30 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



UW 



[Publications sent to this office, treating upon subjects that, come within 

 the scope of the paper, will receive special attention. The receipt of all 

 books delivered at our Editorial Rooms will be promptly acknowledged 

 in the next isme. Publishers %oill confer a favor by promptly advising 

 tis of any omission m this respect. Prices of books inserted when 

 desired.'] 

 Scientific Amusements, or BecreaMom in Popular Science. 

 Dana Estes, Editor. Boston, Estes & Lauriat. 



All lovers of Science will be greatly pleased to notice from the press 

 of Estes and Lauriat, a young and enterprising publishing house in our 

 sister city, this Half Hour series of Scientific tracts. 



No. 1, upon Strange Discoveries respecting the Aurora, and recent solai 

 researches, opens one of the most mysterious as well as beautiful of na- 

 ture's grand developments, and promises to further disclose its hith- 

 erto hidden beautiful. This paper is decidedly one of surpassing inter- 

 est to every one who looks upon these wonders of our northern skies. 



No. 2 introduces us to " The Cranial Affinities of Man and the Ape.'" 

 This has been for some considerable time the question of the times, 

 whether the old gray ape of the primeval forests, is, or is not, our great- 

 great- .grandfather. Many persons in this latter day seem disposed to com- 

 pletely ignore Adam. We are not astonished that such a belief should 

 have been entertained near the close of the middle ages,f or almost all ana- 

 tomical knowledge possessed by physcians rested solely upon the study 

 of the structure of the ape. Every one should read No. 2, as a full and 

 concise account of the first Orang-Outang from Borneo, that was brought 

 from Europe. 



Nos. 3 and No. 4: Spectral Analysis Discoveries Explained— Its appli- 

 cation— Microscopic Descoveries beautifully illustrated. The highly inter- 

 esting theory of the probable origin and nature of spots upon the sun is 

 clearly treated of by Kirchhoff. The uses of science as adopted in expla- 

 nation of the theory of sound, heat, light, and color— illustrated. An 

 entirely new realm of science is here introduced to the reader, with all 

 the wonderful revelations of physical science. Truly we live in a won- 

 derful and beautiful world: the stupendous works of creation are herein 

 made manifest, and the far-off, obscure, and dim become at once wonder- 

 fully clear and plain to our comprehension. Every one should read No. 

 3, for it is a commentary of sound, heat, light, aud color. 



No. 5, upon Nebulae, Comets, and the Coral Islands.— On. a light and 

 clear evening, as we cast our eyes upwards to the heavens, how near to 

 us seem the remotest realms of the universe! behold yon, stellar cluster, 

 a sort of dim outline of a milky appearance in the heavens. What are 

 they? bring out the telescope, if only of a very moderate power, and you 

 behold these clusters of stars which you supposed to be only clouds, 

 revealed in thousands of stars standing out quite vividly against the 

 dark back<n"ound of the heavens. Then you can faintly appreciate the 

 views which burst upon the sight of Herschel when he applied to these 

 dim clusters his gigantic forty-foot telescope ! But even here all was not 

 seen - for far beyond was apparant to his gaze a still farther-off world, a 

 more distant field of starry worlds. A beautiful description of the great 

 nebulae of Orion is here given, worth alone the price of the whole work. 

 In this paper upon the Coral Islands, the entire history and wonderful or- 

 ganism of these little island-builders is given, and their method of secre- 

 tion the very lowest form of.animal life, is made a deeply interesting and 

 scientific study. Who would think, when he reads of a terrible ship- 

 wreck upon some far-off coral reef, that so diminuitive an insect as the 

 little coral insect caused all this disaster? Truly, although a microscopic 

 insect of tiny proportions, yet he is a stone mason possessed of most gigan- 

 tic power. Twenty fathoms deep, low down upon the bottom of the ocean, 

 the tropical coral reef has its foundation. And many islands covered 

 with a rich and beautiful verdure, rest upon the wonderful coral pillars 

 which were built by these same little stone masons. A wonderful history 

 is this contained in No. 5. 



No. 6 opens to our view the great unexplained mental phenomena. 

 Unconscious Action of the Brain, and Epidemic D&uskms. Under this head 

 the entire doctrine of spiritualism and its many absurd phases are ac- 

 counted for, and numerous illustrations of mental impressions being 

 taken as realities are explained quite satisfactorily; as for instance, by 

 way of illustration, a lady at a sceance in a darkened room, thought she 

 would "like to have a live lobster brought into the room,*' and presently 

 . she be<mn to feel some uncomfortable sensations which she attributed to 

 the presence of this live lobster. The fact is recorded that two live lob- 

 sters were brought in, or they thought so; they imagined they felt them 

 crawling over them, &c. All of which was surely a delusion. 



No. 7. The Geology of tlie Stars. This, although a deeply interesting 

 disclosure of those contemplations made out in distant heavens, is not 

 strictly speaking a new discovery. Yet it contains matter given to the 

 millions new, and worthy of deep thought; for to them it is a new revela- 

 tion of the wonderful works of God as revealed in the glowing firmament 

 of stars. The theory, a most beautiful one by the way, of progressive 

 development, is fully stated. Our earth has reached a certain period; it 

 is passing a certain epoc; it brings with it a new revelation to many; 

 that is it happens by the providence of an all-creative power, to be in- 

 habited. Are not all worlds inhabited? and how long has our earth been 

 inhabited? has it been so from its first creation? Changes are constantly 

 transpiring; history always progressive, tells us wonderful tales, and 

 this little tract will lead the mind from nature up to nature's God, and the 

 soul be filled with the grand contemplations of the truly sublime. 



No. 8 and last of these parts, On Yeast, Protojilasm aud the Germ 

 Tteory, and The Pelation between Matter and Force. " Yeast!" says one 

 or more of our readers, on looking at the letter of No. 8. Yeast ! who 

 cares about "yeast?" and with a contemptous toss, perhaps, he consigns 

 our No. 8, to the extreme corner of his room. Now this is not fair, you 

 know not how great a power yon throw away when yon throw away yeast, 

 or its veritable history. Now it is plain to the comprehension of most of 

 our ladies that anything of a liquid kind containing sugar, will when left 

 to itself soon begin to undergo a change. The beautiful colorless liquid 

 soon has a dirty appearance. A yellow scum rests upon its surface; 

 while you notice at the bottom of the vessel the same dirty yellow, which we 

 will call "lees." After a time this "scum" and "lees" stop increasing 

 and the same has become altogether different in quality. The simple 

 sugar water has a pungent smell; it has become a spirit, and it intoxicates 

 if one drinks it. It is now the demon of the bottle. This is after the 

 process of distillation, that old rascal called Alcohol, and if you have any 

 doubts of his being a smart spirit, put a portion on the fire and see how 

 angry he will become. Such were the facts known from old antique 

 days. Antiquity also tells us of a time, too, when the old and wise men 

 *"oot drunk." Old Noah did; also the Indians. Old Lot on a certain 

 occasion became drunken, and since then many great, good, and wise 

 men have known the power of the last, if not the first stage, of yeast. 



But readers, get these little Scientific Tracts. Every one should read 

 them, and give them a valuable binding. 



Hap Hazabd, by Kate Field. Boston, R. Osgood & Com- 

 pany. 



This is one of our Summer story books, although a portion of these 

 articles have appeared before in various journals of the day. Miss Fields 

 has long enjoyed the reputation of being one of our most entertaining 

 and popular journalists. She is not at all afraid of expressing her thoughts 

 in the most forcible and terse terms; never makes the mistake of call- 

 ing black white. She is feared as a writer, for she speaks the truth in 

 such manner that evil doers whose sins are often visited with severe 

 lashes from her, stand in abject fear of her wholesome pillory. Few 

 journalists would dare say in their professional capacity what Kate Field 

 ntters -with utmost freedom. Yet we like Kate, and believe she is doing 

 much good. Although not free from some errors, they are by no means 

 so very grave that we cannot forgive them. She uses some phrases that 

 would be considered inelegant, if we apply not a stronger term. We think 

 her last book, though an earnest expression of her thoughts, could be 



improved, (not in elegance of execution, binding, &c, for it is a beautiful 

 work), leaving out a few words and sentences which mar the smoothness 

 of the style somewhat; as, "if it take but two days to demoralize hu- 

 manity." We commend this little work of Kate Field as one of the re- 

 formatory stories of the times, and many readers will find it speaks the 

 truth forcibly and sensibly. 



Harheb's Monthly for September, is of unusual excellence. Some- 

 how its editor seems to have the peculiar faculty of always finding not 

 only interesting matter, but that which is particularly adapted to the 

 season. There are two articles on subjects kindred to our own particular 

 topics which are exceedingly well done in the number under review. 

 One is "The Trotting Horse in America," the other "The Twelth of 

 August," descriptive of the opening of the English shooting s eason. 

 Mr. Nordhoff's experiences in Hawnaii-nei, the continuation of his itin- 

 eary, is of great interest. We trust to follow him to Japan, China 

 and all the way home. The apereu we have of Stamboul, in the 

 article entitled "General Sherman, in Europe and the East," gives the 

 reader an idea of how Stamboul may be seen under the most advanta- 

 geous circumstances. There is a general quality of excellence about 

 Harper's Monthly, which makes it not only reading matter for Americans, 

 but for everybody else who can understand the English. 



The Live Stock, Farm and Fishing Journal for August. Buffolo 

 & New York. This most useful publication, treating all the various 

 subjects of the farm, the dairy, poultry and apiary, with their innumera- 

 ble collateral branches, is in itself a model of excellence. That portion 

 of the journal devoted to horsemen, is particularly interesting to us, 

 since it shows not only a thorough knowledge of racing stsck, but that 

 which is quite as useful, an acquaintence with the ordinary working ani- 

 mal. Sometimes without being exactly optimists, still apreciating the 

 great amount of work necessary to produce such a thoroughly good paper 

 as the Live Stock Farm and Fishing Journal realy is, we wonder at the 

 amount of brain, toil, and research necessary to produce it. We trust to 

 be able presently to give a portion of its contents to our readers. 



4 



IN PRESS. 



Among the forthcoming books of the season, James R. Osgood & Com- 

 pany have in press and will soon issue a work entitled u Oldpoi^t Days" 

 a volume of essays, &c, on life and scenes at Newport. It is expected 

 this book will make something of a sensation. Also a New Series of 

 " Tales of a Wayside Inn" and other miscellaneous poems. Several 

 other very valuable works, are in press and will soon appear, the an- 

 nouncement of which will be found in due time under the literary head 

 of this paper, as above. 



Riverside Press, Hurd & Houghton, will soon publish a very elaborate 

 and valuable work, bearing the title of "Painters, Sculptors, Architects, 

 Engravers, and their Works." This work will contain a complete and 

 extensive catalogue of the first workers in the fine arts, with many inter- 

 esting monographs, biographical notes, and sketches of eminent men 

 never before published. We understand the work is prepared with great 

 care, and is destined to take a high place among the rare and valuable 

 works upon this interesting subject. C. E. Clements is the author. 

 We shall give a full review of this dictionary or companion of the Arts 

 as soon as published. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



We are in receipt of the following books: 



The Fishing Tourist. — Charles Hallock. Harper & Brothers. 



I-Go-a-Fishing. — W. C. Prime. Harper & Brothers. 



Old Rome and New Italy.— Emilio Castelar. Harper & Brothers. 



Old and New England Traits. — By George Lunt. Cam- 

 bridge, Riverside Press, Hurd & Houghton. 



The Trapper's Guide, — By S. Newhouse. New York, 



Mason, Baker & Pratt. 



Protection Against Fire. — By Joseph Bird. Riverside 



Press, Cambridge, Hurd & Houghton, 

 Reviews of these books in our next. 



There was a large attendance of members of the Na- 

 tional Rifle Association at Creedmoor, August 16th, and 

 a marked improvement in the general arrangements for the 

 shooting. The National Guard who wish to practice with- 

 out charge, are requested to make application in writing 

 to: the Association ; they must he in uniform, and in a body 

 under the command of officers. The following prizes are 

 announced: A prize challenge cup, value $100; to be 

 called " The Jersey challenge cup;" open only to members 

 ofi the National Guard of that State. The Hon. Nathaniel 

 Mills of New Jersey, is the generous donor. Captain 

 Wingate, secretary of the Association, makes the follow- 

 ing report of prizes offered for competition: Colonel 

 Church, an appropriate silver design, valued at $700, open 

 to all miitary organizations in the United States; to be won 

 twice. The State prize of $500, to the best train of twelve. 

 Messrs. Remington, a gold mounted rifle for the best shot in 

 eaph train. General Slater gives a $100 prize ; open to the 

 first division; and General Woodward the same, for the 

 second division. A Gatlin gun, open to any military regi. 

 ment in the United States; to be won three times. Bethel 

 Burton presents a handsome present. The Association 

 gives a number of elegantly designed badges, medals, and 

 what with the many prizes, the total gifts will not fall far 

 short of $6,500. 



The grand meeting will most likely take place on Wednes- 

 day, October 8th, and the following nine days ; this is in- 

 deed a great achievement for the the popular National 

 Rifle Association. 



-*-♦*- 



The New York Times deserves the living gratitude of the 

 poor children. On Saturday last, it treated over eighteen 

 hundred of them to a holiday and steamboat excursion, 

 the ninth of the series. The pro rata expense was only 

 about thirty-nine cents per head. There is great amount 

 of good done at only a trifling cost. It not only gives the 

 youngsters health and a new lease of life, but it enlarges 

 the scope of their ideas, gives them new views of existence, 

 and breaks the connection of vicious habits and debasing 

 associations. If the mind can be diverted from evil, even 

 for short intervals, the effect is beneficial. The concious- 

 ness of the kind consideration shown, the temporary con- 

 tact with respectable people, the fresh air, the good fare, 

 and the cleanliness, increases their self-respect, and creates 

 an incentive to well-doing and well deserving. 



A monster toadstool or fungus has been found growing 

 at Churchville, near Rochester, which measures three feet 

 and seven inches in circumference, and weighs seven pounds 

 and a quarter. It grew to maturity in three days. 



PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE. 



THE incompatibility between the physical and intellec- 

 tual lives is often very marked, if you look at small 

 spaces of time only ; but it you consider broader spaces 

 such as a lifetime, then the incompatibility is not so marked^ 

 and gives place to a manifest conciliation. The brain is 

 clearer in vigorous health than it can be in the gloom 

 and misery of sickness, and although health may last for 

 a while without renewal from exercise, so that if you are 

 working under pressure for a month, the time given to ex- 

 ercise is so much deducted from the result, it is not so 

 for the life's performance. Health sustained for many 

 years is so useful to the realization of all considerable 

 intellectual undertakings that the sacrifice to the bodily 

 well-being is the best of all possible investments. Frank- 

 lin's theory about concentrating his exercise for the economy 

 of time was a mistake. Violent exertion for minutes is 

 not equivalent to moderate exercise for hours. The de- 

 sire to concentrate good of various kinds into the smallest 

 possible space is one of the commonest of human wishes, 

 but it is not encouraged by the broader economy of na- 

 ture. In the exercise of the mind every teacher is well 

 aware that time is an essential factor. It is necessary to 

 live with a study of hundreds or thousands of hours be- 

 fore the mind can assimilate as much of the subject as 

 it may need ; and so it is necessary to live in exercise 

 during a thousand hours of every year to make sure of the 

 physical benefits. Even the fresh air itself requires time 

 to renovate our blood. The fresh air cannot be concen- 

 trated ; and to breathe the prodigious quantities of it 

 which are needed for perfect energy we must be out in it 

 frequently and long. 



The inhabitants of great cities have recourse to gym- 

 nastics as a substitute for the sports of the country. These 

 exercises have one advantage — they can be directed scien- 

 tifically, so as to strengthen the limbs that need develop- 

 ment ; but no city gymnasium can offer the invigorating 

 breezes of the mountain. We require not only exercise, 

 but exposure — daily exposure to the health-giving inclem- 

 encies of the weather. The postman who brings my let- 

 ters walks 8,000 miles a year, and enjoys the most per- 

 fect regularity of health. There are operatives in facto- 

 ries who go through quite as much bodily exertion, but 

 they have not his fine condition. He is as merry as a 

 lark, and announces himself every morning as a bearer of 

 joyful tidings. What a postman did for necessity an old 

 gentleman did as regularly, though more moderately, for 

 the preservation of his health and faculties. He went out 

 every day ; and as he never consulted the weather, so he 

 never had to consult the physicians. Nothing in the hab- 

 its of Wordsworth — that model of excellent habits — can he 

 better as an example to men of letters than his love of 

 pedestrian excursions. Wherever he happened to he he 

 explored the whole neighborhood on foot, looking into 

 every nook and cranny of it — and not merely in the imme- 

 diate neighborhood, but extended tracts of country ; and 

 in this way he met with much of his best material. Scott 

 was both a pedestrian and an equestrian traveller, having 

 often, as he tells us, walked thirty miles or ridden a hun- 

 dred in those rich and beautiful districts which afterward 

 proved to him such a mine of literary wealth. Goethe 

 took a wild delight in all sorts of physical exercise- 

 swimming in the tlm by moonlight, skating with the merry 

 little Weimar court on the Schwansee, riding about the 

 country on horseback, and becoming at times quite out- 

 rageous in the rich exuberance of his energy. Alexander 

 Humboldt was delicate in his youth, but the longing for 

 great enterprises made him dread the hindrances of phy- 

 sical insufficiency, so he accustomed his body to exercise 

 and fatigue, and prepared himself for those wonderful ex- 

 plorations which opened his great career. Here are in- 

 tellectual lives which were forwarded in their special aims 

 by habits of physical exercise ; and, in an earlier age, have 

 we not also the example of the greatest intellect of a great 

 epoch, the astonishing Leonardo da Vinci, who took such 

 a delight in horsemanship that, although, as Vasari tells 

 us, poverty visited him often, he never could sell his 

 horses or dismiss his grooms ? The physical and intellec- 

 tual lives are not incompatible. I may go further, and af- 

 firm that the physical activity of men eminent in litera- 

 ture has added abundance to their material and energy to 

 their style ; that the activity of scientific men has led 

 them to innumerable discoveries ; and that even the more 

 sensitive and contemplated study of the fine arts has been 

 crrried to a higher perfection by artists who painted ac- 

 tion in which they had had their part, or natural beauty 

 which the3 r had travelled far to see. Even philosophy it- 

 self owes much to mere physical courage and endurance. 

 How much that is noblest in ancient thinking may be due 

 to the hardy health of Socrates. — From the Intellectual Life, 

 by Philip Gilbert Hamerton. 



— There is a good deal of dissatisfaction in England, in 

 regard to the exclusiveness of the Royal Yatch Club. 



— This week in England, Mr. Mechi, the famous experimen- 

 tal agriculturalist, will open his farm for inspection. 



—The reports of some very startling experiments are; going 

 the rounds of the European Press, in regard to the injection 

 of warm cow's milk into the blood, for the cure of cholera. 



— Infantile mortality in London amounts on an average to 

 thirty-five per cent of all the children born. Under ten years 

 of age thirty -five children die in the one hundred. 



— Late English authorities have highly recomended the 

 use of the American system of fog-whistles, as much superior 

 to the old fashioned bell-ringing, or even the firing of can- 

 nons. 



— How much heat can an animal stand? Dr. Wood of 

 Philadelphia showed that a brain temperature of 114 degrees 

 was fatal to cats, and that muscle coagulates between 108 

 and 115 degrees. 



—St. Bartholomew is the oldest of the London hospitals. 

 It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, prior of the Monastery 

 of St. Bartholemew. To-day it has 650 beds, and adminis- 

 ters relief to no less than 100,000 people. 



— A learned Zurich Professor has just issued a work on 

 Textile Fabrics, a large portion of which is devoted to 

 the discovery of shoddy in cloth, by the use of the micro- 

 scope. In society it can be found without the use of glasses. 



