the professional library of his brother, the late Dr. Samuel Brown, who has been called "the last of the alchemists," from his advocacy of a belief in the transmutability of the elements. The work of issuing the publications is now more punctually performed than heretofore. One of the aims of the museum—to aid students and others engaged in scientific work by lending them material to be used in their researches—has been carried out in a number of loans; and other students have availed themselves of the privilege of examining the collections. A summary is given in the report of the cases of co-operation with the work of the museum by various departments and bureaus of the Government, from which many valuable results have accrued. The papers contributed by members of the museum staff describing and illustrating the collections include The Genesis of the National Museum, by G. Brown Goode; Ethnological Collections in the United States National Museum from Kilimandjaro, East Africa, by Dr. W. L. Abbott; The Bernadon, Allen, and Jony Korean Collections in the United States National Museum, by Walter Hough; Shinto, or the Mythology of the Japanese, The Ancient Burial Mounds of Japan, and Some Ancient Relics in Japan, by Romyn Hitchcock; Prehistoric Naval Architecture of the North of Europe, by George H. Boehmer; and First Draft of a System of Classification for the World's Columbian Exposition, by G. Brown Goode.
Lectures on Sanitary Law. By A. Wynter Blyth. New York: Macmillan & Co. Pp. 287. Price, $2.50.
These twelve lectures were delivered by the author at the College of State Medicine, as part of the usual course of instruction in sanitary science. They are republished on account of their possible value to those who desire to obtain, in a small compass, a general view of the powers and duties of (English) local authorities in relation to the public health. Having described the division into sanitary districts and the functions of authorities, the lectures concern Nuisance; Sewerage and Drainage; Water; Sanitary Appliances, Regulations, and By-laws; Statutory Provisions with Regard to the Prevention of Disease; the Law under the Infectious Diseases Notification and Prevention Acts; Port Sanitary Law; the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890; Canal Boats and Metropolitan Sanitary Law. In the appendix are given examples of by-laws relating to offensive trades, with other matters, and the statutes specially treating of the inspection and examination of food.
The eighth volume of the Mineral Resources of the United Slates, compiled by David T. Day, Chief of the Division of Mining Statistics and Technology, contains 630 pages of statistical data relative to the progress made from year to year in the production of minerals. A complete statement of the mineral products of 1891, with comparative tables, occupies the greater portion of the volume, the remainder being devoted to a very important examination of the new discoveries of mineral deposits and explanations of improved technical processes by which minerals have been made more available and the yield increased, etc. The summary shows an increase in value in the entire mineral products of $9,501,1.39 over 1890, chiefly in silver, copper, lead, and coal, the iron and steel production having fallen off nearly one million tons in 1891. Washington, 1893.
In Bulletin No. 3 of the United States Department of Agriculture, 1893, A. K. Fisher, M. D., Assistant Ornithologist, contributes an interesting report upon the Hawks and Owls of the United States. From an examination of seventy-three species and subspecies of these birds. Dr. Fisher has arrived at the conclusion that instead of their being pests or enemies, all except six species of the hawks and owls of this country are really among the farmer's best friends. This conclusion was arrived at after an examination of the stomachs of 2,700 of these birds, when it was found that the principal food of sixty-seven of the species examined, comprising 2,212 birds, consisted of "mice and other small mammals" which are a constant source of annoyance and loss to the farmer. The work, which is illustrated with twenty-six colored plates, is a valuable contribution to the natural history literature of the country, and can not fail to be widely appreciated l)y ornithologists and lovers of the feathered tribe. The color, food, locality, and habits of each of the seventy-three species are de-
