376 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 
and frugal race of people, who have a written language and know something of 
mathematics. — Chihuahua Enterprise. 
BOOK NOTICES. 
Studies in Literature: Edited by Titus Munson Coan. izmo.^ pp. 267. 
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1883. For sale by M. H. Dickinson; 
Cloth, 50c.; Paper, 25c. 
This is No. 3 of the "Topics of the Time" series and contains the follow- 
ing choice selections : American Literature in England, from Blackwood's; Ham^ 
let — a New Reading, by Franklin Leifchild, from the Contemporary Review; The 
Humorous in Literature, by J. Henry Shorthouse, from Blackwood's; The Bol- 
landists, by Rev. George T. Stokes, from the Contemporary Review; Isaiah of 
Jerusalem, by Mathew Arnold, from the Nineteenth Century; Concerning the Un- 
known PubHc, by Thomas Wright, "The Journeyman Engineer," from the Nine^ 
teenth Century. 
The first of these is a sharp criticism of the writings, characters and methods 
of such writers as Charles Dudley Warner, W. D. Howells, and Henry James, 
which, though just in some respects, betrays an unwarranted degree of bitterness. 
The other essays are all readable and suggestive. 
This series grows in favor with each number. Number 4 will consist of 
" Historical Sketches," by prominent writers. 
A Text-Book on the Elements of Physics : By Alfred P. Gage, A. M. 
i2mo., pp. 414. Ginn, Heath & Co., Boston, 1883. 
The peculiar excellence of this work, which is intended for the students of 
High Schools and Academies, is found in the fact that the pupil works his way 
through it, /. e., he accepts as fact only that which he has proved by experiment 
or personal investigation. He is taught to think and draw his own inferences, 
hence the statement of principles and laws follows their discovery in the labora- 
tory or work-room. Suggestions and questions open the way and progressive 
experiments lead to a full grasp of the law before it is actually formulated. The 
whole work is condensed into six chapters, viz : Matter and its Properties ; Dyna- 
mics; Molecular Energy, — Heat; Electricity and Magnetism; Sound; Radiant 
Energy, — Light. Each of these is ably handled and clearly illustrated, all of the 
most recent discoveries and laws plainly and fully set forth, and the doctrine of 
the conservation of energy, which is now regarded as the basis of physical science, 
given due prominence. The experiments given are simple and practical, just 
such as almost any student can find materials for without inconvenience or ex- 
pense, and the tendency of the whole treatise is to throw the student upon his. 
