54 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



A Text-Book of Geology. ByW. Jerome Harrison, 

 F.G.S. 343 pp., illustrated by 140 plates and figures. 

 (London, Glasgow and Dublin : Blackie and Sons, 

 Limited. 1897.) Price 3s. 6d. 



This is a new edition, the fourth nominally, but 

 really the book has to a very large extent been 

 re-written, with many additional illustrations placed 

 in the text. Even the type has been re-set on larger 

 pages, with a larger and clearer fount. Much 

 recent discovery in the science of geology has been 

 incorporated, and the work is well up to date in 

 its information and style of training necessary for 

 special examination tests. Some specimen ex- 

 amination papers of the Science and Art Depart- 

 ment are reprinted for the guidance of students. 

 This book, how- 

 ever, will be useful 

 to many others than 

 those who desire to 

 be " crammed " with 

 examination tests, 

 to the exclusion of 

 the sound ground- 

 ing which helps to 

 continue the taste 

 for after-study. It 

 deals with the 

 general subject in an 

 intelligent manner 

 in well-arranged 

 chapters which lead 

 on the reader by 

 the interest created. 

 The first chapter is 

 a good one, being 

 upon the definition, 

 object, and history 

 of the science of 

 geology. It contains 

 also a carefully 

 prepared descriptive 

 list of a geologist's 

 " equipment for the 

 field " ; these tools 

 are figured. We are 

 glad to find they are 

 simple in character 

 and few in number. 

 The author further 

 instructs the reader 

 in their use ; in fact 

 with this little but 

 useful book anyone 

 may commence the 

 study of geology and 

 palaeontology with 

 every prospect of 



success. The general sections of the book are : 

 Part I., Descriptive Geology divided into Basis of 

 Geology; Common Geological Terms ; Composition 

 of the Principal Rocks ; Disintegration and 

 Solution; Snow and Ice Action. Part II. is 

 devoted to Classification of Remains of Animal 

 and Plant Life. Part III. is for Historical and 

 Stratigraphical Geology, in which the various rock 

 series are treated. The illustrations are well 

 chosen, and in most instances they have been 

 taken to illustrate this work. We reproduce a 

 couple, by permission of Messrs. Blackie, to show 

 the popular, though useful, style of the work, and 

 its excellence of production. Anyone who desires 

 to know something of the geology of his neigh- 

 bourhood, with the aid of this book, should have 

 no difficulties. 



Production" of River-valley 

 River-terrace is seen on 



Waste and Repair in Modem Life. By Robson 

 Roose, M.D., LL.D., F.R.C.P. Edin. 364 pp. 8vo. 

 (London : John Murray. 1897.) 7s. 6d. 



Dr. Roose commences his work with a quotation 

 from Boswell's "Life of Johnson," "Why, sir, 

 you find no man at all intellectual who is willing 

 to leave London. No, sir ; when a man is tired of 

 London he is tired of life ; for there is in London 

 all that life can afford." We might, as an " off- 

 set " suited for these times, quote another, " For 

 the rich man, London is a fine place in which 

 to live. For the poor man, London is a fine place 

 to leave." We refer, indeed, to the battle of life 

 which is being constantly waged around us with 

 increasing severity in this immense city. It is 



really that subject 

 and its effect on the 

 combatants which 

 inspires Dr. Roose's 

 work before us. To 

 quote from one of 

 his earlier pages(3 1 ) , 

 "The advocates of 

 what is popularly 

 known as ' progress ' 

 at the present day 

 will doubtless be 

 surprised at learn- 

 ing from a distin- 

 guished American 

 physician that the 

 number of insane is 

 greater in a com- 

 munity in propor- 

 tion to the political 

 and religious 

 freedom of the 

 population ; that is, 

 to the opportunity 

 they enjoy of work- 

 ing out their own 

 purposes, whether 

 in relation to this 

 world or the next, 

 in the manner most 

 agreeable to them- 

 selves." Whatever 

 may be the case in 

 America, it is an 

 undoubted fact in 

 this country that we 

 are rapidly closing 

 prisons and in- 

 creasing our ac- 

 commodation for 

 the insane. The 

 book under notice 

 treats the subject of wear and tear of modern life 

 from the hygienic point of view. If we human 

 animals are to live unnatural lives, sacrificing 

 physical conditions to the mental, we must take 

 such precautions as are possible to preserve 

 physical health, which is the keynote of mental 

 sanity. The seven shillings and sixpence to be 

 expended on this book will be well spent if its 

 readers will follow its teachings, for it will save 

 many guineas in future doctors' fees. Some of the 

 author's best chapters are on " The Art of Pro- 

 longing Life," " Fasting and Physiology," " Infec- 

 tion and Disinfection" and "Health Resorts and 

 their Uses." All his subjects are practically 

 treated. How charming is it to read books in 

 this type on good paper. We congratulate Mr. 

 John Murray on its production. 



by a Mountain Stream : a 

 one side of the Stream. 



{From "A Text-Book of Geology," published by Blackie and Sons.) 



