growth of the Tennessee commonwealth. The title of the first volume is justified in the fact that, but for the enterprise and courage of the hardy pioneers who broke their way into the woods of the Southwest and formed settlements there, the rear of the American colonies during the Revolution would have been exposed to Indian attacks in the interest of Great Britain, while such attacks were relied upon as a part of the scheme of subjugation. The present volume relates to the emigration of James Robertson as leader of a party of three hundred and eighty men, women, and children from the Watauga foundation to the Cumberland River, the settlement of Nashville, "the first civilized settlement in the valley of the Mississippi," and the subsequent fortunes of that post and the neighboring stations, down to the conclusion of peace, through Robertson's efforts, between the Creeks and Chickasaws, in 1795. Robertson lived till 1814, and had the privilege of giving eminent services to the Government, by holding the Choctaws and Chickasaws to their allegiance against Tecumseh's efforts to engage them in his conspiracy; and of him the author claims that, judging by the standard of fidelity to duty and devotion to the good of men, there have been few greater characters in American history.
Hand-Book of Historical and Geographical Phthisiography, with Special Reference to the Distribution of Consumption in the United States. Compiled and arranged by George A. Evans, M. D., New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 295. Price, $2.
In this volume the author has attempted to present a sketch of the development of our knowledge of pulmonary consumption from the time of Hippocrates to the present day, together with the ascertained facts respecting the geographical distribution of the affection. The historical portion, which is mostly a translation from Waldenburg's work, gives the results of the several studies that have been made of the subject, from the days of the "father of medicine" down, with summaries of observations and theories in the order and under the names of their authors; closing with the present aspect of the question as represented by Koch, and the views of other contemporary authors. In the chapters on geographical distribution, the data for countries other than the United States are compiled from Hirsch; and those for the United States from the reports of the census. In discussing the question of "locality in relation to deaths" in the United States, the country is divided into twenty-one "regions," each of which has its peculiar features of climate, soil, topography, prevailing diseases, and death-rate. The general statistics of the United States and the principal cities, in respect to mortality by consumption and other diseases, and the topography and climate, and death-rate, by counties, from consumption, are given separately. The etiology of consumption is next taken up; and the conclusion is expressed, in the last chapter that the antiseptic treatment—natural, by living at high altitude, which is only negatively antiseptic; or artificial, by breathing medicated air—is the best.
Botany for Academies and Colleges. By Annie Chambers Ketchum, A. M. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company. Pp. 324, with 250 Illustrations.
This is not a very large book, but it epitomizes the whole science of botany, with a copious inventory of botanical material. While the statements are extremely concise, they are intelligible, and well exhibit the connections and relations of facts. Following the inductive method of Jussieu, the author unfolds the development and describes the structure of plants, from the cryptogamia—"the green stain on our door-stone"—to the highest orders, the magnolia and the clematis, taking each stage in the order of its evolution. "Thus, at the outset, we see the principles upon which differentiation is based." The proof of the theory and the authority for the order followed are indicated in a special lesson on fossils, and this is accompanied by a geological table showing the successive periods of organic and inorganic development in which the predominances of the orders of animals and plants are exhibited side by side. Then, with the plant world thus outlined, the physiology of the subject is taken up, and the separate parts are studied—root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, tissues, and the forces that govern them. A single deviation from the method of Jussieu—the one usually
