68 Notices respecting New Books. 



Natural Philosophy, for general readers and young persons. Trans- 

 lated and Edited from Ganotfs Cours Elementaire de Physique 

 (with the Authors sanction) by E. Atkinson, Ph.D., F.C.S., Pro- 

 fessor of Experimental Science in the Staff College. Fourth 

 Edition. London : Longman, Green, and Co. 1881. 

 It may be safely asserted that no book on Physics has had a more 

 deserved popularity during the past fifteen years among teachers 

 and pupils than Dr. Atkinson's larger work, now in the tenth 

 edition. And the reason for this is very obvious : basing the work 

 on Ganot's well-known treatise, Dr. Atkinson, by well-chosen addi- 

 tions and amplifications of his own, strove to produce a good book, 

 and abundantly succeeded. Improvements on old methods, and 

 new discoveries, have in like manner found places from time to time 

 in Dr. Atkinson's excellent book. 



In the work now before us Dr. Atkinson is wisely pursuing the 

 same plan. Thus, in art. 516 we find a lucid description of the 

 Telephone and its applications in the transmission of sound. Eeis 

 in 1862 made the first successful experiment in transmitting musical 

 sound some distance by aid of electricity. Simple as his apparatus 

 was, that used by Professor Graham Bell is still simpler ; for he 

 dispenses with the electrical battery, and substitutes a small steel 

 magnet. 



The subject-matter of the book is greatly elucidated by well- 

 executed woodcuts, of which there are no fewer than 471 ; some 

 few of which, we venture to suggest, might be dispensed with with- 

 out in any way detracting from the value of the book. 



An Appendix furnishes upwards of 300 questions on the proper- 

 ties of matter, liquids, gases, sound, heat, light, magnetism, and 

 electricities. Many of these are easy common-sense questions ; 

 whilst others can only be answered after a thoughtful perusal of 

 the various subjects. They are all very suggestive to both teachers 

 and pupils ; and we commend them to the former as eminently 

 adapted to elementary class-work. 



Textbook of Systematic Mineralogy. By Hilary Batjermaf, F. G.S. 

 Longmans, Green, and Co. 1881. 



As in most modern treatises on Mineralogy, a very large portion 

 of this work is taken up by crystallography. In this part of the 

 volume there is some amount of original treatment, while full use 

 has been made of the existing literature on the subject, from Haliy 

 to Mallard inclusive. It has been brought well up to date, and 

 contains some things which have not usually found their way into 

 English treatises on Mineralogy. 



Among these may be mentioned a short account of reticular 

 point systems, and, again, an explanation of the practical application 

 of rationality by means of the anharmonic ratio of a zone. The 

 parallelism of geometrical and crystallographic symmetry is perhaps 

 more fully utilized than even by Miller, or at all events is more 

 fully developed, considerable attention being given to the geome- 



