as Mr. Farrer has done his, it will be a valuable one. The present volume is devoted to an exposition of the "Theory of the Moral Sentiments," in which the great economist endeavors to find for morals a secure foundation in the sympathetic nature of man. The work was in its time a notable one, and remains one of the most valuable contributions of English thought to the subject. Mr. Farrer writes clearly and appreciatively, and has invested his subject with an interest that will make the book attractive to a large number of readers. The exposition closes with an examination of some of the objections urged by writers at the time of the publication of the "Theory," and is preceded by a brief biographical sketch of Smith.
The Devonian Insects of New Brunswick. By Samuel H. Scudder. Boston: Boston Society of Natural History. 1880. Pp. 41, with Plate.
Careful descriptions are given in this essay of six specimens of broken wings which were discovered in 1862 by Professor C. F. Hartt, in the Devonian shales of Carleton, near St. John, New Brunswick, and are now preserved in the museums of the Natural History Society of St. John and of the Boston Society of Natural History. The descriptions and the author's conclusions are supplemented by a review of the character and age of the formation in which the remains were found, by Principal Dawson, in which the evidence that it is Devonian is carefully collated. The wings are all of Neuroptera, and of species to which are ascribed special relations with the modern May-flies. From his detailed examinations, Mr. Scudder reaches the conclusion that nothing appears to interfere with the view he has formerly expressed, that the general type of wing-structure has remained unaltered from the earliest times; that the fossils are nearly all of synthetic types of a comparatively narrow range, being about equally divided in structural features between Neuroptera proper and pseudo-Neuroptera; that they bear marks of affinity to the Carboniferous Palæodictyoptera, while they are often of more complicated structure than most of them, but with this exception bear little special relation to Carboniferous forms; that they were of great size, had membranous wings, and were probably aquatic in early life; that some of them were plainly precursors of existing forms, while others seem to have left no trace; that they show a remarkable variety of structure, indicating an abundance of insect-life at that epoch; that they differ remarkably from all other known types, ancient or modern, and some of them appear to be even more complicated than their nearest living allies; that we appear to be, so far as either greater unity or simplicity of structure is concerned, no nearer the beginning of things in the Devonian epoch than in the Carboniferous; and that "while there are some forms which, to some degree, bear out expectations based on the general derivative hypothesis of structural development, there are quite as many which are altogether unexpected, and can not be explained on that theory, without involving suppositions for which no facts can at present be adduced." We observe that some of the views of the author are questioned by other naturalists.
Orange Insects: A Treatise on the Injurious and Beneficial Insects found on the Orange-Trees of Florida. By William H. Ashmead. Jacksonville, Florida: Ashmead Brothers. Paper. Pp. 78.
The author has been engaged in special studies of the insects of the orange since 1876, and publishes this volume in answer to numerous inquiries for information respecting them from cultivators. He gives systematic descriptions of numerous species, with illustrations of the most of them, and notes on the character of their relations—whether beneficial or injurious—to the trees.
Circulars of Information of the Bureau of Education: No. 4, Rural School Architecture. With Illustrations. Pp. 106. No. 5, English Rural Schools. Pp. 26. Washington: Government Printing-Office. 1880.
The former work has been prepared by Mr. T. M. Clark, an architect of Boston, with the design of giving principles and directions suggestive of the plans best to be adopted under a variety of circumstances rather than of laying down rules to be inconsiderately followed. It is intended to cover the whole subject of school architecture, with especial attention to the proper
