Any book, therefore, giving an account of experiments in this direction will be welcomed by all persons interested in the subject; and such a book we have now before us. The author, who has been for some years superintendent of public schools in Jamestown, New York, in it gives an account of his introduction of manual training there, together with a detailed exposition of the system of training itself. Mr. Love is, of course, an enthusiastic advocate of industrial training, and a firm believer in its great usefulness. He holds that "it ranks in importance with the study of numbers or language, in the benefits it confers on its recipients." He notes the fact that some children dislike books, while they are fond of activity; and such children, he says, are made more interested in their school-work by the introduction of manual exercises. The system was introduced into the Jamestown schools on a small scale in 1874, and has been largely extended since, with the approval of the school authorities and of the people of the town.
The greater part of Mr. Love's volume is devoted to an exposition of the exercises that are practiced in the Jamestown schools, the subject being illustrated by a great number of diagrams. In the lower grades the exercises are the same for both boys and girls, and are of a very simple character, such as building with blocks, slat-plaiting, paper-folding, mat-weaving, etc. In the grammar and high schools they consist of carpenter-work for the boys, sewing and cooking for the girls, and printing for both sexes. And here we see one of the difficulties that the system has to contend with—that of introducing a sufficiently diversified industry. Every girl should know something of cocking and sewing, though these things ought to be taught her at home; but very few boys can be either carpenters or printers, and, though a little knowledge of carpenter-work may be useful in some other Industrie?, this can hardly be said of printing. More boys will become farmers than anything else, and it is hard to see how farming or any branch of it can be taught in the public schools. We make these remarks not by way of criticism, but to point out one of the difficulties attending the introduction of manual training. Meanwhile, a work like this that shows experimentally how to overcome any of those difficulties will be welcomed by all who are interested in the subject.
A History of the New York Academy of Sciences (formerly the Lyceum of Natural History). By Herman Le Roy Fairchild, Recording Secretary. New York: Published by the author. 1887.
This book owes its origin to a vote of the Academy, passed in June, 1886, authorizing and requesting the secretary to prepare such a manual. It was intended at first to make a short paper that might be included in a volume of the Academy's "Transactions"; but the author found an unexpected amount of material, and so expanded his essay to a volume of two hundred pages. The work has been approved by the Council of the Academy, and is now published in a limited edition of five hundred copies. It gives an interesting account of the origin of the society, which occurred in February, 1817, though the Lyceum, as it was then called, was not chartered until the next year. A list of the original members is given, and also a list cf the present members. The progress of the society is duly recorded, separate chapters being given to the subjects of the library, collections, and publications, and biographies are given of several of the leading members. The author remarks that "the resident membership of the society has never been large," a fact which he attributes to the absorption of the people of the city in commercial affairs, and their consequent inattention to pure science. It is gratifying to learn, however, that the number of members at the present time is larger than ever before, and there is reason to hope that the American people will ere long give more earnest attention to science. The book is well printed, and will be welcome to all members and friends of the Academy.
Bodyke: A Chapter in the History of Irish Landlordism. By Henry Norman. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1887.
This work is an account of the eviction of several families of Irish tenants at Bodyke for non-payment of rent. The author was an eye and ear witness of much that he records, and seems to have taken consider-
