ments of jadeite, precisely like the Chinese jadeite. The later of the two reports contains some interesting references to the history of the Museum and its foundation, the growth of the collections and their arrangement in the cases. The entries in the catalogue of the collections have reached the number 38,840; but this gives no index to the actual number of objects; for the entries refer to sets as well as to single objects, and one entry may often stand for many objects.
The Earth's Annular System; or, the Story of the Rocks. By G. N. Vail, Barnesville, Ohio. Published by the Author. Pp. 400. Price, $2.
Professor Vail propounds a new theory of the formation of the earth and the origin of the geological systems. It is in effect an adaptation of the nebular hypothesis, and supposes that a large part of the matter that now forms the crust of the earth, together with the waters, was held in suspension through the ages, in the form of vaporous rings, and, as the vapors gradually cooled and condensed, the rings fell to the earth by virtue of the laws of gravity. These successive downfalls mark the various ages, periods, and epochs into which geologists divide the history of the earth's crust, Jupiter and Saturn are cited in support of the theory as planets which are still going through this process. The author believes that he is able by the application of his theory to explain such obscure matters as the numerous floods which geologists assert have fallen upon the earth; the absence of the rainbow previous to the Noachian deluge, and many other statements in Genesis; "dust-showers"; the rise and fall of vast areas of the earth's surface, changes by denudation, etc.; the apparent retardation of the moon; the "great ice age"; the origin of the limestone strata; and the origin of coal. He asserts that he is a practical geologist who has made his studies in the field, and has drawn his conclusions from them.
Diseases of the Digestive Organs in Infancy and Childhood. By Lodis Starr, M. D. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 385. Price, $2.50.
The author's object in this book is to give prominence to a class of disorders which, while they are very usual in childhood, are yet too briefly considered in medical works. He regards the clinical investigation of disease in children as in some respects easier than the same study in adults. It is not complicated by circumstances of past life, yet there are very grave difficulties to be encountered in it, arising out of the sufferer's inability to give an accurate, or any, description of his feelings; and another source of embarrassment lies in the rapid growth and development of infants and the suddenness of their attacks, and the violence of the symptoms. Hence, the clinical investigation involves the three items of questioning the attendant for that which the child can not tell, inspecting the child, and physical examination. The importance of giving attention to the general regimen is particularly insisted upon. "So much may be done by the selection of suitable food, by artificial digestion, by regulating the clothing, bathing, and other elements of hygiene," that this factor is regarded as quite as important as the administration of drugs.
A History of the French Revolution. By H. Morse Stephens. In three volumes. Vol. I. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 533. Price, $2.50.
Mr. Stephens presents, as the valid reason for producing a new history of the French Revolution, the fact that a very large amount of new material has recently been brought to light, embodying many facts before unknown, and presenting other facts in a new aspect, which the great historians and the more popular ones following them did not possess, and therefore did not use. In other respects, he claims to be animated by a great enthusiasm for his subject, and believes it to be the most fascinating in its interest and the most valuable for its political lessons in the history of the world; that he has worked at it diligently for years, to the exclusion of everything else, and has striven to be impartial in his treatment of it. The new matter of which Mr. Stephens has been able to avail himself is, as he describes it in the preface, copious and varied. It comprises local histories, which have been published in considerable profusion, with histories of special periods and even days, and articles in magazines and reviews and the bulletins of local
