Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 28.djvu/867

Rh more generous attitude, had better err in looking kindly and favorably at a people whose habits and customs he is about to study. It is human nature the world over to resist adverse criticism; and, where one is prowling about with his eyes darkened by the opaquest of uncorrected provincial glasses, he is repelled on all sides; nothing is accessible to him; he can rarely get more than a superficial glance at matters, where-as, if he tries honestly to seek out the better attributes of a people, he is not only welcome to proceed with any investigation ho wishes to make; even customs and ways that appear offensive are fully revealed to him, knowing that he will not willfully distort and render more painful what is at the outset admitted on all hands to be bad." In this spirit, which should be applied to other studies as well as those of social customs, the author has endeavored to give an account of Japanese homes and their surroundings. He might have taken the huts of the poorest people or the houses of the wealthy, as his types, but has preferred to make his general descriptions relate to the homes of the middle classes, with occasional references to those of the higher and lower orders. We have already drawn upon the matter of the book for an article in our March number. Further than to refer to that article as a general indication of the way in which the subject is treated, we will say that in the book the various items of household management, rooms, furniture, utensils, tools, gateways, objects of art, etc., are treated in detail in sections, which arc monographs in themselves, and adorned with real illustrations; and that we find here and there hints relative to comparative economy, æsthetics, and morals, that point the way to instructive thought.

describes in this volume a system of drainage and self-irrigation which he has devised and uses at his hill-side home in Alleghany County, New York, from which he claims to have obtained astonishing results in an improved condition of the soil, independence of spring frosts and summer drought, and greatly increased yield and quality of crops. The system consists in constructing along the hill-side a series of parallel drains of considerable size, and of depth reaching to below the frost-line. The drains are tilled with stones loosely thrown in, and covered with flat stones having above them material for sifting the solid matters from the water. Overflow drains arc provided at suitable points for conveying any excess of water to the next lower drain in the series. These drains collect all the water from rain, snow, and dew deposited upon the land above them, and act as reservoirs to hold it till it is drawn out by the needs of the soil in the dry season. From the operation of his system Mr. Cole claims to have realized a fourfold increase of cereal crops, with corresponding improvement in size, flavor, and production of fruits and vegetables; absolute freedom from disease, especially from fungoid affections; security against spring and autumn frosts, with considerable prolongation of the season; the conversion of hard-pan into good soil; prevention of soil-washing; effectual security against drought; and the formation of springs. The plan as described is particularly applicable to hill-side land.

list includes only the publications of the Institution (1847 to 1886) which can be furnished at the prices named. The publications not mentioned are out of print. The titles arc given as they occur in the order in which the works were originally published, classified according to their subjects, by authors, and according to the particular series to which they belong. We are informed that all gratuitous distribution to individuals has been discontinued; but the "Smithsonian Contributions" and "Miscellaneous Collections" are presented to public libraries containing 25,000 volumes, learned societies of the first class, and small public libraries, properly recommended, where a large district would be otherwise unsupplied.