EXPLORATION AND TRAVEL.

Notes from the Arctic.

MR. WILLIAM DÜVEL, who returned a few days ago from Cumberland Sound on board the New London schooner Eira,' gives us some interesting information on the events in Cumberland Sound during the last years. The whalers, who had been unsuccessful for a great number of years, have been more fortunate since 1885, while the catch of the Davis Strait fishery shows a sudden fallingoff. In 1884, when ten vessels were fishing in Lancaster Sound, the catch aggregated some eighty whales, but in the following years

lowest temperature of last winter was-46° F. The snowfall was very scanty, the ice being hardly covered with any snow. As, in addition to this, the ice was very smooth, travelling in winter was easy. In February, however, the much-dreaded dog-disease made its appearance, and swept away the dogs of the natives. In Black Lead, among a party of thirty-three natives, only nine dogs remained. In the spring of 1886 the same disease made its first appearance in the settlements of Davis Strait, where it was unknown up to that time.

Last summer the ice of Cumberland Sound broke up on the 6th of July. As the whaling in the Sound has become more profitable,

not more than ten or twelve were caught by the whole fleet. In 1884, the pack-ice was remarkably loose, and the first ship entered Cumberland Sound as early as the middle of July. The floe, however, which was attached to the land, lasted until the 5th of August, a date unprecedented in Cumberland Sound. This corresponds to the character of the land-ice in Davis Strait, which, as was formerly reported by Captain Spicer, did not break up in three subsequent summers, from 1884 to 1886. In 1885 the land-floe in Cumberland Sound extended very far south, as may be seen on the accompanying sketch-map. In 1886 its position was a little farther north, while last winter it extended again to the entrance of the Gulf. This fact is very remarkable, as in many former years the head of the open water reached up to Kekerten, and even as far as Haystack. The

a greater number of vessels frequent the Sound, and several permanent stations are established. There is a Scottish station in Kekerten, while American whalers have stations on Black Lead, in Nugumiut, and in Hudson Strait. The sanitary condition of the natives was very good. In Cumberland Sound five deaths occurred during the last year, while three children were born in a single settlement. In the fall all natives belonging to the tribe inhabiting the west coast of Cumberland Sound gathered in Black Lead, and celebrated the great annual festival which is known to all the tribes of northern Labrador and Baffin Land, and in which masked men, who represent certain spirits, make their appearance. Early in spring south-westerly winds carried the heavy pack-ice of Davis Strait into the Sound, and kept it there for a number of weeks.

While in 1883 and 1884 a great number of flat icebergs, most of which were the scattered remains of one enormous berg, filled the Sound and the neighboring parts of Davis Strait, this form was not observed during the last years; all bergs, with one single exception, being very high and pointed.

The ice-chart of Cumberland Sound, which accompanies these notes, has been compiled from observations made by F. Boas in the winter of 1883-84, and from reports of American and Scottish whalers. The edge of the floe as indicated on the map shows the greatest extent of the ice in each year, which is attained about the end of February. Besides this, the water-holes, which are kept open throughout the winter by swift-running tides, are indicated on the map, and so are the places where the ice is worn through by the currents in March and April.

BRITISH COLUMBIA. Dr. G. M. Dawson has kindly sent us a more detailed account of his work in British Columbia. Leaving Victoria early in May, the expedition reached Fort Wrangel, from which point they proceeded up the Stikine River to Cassian. The expedition consisted of two branches, Dr. Dawson leading the geological department, while Mr. W. Ogilvie made an instrumental survey of the country, on behalf of the Dominion Land Office. His surveys extend from the seacoast by way of the Lewis River, up the Yukon to the 141st meridian, which constitutes the eastern boundary of Alaska, and his measurements will serve as a basis for further work in the district. The object of Dr. Dawson's researches was a thorough exploration of the tributaries of the upper Yukon. Messrs. R. G. McConnell and James McEvoy were his special assistants. His party proceeded up the Stikine River as far as Dease Lake, where they built three boats. As soon as the ice broke up and left the lake, which was on the 18th of June, later than it ever has been known, they went down the Dease River and into the forks of the Dease and Liard Rivers. Here Mr. McConnell separated from the rest of the party for the purpose of descending and surveying the Liard and the Mackenzie Rivers. Dawson went up the Liard and Frances Rivers to Francis Lake, which drains into the Liard, and not into the Pelly River, as shown in most maps of that country. From Francis Lake, the party crossed a difficult portage of about fifty miles to the Pelly River. From here Dawson sent back the five Indians who had accompanied him from the coast, and then proceeded down the Pelly River, accompanied by Mr. McEvoy and Messrs. Lewis and Johnston of Victoria, in a small canvas boat which they had built on reaching Pelly River. At the confluence of the Pelly and Lewis Rivers, Mr. Ogilvie and his party were met. After whipsawing the lumber and building another boat for the purpose, the Dawson party ascended the Lewis River, which Mr. Ogilvie had already surveyed instrumentally. A geological survey of the country along the Lewis River was made. Then the party crossed the Chilcat portage to the head of

authoritative beliefs so as to minimize the antagonism between them and the doctrines of evolution; but in every direction, and without regard to the final outcome, evolution has introduced into ethical discussion a healthy ferment, the fruits of which the next generation will appreciate even more than the 'liberals' of this. The variability of moral codes and their close interdependence with the environment and thought-habits of different peoples have been emphasized; and the too dogmatically asserted connection between moral actions and religious rites and beliefs has been broken through. That among the products of this violent fermentation should be found much that is analogous to waste-matter is not striking. Truth-loving disciples of science do not hesitate to admit that some of their over-ardent brethren have overstepped the lines of strict validity in claiming for evolution the solution of many of the vexed world-problems of mankind. The very fact that this aggressive kind of writing has been taken up by the lower ranks of evolutionists, while its leaders have rather acted upon a policy of reserve and awaited developments, makes it easy to admit that one does not always open a book treating the moral aspects of evolution with an anticipation of pleasure or instruction. Mr. Powell's book is both deeply interesting and scientifically valuable.

Our Heredity from God' is a poor title; not only because the author uses the term 'God' in an unusual sense, but because the book is really a study of evolution with special reference to its moral and religious bearings. Mr. Powell avows himself a disbeliever in any personal deity, and is among that ever-increasing body of thinkers who draw their enthusiasm and inspiration from a contemplation of the vastly suggestive generalizations of science, and the deep significance of a natural morality. The author has not inherited this position, but has worked his way to it through a period of traditional sectarianism; and this leaves its mark in the many references to the biblical cosmogony. It may well be questioned whether it is still worth while antagonizing this biblical account of genesis as though it posed as a scientific explanation (which its truest admirers never claimed). With this exception, Mr. Powell is content to let the facts speak for themselves, simply placing them in such a light that their ethical import may be reflected, and adding to the exposition a depth of natural feeling that leads to an admiration of the man. Science is certainly not as cold as she is often pictured to be. It is impossible to give even in outline a sketch of the long and accumulative argument by which the moral beauty and religious satisfaction of the evolutionary aspect of nature is unfolded in Mr. Powell's mind. All that can be done is to cite a few sentences which shall at the same time illustrate the attractive style and happy suggestiveness that make the pages readable. What Mr. Powell means by the title of his book may perhaps be gathered from these words: "The hypothesis of evolution opens our eyes to the magnificent panorama of an eternal

for a few days, the steamer Ancon' was taken for Victoria. Mr. Ogilvie, in separating from the rest of the party, continued down the Yukon River, prosecuting his survey. He intends wintering on that river, and resuming his work in the spring, continuing it over to the Mackenzie River. He will return next fall to Winnipeg by way of that stream and the Hudson Bay Company's route to Carlton on the Saskatchewan. Mr. McConnell will probably winter at Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie River, and continue his explorations from that point next summer.

Our Heredity from God, consisting of Lectures on Evolution. By E. P. POWELL. New York, Appleton. 12°.

We have not yet recovered from the re-adjustment of the views of life brought about by the new knowledge which the movement of which Darwin is the centre has accumulated. From the very first, the notion of evolution was most strongly opposed, because it was antagonistic to certain widely spread but in no way verified beliefs. As the facts in favor of a derivative theory became more complete and the theory more invincible, a shifting of the theologist's' position took place. Some held that evolution simply described a method, but in no way removed the necessity of an anterior cause; others attempted a twisted and allegorical interpretation of the

from the vast unfathomableness of the sentient universe, at last lifts us as conscious beings near to the heart of the Supreme All in All; and with Him, and in Him, and by Him, bid us consciously to live, and move, and have our being. This I call our heredity from God. To trace our descent from animal progenitors is but a fraction of the problem: the longer sweep of vision beholds an ancestry that embraces all life and all purposive being."

The author holds that the widest gap is not between man and the animals, but between savage and civilized man: he adores civilization as man's handiwork, and regards as most immoral all that hinders its progress. Many of the notions associated with religious doctrines are thus condemned and fearlessly denounced. The view, however, is broad enough to see in many such beliefs stages of ethical development. They are denounced, not because they never formed an advance step in moral evolution, but because they cease to do so any longer. Contrasting, thus, man's present with his past history, - still epitomized in the early stages of each one of us, Mr. Powell sees a glorious future, when the development of ethical notions, now barely dreamt of, will be wide-spread, in accordance with the sound ethical nature of the universe. Among the sentences worth repeating for their own sake are the following: "Suspension of judgment is another faculty that is steadily becoming the common property of mankind. It is a growing power, under civilization, to hold the mind in hand, to restrain it by

ascertained laws." "All religions, all philosophies, all parties, have sought to establish an eternal camp at some mile-stone of progress, but all have failed. It is difficult to grasp the full force of this idea — the individual. . . . Men of lower races are much of one pattern. Civilization is an individualizing process; so in turn men of intense character have done most of the propelling that has constituted civilization." "The first need of a plant is precisely the first need of an animal; and that of man is the same. This common need of all life is to find out facts, facts about what is not itself, — and then to adapt itself to what it finds out." Nowhere in nature has there been as much parasitic life as among human beings. It takes a large degree of wit to live idly, and off your neighbor's industry. But some vegetables learned to do this before man did it; and many animals have done the same. The result has been degeneration, loss of structure, loss of faculty, and, as a rule, final helplessness and degeneration of the whole being." But it is not simply at the height of national existence that this impulse for self-preservation responds to the mimicry of lower life. You will observe its operation in our social customs and common propensities; for it is a fact that not any thing is more dreaded or shunned by average human beings than originality, — that is, unlikeness to others. It has always been dangerous. It is even yet likely to secure for its possessor a great deal of annoyance." "Strange views break out all over the globe by apparent spontaneity. . . . Darwin, and Wallace, and Haeckel, without intercommunication, propounded simultaneously the hypothesis of evolution. It is as when three mountain-tops of equal height catch the morning sunbeam at the same moment."

Sixth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey (1884-85). J. W. POWELL, director. Washington, Government. 4°.

ALTHOUGH on account of the tardy appearance of this volume, for which the management of the survey does not appear to be responsible, the administrative portions have lost some of their freshness and interest, the work as a whole fully sustains the splendid reputation of its predecessors. These annual reports are admirably designed, when promptly issued, to place the Geological Survey en rapport with the general public: for they consist of, first, the report of the director, which is devoted to the organization, new features, and general operations of the survey; second, the short administrative reports of the chiefs of divisions, showing in greater detail the progress made in every department of the survey during the year; and third, and most important of all, the scientific papers or monographs completed during the year. The monographs are also published separately, and appear in the annual report in extenso or in abstract form, as convenience or their general interest may demand. The bulletins of the survey are shorter but more technical papers, which are not represented in the annual report; the object being to include in this volume only the results of most general interest, with the view of making it a somewhat popular account of the doings of the survey, that it may be widely read by the intelligent people of the country.

The report is accompanied by the following monographs: Mount Taylor and the Zuni Plateau,' by Capt. C. E. Dutton; 'Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi Valley,' by T. C. Chamberlin and R. D. Salisbury; The Quantitative Determination of Silver by Means of the Microscope,' by J. S. Curtis; 'Seacoast Swamps of the Eastern United States,' by Prof. N. S. Shaler; Synopsis of the Flora of the Laramie Group,' by Prof L. F. Ward.

The last-named paper has already been noticed in the pages of Science, and several of the others are of such great importance and general interest as to demand fuller comment than it is possible to accord them in this preliminary notice.

The force of the survey is now, and must be for several years to come, largely devoted to the construction of a topographic map of the United States; and the director's report begins with the plan and progress of this work, and illustrations of the lettering and conventional signs to be used on the map. The scale of the map is approximately one mile, two, or four miles to the inch, according to the character and prospective needs of the country; the map is constructed in contours, with vertical intervals of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 feet, varying with the scale of the map and the magnitude of

relief features; and, finally, the map is to be engraved in sheets, of which the unit is to be the square degree, i.e., one degree of latitude and one of longitude. An area of 57,508 square miles was surveyed in the year 1884-85, at an average cost of about three dollars per square mile.

The organization of the survey is more fully explained here than in any of the previous reports. Besides the large topographic corps under Mr. Henry Gannett, it includes the following divisions, each chief or head of division being provided with a strong corps of assistants: 1. Glacial geology, in charge of Prof. T. C. Chamberlin; 2. Volcanic geology, in charge of Capt. Clarence E. Dutton; 3. Archæan geology of the Appalachian region, including all the metamorphic or crystalline strata, of whatever age, extending from northern New England to Georgia, in charge of Prof. Raphael Pumpelly; 4. Archæan geology of the Lake Superior region, in charge of Prof. Roland D. Irving (it is not proposed at present to undertake the study of the crystalline schists of the Rocky Mountain region); 5. Areal, structural, and historical geology of the Appalachian region, in charge of Mr. G. K. Gilbert; 6. A thorough topographic and geologic survey of the Yellowstone National Park is in the charge of Mr. Arnold Hague. When the survey is completed, Mr. Hague's field will be extended so as to include a large part of the Rocky Mountain region. The general geologic work relating to the great areas of fossiliferous formations is very imperfectly and incompletely organized, and this must continue to be the case until the topographic survey approaches completion.

The paleontological work of the survey is carried on in five laboratories, as follows: vertebrate fossils, in charge of Prof. O. C. Marsh; invertebrate fossils of quaternary age, in charge of Mr. William H. Dall; invertebrate fossils of cenozoic and mesozoic age, in charge of Dr. C. A. White; invertebrate fossils of paleozoic age, in charge of Mr. C. D. Walcott; and vegetable fossils, in charge of Mr. Lester F. Ward.

The chemical laboratory, with a large corps of chemists, is in charge of Prof. F. W. Clarke. There is a physical laboratory in the survey, with a small corps of men engaged in physical researches of prime importance in geology. A large corps of lithologists is engaged in the microscopic study of rocks. Besides the division of mining statistics, economic geology is represented by two parties, in charge of Mr. George F. Becker and Mr. S. F. Emmons, engaged in studying various mining districts in the West.

The survey also comprises a division, in charge of Mr. W. H. Holmes, organized for the purpose of preparing illustrations for paleontologic and geologic reports. Illustrations will not hereafter be used for embellishment, and, so far as possible, will be prepared by relief methods, and held permanently for the use of the public at large in scientific periodicals, text-books, etc. The large geologic library and the bibliographic work of the survey are in charge of Mr. C. C. Darwin.

The remaining topics discussed by the director are the publications, appointments, and finances of the survey, and the relations of the Government and State surveys.

Elementary Text-Book of Physics. By Profs. W. A. ANTHONY and C. F. BRACKETT. 3d ed. New York, Wiley. 8°. THIS is the first appearance, in a complete form, of a long-expected text-book from two well-known American physicists. It is designed to furnish what is necessary and sufficient for that part of a well-adjusted college course which is devoted to the study of physics, and it is the only college text-book of that science which has appeared in this country for several years, aside from revisions and new editions of old works.

Many institutions have hitherto made use of English books, or of translations from the French which have come to us through English hands. This volume is offered as a substitute for such works, and it is little enough to say that it will be found in general to be a very acceptable one. In some respects the book is almost unique. When compared with those largely in use at the present time, it illustrates in a very striking manner the great progress in college instruction in physics during the past decade.

In its plan there is a distinct recognition of the competent instructor with a well-stocked cabinet at his command. Pictorial representations of apparatus are entirely wanting, and the illustra

tions are only such simple diagrams as are required to elucidate the text. Besides being an advantage in other respects, this plan sets free a vast amount of space which can be utilized in the more thorough presentation of the principles of the science. For illustrations of these principles, by experiment or from facts drawn from observation, the instructor is held responsible, as he is also for their practical application.

In adopting this plan, the authors have unquestionably made a decided advance. Although the treatment is mathematical wherever desirable, it is assumed that the student has no knowledge of the differential and integral calculus. In several instances the method of limits has been used, however, and students who are familiar with the calculus will have no difficulty in its application. The subject is treated in the usual five grand divisions, mechanics, heat, magnetism and electricity, sound, and light.

Many physicists will not be able to agree entirely with the authors in some of their fundamental definitions and statements in the chapters upon mechanics. A close examination of these reveals several inconsistencies, into which they appear to have been led by the adoption of certain time-honored definitions and terms. Some of these questions have received a good deal of attention during the past few years, in the columns of this journal and elsewhere, and probably the disputants are no more nearly in agreement than they were in the beginning; but it seems tolerably certain that even the average student will experience a certain turbidity of mind when he places the definition of 'momentum' (viz.,“ the momentum of a body is its quantity of motion") and that of motion' (viz., “the change in position of a material particle is called its motion") a very little nearer together than they are now found on the pages of the book. The first sentence of the introduction, "Every thing which can affect our senses we call matter," has a ring of materialism about it which one would hardly expect from at least one of the two famous institutions of learning from which the book comes.

If these and other similar statements are admitted to be defects, they are of minor importance, and do not materially detract from the general excellence of the treatise. It is to be greatly regretted, however, that the publisher has not done his part as well as the authors have done theirs. In mechanical execution the book is substantial, but very far from attractive in its appearance. Industrial Peace. By L. L. F. R. PRICE. New York, Macmillan. 8°.

THOSE who have given attention to the treatment of the laborquestion in England have heard of Arnold Toynbee, the young Oxford graduate who founded an institution in the eastern part of London for the purpose of bringing young men of education into contact with the ignorant poor. After the death of Toynbee at an early age, a memorial fund was raised in his honor, and devoted to the work of spreading information by lectures and publications on the subjects in which he was interested; and the volume before us is the first to be issued by the trustees of that fund. The greater part of the work was first read before the Statistical Society of London, and was published in the journal of that society for March, 1887.

Mr. Price opens his work by remarking, what is sometimes lost sight of by enthusiastic reformers, that "there is not, nor indeed is it probable that there can be, any single panacea for social ills. . . . So diversified are the details of even contemporaneous industrial society, that any scheme which professes to cure all economic maladies by an uniform unalterable method of treatment may almost be said to carry with it its own condemnation" (p. 1). Some persons, he remarks, think that co-operation is destined to remove all industrial difficulties; but upon this point he thinks that experience is not encouraging. Co-operative distribution has prospered in England to a surprising extent; but in co-operative production there were in 1884 only £800,000 of capital employed, and only 6,300

wages. As an example of the former class, he describes the formation and working of the board of conciliation organized in 1869 in the iron trade of the north of England, which he considers an excellent test of the system, since the fluctuations of wages in the iron trade are greater than in most others, and also because before the board was organized the relations between workmen and employers was very unfriendly. In spite of these difficulties, however, the method of conciliation has proved a great success. The machinery consists of a board comprising representatives of both sides and a standing committee appointed by the board. All questions are first investigated by the committee, and, if they cannot agree, the matter is laid before the board; and, if an agreement is not reached there, an arbitrator is called in to render a decision. The system is similar to the conseils de prud'hommes that exist in France and Belgium; but Mr. Price objects to these on account of their legal character, which is contrary to the traditions of English, and, we may add, of American life. He examines at length the working of the boards of conciliation, and then proceeds to consider the method of sliding scales, by which wages are made to vary with the price of the product. The establishment and maintenance of such scales have been attended with considerable difficulty, owing to disagreements as to what standard of prices and wages should be taken as a basis; but nevertheless they have proved successful in many English collieries, and are still in force there. The special advantages of these scales, in Mr. Price's opinion, are their elasticity and their automatic action; but he does not fail to point out at considerable length the difficulties attending the working both of the sliding scales and of the boards of conciliation. The chief of these are, "the possibility that the decision might fail to secure loyal adherence, the contentiousness connected with the preparation and discussion of elaborate arguments, and the difficulty of determining upon a satisfactory basis and of ascertaining accurate data" (p. 89).

Such is a brief analysis of the methods of industrial peace' that have been tried with no little success in England; and we would earnestly recommend a study of them to the leaders of our American trade-unions and to the employers with whom they are perpetually contending. It is the duty as well as the interest of both parties to maintain peace, and any methods that have been successfully employed for this purpose ought to be carefully considered by them, and, if possible, put into practice. They will not, of course, solve all industrial problems; but the substitution of peaceful methods for contentious ones would of itself be a great gain, and would pave the way for further improvements in the future. Elementary Practical Physics. By B. STEWART and W. W. H. GEE. Vol. II. Electricity and Magnetism. New York, Macmillan. 16°.

ALL who are familiar with the contents of the first volume of this work will extend a hearty welcome to the second. Every teacher of physics by laboratory methods has felt the need of a good handbook or guide, which, in the hands of the student, would afford some relief from the labor of giving individual instruction in the details of manipulation, which, when the number of students is large, becomes simply enormous.

Since the publication of Pickering's Physical Manipulations' fifteen years ago, the pioneer in this field, a number of attempts have been made to supply the want. It is safe to say that none have been more successful in producing a book at once satisfactory in plan and material than Professors Stewart and Gee, in this series, the second volume of which has now appeared.

In its general character it resembles the first volume. One of the leading features of the series, very prominent in this volume, is the fulness of detail concerning all operations, the making of every experiment, and the nature and construction of every piece of apparatus used. Nearly all of the instruments described are such as were constructed in the laboratory of the authors: they are simple in design, and instructions for their reproduction are so clear that even the unskilful can hardly fail. The amateur instrument-maker is also greatly aided by the numerous diagrams and cuts illustrating methods of construction.

The value of this feature of the work can hardly be overestimated, for it is a fact that many good teachers have little inventive

or mechanical skill. Besides, it will generally be admitted that the construction of the simpler apparatus by the student himself is a most valuable and useful exercise, giving him a firm and lasting hold upon fundamental principles which he can attain in no other way. But this attention to detail does not stop with the instrument itself. All of various steps to be gone over in its use, its proper adjustments, the errors to be looked out for, etc., are carefully considered; and in nearly every instance a numerical example is provided, generally taken from real laboratory note-books, and the solution and reduction are gone through with.

In short, in this respect, as many others, the book comes as near taking the place of the living instructor as can well be imagined. It must not be understood that the book is for the beginner in the study of electricity. It must at least be taken in connection with, and better after, a course in some elementary text-book on the subject, and, in addition, may go along with a course of lectures upon fundamental theories. The recognition of this fact is shown in the plan of the book itself, in which, in the first three chapters, the student is introduced to the leading principles of the science, its nomenclature, units of measure, etc., that the less elementary chapters which follow may offer less difficulty.

The chapter on resistance measurement is naturally full and complete, nearly all important and useful methods being given. A full discussion of the tangent galvanometer is given, together with the methods of determining its constants. Related to this is the determination of the magnetic elements, and a good deal of space is devoted to a very complete description of the Kew magnetometer: its use is described, and a series of observations is completely worked out. Other parts of the work are equally worthy of commendation, especially the series of appendices at the end, containing among other things a number of valuable hints as to the manipulation of material used in the construction of apparatus.

Nearly all of the formulas used in the reduction of observations are derived from elementary propositions, but the mathematical treatment of the subject is elementary, and well suited to the character of the work. In addition to its adaptability to class-room work, the book can be highly recommended to private students of electricity and magnetism.

Introduction to a Historical Geography of the British Colonies By C. P. LUCAS. Oxford, Clarendon Pr. 12o.

THIS little book is the first instalment of a larger work, to be published in parts, and dealing separately with the various dependencies of the British Empire. It gives not only a brief history of the founding of the British colonies, but treats of colonization generally, ancient and modern, and gives some chapters to what may be called the philosophy of colonization. Mr. Lucas defines a colony as a body of persons who have left their native country and permanently settled in another, and who in their new home form the bulk of the inhabitants. He then proceeds to consider the motives of colonization, the chief of which he finds to be these four: "love of enterprise, desire of wealth, social or political discontent, and religion." He does not attribute so exclusive an influence to over-population in the mother-country as some writers do, but thinks that the other motives have in many cases been more important than this. He gives a brief but interesting account of the influence of religion in the founding of colonies and the conquest of dependencies, and also of the effects of climate and race. A colonizing race should be not only enterprising and inclined to emigrate, but also endowed with an aptitude for commerce, and especially for law and government. Of these characteristics the last named is the most important: "Colonizing on any large scale must imply dealing with subject races, and the past has shown, that, in spite of other defects, the people which can govern will in the end prevail" (p. 27).

The brief history of colonization, ancient and modern, which the book contains, and the special account of the English colonies with which it closes, contain a large amount of information in a small compass, and, though treating of matters that are familiar to most readers of history, will be useful for reference. If the projected historical geography of England's colonies is carried out as well as it is begun, it will prove a valuable addition to historical literature.

Electricity for Public Schools and Colleges. By W. LARDEN. London, Longmans, Green, & Co. 12°.

THE ceaseless activity in all matters pertaining to electricity is shown in the continued appearance of books relating to the subject, in all parts of the world and in all languages.

This book is intended, as its title implies, to serve as a textbook for high-class public schools, and for colleges in which a thorough training in the fundamental principles of electricity and magnetism is furnished, in the development of which the instructor is restricted to elementary mathematics.

Few institutions of learning in this country can offer to their students more than this, and, in fact, not very many have found it possible to make use of a separate treatise upon the subject, except, of course, in the way of special elective courses.

Of the several books containing an elementary treatment of electricity and magnetism which have appeared within the last ten or fifteen years, this by Larden has the advantage of being one of the most recent, and in breadth of treatment, and thoroughness of execution, one of the best.

Only elementary mathematics is made use of, and it is therefore necessary occasionally to state a proposition on authority. Frequent references are given, however, to treatises in which such propositions will be found fully discussed. In some instances where elementary demonstrations are presented, the author has not selected the easiest and most simple. An illustration of this statement is to be found in his proof of the condition under which a battery gives a maximum current. Some of his discussions are also open to the objection of an excessive conciseness and brevity of statement, thus presenting difficulties which the average student of the class for which the book is intended will have difficulty in overcoming. The diagrammatic illustrations have been drawn especially for the work, and are generally very clear. A number of cuts of complete and well-known forms of apparatus are also furnished.

Among the commendable features of the book may be mentioned a very full discussion of induction machines (electro-static), including the Voss machine, the Holtz machine, and others, the operation of which is often very perplexing to students.

The author is not fortunate in his chapter on atmospheric electricity, and especially where he attempts to account for the varying potential of the atmosphere.

The treatment of electric measurements is tolerably full, sufficiently so for a book of this kind, in which one ought not to expect to find all of the now nearly innumerable methods and devices. The chapter on Joule's law and the conservation of energy is especially complete, although not long; and other chapters, on electro-dynamic induction, the dynamo, induction coils, etc., will be found quite satisfactory. Many teachers and students of the science will welcome the book, and find it useful in their work. The Science of Politics. By WALTER THOMAS MILLS. New York, Funk & Wagnalls. 12°.

IN taking up a book with the above title, we naturally expect to find it treating of the duties and functions of the State, or of its organization or its history; but these topics are scarcely touched upon in the work before us. The author himself states his subject to be the duties of citizenship and the means of performing them; but he confines himself mostly to the treatment of political parties. Mr. Mills, as he tells us on his titlepage, is a journalist; and the influence of his profession is a little too plainly visible in this work, the style showing some of that offhand infallibility which many journalists affect. As regards matter, the book is not specially profound or original, yet it nevertheless contains much that is good. The author has in the main very correct ideas as to the nature and functions of parties and the rights and duties of the citizen with regard to them. He sees clearly that a party without principles is worthless, and that the fact that a party has done well in the past is no guaranty that it will always do well in the future. He vigorously maintains the right to bolt a bad nomination, and the right and duty of leaving an old party and joining a new one in case the old one proves recreant to its trust. Such views as these are not yet so widely accepted in this country as they ought to be; and, if this book should be read by the right persons, it can hardly fail to