Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 34.djvu/724

706 Nerves," by J. Rose Bradford, D. So. Nos. 5 and 6 form a double number, which contains three papers: "On Digestion in Hydra, with some Observations on the Structure of the Endoderm," by M. Greenwood, with two plates; "On the Phenomena of Inhibition in the Mammalian Heart," by Prof. John A. McWilliam, M, D., with two plates; and "On the Normal Duration and Significance of the 'Latent Period of Excitation' in Muscle-Contraction," by Prof. Gerald F. Yeo, M. D., with cuts of tracings.

Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Vol. X, 1887, consists of technical descriptions of fishes, birds, etc., illustrated with thirty-nine plates and a number of text-figures. Appended to the volume is a "Catalogue of the Contributions of the Section of Graphic Arts to the Ohio Valley Centennial Exposition, Cincinnati, 1888." These contributions represent processes of engraving and printing for pictorial purposes from the sixteenth century to our own time, wood-engraving in the United States, etching in the United States, and modern photo-mechanical processes.

The Report of the Entomologist, of the Department of Agriculture, Prof. Charles V. Riley, for 1887, is devoted chiefly to an article by L. O. Howard on the chinch-bug, giving a complete account of the species, and an article on the codling moth by the same writer. The use of the kerosene emulsion, the only recently devised remedy for the chinch-bug of any importance, is treated in some detail in the first article. Other papers accompanying the report relate to silk-culture, scale-insects, and other locally noxious species, apiculture, etc. The report contains eight plates, showing the insects treated of, methods of fumigation, and the Cattaneo mulberry-tree.

In The Cat and its Diseases, Dr. E. M. Hale, of Chicago, has published a useful and convenient paper on this animal of highly domestic habits and the treatment which it is entitled to receive. Brief accounts are given of the origin and history, traits, and varieties of the cat. Under the heading of "Health of Cats" are discussed their food, including grass, their drink, housing, and the care of their fur. Several diseases are described, and the special treatment that should be given for each.

The report on Mineral Resources of the United States, 1887, by David T. Day (United States Geological Survey, 50 cents), is the fifth of the series on this subject. It extends the information contained in the previous volumes to include the calendar year 1887. The statistical tables have been brought forward, but with this exception only such information as is supplementary to the previous volumes should be looked for. The principal statistics concerning the more important substances have already been published in special bulletins. Prom this report it appears that not only was the production of iron and steel in the United States very much larger in 1887 than in the previous year, but we consumed virtually all that we produced, besides many thousand tons of old iron worked over, and imported more than in any other year except 1880. For several years we have consumed more iron and steel than any of the great European countries. Our production of gold shows a decrease of about two million dollars from 1886, while silver shows an equal increase. During the greater part of the year the copper market was very dull, yet our production shows an advance over the highest previous figures. The output of lead went far ahead of the largest previous quantity. Zinc also shows an increased production. While there was practically no production of pure aluminum in 1887, the amount of aluminum bronze produced has risen from 4,000 or 5,000 pounds in 1885 to 144,764 pounds in 1887, and the amount of ferro-aluminum from 2,500 pounds in 1886 to 42,617 in 1887. The total production of all kinds of commercial coal shows a marked increase, owing partly to the nearby use of natural gas, stimulating coal to seek more distant markets, and partly to the advance in the iron manufacture. The restriction of the output of petroleum in the Pennsylvania and New York fields was compensated by the increase in the Ohio field, with some help from West Virginia and California. The consumption of natural gas can be got at only approximately. The amount of other fuel displaced by it, estimated at the value of less than five million dollars in 1885 and ten millions in 1886, had risen to over fifteen millions in 1887. The value of the precious stones produced in the