October 7, 1887.] 



SCIENCE. 



175 



of the book. Though hardly any explicit statements of the division 

 of these nations into gentes is given by the ancient authors, numer- 

 ous remarks indicate that these divisions existed. Each gens had 

 its own chief, and owned a certain tract of land. In case of war, the 

 whole army was divided according to gentes, each gens being com- 

 manded by its own chief. A further proof for this theory is found 

 in the laws of inheritance and marriage, and in the terms of rela- 

 tionship. Every gens had even its own deities, temples, worship, 

 and its separate myths. Briihl considers the great states of Mexico 

 and Central and South America as confederations of tribes who 

 subjected other neighboring tribes, whom diey compelled to pay a 

 tribute. Nowhere were states formed by uniform nations. 



Die Erde in Karten wid Bildern. Vienna, Hartleben. 4°. 



The publication under review is an atlas, accompanied by text 

 and numerous illustrations. It belongs to a class of publications 

 which unfortunately is still entirely wanting in America. Our 

 atlases are expensive, gorgeously colored, and generally not well 

 drawn, while there are a number of European atlases which are 

 sold at a moderate price, the drawing of which meets all reason- 

 able expectations, and which are tastefully colored. The present 

 atlas belongs to this class, but its characteristic feature is the 

 accompanying text. The illustrations are carefully compiled from 

 works of travel, and represent characteristic views, animals, plants, 

 and ethnological objects, and may be used to advantage in schools, 

 as they convey a good idea of geographical phenomena to the 

 reader. The text, so far as we can judge from the numbers that 

 have reached us, is not intended to be of a scientific character, but 

 it is a popular treatise on geography. First, physical geography is 

 treated. This will be followed by a special part on the geography 

 of the separate continents and countries, and the last part will 

 treat of commercial geography. The maps are well drawn, and 

 the lettering and the topography are clear. The physical features 

 are distinct, as the maps are not crowded with names. This atlas 

 shows how far German cartography is advanced as compared to 

 our own. There is no American atlas that can compare to this 

 cheap publication, or to the well-known ' Handatlas ' by Andree. 

 Even the large and costly maps which are published in our country 

 do not meet the wants of geographers so well as the German pub- 

 lications. But there is little demand for good maps so far. So 

 long as our teachers are content with the low class of text-books 

 and maps which are used in most schools, publishers will be reluc- 

 tant to attempt the publication of costly works of this kind : but as 

 soon as there is a demand, good maps and good atlases will be 

 forthcoming ; for there is no absolute want of cartographers, as 

 the publications of our government, particularly those of the Coast 

 and Geological Surveys, show. 



Comparative Morphology and Biology of the Fungi, Mycetozoa, 

 and Bacteria. By A. DE Bary. Tr. by HENRY E. F. 

 Garnsey, and revised by Isaac Bayley Balfour. Oxford. 

 Clarendon Pr. 8°. 

 One sometimes feels that English translations of German works 

 above the grade of comparatively elementary treatises are unneces- 

 sarj', since all persons qualified to understand the subject are pre- 

 sumed to be able to read the original. The present translation, 

 however, shows that this feeling is erroneous. The original work 

 of De Bary appeared in 1884. We say original, because, although, 

 in one sense, the work of 1884 is a second edition of the second 

 volume of Hofmeigter's ' Handbuch der physiologischen Botanik,' 

 published in 1886, the treatment is so different, and our knowledge 

 of the subject has widened so rapidly within the last twenty years, 

 that there is not much resemblance between the two editions. The 

 work of De Bary is so well and favorably known, that we need not 

 speak at length of its merits. In the chapters on Mycetozoa the 

 author includes Myxoinycetes, Acrasice, and some doubtful forms, 

 but excludes many amoeboid forms classed by Zopf among the 

 Schleimpilze. The chapters on bacteria have been to some extent 

 replaced by the more recent ' Vorlesungen iiber Bacterien,' by the 

 same author. The original, it must be admitted, is rather hard 

 reading for foreigners, in spite of its clear scientific treatment of the 

 subject ; and all English-speaking botanists will be glad to welcome 

 the present excellent translation, which, while preserving the sense 



and spirit of the original, presents it in a form which can be much 

 more quickly and easily absorbed, even by those who have a good 

 knowledge of German, and are acquainted with the subject treated. 

 American botanists will now be able to read the admirable treatise 

 of De Bary with ease as well as with profit. 



A Course of Practical Instruction in Botany. By F. O. Bower 

 and Sydney H. Vines. Part II. Bryophytaand Thallophyta. 

 New York, Macmillan. 8°. 

 The second part of the practical botany by Bower and Vines is 

 similar in form to the first part, which appeared in 1885, and is in- 

 tended to be a guide to the student who is studying botany by the 

 type methods. The common Polytrichuin and Marchantia are 

 used as illustrations of mosses and HLpaticce ; but the bulk of the 

 work is devoted to Thallophytes, — a group which does not lend 

 itself to popular treatment in a short space, for the types of repro- 

 duction are numerous, and the illustrations must be taken largely 

 from plants which have no common names, in this country at least. 

 The present volume is a valuable aid in the laboratory where the 

 instructor prepares and selects the material, but it is not adapted 

 to those who are obliged to pursue their studies independently of 

 competent instructors. For the latter class of students, the chap- 

 ters on Thallophytes are, as a rule, too condensed, and the absence 

 of plates necessarily makes the text a little obscure for beginners. 



The Making of the Great West. By SAMUEL ADAMS DRAKE. 

 New York, Scribner. 12°. 



This is a thoroughly commendable volume. It is constructed 

 on the same general plan as ' The Making of New England,' by the 

 same author, though dealing with a far larger and more complex 

 subject. 



It is too often the case that brief histories of the United States 

 are written so entirely from an Atlantic coast standpoint that the 

 great territory west of the Mississippi receives scant treatment at the 

 authors' hands. Mr. Drake's plan of treating the various sections 

 separately avoids this lack of proportion, and affords an opportunity 

 of bringing the important facts in the history of each section into 

 the prominence which properly belongs to them. In this volume 

 the author makes three subdivisions. In the first we find a lucid 

 and well-illustrated account of the planting of the Spanish, French, 

 and English civilizations on this continent. In the second the terri- 

 tory acquired by the Louisiana purchase is treated, and then follows 

 the story of the advance of civilization in the West up to the time 

 that gold was discovered in California. The third section com- 

 pletes the story from 1848. Mr. Drake's conception of history is 

 that of the late John Richard Green, and his narrative is accom- 

 panied with excellent sketches of the aboriginal and conquering 

 civilizations. For that reason, as well as because of its pleasant 

 style, ' The Making of the Great West ' would be a valuable read- 

 ing-book for grammar and high-school use. 



Three Good Giants, whose Famous Deeds are recorded in the 

 Ancient Chronicles of Frangois Rabelais. Compiled from 

 the French by John Dimitry. Boston, Ticknor. 12°. 

 In this volume the works of the old French humorist are pre- 

 sented in an expurgated form, and profusely illustrated by Gustave 

 Dor6 and A. Robida. The result is a book for children ; but what 

 its value in that respect may be, can only be determined by experi- 

 ence. There is certainly not much in it that is interesting to grown- 

 up people, the humor of it being so extravagant that it often ceases 

 to be humor. Children's tastes, however, are different, and with 

 them the book may become a favorite. Such attempts to preserve 

 what is best in old writers are in themselves praiseworthy ; for the 

 world is not so rich in good literature that it can afford to part with 

 any of it. The illustrations, which are of the same fantastic type 

 as the story itself, will add to the attractiveness of the book. 



A Collection of Letters of Thackeray. New York, Scribner. 8°. 

 The series of letters from Thackeray to Mr. and Mrs. Brook- 

 field, which were lately published in Scribner s Magazine, are here 

 offered in book form. They were written between the years 1847 

 and 1855, after the death of Mrs. Thackeray, and when their author 

 was in the full flush of early fame. They show him in various 

 moods, the humorous predominating, of course, yet oftentimes with 



