when introduced have been put in different type from the other matter. The order of arrangement of the matter is a little varied from the common order. The stars are treated of in a general way before any detailed consideration is given to the solar system. Instruments are described at those places in the text where their use is indicated in the general development of the course. Terms are defined where they may receive immediate illustration from the context. Subjects are arranged according to the author's idea of what is a natural and logical order.
Nippon Shoku Butsu meii; or, Nomenclature of Japanese Plants in Latin, Japanese, and Chinese. By J. Matsumura. Supervised by Z. R. Yatabe. Tokio, Japan: Z. P. Maruya & Co. Pp. 300. Price, $2.
The author of this catalogue is Assistant Professor of Botany in the University of Tokio, and has done his work under the supervision of the Professor-in-chief of Botany in the same institution. But little more can be said in description of it than is given in the title. Twenty-four hundred and six species are catalogued in the alphabetical order of their recognized botanical or Latin names, with the authorities on which the names rest, and the equivalents for these names are given in Japanese, romanized Japanese, and Chinese. The list itself is a sufficient index to the Latin names; but three special alphabetical indexes are given for the Japanese, romanized Japanese, and Chinese names. The general execution and arrangement of the work are as nearly perfect as such things ever are; and in mechanical execution the book is equal to the best that has ever come from an American or European press.
Beginnings with the Microscope. By Walter P. Manton, M. D. Boston: Lee & Shepard; New York: Charles T. Dillingham. Pp. 73. Price, 50 cents.
The "Beginnings" is a working handbook containing simple instructions in the art and method of using the microscope and preparing objects for examination. It is easy to handle, easy to read, and easy to understand. The successful application of its directions must depend on the skill and industry of the student.
History of the Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood. By Henry C. Chapman, M. D. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 56. Price, $1.
This essay was the concluding lecture of a course on "The Circulation" delivered by the author at the Jefferson Medical College, during the term of 1883. Giving to Harvey the credit that is his due for grasping and formulating the law of the circulation, the author shows that the idea was entertained indefinitely in ancient times by Eristratus and Galen; that Servetus expressed some very intelligent ideas on the heart and its functions; that other writers had demonstrated particular features of the circulation, in an isolated way, before Harvey's time; and that it was not until after the appearance of Harvey's work that the discovery of the capillaries made intelligible the manner in which the blood passed from the arteries to the veins, and the demonstration of the lymphatics completed our knowledge on the subject.
Machinery of the Heavens. A System of Physical Astronomy. By A. P. Pichereau. Galesburg, Ill.: Plaindealer Printing Company. Pp. 142. Price, $1.50.
Mr. Pichereau is a practicing lawyer, who has kept up a living interest in astronomical questions and studies. While having the highest respect for astronomers, he is not fully satisfied with the sufficiency of their theories; he has thought out some hypotheses of his own, which he presents modestly, but with confidence, in this book. These theories relate to the causes of planetary axial rotations and orbital motions, the origin of worlds, the genesis of comets' tails, and the tides. If they can not be called scientific, it would be unjust to pronounce them contrary to science. They are plausible speculations pleasantly uttered by an amateur.
Physics in Pictures. With Explanatory Text prepared by Theodore Eckardt and translated by A. H. Keane. London: Edward Stanford.
In this work the principal natural phenomena and physical appliances in use are described and illustrated by thirty colored plates. Nearly every physical property of matter and ordinary manifestation of force is graphically represented, often with much
