Mobius estimates that each oyster born has 11145000 of a chance of reaching maturity. In the case of the American oyster, the number of eggs being very much greater, each one's chance of survival is very much less.
He shows, too, how extremely circumscribed are the beds upon which the oyster thrives, and that it is a mistake to suppose that the oysters are promiscuously scattered on the shores of the bay. They can only flourish on certain grounds, though the young are widely scattered through these waters, as the partial development of individuals everywhere attests. This Part closes with another article by the same author, on "The Acquisition and Loss of a Food-Yolk in Molluscan Eggs."
Incomplete as our account of these papers must necessarily be, enough has been said to show that they are the records of a large amount of original thoroughgoing scientific research, the results of which will become increasingly valuable as they are more generally known. But of the manner in which these records have been brought together we can not speak so favorably. Several of the memoirs were first published elsewhere, and in their collection the original paging and numbering of the plates have been allowed to stand. The lack of uniformity thus caused is very confusing, and, as the high character of the work will make it widely sought for purposes of reference, much future trouble may be expected from this defect in its make-up.
The Irish Land Question. By Henry George. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1881. Pp. 85. Price, 25 cents.
In this essay Mr. George applies to the Irish land question the doctrine maintained in his now well-known work "Progress and Poverty," and appeals to the Land Leagues to openly espouse the reform he advocates. He insists that there is nothing special in Irish distress; that it is not due to English oppression, but that it is the direct result of a land system that prevails in every civilized country. He points out that so far from Irish land tenure being worse than that of other countries, it is even more favorable to the tenant, and that, as a matter of fact, the land of Ireland is under-rented. He argues forcibly against the various schemes for a greater subdivision of the land, showing that these can benefit the tenant but to a limited extent, while to agricultural laborers and artisans they can bring no relief whatever. He therefore urges the reform he advocates, as a final solution, not only of the land question in Ireland, but in every other country, and feels confident that, if the Irish trouble could be adjusted on this basis, the extension of the system to other countries would be but a matter of time. At the very outset of any proposal for the state to resume the ownership of the land, the question of compensation to landholders must be met. In his previous work Mr. George has argued that the landholders ought to receive no compensation, an opinion for which he has been somewhat sharply criticised. In the present essay he again takes up the question and argues it at greater length. He denies that the case is one to which the statute of limitation can be made to apply, and claims that the landholder is not deprived of what is rightfully his, but simply estopped from further enjoying the fruits of the labor of others.
The remainder of the essay is devoted to an insistence upon the importance of the right solution of the land question and the benefits that would follow the one the author proposes.
Medical Hints on the Production and Management of the Singing Voice. By Lennox Browne, F. R. C. S., Edinburgh. Eighth edition, revised, enlarged, and illustrated. New York: M. L. Holbrook & Co. Paper. Pp. 77. Price, 25 cents.
This essay, which was first given in the form of a paper before a Musical Association, is intended to furnish the information most necessary and desirable for singers to possess, in a practical, untechnical shape. It considers—1. The laws of musical sound bearing on the question discussed; 2. The organs of the human voice regarded as parts of a musical instrument, and their various functions as such; 3. The management of those parts under control of the vocalist which may perfect the voice; 4. The defects occasioned by mismanagement; and, 5. Directions on the hygiene and medical and dietetic management of the voice. The last topic is treated in full.
