296 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XII. No. 306 



present them with logomachies which they resent. . . . Many of 

 the problems which vex society have an historical origin, sometimes 

 a present cause, though more rarely. Now, I have made it my 

 business in these lectures ... to examine into and expound the 

 history of social facts." Professor Rogers does not fail to express 

 himself as to the folly and shortsightedness of purely speculative 

 economics. Passages where his opinion concerning such treat- 

 ment of his science is freely made known abound in these pages. 

 One of the cleverest and most timely is this : " Perhaps the most 

 remarkable Nemesis which has come on the speculative economist 

 is that the definition of Population by Malthus, and the definition 

 of Rent by Ricardo, have been made the keystone to iVIr. Henry 

 George's theory, under which he demands the confiscation of Rent 

 in the interests of Population." 



The close connection between the rise and power of the great 

 cities of Germany and Italy, and the development of transconti- 

 nental commerce, we all know about. We are not so clear, how- 

 ever, about the historical causes of early English labor legislation, 

 of the rise of the various forms of tenancy, and of ship-money ; or 

 about the economic effects of the guilds, the apprentice system. 



French Painting.' The book is compact with biographical and 

 other statistical details, and has an account of the fostering of art 

 by the State, which in France has always played so large a part in 

 sesthetic development. An account is given of the French Acad- 

 emy of Painting, with its salons, schools of instruction, etc. ; and 

 not only the masterpieces of French painting, but all works of 

 either individual interest or historical importance, are critically de- 

 scribed, and 'their location in public and private galleries is pointed 

 out. It is useful'as a book of reference and for general reading. 

 The paintings which have been reproduced include Meissonier, 

 Millet, Troyon, Bouguereau, VVatteau, Gerome, David, Poussin, 

 Daubigny, Bastien-Lepage, etc. 



— The Popular Science Monthly for last July cont'ained an arti- 

 cle on house-drainage, which excited much interest and criticism. 

 This vital subject will be further treated from various points of 

 view in the January Monthly, in an illustrated article by Dr. John 

 S. Billings, U.S.A., who is an acknowledged authority on sanitary 

 science. Among other articles, we note ' The Guiding-Needle on 

 an Iron Ship,' by Lieut. -Commander T. A. Lyons ; and ' Science 



FroJn ' A History of French Painting.^ TH 



and the income-tax. On all of these subjects Professor Rogers 

 writes clearly and learnedly. 



The valuable chapter on the origin and history of laissez faire 

 is, in our judgment, one of the very best in the book. We should 

 go a step beyond Professor Rogers in criticising that principle and 

 pointing out its inherent fallacies ; but his very conservatism on 

 this subject, and the measured force of his words, will carry greater 

 weight with his /«zi'j-(?^-/(2z'rt' countrymen than would an analysis of 

 a more radical and far-reaching character. We lay the book down 

 with the feeling that in reading it we have obtained a clearer in- 

 sight both into the economic facts of the past and into the economic 

 science of the future. 



AMONG THE PUBLISHERS. 



Modern art has been so largely and so directly influenced by 

 the French schools of painting, that a new work which analyzes 

 and traces to its source this influence will be sure of a hearty wel- 

 come. The comprehensiveness of Mrs. Stranahan's ' A History of 

 French Painting ' (New York, Scribner) is its distinctive feature. 

 More than any other national art except Italian, and more than any 

 other modern art whatever, the course of French painting has been 

 an evolution. Each school has clearly arisen out of national aes- 

 thetic conditions, and each one has legitimately developed its suc- 

 cessor. No work, of the same general kind even, so distinctly 

 presents this scientific historical interest as does this ' History of 



THREE MUSES. Ckarlcs Scribner' s Sons. 



and its Accusers,' by W. D. Le Sueur. In the same number Mr. 

 E. R. Shaw will tell how he made geometry a pleasure to his pu- 

 pils, using the ' Inventional Geometry ' prepared by Herbert Spen- 

 cer's father. 



— The November number of the American Meteorological 

 Journal, Ann Arbor, Mich., contains articles on ' The Influence of 

 Forests upon the Rainfall and the Flow of Streams,' by Prof. 

 George F. Swain, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 

 on ' Tornadoes,' by Dr. Gustavus Hinrichs, director of the Iowa 

 Weather Service ; and on ' Diurnal Cloud and Wind Periods, at 

 Blue Hill Observatory during 1887,' by H. H. Clayton ; etc. 



— A. B. Ward, the author of ' Hospital Life,' in a recent issue of 

 Scribner s, will contribute to the January number ' The Invalid's 

 World,' which includes the doctor, nurse, and visitor. It is now 

 known that 'A.B. Ward ' is the pen-name of a woman. Dr. George 

 P. Fisher of Yale will wrhe regarding the amenities which should 

 be observed in all respectable controversies, but which are generally 

 violated. In General Alexander's article on ' Railway Manage- 

 ment,' the mystery of making time-tables will be explained. Ex- 

 Postmaster-General Thomas L. James will contribute an article on 

 ' The Railway Postal Service,' and W. C. Brownell's group of essays 

 on ' French Traits ' will be continued. The Right Rev. Henry C. 

 Potter, bishop of New York, will contribute the final paper to 

 Scribner s Magazine for February. It is in the series by eminent 

 men, which replaces Mr. Stevenson's monthly essays. 



