ology, which such students have been using, with something adapted to their special needs. The physiology of man is so different from that of most of the domestic animals, that books of the former class are very unsatisfactory for the use of veterinary students. Prof. Mills has accordingly prepared a volume somewhat smaller than his Animal Physiology, embodying the same general plan, but with greater specialization for the domestic animals. The plan of both books is thus described: "I have endeavored to set before the student a short account of what has been deemed of most importance in general biology; to furnish a full account of reproduction; to apply these two departments throughout the whole of the rest of the work; to bring before the student enough of comparative physiology in its widest sense to impress him with the importance of recognizing that all medicine, like all science, is, when at its best, comparative; and to show that the doctrines of evolution must apply to physiology and medicine as well as to morphology." Its comprehensive scope and clearness of style make it an excellent introduction to the study of comparative physiology for the use of the general student. The volume is finely printed and contains 476 illustrations. Among the pictures of especially wide usefulness are several pages of cuts showing the appearance of the teeth of horses, oxen, and other domestic animals at different ages.
An American Geological Railway Guide. By James Macfarlane, Ph. D. Second edition, revised and enlarged. Edited by James R. Macfarlane. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 426. Price, $2.50.
There are three classes of people whom this book is intended to serve: first, the general traveler who is interested in the interpretation of the various aspects of nature; second, geologists, and especially students of geology; and, third, those who wish to know where useful minerals are likely to be found. The body of the work consists of lists of the stations on the railroads of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the name of the geological formation at each place. The distance of each station from one terminus of the road is given, and the altitude above sea-level of most. Prefixed to these lists are descriptions of the geological formation "intended for railway travelers who are not versed in geology." A multitude of foot-notes give interesting facts in addition to the information contained in the lists. To the traveler this work offers an opportunity to learn something of geology during the usually tedious hours of railway journeys; to the geologist it will furnish aid in selecting routes for geological excursions; to the man interested in the material development of new regions it may serve as a key to the capabilities of any given locality as regards products of the soil and underground wealth. The second edition, edited by the son of the author, contains twice as much matter as the first. The editor has had the assistance of the State Geologist or of some other gentleman well acquainted with the local geology in each State. The lightness which the traveler demands in what he carries has been secured in this volume by the use of thin but tough paper and a strong, flexible cloth cover.
Economic and Social History of New England: 1620-1789. By William B. Weeden. In two volumes. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Price, $4.50.
History, which formerly chronicled only the doings of kings and chieftains, and later developed into the life-record of the state, has now extended its scope to the affairs of the people. Its field is thus made to include a multitude of forces, individually small but mighty in the aggregate, which have always had a potent influence in shaping the courses of nations and in causing the success or the overthrow of rulers. Events otherwise inexplicable are seen to be natural sequences, when the temper of a people becomes known as revealed in their conduct of commercial, social, religious, and family affairs. Probably no region with an equal length of history is so rich in materials for a record of social life as New England. The early New-Englanders conscientiously recorded their business and public transactions, and complacently wrote out their ideas and opinions upon current topics, and later generations have proudly preserved these memorials, Hence the wealth of detail that Mr. Weeden has been able to include in his panorama. Among the important institutions of New England to which the author early calls attention are the towns. These, he states, "were founded on
