How to tell the Parts of Speech; an Introduction to English Grammar. By the Rev. Edwin A. Abbott, D. D. American edition, revised and enlarged, by John G. L. McElroy, A. M. Boston: Roberts Brothers. Pp. 143. Price, 75 cents.
Dr. Abbott is also the author of other works on the construction of the English language, which, with this, have the common characteristics that, in them, the artificial rubbish that overloads nearly all English grammars is rejected, and the endeavor is made to place the study of the language on a basis of common-sense. They are prepared under the conviction that it is the business of a teacher to teach the boy not how to speak, but how to understand, English, and how to see the reasons for the anomalies in the language; that the pupil should first learn to perceive the function of the word, and thence deduce its grammatical quality, rather than to give first the grammatical definition, and afterward seek the reason for it.
A Fourth State of Matter. By Alexander E. Outerbridge, Jr. Philadelphia. Pp. 11.
This is the substance of a lecture which was delivered before the Franklin Institute, February 17th last, when some of the experiments of Professor Crookes were repeated and his theory was explained with familiar illustrations and a reference to the "vortex atom theory" of Sir William Thomson.
Report of the Director of the Detroit Observatory of the University of Michigan to the Board of Regents. For the Period beginning October 1, 1879, and ending January 1, 1881. Ann Arbor,;Michigan: Published by the Regents. Pp. 20.
In the astronomical department of the observatory two comets were discovered, one of which was new; the other had been seen the evening before at Strasburg. The meteorological observations were directed to the study of the climate of Ann Arbor, the daily fluctuations of the meteorological elements, and the character of local storms. As collated and summarized in the report, and compared with the general observations of the Signal Service, they furnish facts of much value.
Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Appendix No. 10, Meteorological Researches. By William Ferrel. Part II. On Cyclones, Tornadoes, and Water-Spouts. Washington: Government Printing-Office. Pp. 95, with Six Plates.
The theory of cyclones is wrought out in the first chapter with great care and elaboration. In the second chapter, the practical applications of the theory, as its operation is modified by the encounter with actualities, are discussed, and the theoretic results are compared with those of observation. The third chapter is devoted to the phenomena of tornadoes, hail-storms, and water-spouts.
Our Trees in Winter. By John Robinson. From the Bulletin of the Essex Institute. Vol. XII. Pp. 16.
This is the substance of a paper which was read at the first winter field meeting of the Essex Institute, at Chebacco Pond, held in January last. It discusses the faculty which many trees possess of adapting themselves to different climates; the manner in which trees escape injury from freezing through the withdrawal of water from their tissues in winter; and the opportunities which winter affords for the study of trees, which are better for many purposes than those given by summer.
Report of the Cruise of the United States Revenue Steamer Corwin in the Arctic Ocean. By Captain C. L. Hooper, U. S. R. M. Washington: Government Printing-office. Pp. 73, with Five Charts.
The Corwin left Oonalaska June 8, 1880, and proceeded by way of Nunivak Island, St. Lawrence Island, Kotzebue Sound, the "ice-deposits" of Elephant Point, and the coal-veins of Cape Lisburn, to Point Barrow, and thence to Herald Island and within twenty-five miles of Cape Wrangel, whence it returned. During the cruise, observations were taken on the lands and the people, the illicit trade of the coast was looked after, and the Jeannette was inquired for. The report contains fresh and valuable anthropological notes, observations on natural history, and "the ice and its habits," and views of prominent points.
