438 
Reviews. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1  September,  1899. 
in  mind  aiid  soul.  It  is  astonishing,  too,  how  well  all  of  these  institutions  and 
associations  are  attended,  and  apparently  the  more  advanced  the  character  of  the 
courses  offered,  the  better  is  the  attendance  and  the  more  earnest  the  desire  for 
mental  culture.  It  is  not  presumed  that  in  any  of  these  institutions  for  study 
the  work  is  carried  out  with  anything  like  the  "grinding"  that  is  done  during  the 
other  months  in  the  year.  In  fact,  there  is  a  freedom  to  do  what  one  chooses. 
The  field  excursions,  sailing  parties,  etc.,  are  frequent.  And,  though  all  are 
arranged  with  some  one  object,  they  entail  the  absorption  of  facts  and  observa- 
tions in  other  subjects  that  help  to  stimulate  to  a  newer,  broader  and  higher  life. 
The  question  may  be  rightly  asked,  what  is  the  significance  of  this  summer 
work  with  summer  vacation  ?  Does  it  mean  that  when  the  great  Agassiz,  whom 
we  may  j  ustly  claim  as  our  own,  through  the  generosity  of  Mr.  John  Ander- 
son, of  New  York  City,  was  enabled  to  establish  his  new  scheme  of  education 
of  natural  history  in  the  summer  school  on  the  island  of  Penikese,  in  Buzzard's 
Bay,  that  he  comprehended  the  heartfelt  needs  of  the  seekers  for  summer  work 
and  summer  vacation  who  yearned  for  something  more  than  physical  culture, 
and  who  were  thirsting  for  intellectual  and  spiritual  associations  free  from  the 
daily  routine  which  attends  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life,  whereby  to  satisfy  their 
minds'  desire  for  the  truth  and  the  light  ?  Does  it  mean  that  the  silent  prayer, 
so  fitly  told  in  Whittier's  poem,  "The  Prayer  of  Agassiz,"  is  being  answered 
to  the  fullest  extent,  in  that  while  at  Penikese  we  now  find  the  ruins  of  these 
first  laboratories  for  summer  work,  a  few  miles  away  are  the  now  famous 
laboratories  at  Wood's  Holl,  and  scattered  over  the  country  are  now  offered 
many  opportunities  for  the  study  of  nature  in  her  manifold  forms  ?  It  is  true 
that  at  these  schools  we  find  more  generally  teachers  or  those  who  may  become 
teachers,  and  it  may  be  said  that  this  combination  of  summer  work  and 
summer  vacation  is  only  a  result  of  the  "  hurry- up  "  spirit  of  the  times.  We 
believe,  however,  that  it  rather  speaks  of  the  faithfulness  of  the  teachers  to 
their  scholars  in  their  desires  for  a  grasp  on  the  newer  world  of  facts  as 
revealed  by  other  observers  and  a  stimulus  for  future  investigations. 
Some  may  go  to  the  summer  schools  because  of  a  sense  of  duty,  and  some 
may  be  impelled  by  a  sense  of  thrift,  but  the  majority  go  because  their  aspira- 
tions lead  them,  like  the  wise  men  of  old,  to  a  common  place,  where  they 
may  not  only  open  the  door  of  nature,  but  where  they  may  also  learn  of  the 
interpretations  of  the  observations  of  others;  for  as  Emerson  puts  it  :  "into 
every  intelligence  there  is  a  door  which  is  never  closed,  through  which  the 
Creator  passes."  The  real  significance,  we  think,  of  these  summer  schools 
and  the  opportunities  for  summer  work  is  the  association  with  nature  for 
intellectual  and  spiritual  as  well  as  physical  culture.  The  greater  benefits 
of  the  summer  schools  are  observed  in  the  more  nearly  uniform  develop- 
ment of  the  intellectual,  spiritual  and  physical  nature. 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
Commercial  Organic  Analysis.  By  Alfred  H.  Allen.  Third  edition. 
Edited  by  Henry  Leffmanu,  M.D.  Vol.  II,  Part  i.  Fixed  oils,  fats,  waxes,  gly- 
cerol, nitroglycerin  and  nitroglycerin  explosives.  Philadelphia  :  P.  Blakis- 
ton's  Son  &  Co.    1S99.  #3-5o. 
