Literary Notices. 389 



excellent works of other distinguished authors, to Mr. Jabez Hogg 

 belongs the credit of having done the most for the popularization of 

 microscopical science. In the preface to the present and sixth 

 edition of his "work, he justly observes that " a sale of fifty thou- 

 sand is an unprecedented event for a work of this kind." Since 

 the publication of his fifth edition, much light has been thrown 

 upon various subjects then imperfectly understood, and some 

 changes have taken place in power and apparatus. It was, there- 

 fore, necessary that a considerable portion of the matter in that 

 edition should be modified or rewritten, and that entirely new sub- 

 jects, such as the application of the spectroscope to the microscope, 

 should be described. The present (sixth edition) will be found to 

 contain a good deal more matter than the last, and it is enriched by 

 eight beautifully coloured plates, which will add greatly to its popu- 

 larity and value. It makes indeed so handsome and. attractive a 

 volume that it may well take its place amongst the gift-books of 

 the season, and if accompanied by one of the numerous forms of 

 microscope which it describes, it will supply intelligent families 

 with a fund of instructive enjoyment. The average and deplorable 

 ignorance of the upper and middle classes in this country on scien- 

 tific matters, and the tendency to resort to frivolous amusements by 

 way of killing time, is a painful fact against which our social 

 reformers must struggle manfully, and although we do not wish to 

 imitate the professors in the Bourgeois Gentilhomme in exaggerating 

 the value of any particular pursuit, we feel amply justified in re- 

 commending the microscope as one of the most effective instru- 

 ments for general instruction. To purchase a microscope with a 

 few slides, and then to make unsuccessful efforts at the examin- 

 ing of common objects, is a process which has been tried hundreds 

 of times with inevitable disappointment. To enjoy or appreciate 

 the performance of a microscope, a considerable amount of scientific 

 knowledge must be obtained. To manage the instrument well 

 is impossible without some knowledge of optics : objects cannot be 

 prepared, so as to be seen properly, without an acquaintance with 

 their structure, and the acquisition of manipulative power. Vege- 

 tables and animals, either whole or in part, will afford little amuse- 

 ment without some acquaintance with, at least, the elements of phy- 

 siology, natural history, botany, chemistry, etc. Thus the employ- 

 ment of the microscope may be made a constant stimulant to 

 various studies, and any knowledge gained immediately repays the 

 student by giving greater interest to old objects, or suggesting 

 important points to be ascertained with regard to new ones. ■ The 

 task which Mr. Hogg has proposed to himself, and carried out 

 with well-known skill, is to smooth over the difficulties which beset 

 beginners, and he has achieved a high degree of success in the 

 difficult art of combining the popular with the scientific. Many 

 writers who undertake to be popular only twaddle about science, 

 and their productions should bo avoided as likely to mislead. Mr. 

 Hogg adopts a strictly scientific method, but by avoiding the needless 

 use of hard words, and by a good logical arrangement, he brings 

 complicated subjects within the reach of ordinary intelligence and 



