178 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. V., No. 108. 



tion of data, joined to the individual researches 

 of a band of enthusiastic students abroad, as 

 well as in our own country, that we owe this 

 the best work on prehistoric America that has 

 yet been published. 



But whilst we thus gladly bear witness to the 

 merits of this work, we must not forget the 

 marks of carelessness which frequently disfig- 

 ure its pages. Quotations and references are 

 incorrectly given. Writers whose statements 

 are more than doubtful, are given a promi- 

 nence which they do not deserve ; and there 

 are assertions like the one (p. 82) as to the 

 relative antiquity of the mounds in the South- 

 ern States, which needs proof, or that on p. 381 , 

 in regard to ' tempering ' copper, which ma}^ 

 or may not be true, depending on what is meant 

 by the term. Finally, we must protest against 

 the reference (p. 64) to the dogma of transub- 

 stantiation. Since that article of belief is held 

 by rather more than half the Christian world, 

 an offensive reference to it by the editor is not 

 only uncalled for, but in excessively bad taste. 



[The editor gladly inserts this review, writ- 

 ten at his solicitation ; but he does so without 

 committing himself to the advocac} T of the views 

 therein expressed, which seem to maintain the 

 identity of all peoples that ever inhabited the 

 American continent up to the advent of Euro- 

 peans. It seems to him that the progress of 

 science demands that this should be looked 

 upon as a question to which investigation may 

 still be directed. While historical evidence, 

 on which the reviewer lays such stress, un- 

 doubtedly gives the clew to recent peoples, we 

 must certainly depend on archeological re- 

 search for the data by which to decide all ques- 

 tions which concern the origin and relationship 

 of those which preceded them.] 



A HANDBOOK OF HEALTHY AND DIS- 

 EASED MEAT. 



In Germany there is no need that an official 

 should be ignorant of the duties he has to per- 

 form ; for, no matter in how restricted a sphere 

 he has to work, there are extended treatises 

 covering the exa^ct points, with which he should 

 be acquainted. In the volume which lies be- 

 fore us, the inspector of meat, or the veterina- 

 rian who may be called upon to decide upon 

 the fitness of animal flesh for human food, 

 would find a good practical guide to the work. 



Ilandbuch der fleischkunde. Eine beurtheilungslehre den 

 fieisches unserer schlachtthiere , mit besonderer riicksicht an/die 

 gesundheits pflegedes menschen und die sanitdtspolizei. Von 

 Dr. Adolf Schmidt-Mulheim. Leipzig, Vogel, 1884. 8°. 



The first part of the volume is devoted to a 

 consideration of the morphology and chemistry 

 of meat, with remarks on its general physiology 

 and pathology. Then follow a practical de- 

 scription of the different kinds of food animals, 

 and the various methods of killing, and of 

 cutting up and preserving the flesh. After this 

 is a chapter chiefly devoted to healthy meats 

 and the changes which the different sorts 

 undergo in digestion. 



The last half of the book treats of diseased 

 meat and the dangers of its use. In this lies 

 the value of the work ; as the special appear- 

 ances, and the methods for their detection, are 

 given in connection with each disease, as well 

 as the disorders which may arise in man follow- 

 ing their use as food, together with the means 

 of prevention. Finally there is appended a 

 digest of the laws of Germany and Austria 

 regulating inspection. 



The book is one which can scarcely be said 

 to be of general scientific interest ; and, on ac- 

 count of the language in which it is written, it 

 will probably not be widely read by the class 

 of men in this country to whom it would be of 

 the greatest value. From a pecuniary point 

 of view, a translation of such a work would not 

 pay here at present ; but from the economic 

 interests which are connected with the subject, 

 and the great protective influence which a well- 

 maintained inspection of meat through our 

 country would exert upon the public health, an 

 edition in English, translated and published 

 under the auspices of the proper department 

 of the national government, would be of great 

 and peculiar interest in the hands of the 

 proper officers of our local boards of health. 



THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MICROS- 

 COP 1ST S. 



The American society of microscopists has 

 published the account of the meeting held last 

 August at Rochester. The volume is a neat 

 octavo of nearly three hundred pages, with a 

 few plates, and appears in part as a memorial of 

 the late R. B. Tolles, whose lithographic por- 

 trait is prefixed to the titlepage. The portrait 

 is such that its total absence will appear desir- 

 able to many. The address of the president, 

 J. D. Cox, is substantially a review of the 

 arrogant and ignorant attacks which Wenham 

 repeated during so many years against Tolles 's 

 wide-angle lenses ; and the contrast between 



Proceedings of the American society of microscopists. Sev- 

 enth annual meeting. Buffalo, Bigelow bros., pr., 1884. 4 + 300 

 p., [6] pi., illustr. 8°. 



