770 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



an interpretation also of those of their contemporaries, the Jews, is frequently 

 given, which is extremely valuable and interesting. In fact, every portion of this 

 work is full of attraction to readers of every class, and it is certain to meet with 

 a large sale. 



First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1879-80. By J. W. 

 Powell, Director ; quarto, pp. 603 ; Washington, : Government Printing 

 Office, 1881. 



Major Powell, in making this report to the Secretary of the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution, modestly gives the principal credit of his success to Professor Baird, 

 but the reader will soon conclude that to his own earnest and untiring labors, at 

 least as much is due. To his own hand are we indebted for a great portion of 

 the work, viz : for the Introductory, a chapter on the Evolution of Language as 

 exhibited with specialization of the grammatic processes, the differentiation of 

 the parts of speech and the integration of the sentence ; from a study of Indian 

 languages; a sketch of the Mythology of the North American Indians, including 

 the genesis of philosophy, the mythologic and scientific stages of philosophy ; the 

 four stages of mythologic philosophy; the outgrowth of mythologic philosophy, 

 and the course of evolution in it, and mythic tales. Also Wyandot Government, 

 a short study of tribal society, including the family, the gens, phratry and the 

 tribe; also a chapter entitled Limitations to the Use of Anthropological data. 



The remainder of this handsomely illustrated and printed volume comprises 

 a further Contribution to the study of the mortuary customs of the North Ameri- 

 can Indians, by H. C. Yarrow; Studies in Central American Picture-writing, by 

 E. S. Holden ; Cessions of Land by Indian Tribes to the United States, by C. C. 

 Royce; Sign-Language among North American Indians by Col. Garrick Mal- 

 lery ; Catalogue of Linguistic manuscripts in the Library of the Ethnological Bu- 

 reau, by J. C. Pilling, and illustration of the , method of recording Indian Lan- 

 guages, from the manuscript of Messrs. J. O. Dorsey, A. S. Gatschet and S. R. 

 Riggs. 



This work is an excellent contribution to Ethnology and ably supports the 

 statement of Major Powell, that "Anthropology needs trained devotees with 

 philosophic methods and keen observation to study every tribe and nation of the 

 globe almost de novo and from materials thus gathered a science may be es- 

 tablished." 



The Gospel in the Stars. By Joseph H. Seiss, D. D.; i2mo. pp. 452: E, 

 Claxton & Co., Philadelphia, 1882. For sale by M. H. Dickinson, $1.50. 



This work is offered by the author as the result of careful study of primeval 

 astronomy and of the origin and meaning of stellar nomenclature, and in support 

 of which he quotes and cites many distinguished astronomers and oriental schol- 

 ars, such as Seyffarth, Riccioli, Josephus, Drummond and Mitchell, 



