July 25, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



OJ 



heat-engine, but he showed the limitations to the efficiency of 

 such an engine, and the directions in which improvement might 

 be looked for. As a result, we have the triple-expansion engines 

 of the ocean greyhounds. 



But all this work was far in advance of the thought of his 

 time, and was destined to remain unappreciated for years after 

 the author's death, which took place Aug. 34, 1832. 



AMONG THE PUBLISHERS. 



A TIMELY article on "A Tornado's Power," by William A. 

 Eddy, in Harper's Weekly for July 26, gives a vivid description of 

 the destructive tornado of July 13, near St. Paul, Minn. The 

 article is accompanied by four illustrations. 



— In an article in the August Lippincott, on "Milk-Legislation,'' 

 R. M. Elfreth presents the European legislative methods for pre- 

 serving the purity of this important article of diet, and suggests 

 to our own legislators certain wise provisions. Charles Morris 

 contributes a sketch of the PhUadelphia Academy of Natural 

 Sciences. 



— Mr. Edward Atkinson is to publish in The Popular Science 

 Monthly for August and September two extended and important 

 articles on the revision of the tariff, under the title " Common 

 Sense applied to the Tariff Question." Like other articles Ln the 

 field of political science which appear in the monthly, these papers 

 will discuss the subject with a refreshing disregard of partisan 

 advantage. In the first of these, which will open the August 

 number, he shows the incompetence of American legislators and 

 government officers in dealing with financial questions, and, with- 

 out taking extreme ground, goes on to point out weighty business 

 considerations which should determine the direction of tarifi' re- 

 form. 



— A dozen articles are included in the Westminster Review for 

 July, issued in this country, by authority of the English publish- 

 ers, by the Leonard Scott Publication Company, New York. A. 

 Amy BuUey writes on " The Political Evolution of Women;" 

 James W. Davis discusses the Sunday opening of public libraries, 

 art- galleries, and museums; William Trant writes on "Prairie 

 Philosophy," presenting a picture of social and daily life in the 

 great Canadian North-west; Professor Andrew Gray writes on 

 " Technical Education in Wales;" R. Seymour Long reviews the 

 civil struggle in England in the seventeenth century, in a paper 

 entitled "The Case for the Commonwealth;" E. F. Hannigan 

 contributes an essay on " Genius and Moral Responsibility ; " Janet 

 E. Runtz Rees relates the experience of a bread-winner in an arti- 

 cle on "Wage Value in America;" G. S. Godkin writes on "Old 

 Italy uerstts Young Italy;" Theal's "History of South Africa," 

 and some of the most important of recent novels, are reviewed ; 

 an anonymous writer discusses the rights of labor; and the usual 

 monthly review of home affairs treats of the latest developments 

 in English political life. 



— Edward Marston, the veteran London publisher, writing in the 

 August Scribner about "How Stanley wrote his Book," gives the 

 following particulars of the materials from which it was made: 

 " Mr. Stanley's memory of names, persons, and events, is quite 

 marvellous, but in the compilation of his book he by no means 

 trusted to his memory. His constant habit was to carry a small 

 note-book, six by three inches, in his side-pocket. In this he 

 pencilled notes constantly and at every resting-place. Of these 

 note- books he has shown me six, of about one hundred pages each, 

 closely packed with pencil memoranda. These notes, at times of 

 longer leisure, were expanded into six larger volumes, of about 

 two hundred pages each, of very minute and clear writing in ink. 

 In addition to these field note-books and diaries, there are two 

 large quarlo volumes, filled from cover to cover with calculations 

 of astronomical observations," etc. He also tells this story of 

 Stanley while at work on his great book: " Sali, the black boy 

 who travelled with him throughout his long and perilous expedi- 

 tion, is a youth of some resource. Until this terrible book had 

 got into his master's brain, he had been accustomed to free access 

 to him at all hours; but now things were different. Every time 

 he approached the den, the least thing he expected was that the 

 ink-stand would be thrown at his head. He no longer ventured 



therein. One day he originated a new way of saving his head: 

 he had a telegram to deliver, so he ingeniously fixed it on the end 

 of a long bamboo, and, getting the door just ajar, he poked it into 

 the room, and bolted." 



— A copiously illustrated account of the missions and mission 

 Indians of California will be contributed to the August Popular 

 Science Monthly by Henry W. Henshaw. He represents the rule 

 of the priests as more conducive to the numerical growth of the 

 Church and the profit of the missions than to the welfare of the 

 Indians. A picture of Ramona and her children standing at the 

 door of her hut is one of the illustrations. Mr. Bernard Hollander 

 of London will contribute to the same number an illustrated paper 

 on " Centres of Ideation in the Brain." It will show how the 

 experiments of modern physiologists support some of the observa- 

 tions of the early phrenologists, though by no means indorsing all 

 that the name " phrenology " implies. There will also be an arti- 

 cle on "Ancient and Modem Ideas of Hell," by Frederik A. 

 Fernald. It will doubtless prove very seasonable just now, when 

 the air is fu!i of the proposed revision of certain Presbyterian 

 doctrines. Other articles are " Thunder-Storms," by Robert H. 

 Scott; "A Queer Pet," by Miss E. W. Bellamy; and "The Uses of 

 Animal Color,'' by Edward B. Poulton. 



— The last two issues of the American Historical Association 

 contain some papers of interest. The January number is partly 

 occupied by the secretary's report and the li't of members, which 

 show the society to be in a flourishing condition, the number of 

 members having increased, since the formation of the society six 

 years ago, from forty to six hundred and twenty. The same 

 number contains a paper by President Adams of Cornell, on "Re- 

 cent Historical Work in the Colleges and Universities of Europe 

 and America," which shows clearly, that, notwithstanding the 

 improvements of the last few years, we are still in the rear of 

 other nations in this department of study. It seems to us, how- 

 ever, that President Adams overrates the usefulness of the Ger- 

 man seminary courses, which are mainly devoted to the mere 

 study of facts ; and that what we need are courses like those at 

 Oxford and Cambridge, in which special attention is given to the 

 formation of a true historical judgment as to the significance of 

 events. The study of historical facts is very simple, as is proved 

 by the ease with which young men learn it; but the formation of 

 a judgment that can properly interpret history requires a far 

 more elaborate culture, and ought, therefore, to be the chief ob- 

 ject of attention. The April number of the association's papers 

 is entirely devoted to a sketch of the origin of the national scien- 

 tific and educational institutions of the United States, written by 

 Dr. G. Brown Goode of the Smithsonian Institution. The author 

 begins with an account of the formation of the American Philo- 

 sophical Society at Philadelphia in 1769 and the American Acad- 

 emy of Arts and Sciences at Boston in 1780, both of which are 

 still in existence. He then recounts the efforts of Washington, 

 Joel Barlow, and others, to found a national university at the 

 national capital, — efforts that have often been renewed since,, 

 though as yet without success. Special attention is given to the 

 organization of the Coast and Geological Surveys, and some ac- 

 count is given of the earliest exploring expeditions. The founda- 

 tion of the Smithsonian Institution is of course described, and , 

 particular attention is devoted to the organization and develop- 

 ment of the weather service. Dr. Goode writes with an enthusi- 

 asm that makes his paper interesting, and we commend it espe- 

 cially to scientific readers. The papers of the association are 

 published quarterly at one dollar each, by G. P. Putnam's Sons^ 

 New York. 



— The American Academy of Political and Social Science was 

 organized last December in Philadelphia, and now gives to the 

 public the first number of its Annals. We wish we could say that 

 the papers contained in it are superior to others on similar sub- 

 jects that have appeared elsewhere; but they have the same super- 

 ficiality that characterizes so much of American thought and 

 scholarship. The best paper in the number is the opening one, by 

 J. G. Bourinot, on " Canada and the United States." The author 

 compares the government of his own country with ours, and, 

 while admitting the superiority of ours on some points, shows. 



