Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 48.djvu/309

Rh same relation to the geology of the earth as comparative anatomy to the anatomy of man. His special application of it is to the geology of the planets compared with that of the earth. The fruits of his studies are now embodied in a book bearing that title, which is published by Fé1ix Alcan, Paris, in the French International Scientific Series. Though the materials for such a study may at first sight seem lacking, M. Meunier has found enough, in the results of telescopic and spectroscopic and other observations, particularly of the moon and Mars and the examination of meteorites, to make possible a fairly distinct outline, and to prompt further inquiry into this field.

In the Report of the Commissioner of Education for 1891-'92 most of the statistics are relegated to the second volume, while the first volume is devoted mainly to essays on special subjects. Among the more extended of these are an account of the modes of training teachers employed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, by the able educational writer Dr. L. R. Klemm; also a description of German universities translated from a book prepared for the German educational exhibit at the Chicago Exposition, and a suggestive paper on preparation for the civil service in France and Prussia, by W. F. and W. W. Willoughby. James C Boykin contributes an essay of nearly a hundred and fifty pages on Physical Training, half of which consists of a history of the subject from the siege of Troy to Dio Lewis, while the rest is of greater practical value, consisting of descriptions of various modes of training in present use, with illustrations and statistics. Coeducation is treated by A. Tolman Smith, who supplements his discussion with a large number of opinions of educators and a bibliography. The summer schools have now become so important that a history of them comes in very appropriately here. It was prepared by W. W. Willoughby.

The treatise on Rocks and Soils, by Horace Edward Stockbridge, has come to a second edition (Wiley). The author, who held a professorship in the Imperial College of Agriculture at Sapporo, Japan, when the first edition appeared, is now President of the Agricultural College of North Dakota. Numerous changes and additions have been made in the new edition, which may be found by a comparison with the former edition.

Home Geography for primary grades, by C C. Long (American Book Company, 25 cents), is a thoughtfully arranged introduction to the study of this science. The aim is to give the child object lessons by the use of the surrounding landscape; by directing his attention to some neighboring hill, impress the idea mountain upon him; some small level space indicates a plain; a brook represents a river, a pond or lake the ocean, etc. The idea is a good one, and is well carried out.

How the Republic is Governed, by Noah Brooks (Scribners, 75 cents), consists of a brief consideration in small compass of the fundamental principles which direct our actions as a nation. Among the special topics are The Federal Constitution; The Government of the United States in its Three Departments—Legislative, Executive, and Judicial; National and State Rights; the Indians; Patents and Copyrights; Pensions; Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.

Another attempt to solve the problem of gravitation is made by Mr. Robert Stevenson in his paper,A New Potential Principle in Nature—Elasticity a Mode of Motion. His principle comprises kinetic energy in the line of motion of a body, and kinetic stability tending to prevent displacement transverse to that line. The latter acts partly as a force of restitution to the original direction, with the resultant of causing a curvilinear motion. The author conceived his idea while he was a student of Sir William Thomson.

Notes on the Geology of the Island of Cuba is based upon a reconnoissancereconnaissance [sic] made by the author, Mr. Robert T. Hill, for Alexander Agassiz. Mr. Hill spent about a month on the island, accompanied by some American engineers who were familiar with the country, and who, by reason of their knowledge, were of great assistance to him. Going into the interior to Villa Clara, to acquaint himself with that region, he examined the features of the older nucleal [sic] area of Cuba; then made a thorough study of the cut of the Yumuri River at Matanzas, and of the limestone formations of the vicinity; investigated the geology of Havana; and