Department of Taxidermy in the American Museum of Natural History
evidently intends to use the word art in the high sense of a fine art;
for he speaks of the enormous strides toward perfection which it has
made from the former "trade of most inartistically upholstering a
skin"--stuffing it, we used to call it--and of its study having been
taken up of late years by a number of men of genius and education. It
is largely owing to the exertions of these men that the taxidermy of
the present day is so far in advance of what it was a decade since.
The proverb says that art is long, and accordingly Mr. Rowley takes
for the motto of his book a sentence from Thoreau, that "into a
perfect work time does not enter." To the possible objection that some
of his methods seem to involve considerable time and expense, the
author replies in substance that if the work is not worth this, it is
hardly worth while to take it up at all. If it is a proper work, and
one has the proper degree of energy and enthusiasm, let him give the
specimen all the time it demands. In preparing his treatise, the
author has aimed to eliminate all extraneous matter, and to give
mainly the results of his own experience, coupled with that of other
taxidermists with whom he has come in contact. He begins with
instructions about collecting tools and materials, and casting, and
treats further of the preparation of birds, of mammals, and of fish,
reptiles, and crustaceans; the cleansing and mounting of skeletons,
and the reproduction of foliage for groups. The appendix contains
addresses of reliable firms from whom tools and materials used in
taxidermy may be purchased.
The preparation of this book on _The Storage Battery_ was suggested to
Mr. Treadwell[59] by his finding a lack in working on these machines
of any compact data concerning their construction, and the paucity of
reliable discharge curves; and he concluded that a book containing
such data and curves, with rules for the handling and maintenance of
cells, would be valuable to all interested in storage batteries as
well as to the student and manufacturer. Among the points specially
mentioned by the author are the lists of American and foreign patents
given as footnotes for the various types, not complete but noticing
the principal patents for each cell; the chapter on the chemistry of
secondary batteries, which gives the latest and most generally
accepted theory concerning the chemical reactions taking place in an
accumulator, and which has been approved by Dr. Sewal Matheson; and,
in the appendix, tables of data comprising figures of all the
batteries, methods for the measurement of the E. M. F. and internal
resistance of a storage battery; and data from which the theoretical
and practical capacity of an accumulator may be determined.
The _Natural Advanced Geography_[60] is a successful application of
modern methods to the teaching of this science, and presents it with
the interest undiminished which really appertains to it. While in the
elementary book of this, the "natural" series, the pupil starts from
his own home and is introduced to the study of man in relation to his
environment, in the present work the fact is developed that
environment itself is the chief factor in the various activities and
economies of man. One of the salient features of the presentation of
the subject, marked throughout the work, and one that commands high
praise, is the arrangement of the facts into such order that their
correlation may be perceived and the unity of Nature recognized. The
isolated, barren, curt, unrelated statements that made the study of
many of the old geographies hard and tedious are conspicuously absent,
and the subject, studied in orderly sequence, "unfolds itself
naturally and logically, each lesson preparing the way for those which
follow." The first part of the work is devoted to a study of the world
as a whole. The second part, comprising about three fourths of the
volume, is an application of these laws to the various countries of
the globe, beginning with the United States. In the United States, for
instance, a general description of the whole is given, which presents
a real, comprehensive mental picture of the country; and the process
is repeated, in measure according to the conditions, for the several
States, so that the pupil is taught what are the factors that give the
characteristics and local features to each. A like method is pursued,
on a more general scale, with other countries. The colored maps are
drawn on a system of uniform scales, with reliefs plainly shown
according to the accepted conventions; graphic charts or sketch maps
showing the distribution of products and resources are employed; and
pedagogical exercises and aids are afforded abundantly.
A text-book on the _Differential and Integral Calculus_,[61] for
students who have a working knowledge of elementary geometry, algebra,
trigonometry, and analytical geometry, by Prof. _P. A. Lambert_, has
the threefold object of inspiring confidence, by a logical
presentation of principles, in the methods of infinitesimal analysis;
of aiding, through numerous problems, in acquiring facility in the use
of these methods; and, by applications to problems in physics,
engineering, and other branches of mathematics, to show the practical
value of the calculus. By a division of the matter according to
classes of functions, it is made possible to introduce these
applications from the start, and thereby to arouse the interest of the
student. By simultaneous treatment of differentiation and integration
and the use of trigonometric substitution to simplify integration it
is sought to economize the time and effort of the student.
_The Birds of Indiana_, by _Amos W. Butler_, lately published as part
of Willis S. Blatchley's Twenty-second Annual Report on the Geology
and Natural Resources of Indiana, is just at hand. It is one of the
most accurate, detailed, and satisfactory local catalogues yet
published. Three hundred and twenty-one species of birds have been
taken in Indiana, and of each of these is given a detailed
description, with a general account of its habits, song, migration,
and nesting. In the case of the more rare species, full records of the
dates and places of capture of the known specimens are appended.
Analytical keys to genera and species are also given, so that every
facility is furnished for the identification of species. This book is
a model of its kind, and is a worthy fruit of Mr. Butler's twenty
years of devoted study of the birds of his native State.
_Robert H. Whitten_, in his monograph on _Public Administration in
Massachusetts_--the relation of central to local activity--pursues a
parallel course with that taken by Mr. John A. Fairlie in a similar
essay on the Centralization of Administration in New York State, of
this same series of Columbia University studies in History, Economics,
and Public Law. Having found the systems and tendencies of
administration in the early settlement of Massachusetts all for
expansion and decentralization, Mr. Whitten now perceives the course
altogether changed, and centralization more and more the rule. The
change corresponds with changes in the conditions of life, and keeps
track with them step by step. Of great dynamic forces which have been
set to work and are bringing about a complete reconstruction of the
social structure, improvements in transportation and communication
were the most vital--first, turnpikes, then the steamboat, railroad,
and telegraph; then the horse railway, cheap postage, the telephone,
the electric railway, and the bicycle. The tendency at first was to
bring about a concentration which was attended by the congestion of
population in cities and the depopulation of the rural towns. "The
electric railway, the telephone, and the bicycle came in to counteract
these evils; while their tendency is strongly toward the
centralization of bureaus, it is also toward the diffusion of
habitations. These great socializing forces, going hand in hand with
the development of the factory system and improvement of machinery,
make possible a vastly higher organization of society than was
possible under a stagecoach _régime_."
The first volume of the Final Report of the State Geologist of New
Jersey, on Topography, Magnetism, and Climate, was published in 1888.
Other volumes embracing other topics have been published since, and in
the meantime the supply of the first volume has been exhausted, while
the demand has continued. It has been therefore necessary either to
reprint the volume or to publish a new work which should include the
important statistical matter of it. Accordingly, we have now _The
Physical Geography of New Jersey_, prepared by Prof. _Rollin D.
Salisbury_, with an appendix embodying "Data pertaining to the
Physical Geology of the State," by Mr. C. C. Vermeule, who was
formerly in charge of the topographic survey, and is author of the
volume on water supply. The two parts of the volume treat of the
topography of New Jersey as it now is, and the geological history of
the topography. The report is accompanied by a relief map of the
State, prepared by Mr. Vermeule on the basis of the topographical
survey, and presenting, therefore, an accurate picture of the relief.
It shows the great features of the State, its ranges of mountains,
hills, tablelands, plains, marsh lands, streams, and water areas in
their proper relations to one another; and it is contemplated to put
it in every schoolhouse in the State as an aid in the study of
geography.
M. _Imbert de Saint-Amand's_ series of books about the Second French
Empire furnish very interesting reading, are, so far as our
recollection of events goes, historically accurate, and fill a gap
which the literary world always has to suffer concerning any period
too recently passed for a competent judicial mind to have appeared to
tell its story. The second of the series--_Napoleon III and his
Court_--takes Louis Napoleon at the height of his success and
happiness, just after he had married the beautiful Eugénie, of whom
the world has nothing harsh to say, and carries him through the
period of his wonderful popularity and brilliant accomplishments to
the close of the Crimean War and the birth of the prince whose fate
was so unhappy. It deals, in a pleasant manner, and all favorable to
Napoleon, but not adulatory, with affairs social, political, and
military, in which it is hard to say whether the tact or the good
fortune of the subject of the history shone most brilliantly. We are
told how Eugénie won the French nation; of Napoleon's good will,
especially manifested toward all that could contribute to his
exaltation; of his dealings with the sovereigns around him, gradually
winning their recognition, including that of Nicholas of Russia; of
the darkening of the clouds of war, the Crimean campaigns; of the
interchanges of courtesies, gradually rising into close, firm
friendship, with the British court; and of the birth of the Prince
Imperial. Think what we may of the character of the reign of Louis
Napoleon and of its influence, it marked an epoch in nearly every line
of development of the world's history, and was as distinctly separated
from what came before it and from what followed it as if a broad line
were drawn around it; and it left some important results that are not
likely to be soon effaced. M. de Saint-Amand writes from personal
knowledge, having witnessed or participated in much of what he
describes, and has in Elizabeth Gilbert Martin a fully competent and
acceptable translator. (Published by Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 407.
Price, $1.50.)
The paper of the late Dr. _Theodor Eimer_ on _Orthogenesis and the
Impotence of Natural Selection in Species Formation_ is published by
the Open Court Company, Chicago, as No. 29 of their Religion of
Science Library. Pp. 56. Price, 25 cents.
The second volume of Uncle Robert's Geography, of Appletons'
Home-Reading Series--_On a Farm_--Mr. _Francis W. Parker_, the editor,
and _Nellie Lathrop Helm_, emphasizes the importance of parents and
teachers, giving full and complete recognition of the immense
educational value of spontaneous activities as displayed in motive and
interest; a recognition which "should be followed by active
encouragement and direction of the child's play, work, and
observations." The story deals entirely with the interests and life of
children in the environment of the country. A little girl is in her
playhouse in a Virginia fence corner, with her doll and mimic
housekeeping. Her shy, retiring companions are the birds who peep into
the playhouse, and, after she has gone away, come into it and pick up
the crumbs she has left. This leads to talks about different birds and
their nest building. A St. Bernard dog is introduced and furnishes the
opportunity for bringing in stories of the Alps, their glaciers and
snows, and the Hospice of St. Bernard, and then about other dogs. Susy
makes a garden in the woods, and the wild flowers become the subjects
of her spontaneous study. So with the rabbits, bread making and the
grain that furnishes the material for the bread, and other incidents;
with more birds' nests; the nature of bulbs, squirrels, etc.; and
finally Uncle Robert sets the child to finding out how the animals in
the woods spend the winter, and whether they are doing anything now in
preparation for it. (New York: D. Appleton and Company. Price, 42
cents.)
The _Thirty-fifth Annual Report_ of the Secretary of the State Board
of Agriculture of Michigan includes the Ninth Annual Report of the
Agricultural College Experiment Station, and is largely taken up with
the work of the latter institution, reviewing the records of the
college departments and presenting the reports and bulletins of the
station. The record of meteorological observations, the Proceedings of
the Farmers' Institutes, the Transactions of the Association of
Breeders of Improved Live Stock, and the Transactions of the State
Agricultural Society are also incorporated in the volume. An
interesting feature of the publication is the insertion of a portrait
and biographical notice of one of the pioneer farmers of the State,
Enos Goodrich, who was also prominent in public life.
The translation by _Eleanor Marx Aveling_ of Lissagaray's _History of
the Commune of 1871_ was made many years ago at the request of the
author from a contemplated second edition which the French Government
would not allow published. The work having been revised and corrected
by the translator's father, and for other reasons, no changes have
been made to adapt it to the time of its issue from the press. The
translator claims that Lissagaray's work is the only reliable and
accurate history that has yet been written of the Commune. He has not
attempted, she says, to hide the errors of his party, or to gloss over
the fatal weakness of the revolution. Of course, a very different view
of the movement is given from that presented in the French accounts,
as well as that generally held by English and Americans; but the
communists have a right to be represented and heard, and it is well
that they have so competent a spokesman. (Published by the
International Publishing Company, 23 Duane Street, New York.)
FOOTNOTES:
[52] Corona and Coronet: Being the Narrative of the Amherst Eclipse
Expedition to Japan, in Mr. James's Schooner Yacht Coronet, to observe
the Sun's Total Obscuration, August 9, 1896. By Mabel Loomis Todd.
Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Pp. 383. Price, $2.50.
[53] Revised Text-Book of Geology. By James D. Dana, LL. D. Fifth
edition, revised and enlarged. Edited by William North Rice. American
Book Company. Pp. 482.
[54] Familiar Life in Field and Forest. The Animals, Birds, Frogs, and
Salamanders. By F. Schuyler Mathews. New York: D. Appleton and
Company. Pp. 284. Price, $1.75.
[55] A Short Manual of Analytical Chemistry, Qualitative and
Quantitative, Inorganic and Organic. By John Muter. Second American
edition. Illustrated. Adapted from the eighth British edition.
Philadelphia: E. Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 228. Price, $1.25.
[56] Lectures on the Geometry of Position. By Theodor R. Reye.
Translated and edited by Thomas F. Halgate. New York: The Macmillan
Company. Pp. 148. Price, $2.25.
[57] Introduction to the Study of North American Archæology. By Prof.
Cyrus Thomas. Cincinnati: The Robert Clarke Company. Pp. 391.
[58] The Art of Taxidermy. By John Rowley. New York: D. Appleton and
Company. Pp. 244. Price, $2.
[59] The Storage Battery. A Practical Treatise on the Construction,
Theory, and Use of Secondary Batteries. By Augustus Treadwell. New
York: The Macmillan Company. Pp. 257. Price, $1.75.
[60] Natural Advanced Geography. By Jacques W. Redway and Russell
Hinman. American Book Company. Pp. 100.
[61] Differential and Integral Calculus. For Technical Schools and
Colleges. By R. A. Lambert. New York: The Macmillan Company. Pp. 245.
Price, $1.50.
PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Proceedings, 1898. Part
II. April to September. Pp. 224, with plates.
Agricultural Experiment Stations. Bulletins and Reports. Cornell
University: No. 152. Studies in Milk Secretion. By H. H. Wing and
Leroy Anderson. Pp. 56; No. 153. Impressions of our Fruit-growing
Industries. By L. H. Bailey. Pp. 18.--Iowa State College of
Agriculture, etc.: No. 10. Anatomical and Histological Studies. Pp.
25, with plates.--New Hampshire College: No. 53. The Farm Water
Supply. By Fred W. Morse. Pp. 12; The Winter Food of the Chickadee. By
Clarence M. Weed. Pp. 16.--United States Department of Agriculture:
The Chinch Bug. By F. M. Webster. Pp. 82; Some Books on Agriculture
and Sciences related to Agriculture published in 1896-'98. Pp. 45;
Forage Plants and Forage Resources of the Gulf States. By S. M. Tracy.
Pp. 55; List of Publications relating to Forestry in the Department
Library. Pp. 93.--University of Illinois: The Chemistry of the Corn
Kernel. By C. G. Hopkins. Pp. 52.
Austin, Herbert Ernest. Observation Blanks for Beginners in
Mineralogy. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. Pp. 80. 50 cents.
Bailey, M. A. American Elementary Arithmetic. American Book Company.
Pp. 205.
Beddard, Frank E. The Structure and Classification of Birds. New York
and London: Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. 548.
Barnes's National Vertical Penmanship. Nos. A and B, and 1 to 6.
American Book Company.
Bookseller, The, Newsdealer, and Stationer. Semimonthly. New York: 156
Fifth Avenue. Pp. 38. $1 a year.
Boutwell, Hon. George S. Problems raised by the War. Boston: Woman's
Educational and Industrial Union. Pp. 20.
Bulletins, Reports, Proceedings, etc. Michigan Monthly Bulletin of
Vital Statistics, October, 1898. Pp. 16.--National Pure Food and Drug
Congress: Journal of Proceedings, March, 1898. Pp. 53.--United States
Department of Labor: Bulletin No. 18, September, 1898. Pp. 124; No.
19, November, 1898. Pp. 42.
Card, Fred W. Bush Fruits. A Horticultural Monograph of Raspberries,
Blackberries, etc. New York: The Macmillan Company. Pp. 537. $1.50.
Carpenter, Frank G. Carpenter's Geographical Reader, North America.
American Book Company. Pp. 352.
Clark, William J. Commercial Cuba, with an Introduction by E. Sherman
Gould. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 514 with maps. $4.
Collyer, Rev. Robert. The Parable of "Lot's Wife." Pp. 13. 5 cents.
Earl, Alfred. The Living Organism. An Introduction to the Principles
of Biology. New York: The Macmillan Company. Pp. 271. $1.75.
Fisher, George E., and Schwatt, Isaac J. Text-Book of Algebra, with
Exercises. Philadelphia: Fisher & Schwatt. Pp. 683. $1.75.
Hall, Fred S. Sympathetic Strikes and Sympathetic Lockouts. Columbia
University. (Studies in History, Economics, and Public Law) Pp. 118.
Hill, Frank A. How far the Public High School is a Just Charge on the
Public Treasury. Pp. 36.
Holman, Silas W. Matter, Energy, Force, and Work. New York: The
Macmillan Company. Pp. 257. $2.
Hornbrook, A. R. Primary Arithmetic. American Book Company. Pp. 253.
Geikie, James. Rock Sculpture, or the Origin of Land Forms. New York:
G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 397. $2.
Hurley, Denis M. The Metric System of Weights and Measures in the
Congress of the United States. Pp. 4.
Inglis, George E., Editor. The Anglo-Saxon Monthly. Chicago: The
Anglo-Saxon Publishing Company. 10 cents. $1 a year.
Jackman, Wilbur S. Nature Study for Grammar Grades. Danville, Ill.:
Illinois Printing Company. Pp. 407.
Jenkins, C. Francis. Animated Pictures. Washington, D. C.: C. Francis
Jenkins. Pp. 118.
Jordan, David Starr. Footnotes to Evolution. New York: D. Appleton and
Company. Pp. 392. $1.50.
Lassalle, Ferdinand. The Workingman's Programme. New York:
International Publishing Company. Pp. 62.
Macmillan Company, The. Catalogue of Books, Section VII, Scientific,
pp. 24; and Section IX, Classical and Educational, pp. 26.
Makato, Tentearo. Japanese Notions of European Political Economy.
Philadelphia. Pp. 42.
Marshall, Henry Rutgers. Instinct and Reason. New York: The Macmillan
Company. Pp. 575. $3.50.
Merriman, Mansfield. Elements of Sanitary Engineering. New York: John
Wiley & Sons. Pp. 216.
Metric System, The, of Weights and Measures. Hartford, Conn.: Hartford
Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. Pp. 196.
Millennial Dawn, Vol. IV. The Day Of Vengeance. Allegheny, Pa.: The
Tower Publishing Company. Pp. 668. 35 cents.
Park. J. G. Language Lessons. American Book Company. Pp. 144.
Payne, Frank Owen. Geographical Nature Studies. American Book Company.
Pp. 144. 25 cents.
Peabody, J. E. Laboratory Exercises in Anatomy and Physiology. New
York: Henry Holt & Co. Pp. 79. 60 cents.
Preece, W. H. President's Address before the Institution of Civil
Engineers, November 1, 1898. Pp. 29.
Reprints. Coulter, John M. The Origin of Gymnosperms and the Seed
Habit. (Botanical Society of America.) Pp. 16.--Brinton, Daniel G. The
Peoples of the Philippines. Pp. 16.--Eckles, C. H. The Relation of
Certain Bacteria to the Production of Butter. Pp. 10.--Graziani, Dr.
Giovanni. A Sensitive Test for Kryofine in the Urine, etc. Pp.
81.--Keen, W. W. The Advantages of a Permanent Abdominal Anus, etc.,
in Operations for Cancer of the Rectum. Pp. 11; The Advantages of the
Trendelenburg Posture during Operations involving the Cavities of the
Mouth, etc. Pp. 7; Removal of Angioma of the Liver, etc. Pp.
12.--Keen, W. W., and Spiller, W. G. On Resection of the Gasserian
Ganglion, etc. Pp. 38, with plates.--Ladd, E. F. The Proteids of
Cream. Pp. 3; and Humates and Soil Fertility. Pp. 7.--Lloyd, James
Hendrie. A Study of the Lesions in a Case of Trauma of the Cervical
Region of the Spinal Cord simulating Syringomyelia. Pp. 18.--Sherwood,
W. L. The Frogs and Toads found in the Vicinity of New York City. Pp.
27.--Tromsdorff, Richard. Observations at the Clinic of Professor
Ebstein on Kryofine. Pp. 12.
Ripley, Frederic H., and Tappen, Thomas. A Short Course in Music. Book
Two. American Book Company. Pp. 175.
Russell, Israel C. Rivers of North America. New York: G. P. Putnam's
Sons. Pp. 327. $2.
Sands, Maniel. Opposites in Religion. New York: Peter Eckler. (Library
of Liberal Classics, Monthly). Pp. 138. 50 cents.
Savage, M. J. The Word of God: The Evils of Religious and Political
Pessimism. Boston: George H. Ellis. Pp. 18 each.
Schimmel & Co., Leipzig and New York Semiannual Report (fine
chemicals), October, 1898. Pp. 64, with map.
Seymour, A. T., Editor. The Science Teacher. Monthly. Orange, N. J.
Pp. 12. 15 cents. $1 a year.