The Davenport (Iowa) Academy of Sciences has sent us its first volume of "Proceedings," forming a neatly-printed book of 285 pages and 36 plates. Besides the records of meetings, catalogues of cabinet, etc., a large number of papers are included, which, although local in their nature, are yet of much general interest. Davenport is so situated as to afford many advantages to the student of Nature. The underlying limestone abounds in fossils of the Hamilton and Upper Helderberg groups; the rivers and ponds produce a remarkably fine development of molluscan life; while the close proximity of the prairies to the wooded bottom-lands affords a rich field for the botanist and the entomologist. This region was once the residence of a prehistoric people, who have left many obscure traces behind them, furnishing an abundance of material for the archæologist to ponder over. Among the essays are several reports of explorations of mounds at Albany, Illinois, and in the vicinity of Davenport, by Dr. R. J. Farquharson, and other archæological papers by C. Lindley, A. S. Tiffany, and J. D. Putnam; geological papers by W. H. Piatt; botanical matter by Dr. C. C. Parry, J. G. Haupt, and J. J. Nagel; lists of insects of Iowa and Utah, by J. D. Putnam; and studies upon land and fresh-water shells, by W. H. Pratt. This first volume is very creditable to the young Academy, and it is to be hoped a second similar publication may soon follow. We observe, by the-way, that it is published for the Academy by the Women's Centennial Association, and suggest that this would be an excellent way for our many societies of zealous women to spend their money in oilier cities than Davenport.
An Elementary Hand-book of Theoretical Mechanics, with One Hundred and Forty-five Diagrams. Pp. 146. Price 75 cents.—An Elementary Hand-book of Applied Mechanics, with Eighty-eight Diagrams. By William Rossiter, F. R. A. S., F. C. S., F. R. G. S. New York: Putnams.
These two volumes form a mean between the commonly-received elementary treatises on the subject and the more advanced works. While they are simple enough for easy comprehension, they contain many of the data necessary for an advanced student.
Henry Holt & Co. are just putting to press, in hope of having it ready by the end of the year, a "Classical Literature" by C. A. White, whose "Mythology" has been received with much favor. The book will contain biographical and critical notices of the leading writers in Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin, with specimens of their works, and some account of the relations of the languages.
The Germ-Theory of Disease. By J. Maclagan, M. D. Pp. 266. London: Macmillan.
The Functions of the Brain. By D. Ferrier, M. D. Pp. 338. New York: Putnams. Price, $3.50.
The Carlyle Anthology. Selected by E. Barrett. Pp. 396. New York: Holt & Co. Price, $2.
David and Anna Matson. By Abigail Scott Duniway. Pp. 194. With Illustrations. New York: S. R. Wells & Co. Price, $2.
Octavius B. Frothingham and the New Faith. By E. C. Stedman. Pp. 50. New York: Putnams. Price, 75 cents.
An Alphabet in Finance. By Graham McAdam. Pp. 230. Same publishers. Price, $1.25.
Modern Physical Fatalism. By T. R. Birks. Pp. 311. London: Macmillan. Price, $2.25.
Geographical Surveys west of the One Hundredth Meridian (Wheeler). III. Pp. 681. With Plates. Washington: Government Printing-Office.
Chemistry Theoretical and Practical. Parts X. to XIV. Philadelphia: Lippincott & Co. Price, 50 cents each.
Proceedings of the Poughkeepsie Society of Natural Sciences. Vol. I., Part I., Pp. 150,
Prometheus. Weekly Magazine. Vol. I., No. 1. Pp. 28. New York: Charles P. Somerby. Price, $3 per year.
Proceeding's of the American Chemical Society. Vol. I., No. 1. Pp. 80. New York: Trow & Co., printers.
