of the 

 most satisfactory of the many discussions tending to establish the 

 consistency of fundamental religious beliefs with the known laws 

 of development. Three new chapters are incorporated, one of them 

 relating to matters upon which the author states his mind was 

 not fully clear when the book was first written, and he has been 

 " willing to wait and let the leaven work." 



— " First Lessons in Arithmetic," of Appletons' Standard Arith- 

 metics, by Andrew J. Rickoff, A.M., LL.D., has just been issued 

 by the American Book Company. In the first steps all the exer- 

 cises and problems given involve numbers not greater than ten, a 

 modification of the Grube method being employed. Illustrations 

 and diagrams are introduced with a view of making the first 

 steps concrete with every number studied. Part II. deals with 

 units and tens, and here the method, so far as applicable, is the 

 same as that pursued with the digits ; and so on. In all parts of 

 the book a proper balance is maintained between two much ex- 

 planation and too little. A large number and variety of exercises 

 and appropriate problems are provided, and needed explanations 

 and illustrations are given. 



— Sevei-al new leaflets have just been added to the general 

 series of "Old South Leaflets," issued by the directors of the Old 

 South studies in history, and furnished by D. C. Heath & Co., 

 Boston. All of them are connected with the English Puritan pe- 

 riod, and are of value in the study of the development of our own 

 political liberty and of our political system. They include the 

 "Petition of Right," presented by Parliament to King Charles in 

 16i8; the " Gi^and Remonstrance;" the "Solemn League and 

 Covenant," which gave the name of "Covenanters" to the Scot- 

 tish Protestants; the "Agreement of the People;" the "Instru- 

 ment of Government," under which Cromwell began his govern- 

 ment; and " Cromwell's First Speech to his Parliament." These 

 •" Old South Leaflets," furnishing these famous original docu- 

 ments, heretofore almost inaccessible to the mass of the people, 

 for the few cents covei-ing their cost, are invaluable. There are 

 now neai'ly thirty in this general series. 



— "The Modern Antipyretics: their Action in Health and Dis- 

 ease," by Isaac Ott, M.D., has recently been published by E. D. 

 "Vogel, Easton, Pa. The process of fever is more studied of late 

 than ever, and the number of antipyretics has been considerably 

 increased. The maintenance of a constant temperature in the 

 human body is due to the rate of loss of heat being equal to that 

 at which it is generated. The ordinary theory is that in the case 

 of fevers the rate of generation of heat is increased. While this 

 is primarily true, i.e., the fever state is set up by an increase of 

 the rate of heat generation, it is now maintained by a respectable 

 minority that fever is not due to a fire which is kept up by an 

 unduly rapid oxidation of the constituents of the body, but that 

 the increase in temperature is due to a disturbed condition of the 

 means of the dissipation at the surface of the body of the heat 

 generated within. Dr. Ott attacks the two free use of most anti- 

 pyretics, and recommends the application of such means as will 

 allow the internal heat to escape, as it were. 



— Messrs. Macmillan & Co. have commenced the publication of 

 a " Dictionary of Political Economy," which bids fair to be a 

 work of real importance. The first part, containing 138 pages, 

 extends as far as the word "bede," the volume being an octavo 

 with two columns on a page. The editor is Mr. R. H. Inglis Pal- 

 grave, and the writers in this first part comprise a large number 

 of the best qualiBed men in England and Scotland, with several 



in America and continental Europe. The articles are intended to 

 cover not only every important topic in economic science, but also 

 many legal and political subjects which it is necessary for econo- 

 mists to know about. Brief biographies of economic writers are 

 given, with some notice even of men like Aquinas, who have 

 treated economics only incidentally. The topic accorded most 

 space in this part is banking; but almost every subject having an 

 economic bearing is dealt with at greater or less length. Judging 

 by this number alone, we should say that the theoretical topics 

 were in danger of being insufHciently treated ; but this may be 

 remedied in future numbers. The work is to be completed in 

 twelve or fourteen parts,, issued at intervals of about three months, 

 at one dollar each. 



— Messrs. S. C. Griggs & Co. announce for early publication 

 " A Study of Greek Philosophy," by Ellen M. Mitchell, with an 

 introduction by W. R. Alger. The author endeavors to explain 

 what is meant by philosophy, discussing the character and source 

 of the Greek philosophy, showing whence came the beginnings of 

 Greek religion and culture. The earlier schools of thought, in- 

 cluding the Pythagorean, the Eleatic, the Atomistic, and others 

 leading up to the school of the Sophists, receive critical treacHient, 

 short biographical sketches of their principal exponents being 

 given. The chapters on Socrates and the Socratic philosophy are 

 unusually full, the life, character, and fate of the great philosopher 

 being told ; and Platonic and Aristotelean philosophies are ex- 

 plained. 



— Messrs. William Blackwood & Sons have published a pam- 

 phlet by Professor James Seth on "Freedom as Ethical Postulate," 

 which may interest some of our metaphysical readers. The writer 

 by no means agrees with thinkers like Professor Paulsen that the 

 question of free will belongs to the region of metaphysical an- 

 tiquities: on the contrary, he holds that its solution is necessary 

 to the establishment of a true moral philosophy. He rejects the 

 theory of determinism, and also that of Kant, with its distinction of 

 noumenon and phenomenon, though he agrees with Kant in think- 

 ing that our moral consciousness gives us immediate evidence of 

 freedom. The question, then, isho w to reconcile this consciousness 

 of freedom and responsibility with the law of causation; but in 

 attempting this task we cannot think that Professor Seth is much 

 more successful than other thinkers who had preceded him. His 

 essay, however, contains some useful hints, and sets forth the 

 present state of the problem very clearly in a small space. 



— The Century Magazine will celebrate the 400th anniversai-y 

 of the discovery of America by publishing a " Life of Columbus " 

 written especially for that magazine by Emilio Castelar, the Span- 

 ish orator, statesman, and author. The work is written in Spanish, 

 and will be carefully translated. Senor Castelar, whose interest 

 in and admiration for America are well known, has made a care- 

 ful study of the new historical material bearing upon the subject, 

 and it is ."aid that his papers will be very richly illustrated. Other 

 articles dealing with the discovery of America are in course 

 of preparation for the magazine. In view of the present time- 

 liness of the subject, the same magazine has arranged to print 

 during the coming year an important series of articles on the gen- 

 eral subject of agriculture and the Government's relation to the 

 farmer. Among the topics to be treated are "Agricultural Possi- 

 bilities of the United States," " The Farmer's Discontent," " What 

 the Government is doing for the Farmer," etc. Mr. J. R. Dodge, 

 statistician of the Agricultural Department, Mr. A. W. Harris, of 

 the same department. Professor Brewer of Yale, and others, are 

 among the writers. 



— "Optical Projection," by Lewis Wright, was recently pub- 

 lished by Longmans, Green, & Co., New York. The author is 

 well known by his excellent treatise on "Light." When a boy 

 Mr. Wright was presented with a projecting lantern of considera- 

 ble pretensions, a circumstance which resulted in optical projec- 

 tion being a hobby with him for most of the time since. Slides 

 were formerly all that could be used, but as time went on our 

 author found pleasure in projecting on the screen the progress of 

 actual experiments. The beautiful phenomena of polarized light 

 also interested him, and the making of them more spectacularly 

 imposing had due attention. The author was intimately asso- 



