124 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVI. No. 395 



general biology that we can seek the solution of the problems of 

 reproduction, heredity, sex, growth, variation, death, the evolu- 

 tion of species, and the general economy of nature. All of this 

 phenomena are common alike to the vegetable and the animal 

 ■world, and for their thorough study it is necessary that the inves- 

 tigator should be strictly a general biologist and not merely a bot- 

 anist or zoologist. These investigations are necessarily expensive 

 in character, since they require that the animals and plants ex- 

 perimented upon 1)6 kept under specific conditions for long peri- 

 ods of time; but, it is to be believed that the results which may 

 he obtained will amply justify both the labor and the expense. 

 The speaker expressed the hope that some persons who felt gener- 

 ously inclined to aid in scientific work might give support for this 

 line of work, and iu concluding expressed the more general hope 

 that those persons of wealth who wish to contribute to science 

 may feel more and more inclined to endow research, for much 

 can be accomplished in this way than in any other for the ad- 

 vancement of science. 



Wherever we turn we see scientific work of the highest quality 

 delayed and even stopped for the lack of means. Every one who 

 can rescue these opportunities from being lost, even in part, will de- 

 serve well of mankind and the acknowledgments of the association. 



AMONG THE PUBLISHEES. 



— California topics occupy considerable space in the September 

 'Century. A paper of interest, practically illustrated, is Comman- 

 der C. F. Goodrich's description of "Our New Naval Guns," de- 

 tailing the process of manufacture and recounting their remarka- 

 ble efficiency. 



— Thomas Stevens (who went to meet Stanley when the latter 

 "was coming from the interior of Africa) speaks of his article on 

 " African River and Lake Systems" in the September Scribner's, 

 as suggested by several interesting discussions of the subject while 



he was in Zanzibar and Cairo — notably one with Mason Bey, one 

 of the beat authorities on African affairs, who with Prout (a name 

 familiar to readers of the magazine) explored the White Nile in 

 1877. Much of the information which he gained from Mason 

 Bey appears in Mr. Stevens's article. Professor Shaler of Har- 

 vard, in his article on " Nature and Man in America," in the same 

 number says: " It seems to me that it is rather to the physical 

 conditions of North America than to any primal incapacity on the 

 part of its indigenous peoples to take on civilization, that we must 

 attribute the failure of indigenous man within its limits to ad- 

 vance beyond the lowest grades of barbarism. The Indian shows 

 us in many ways that he is an able person. We may judge any folk 

 by their greater men, and there can be no doubt that the ablest of 

 our American savages rank high in the intellectual scale. It is, 

 it seems to me, to the ceaseless disturbances of nascent civilization 

 that we owe the failure of this folk to attain to a higher grade." 

 Apropos of railway strikes, James S. Norton, a prominent Western 

 lawyer, says, in the same issue, " If a corporation is held to strict 

 performance of its duty as a public servant, should not its agents, 

 who live upon its business, be held to some account — at least for 

 combinations made to obstruct a public service as a means to sat- 

 isfy the personal grudge of a few individuals?" 



— The September number of The Forum will contain a political 

 essay on "Money Interests in Political Affairs," by E. L. Godkin, 

 editor of the New York Evening Post, in which Mr. Godkin traces 

 to the growth of protection the enormous and alarming increase of 

 the influence of money in politics, which he regards as the most im- 

 portant political fact of our time. In the same number Senator 

 John T. Morgan of Alabama replies to Senator Chandler's recent 

 article on " The Federal Control of Elections." Other articles in 

 this number will be " The Training of Teachers," by President G. 

 Stanley Hall of Clark University; " The Christianity of the Future." 

 by Professor John S. Blackie of Edinburgh; "The Latest Astro- 

 nomical News," by Professor Charles A. Young of Princeton; 



Publications received at Editor's Offic 

 Aug. 11—23. 



Ballou, W. R. 

 Physiology 

 12°. SI. 



Breweb, W. H. 

 Philadelphi; 

 Chittenden, E. 



Warren's New Physical Geography. 

 ,j;)owperthwait. 144 p. f°. 



The Pleroma. A Poem of the 

 Christ. New York, Putnam. 34" p 8°. S2.50. 



Day, D. T. Mineral Resources of the United States, 

 1888. Washington, Government. 653 p. 8°. 50 

 cents. 



Dental Mirror. Vol. I. No. I. m. New York, 

 Dental Publ. Co. 16 p. f. ?1. 



Dragon Flies vs. Mosquitoes. Can the Mosquito 

 Pest be Mitigated? (The Lamborn Essays, by 

 Working Entomologists.) New York, Appleton. 

 203 p. 8°. 81.50. 



Litchfield, Mary E. The Nine Worlds: Stories 

 from Morse Mythology. Boston, Ginn. 163 p. 

 12°. 



Marcon, J. B. Bibliography of North American 

 Paleontology in the year 1886. Washington, 

 Smithsonian Institution. 57 p. 8°. 



PouLTON, E. B. The Colours of Animals, Their 

 Meaning and tJse, Especially Considered in the 

 Case of Insects. New York, Appleton. 360 p. 

 12°. $1.75. 



ScHOFiELD. A. Health at Home Tracts, 1-12. Lon- 

 don, Bel. Tract Soc; New York, Revell. 192 p. 

 12°. 60 cents. 



Smith, E. F. Electro-Chemical Analysis. Philadel- 

 phia, Blakiston. 116 p. 12°. gl. 



Uniformed Rank Argus. (Published in the inter- 

 ests of the Uniformed Rank, Knights of Honor.) 

 Vol. 1. No. 1. m. New Orleans, C. H. Ludwig. 

 4 p. f . 50 cents. 



"Walker, F. Practical Dynamo-Building for Ama- 

 teurs. (Science Series.) New York, Van Nos- 

 trand. 104 p. 16°. 50 cents. 



Old and Rare Books. 



Back iiumbera Atlantic, Cenlury, Harper, 

 and Scribner, 10 cents per copy, other maga- 

 zines equally low. Send for a catalogue. 



A. S. CLARK, 



Bookseller, 

 34 Park Rov7, New York City. 



JACK NUMBERS and complete sets of leading Mag- 

 ) azines. Rates low. AM. MAG. EXCHANGE. 

 Schoharie, N.Y. 



PRACTICAL 



ELECTRICAL NOTES 



AND DEFINITIONS. 



For the use of engineering students and practical 

 men by W. P. Matcock, together with Rules and 

 Regulations to be observed in Electrical Installation 

 Work, with diagrams. 130 pages, 32mo, cloth, 60 cts. 

 E. & F. N. SPON, 12 Cortlandt St., New York. 



HANDBOOK OF METEOROLOGICAL TABLES. 



By Asst. Prof. H. A. Hazen. 

 127 pp. 8°. 



A collection of all the tables needed by a 

 working meteorologist. Several of these 

 tables have never been printed before. 



Professor Waldo says : "I heartily recom- 

 mend them to all workers in meteorology, 

 and do not see how any of our American 

 meteorologists can afford to be without a 

 copy." 



Professor Symons of London says : ' ' They 

 are unquestionably valuable helps, which 

 must be kept handy, and replaced when 

 worn out." 



BEFORE 



BEGINNING 



SCHOOL 



ADDRESS THE 



J: 



PUBLISHERS OF 



Price, postpaid $1. 



N. D. C. HODGES, 



47 Lafayette Place, New York. 



SCHOOL TEXT-BOOKS, 



For its Catalogue, lutroductory 

 Price List and Terms for Introduc- 

 tion. 



The various books upon the list of the 

 Company represent the best established usage 

 in all departments of instruction, and the 

 most progressive of modern methods. The 

 general Price List of the American Book 

 Company will be mailed on request to any 

 school officer or teacher. Any book upon 

 this list will be sent by mail or express to 

 any part of the United States, without extra 

 charge for transportation, upon receipt of 

 the published price. 



AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY, 



NEW YORKr 

 806 and 808 Broadway. 

 CINCINNATI: CHICAGO: 



137 ^Valnut Street. 258 & 260 Wabash Avenue. 



HEAVEXAIVDHEI^L,. 416 p., paper. 

 DITIKE EOVE AlVD WISDOM. 



383 p., paper. By Emanuel Swedenborg. 

 Mailed, prepaid, for 14 cents each (or 35 

 cents for both) , by the American Swedenborg 

 P.andP.Society,30CooperUnion,N.Y. City. 



BOOKS: How to get tbem. If there is any 

 book or pamphlet that you want, write to the Science 

 Book Agency, 47 Lafayette Place, New York. 



