812 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 360. 



The general plan of the work includes a his- 

 torical account of the discovery and study of 

 the more important sutjstances considered. 

 While it lays no claim to that exhaustive com- 

 pleteness in detail which is characteristic of 

 Beilstein's Handbook, it is much easier to se- 

 cure from it a knowledge of the present views 

 of the structure of particular compounds, and 

 of the basis on which such views rest. Consid- 

 erably more space is given to the alkaloids than 

 is devoted to the same topic in Beilstein. The 

 book covers the literature of its subject up to a 

 very recent date and the information to be 

 found in it is very reliable and satisfactory. 



W. A. NOYES. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 



The first number of the first volume of the 

 American Journal of Anatomy was published on 

 November 7, its contents being as follows : 



'The Development of the Limbs, Body-wall and 

 Back ' : Charles Russell Baedeen and Warren 

 Harmon Lewis. 



' The Intralobular Framework of the Human 

 Spleen ' : Preston Kyes. 



' Studies on the Neuroglia ' : G. Carl Hubee. 



' The Normal Histology of the Human Hemolymph 

 Glands ' : Aldeed Scott Waethin. 



' On the Morphology of the Pineal Region, based 

 upon its Development in Acanthias ' : Charles Sedg- 

 wick MiNOT. 



The editorial board, consisting of Lewellys F. 

 Barker, University of Chicago ; Thomas Dwight, 

 Harvard University; Simon H. Gage, Cornell 

 University; G. Carl Huber, University of Mich- 

 igan ; George S. Huntington, Columbia Univer- 

 sity; Franklin P. Mall, Johns Hopkins Univer- 

 sity; Charles S. Minot, Harvard University; 

 George A. Piersol, University of Pennsylvania, 

 and Henry McE. Knower, Secretary, Johns 

 Hopkins University, have sent with the first 

 number the following prospectus : The Amer- 

 ican Journal of Anatomy has been founded to 

 collect into one place, and present in a worthy 

 manner, the many researches from our inves- 

 tigators, now scattered through many publica- 

 tions at home and abroad. Human anatomy in 

 America needs as high a standard of reference 

 as it has in other countries. Without such a 

 standard it fails to make for itself any proper. 



satisfactory or stimulating impression. The 

 best interests of modern scientific medicine will 

 be greatly advanced by the upholding of such 

 a standard in this fundamental subject through 

 a journal of high character. Many aspects of 

 comparative anatomy, embryology, histology 

 and cytology are so intimately bound up with 

 the problems of human anatomy that these sub- 

 jects will be included within the scope of the 

 new journal. It will be the aim of The Amer- 

 ican Journal of Anatomy to recognize this close 

 natural relationship between the various 

 branches of the science, and to publish results 

 of the best original work of American students 

 of anatomy. The most cordial assurance of 

 support has been given by the collaborators, 

 and this we believe is sufficient indication of 

 the results to be expected. A number of gen- 

 erous persons, whose names will appear later, 

 have given some financial support to help us in 

 gaining a foothold in a suitable manner. The 

 journal must, however, look to those who are to 

 be benefited by its publication for its real and 

 permanent support ; and a good list of regular 

 subscribers is expected and required to main- 

 tain it. It is hoped that those interested in 

 promoting a worthy development of research 

 in America, in the subjects included within the 

 scope of this journal, will energetically assist 

 us. 



The October number of the American Geologist 

 contains a number of interesting articles. John 

 A. Dresser writes on ' The Petrography of 

 Shefford Mountain.' The mountain discussed 

 is one of a series of volcanic hills in the St. 

 Lawrence Valley about fifty miles east of 

 Montreal, Canada. The author concludes that 

 the mountain is a laccolith, and that it con- 

 tains three different flows represented by three 

 different classes of rocks, viz : essexite, nord- 

 markyte and pulaskite. ' Paleontological 

 Speculations,' by S. P. Gratacap is a continu- 

 ation of a discussion begun in a number of a 

 preceding volume. Mr. Warren Upham dis- 

 cusses ' Niagara Gorge and Post Glacial Time,' 

 in which he gives some reasons based on re- 

 cent investigations for estimating the duration 

 of the Niagara River at 7,000 years. It is 

 claimed that this estimate is more in harmony 

 with estimates from other sources by Winchell, 



