The System of High Licenses: How it can be made successful. By O. Thomann. New York: The United States Brewers' Association. Pp. 36.
The imprint of this publication indicates the point of view from which the subject is considered. The paper is a plea for discrimination in the imposition of licenses in favor of what are called the lighter drinks. The author cites, in support of his views, from the records of licensing and liquor-selling in Switzerland and various places in Germany.
An Iron Crown: A Tale of the Great Republic. Chicago: T. S. Denison, 1885. Pp. 560. Price, $1.60.
In the course of this story the attempt is made to show the dangers to free government threatened in the growing abuses of corporate power. It deals with millionaires, mining, railroads, etc., and takes the side of the people against the "daring freebooters who would seize the people's rights."
The Fixed Idea of Astronomical Theory. By August Tischner. Leipsic: Gustav Fock. Pp. 86.
We several months ago noticed the book by this author, "The Sun changes his Position in Space, therefore he can not be regarded as being in a Condition of Rest," in which the competency of the present astronomical system is attacked because it is based on the assumption of a fixed sun. In the present work the author postulates a new theory which takes the motion of the sun into account.
Free Cities in the Middle Ages. By L. R. Klemm. Hamilton, Ohio. Pp. 22.
This paper, which was read before a local literary and scientific society, is after the German of G. F. Kalb, and sketches one of the most remarkable and interesting phenomena of modern history—the development and life of those free communities which maintained a prosperous and independent existence amid the degradation and conflicts of mediæval times, holding their own against the military barons and princes who would have crushed them if they could, and whose part was most important in preserving civilization and giving life to industry and art.
Bulletins of the United States National Museum, No. 28. A Manual of American Land-shells. By W. G. Binney. Pp. 528. No. 29, Results of Ornithological explorations in the Commander Islands and Kamchatka. By Leonhard Stejneger. Pp. 382, with Eight Plates.
The "Manual of American Land-shells" appears as an enlarged and revised edition of "The Land and Fresh-water Shells of North America, Part I," which was published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1869. Subsequently described species are added. Fuller attention is given in separate chapters to the subjects of geographical distribution, organs of generation, jaw and lingual dentition, and classification. In description, the species arc grouped geographically rather than systematically. The work was prepared with Mr. Thomas Bland, who died in August, 1885, as co-author. The monograph by Mr. Stejneger is the first attempt to present a complete list of the birds known to have been observed in Kamchatka. It is divided into three parts, consisting of a review of the species of birds collected or observed by the author in the Commander Islands and at Petropaulski, a synopsis of the birds reported to inhabit Kamchatka, and conclusions. The second part is given to make the account of the birds of Kamchatka as complete as possible.
Reception Day, No. 4. New York: E. L. Kellogg & Co. Pp. 156. Price, 25 cents.
This is a collection of fresh and original dialogues, recitations, declamations, and short pieces for practical use in public and private schools. The compiler has aimed to have the pieces short, easy to be comprehended, infused with life and spirit, fitted for average pupils in the schools, and free from double-meanings and all that can verge on impropriety or vulgarity.
Notes on the Opium-Habit. By Asa P. Meylert, M. D. Fourth edition. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 49.
Some additional data relative to the treatment of the habit have been inserted in this edition; and the author gives the result of his investigations on the administration of cocaine hydrochlorate as a specific.
