Black and White: Land, Labor, and Politics in the South. By T. Thomas Fortune, Editor of "The New York Globe." New York: Fords, Howard & Hulbert. Pp. 310. Price, $1.
The author is a thinking man, and a molder of opinion among the colored people. He views the situation in the South, as the war and reconstruction have left it, and the present finds it, from the point of sympathy with his race; yet, with the mental breadth of a man educated in public affairs, he is able to discern that there are other sides to the question. He urges national compulsory education as a means of mitigating the dangers threatened by the existing situation; but the main purpose of his book is to show that the social problems in the South are, in the main, the same as those which afflict every other civilized country; that the future conflict in that section will not be racial or political, but between capital and labor; that poverty and misfortune make no invidious distinctions of race, color, or previous condition, but that wealth unduly centralized afflicts all alike; and that some unity of organization and action should be secured between the labor elements of the whole United States.
Degeneration the Law of Disease. By L. A. Merriam, M. D. Omaha, Neb. Pp. 8.
This is the substance of a paper read before the Medical Society of Omaha in September last, the import of which is to apply the theory of evolution to the study of disease. It regards disease as consisting in a reversed evolution, or degenerative changes; as induced by processes of degeneration of the tissues and functions, and in turn inducing such processes.
Protection and Communism. "Questions of the Day," No. 15. By William Rathbone. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 42. Price, paper, 25 cents.
This pamphlet aims to show that the protective tariff has caused the sudden alternations between hard times and good times in the United States, has caused communism to increase in this country, while it has been decreasing in England, and has made our rich men richer and our poor poorer. The writer believes that, if the United States had not adopted protection twenty years ago, they would lead England in commercial prosperity to-day, and could gain the same position with free trade in another twenty years.
Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. "Transactions," No. 5. 1883-'84. Ottawa, Canada: Citizen Printing and Publishing Company. Pp. 152.
The club has been active during the year covered by this number of its "Transactions." During the summer, it made four regular excursions, and numerous minor excursions were made by its branches; in the winter, seven soirées were held, at which papers were read and reports presented. The membership has increased from 108 to 128. The "Transactions" contains the inaugural address of the president, H. B. Small, with papers describing observations made in the immediate vicinity, to which the work of the club is confined, and reports of the six branches into which the club is divided.
The Sun. Vol. I, No. I, January and February, 1885. Kansas City, Mo.: C. T. Fowler. Pp. 28. Price, 20 cents, or $1 per annum.
"The Sun" is a bi-monthly paper devoted to co-operation. The present number has a portrait of Herbert Spencer, and discusses as its special subject, "Co-operation; its Laws and Principles," which is considered under twenty-five sub-heads. The next number will be devoted to "The Reorganization of Business" on a labor instead of a usury basis.
Journal of the New York Microscopical Society. Edited by Benjamin Braman. Vol. I, No. I, January, 1885. New York: 12 College Place. Pp. 32. Price, $1 a year (nine numbers).
The title indicates the object, and to some extent the character of the publication. The present number contains the proceedings of the society named, for October, November, and December last; a paper on "Electrical Illumination in Microscopy," by E. A. Schultze; discussions bearing on pollen-tubes; "Miscellanea"; and an index to articles in various publications of interest to microscopists.
