in noticing the book, to confine our attention to one chapter alone, as it is really of most importance, and as the editor puts it forward as entirely new, the other sections of the work being merely reprints. This chapter is that upon the Physiology of Alcohol, and we may say of it at once that it is a fair and tolerably impartial, if a little superficial, account of the bearings of the question, whether alcohol is a poison or a food. In his account of the various species of alcoholic drink the author is perfectly correct in his statement of the nature of the three classes of alcohol-that for the scent manufacturer, that for the apothecary, and that for ordinary consumption; that form which is sent out to be consumed among savage tribes we know nothing of. But in his statement as to the effect which alcohol produces in experiments upon the frog's foot, &c., we differ from him totally. We are quite aware that such statements have been made by scientific men : that, for example, weak spirits cause an increase in the circulation of frogs' feet, and strong spirits absolutely abolish it, and totally destroy the texture of the part. Such experiments are totally valueless as practical tests. We know, from the result of many experiments on the subject, that the effects of alcohol on the frog's foot are most uncertain, and that often it requires strong spirits of wine to produce such an effect as that described. Besides, when it is removed the part quickly recovers. And again, why should we calculate that the same thing would occur in the circulation of a warmblooded animal as happens in a cold-blooded one? We do not object to such experiments; but what we do object to is the wholesale fashion in which some too quick-witted individual proceeds to draw most mathematical conclusions from these results. Again, the author can clearly not have been a medical man, or else he must have been wonderfully ignorant when he wrote such a sentence as the following one in connection with the absorption of alcohol. He says, " It is not absorbed through the same channels whereby the food gains access to the blood; the villi do not take it up, the lacteals contain no appreciable trace of it." Surely no medical man would have fallen into so dire a mistake as to imagine that all absorption save that of alcohol takes place through the lacteals. Why, the thing is absurd on the very face of it. Allow us to state that an exceptional quantity of matter, merely the fatty materials, are taken up through the lacteals; and all really nitrogenous matter, your flesh meat, sugar, bread and potatoes, pass not through the lacteals, but by the very same channels through which the alcohol passes -by the blood-vessels that surround the stomach.

Having pointed out so great an error, it is of course plain that the author has not been medically educated, and therefore we must receive many other of his statements with caution. But we entirely agree with him in his general result, that alcohol should be taken in moderation, and that less should be indulged in by plethoric and excitable persons than by lymphatic temperaments, as they are called. In all that relates to the general effects of alcoholic stimulants, we are entirely in unison with the author of this chapter; and it is only when he becomes physiological that we are compelled to urge disagreement. For instance, he says that part of the alcohol is carried off; to this we of course agree; but when he tells us it is by the alimentary canal, we are at a loss to understand him; if he said by the kidneys and skin, we could at once have admitted his asser

tion. But these are very small faults to have to find with an article which on the whole is really very good indeed. We may, in conclusion, give the headings of the several other chapters, which are, we believe, reprints from different journals. These are as follows:-The brain and its servants; the faculty of hearing; the eye and sight; the sense of smell; the sense of taste; digestion; the skin; corpulence; the bath; the sense of touch; notes on pain; respiration; taking cold; influenza; headache; sleep; sleeplessness; ventilation; the liver and its diseases; muscular motion; occupation and health; and lastly, training and gymnastics.

FOOD AND DIETETICS.*

ONE would imagine that no book would be more popular than a work

which treated fully and fairly of the different varieties of food, and of their action on the human body. Yet it is strange that, as a rule, books on food, for some reason or other, are by no means popular, and are read by very few, even of those medical men whom they especially concern. However, we trust that in the present instance this rule will not hold good, for the author has been at pains to introduce into this volume everything in the faintest degree of scientific value which touches on his subject; and he has not only done so, but he has taken care that only the most recent views on the physiology of digestion have found a place in his pages. The book is a very vast one, of course, from the extended nature of the treatment adopted in it. for it covers nearly 550 pages of large octavo, and of comparatively small type. Yet we do not think the author has wasted space; for throughout be appears to have adopted a habit of condensation, and his style is remarkably good, and, above all things, clear and decisive. The part which seems to us of greatest interest is that in which he discusses the physiological question regarding the exact nature of the waste of the human body, and hence the nature of the food which we should take in compensation for the loss caused by vital action; in other words, to repair our bodies. Of course many other points are discussed in the work, as for instance the following: -The classification of foods; animal and vegetable foods, and beverages; the preservation of food; principles of dietetics; practical dietetics; therapeutic dietetics; and hospital dietaries. But it is to the physiologicochemical part we would alone refer. In discussing this part of the subject the author has been, of course, from his medical and chemical knowledge, quite at home, and he has done his work well. He has brought before the reader an amount of information which has till now lain in the proceedings and journals of English and foreign societies. So that, in point of fact, his views, or those he adopts, will strike the great majority of his readers as being absolutely novel. We would especially refer to those remarkably accurate observations and careful experiments of Messrs. Fick and Wislicenus, in Switzerland; Flint, of New York; Parkes, Lawes, and Gilbert, of England. In dealing with the results arrived at by each of these autho

"A Treatise on Food and Dietetics, physiologically and therapeutically considered." By F. W. Parry, M.D., F.R.Š. London: Churchill, 1874.

rities, the author quotes amply from their works cases which support their views, and records experiments which have been made on men for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of the theories which they set forth. The great point which all alike go to prove is the comparatively small value of nitrogenous food in ordinary diet. We say comparative, for it will be remembered by those who have studied the subject that, till of late years, nitrogen was considered to be the chief element that was used up in muscular exertion. But now results show a different face. It seems, from the experiments recorded in the present volume, that the muscles do not become wasted during action to the extent that was imagined, and hence that nitrogenous food is not at all so much required for the employer of muscle-the common labourer. Of course it would be out of our power to give the facts on which Dr. Parry founds these conclusions; those we must leave for the reader to discover himself; but we promise him, if he have physiological taste, an ample return for the money expended in the purchase of this volume.

IT

THE PROPER MOTION OF THE FIXED STARS.*

T is not very long since we had a book from this author on the subject of the Glacial Period, and we fancy that the writer to whom it was entrusted decided to say nothing in answer to it, considering it a work founded on erroneous ideas. Unfortunately we are compelled to come to a conclusion of a like kind; and although the author is excessively severe on one of his former critics, who compared the motion of the earth to that of a top, we certainly think the critic's argument a sound one, and Colonel Drayson's attack on it weak in the extreme. However, though we do not believe in the correctness of the author's conclusions, we may give them here as follows, and with them conclude our notice of the book:-(1.) The earth rotates on its axis in the same manner as at present taught in astronomy. (2.) It revolves round the sun along a plane making an angle of about 66° 32′ with the axis of diurnal rotation. (3.) The semi-axis of diurnal rotation traces out a circle on the heavens round the pole of the ecliptic, but not round this pole as a centre, the centre being 6° from the pole of the ecliptic. (4.) The earth's axis has a small elliptical movement round its mean position in about 18 years.

SMITHSONIAN REPORT.+

IT is to be regretted that so much delay is made in regard to the publica

tion of this report; the volume which is before us, being that which was issued late in the year 1873, comes to us in 1874, and yet really records

"The Cause of the Supposed Proper Motion of the Fixed Stars, and an Explanation of the Apparent Acceleration of the Moon's Mean Motion; with other Geometrical Problems in Astronomy hitherto unsolved." By Lieut.-Col. Drayson, R.A., F.R.A.S. London: Chapman & Hall, 1874.

"Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, for the Year 1871." Washington, U.S.A.: 1873.

the proceedings of the Institution for the year 1871. However, as our readers are especially interested only in the Appendix to the Report, we suppose they are uninterested in the period of publication. The papers in the present volume are attractive, and some of them have a high scientific value. The first is a memoir of Sir J. F. W. Herschel, by Mr. N. S. Dodge. This memoir runs to about twenty-four pages, but it is really one of the best and happiest essays we have ever read. The life of the great Herschel is most tellingly written, and we think that few who have gone through the first page will place the book down until they have completed it. The next paper is an address to the French Academy by M. Arago on the subject of Joseph Fourier. Dr. Odling's address to the Royal Institution on Professor Graham's scientific work is also an able article; but of course it is familiar to many of our readers. A capital paper is that by Professor Helmholtz on the "Relations of the Physical Sciences to Science in General." This was delivered before the University of Heidelberg, and is translated by Professor Kroch. Dr. Kornhuber, too, gives a good paper, which was originally read before the Vienna Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, on the subject of "Alternate Generation and Parthenogenesis in the Animal Kingdom." It is to be regretted that the author did not deal more fully with his subject. On the other hand, a writer who has given us, if anything, too long a paper, is Mr. E. De Forest, M.A., who gives us no less than 65 pages "On some Methods of Interpolation applicable to the Graduation of Irregular Series, such as Tables of Mortality, &c. &c." This paper is, however, of the utmost value and importance to actuaries, and to such we specially recommend it. Among other papers of interest in the volume we may refer to the following:"The Language of the Dakota, or Sioux Indians;" "Indian Mounds near Fort Wadsworth, Dakota Territory;' ""Instructions to Captain Hall, who was Commander of an Expedition to the North Pole," contains some very valuable advice to the naturalist, more especially in that part devoted to geology, which is by the late Professor Agassiz.

SHORT NOTICES.

Annual Record of Science and Industry for the Year 1873. Edited by S. F. Baird, with the assistance of Eminent Men of Science. New York: Harper, 1874. We are pleased to see that this work has decidedly improved. Indeed it now forms a very valuable record, which, of course, will not be of assistance to the specialist, but will prove an immense boon to the amateur in scientific matters. The notices of work done are almost invariably judiciously executed, and, so far as we can see, they include almost all the acts of general interest. The author has associated with him a number of eminent workers in the fields of science, and he has thus ensured the accuracy of his reports.

Divine Revelation and Pseudo-Science. An Essay. By R. G. Suckling Browne, B.D. London: Longmans, 1874. This is a book which we only notice in courtesy to the publishers. It is written by an aged person, who,

with little knowledge of his subject, and infinitely less reasoning powers, attempts to do battle against the doctrine of evolution. Mr. Darwin's admirers can afford to smile at the author's efforts to demolish him.

Manuals of Elementary Science: Physiology, by F. Le Gros Clark, F.R.S.; and Geology, by T. G. Bonney, M.A., F.G.S. London: Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge. These are two little books intended, of course, for mere beginners, and are both very good. Mr. Bonney's is, in point of style, much better adapted to the class of readers it is intended for than Mr. Le Gros Clark's. Both books are, we think, singularly defective from their absence of illustration. We point this out because we think that, of all books, those intended for the young should be full of woodcuts.

Report on a Topographical Survey of the Adirondach Wilderness of New York. By V. Colvin. Albany: The Argus Company, U.S.A. This is an interesting account of a plan of engineering observations carried out by the author. Otherwise it is of little interest to English readers.

Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer to the Secretary of War for the Year 1872. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1873. Here we have an extensive report on the condition in which telegraphy is in America. Those who are at all interested in meteorology will obtain much information relative to the subject, the machines employed, &c., &c., in this work.

The Year-book of Facts in Science and Art. By John Timbs. London: Lockwood & Co., 1874. This is by no means a book like the American work noticed above. It is full of glaring errors, and is most injudiciously edited. Still it is not without interesting matter, and it has a capital steel engraving of Professor Tyndall.

We have also received:-"The Annual Report of the Board of Public Education of the First School District of Pennsylvania," for the year ending 1872; "The Lives of Sir James Young Simpson and Michael Faraday," by the Religious Tract Society; "Botanical Tables for the Use of Students,' by E. B. Aveling, B.Sc. (Hamilton Adams, 1874), which are not bad, but are only fit for students who have learnt botany; "The Vacation," a Poem, by J. S. Nairne (Glasgow, 1874); "Spiritualism, and Why I Object to It," by the Rev. T. Ashcroft (London, Tweedie, 1874), a very able onslaught on spiritualism; "Hints for Health," by J. S. Stocker, M.D. (London, Churchill, 1874), consists of two useful lectures addressed to the people on the influence of air, water, food and wine on the system.

The following books will be noticed in our next number; they arrived too late for review in the pressent issue :-"A Manual of Botany," by Robert Brown, M.A., Ph.D. (Blackwood & Co., 1874); "Geological Survey of Missouri Iron Ores and Coal Fields," by Raphael Pumpelly (New York, Bien, 1873); "Reports on the Geological Survey of the State of Missouri, 1855 to 1871," by J. C. Broadhead, F. B. Meek, and B. F. Shumard (Jefferson City, Regun, 1873); "Geological Survey of Victoria, Report of Progress," by R. B. Smith, F.G.S. (Melbourne, Freres, 1875); "Reports of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories," for the years 1867-9, under the Department of the Interior (Washington Government Printing Office, 1873).