and the sunlight, streaming through the opening of the dense canopy of foliage above, fell upon the ground in flickering patches. A slumberous silence filled the air; and I confess that, as I traced out the labyrinthine system of earthworks here displayed, with its great circles and squares, its octagons, gate-ways, parallel roads, and tumuli, the whole spread over an area of several square miles, and as I speculated upon the purposes of their construction, and on the origin and extinction of the people by whom they were reared, I was profoundly impressed."
The first chapter of the work gives an excellent summary of the general argument on the antiquity of man, as illustrated by European evidences. The second chapter discusses the same question, on the basis of evidence furnished in the United States. Chapter III. opens the question of the mound-builders, and the geographical distribution of their works; and the fourth chapter treats of shell-banks and shell-heaps, and the character of the crania found associated with them. Chapters V., VI., and VII., amplify the discussion of the mound-builders, their enclosures, their arts and manufactures, and the character of their ancient mining. The cranial and anatomical characters of the mound-builders are dealt with in Chapter VIII., while Chapter IX. considers their manners and customs, on the basis of ethnic relations. The problem of the old American civilizations is here entered upon, preparatory to the question, "Who were the mound-builders?" considered in Chapter X. Chapter XI. summarizes the discussion of the unity of the human race; and Chapter XII. closes the work, by treating of chronometric measurements, as applied to the antiquity of man. The whole exposition is condensed into 400 pages, and the publishers have done their part, in the fine execution of the engravings, and the beautiful typography of the book.
Foods. By Edward Smith, M. D., LL. B., F. R. S. New York: Appletons, 1873, pp. 485, price $1.75.
When the editor of this periodical was in Europe, in 1871, arranging with authors to write for the International Scientific Series, he was assured, by good authority, that the ablest man in England to treat the subject of foods was Dr. Edward Smith. This gentleman had made important researches into the character and physiological effects of aliments, and his results were accepted among men of science as of great value. He was a Government Inspector of Dietaries, and had published several works upon Food and Diet. His services were secured for the undertaking, and the little treatise he has produced shows that the choice of a writer on this important subject was most fortunate, as the book is unquestionably the clearest and best-digested compend of the Science of Foods that has appeared in our language.
The excellent work of Pereira was published thirty years ago, and nothing better has been issued during the past generation; but the advances in our knowledge of the subject have been so great that it is now out of date, and is but rarely referred to Dr. Smith's book is not only scientific but practical: besides explaining the nature and properties of foods, as determined by the chemist, he shows how they are altered in taste and digestibility by the operations of the kitchen; and presents the information in so simple and intelligible a form, that it may be apprehended by everybody. Dr. Smith's "Foods" is emphatically a book for the people; not a mere receipt-book, although it contains many excellent directions for the preparation and use of aliments, but a summary of facts and principles for those who desire to understand the subject. His classification is simple and comprehensive. The term foods, as he uses it, embraces all forms of matter that are introduced into the living system to carry on the vital processes, and his leading divisions are into solid foods, liquid foods, and gaseous foods. Part I., treating of solid foods, takes up first animal foods, which are grouped as nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous, and the vegetable foods are then considered under the same groups. Part II. treats of liquids—water, milk, tea, coffee, and the various beverages, including alcohols. Part III. treats of atmospheric air, from the alimentary point of view. As it costs nothing, requires no cooking, and is not passed into the stomach for digestion, air is not generally included among foods; but, as it is
