I30 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XV. No. 3G8 



deserved monopoly that prevailed some years ago in map-engi-a.v- 

 ing can no longer be so described. The map is a handsome piece 

 of work, and will serve as an excellent basis for scientific work 

 about Boston and Cambridge. It can be obtained of W. B. 

 Clark & Co., Washington Street, Boston, sales-agents for the 

 Appalachian publications. 



— James J. Chapman, Washington, will publish March 2.5 the 

 second volume of Gen. V. Derrecagaix's work on ' -Modern War, ' ' 

 ti-anslated by Lieut C. W. Foster, U.S.A. This volume will 

 treat of the grand tactics, illustrating tactics of the march, 

 manoeuvi-e marches, combats, battles (important modern com- 

 bats and battles given in illustration) , pursuits, and retreats. 



— Little, Brown, & Co. have in preparation "Myths andFolk- 

 Lore, " by Jeremiah Curtin; the fifth and final volume of Pal- 

 frey's "History of New England," from the author's manuscript 

 by his son, with full index to the complete work ; ' 'The Way 

 Out of Agnosticism, or. The Philosophy of Free Religion," by 

 Frances Ellingwood Abbot, author of "Scientific Theism;" and 

 ' 'The Influence of Sea Power in History, ' ' by Capt A. T. Mahan, 

 U.S.N , an important historical work, showing the gi-eat power 

 and influence developed by naval forces. 



— Professor John Henry Comstock begins in the New York 

 Ledger of March 1 a series of six articles on the study of insects, 

 in which he describes not only those insects which are useful to 

 the farmer, but also those which destroy entire fields of grain, 

 cotton, and rice, and ravage orchards, gardens, and vineyards. 

 He demonstrates how it was scientifically determined that an 

 average annual loss of |30,C00,000 has been occasioned in the 

 South by the cotton-worm alone; and that an average loss per 

 year of nearly $2,400,000 has-been brought about in the apple- 

 crop of Illinois by the ravages of the codling-moth. The series is 

 illustrated. 



— "American Whist Illustrated," by '^G. W. P.,'' has just been 

 published by Hougliton. Mifflin, & Co. It is needless to say that 

 this is a book for whist-lovers. The dedication to "The players of 

 whist who study the game'' seems to hint that no scoffers need 

 expect even a nod of recognition if they were to be so bold as to 

 intrude themselves upon the sacred band of whist lovers who will 

 doubtless peruse the pages of "American Whist Illustrated." That 

 many will read is sure from the fact that many have carried away 

 and read the dozen and more editions of "American Whist" and 

 "Whist Universal," from a union of which the present volume is 

 the result. 



— Lippincott's series of schoolreadersare likely to attract atten- 

 tion. "The Third Reading-Book," by Ehen H. Davis, has just 

 been issued. The book introduces its users to the writings of the 

 most popular authors of juvenile literature, many of the leading 

 publishers having granted the use of copyright matter. The 

 well-drawn pictures for language exercises are a novel feature. 



— E. & F. N. Spon have issued an "Engineers' Diary and 

 Reference Book, for Engineers, Machinists, Contractors, and 

 Users of Steam." It is a neatly bound volume of 150 quarto 

 pages, alternate leaves being left blank and ruled for wi-iting. 

 Among its contents are many reference-tables of weights, meas- 

 ures, money, and wages; coal and iron trade statistics; recent 

 legal decisions interesting to engineers ; an index of recent tech- 

 nical literature ; recent papers presented to Parliament relating 

 to canals and railways, mining, explosives and fires, shipping, 

 sanitation, etc. ; reports of the Board of Trade and mercantile 

 marine ; and a list of engineering and allied societies. Though 

 the book is jwepared with special reference to the needs of en- 

 gineers in Great Britain, it contains mvich that will interest 

 those on this side of the water. 



— In Babyhood for February is described a recently discovered 

 means of relieving whooping-cough, which is purely mechanical, 

 and seems woi-thy of trial by mothers and intelligent attend- 

 ants. Another medical article which will interest parents is 

 that on "A Diet Disease," by Dr. James H Young, in which 

 the results of the injudicious feeding of infants are brought out. 

 Color-blindness, and the means of detecting and treating the de- 

 fect, form the subject of an article by Dr. C. H. May. 



— Messrs. E. & F. N. Spon announce a second edition, revised., 

 of ''Naturalistic PhotogTaphy," for students of the art, by P. 

 H. Emerson; "Mechanical Graphics," a second course in me- 

 chanical drawing, with preface by Professor Perry, arranged 

 for use in teclmical, and science and art schools, and colleges, by 

 George Halliday; and a second edition of "Aid Book to En- 

 gineering Enterprise," by Ewing Matheson. 



— The following are the contents of No. 6 of the fourth volume 

 of ' 'Studies from the Biological Laboratory, ' ' issued by the 

 Johns Hoi^kins University, Baltimore: "On the Morphology of 

 the Compound Eyes of Arthi-opods, " by S. Watase ; ' 'On the 

 Anatomy and Histology of Cymbuliopsis Calceola," by J. I. 

 Peck; "On the Amphibian Blastopore, " by T. H. Morgan; and 

 "On a New Actinia, Hoplophoria Coralligens, " by Henry V. 

 Wilson. 



— Messrs. D. Appleton & Co. have just issued a book entitled 

 "Exercises in Wood- Working, with a Short Treatise on Wood," 

 by Ivin Sickels. These exercises were prepared originally for 

 students of the College of the City of New York, as long ago as 

 1883. From time to time they were modified as the author 

 gained in exiierience, and now they are ijublished, that those 

 who are interested in manual training may have the benefit of 

 this coui-se that for five years has proved itself satisfactory. But 

 it is not to be supposed that this is solely a treatise on the han- 

 dling of wood-working tools : the structure of wood is described, 

 and a very large amount of space is given to the methods of 

 seasoning wood, to the age of trees and their decay, to the 

 measure and value of wood, and to the diseases and insect 

 enemies of wood. 



— Three volumes in the Romance of Science Series have recently 

 been published by the Society for promoting Christian Knowl- 

 edge, whose agents in New York are Messrs. E. & J. B. Young 

 & Co. The smallest of these is "The Story of a Tinder-Box, " 

 by Charles Meymott Tidy. Mr. Tidy originally told this story in 

 a course of tlu-ee lectures to young people at the London Institu- 

 tion during the Christmas holidays of 1888-89. They are pro- 

 fusely illustrated by experiments that are sure to be suggestive 

 to teachers in this country. ' 'Time and Tide' ' is the title given 

 by Sir Robert S. Hall to his number of the series, which contains 

 the substance of two lectures before the London Institution. That 

 this is a subject extremely difficult to handle without mathe- 

 matics, goes without saying ; but it can be said that the illus- 

 trious author acquits himself with due honor. The jDeople of 

 not so many years ago believed that our moon was a new crea- 

 tion each month ; but, while this extreme view can no longer 

 be held, there are many happenings to our moon that will in 

 time relieve it from an everlasting service upon the earth. Of these 

 happenings the author tells, and he likewise tells of the interest- 

 ing discoveries that have been made of the doings of the satellites 

 of other planets. ' 'The Diseases of Plants, " by H Marshall 

 Ward, the third of the number to which we refei'red, is not on 

 so popular a subject as the other two, and naturally refers espe- 

 cially to conditions as they are in England. But, since plant- 

 diseases are only too glad to migrate, it may well be that the in- 

 struction of this book may not be profitless here. 



— Cassell & Co. will publish shortly ' ' Star Land, ' ' a series of 

 talks on astronomy with young people, by Robert S. Ball. 



— Sir William Thomson of Glasgow University, the great 

 European authority on electricity, has an article in the February 

 number of Tlie North AmeiHcan Review on "Electric Lighting 

 and Public Safety, ' ' showing the methods adopted in Europe to 

 guard against the dangers of electric lighting. Mr. T. A. Edi- 

 son's article on this subject appeared in the November number of 

 the Review, and Mr. George Westing-House's in the December 

 number. Among other brilliant contributions in the February 

 number are "The Gladstone-Blaine Controversy," by Hon. R. 

 Q. Mills ; ' 'Italy and the Pope, ' ' by Gail Hamilton ; ' 'The Doc- 

 ti-ine of State Rights," by the late Jefferson Davis; -'A New 

 View of Shelley, " by ' 'Ouida ; " ' 'Newspapers Here and Abroad, ' ' 

 by E. L Godkin; "British Capital and American Industries," 

 by Erastus Wiman ; ' 'The American Bishop of To-day, ' ' by the 



