444 Book Notices. 



John Riggin, Real Estate Agent, on the North side of Chestnut street. 

 A crowd of curious persons rushed to the spot, to find out something 

 more of tlie unusual occurrence, when they were rewarded by the discov- 

 ery that a piece of solid iron — or rather what appeared to be a mixture 

 of iron and other substances — weighing about a quarter of a poun<l, liad 

 f-illen from the upper regions. We learn that the piece of iron will be 

 Landed over to the Academy of Science." — St. Louis neiospaper. 



Dr. B. F. Shumard, to whom we are indebted for this information, 

 adds: "The specimen has the appearance of meteoric iron, and when 

 found, weighed 25-375 ram. gr, measured one inch and a half in length, 



"It is stated to have come from a south westward iy direction, passing 

 over some houses on the south side of Chestnut street, betwen 2d and 

 3d streets, striking the window of the office of Mr. John Riggin, Real Es- 

 tate broker on the north side of Chestnut street, shattering a large pane 

 of glass a few inches above the ground floor and then bounding obliquely 

 backwards several feet. Mr. Eugene Riggin was in the office at the time 

 of the fall, three or four feet from the window, and immediately ran out 

 and picked up the specimen. Mr. Riggin is regarded here by ail who know 

 him as a man of veracity. Several p'ersons of respectability on the street 

 also witnessed the fail, and all of them state thai they distinctly beard 

 a whizzing noise during the passage of the body through the air. These 

 are the facts as I gathered them immediately after I heard of the wl 

 I confess that I was somewhat sceptical at first, but after ascertaining the 

 above facts I became a believer. Dr. Litton subseq ' --^ -'" 



? specimen but could no 

 I again in doubt."— Ze«er/rom Dr. Shumard. 





VI. BOOK NOTICES. 



1. Dana's Manual of Oeology* — In our last number we announced the . 

 near completion of Prof. Dana's Geology, Before these lines are seen i>y 

 our readers the book will be issued. Favored by an inspection of the 

 advanced sheets we are able to give some notice of the scope and con- 

 tents of the volume. 



The first feature of the work which arrests attention is its thoroughly 

 American character. We copy from the Preface what the author says 

 on this point. 



"Two reasons! have led the author to give this Manual its American charac- 

 ter : a desire to adapt it to the wants of American students, and a behet ui , 

 on account of a peculiar simplicity and unity, American Geological «i''^"'^ 

 aiforda the best basis for a text book of the science. North America stanaa 

 alone in the ocean, a simple isolated specimen of a continent (even boutfl 

 Ame.-ica lyin- to the eastward of its meridians), and the laws of proffress have 

 been undisturbed by the conflictin-r movements of other land.". The author 

 has, tlierefore, written out American Geology by itself, as a continuous history- 



'. Dana, M. A., LL.D., S.lliman Professor of GeoI«gJ 

 . _ leire, Ac, Ac. Illustrated by a <^hart oj J|1J. p^^- 



>»Tl,„„jl.J^n.-... l"^^^' "^^ ^. '"°™„. [^^"*^^."J'°"1<rfo c^oll ftvo. PP- 812- 



