PREFACE. THE new features introduced in the ANNUAL CYCLOPÆDIA of last year are continued in the present volume, and some novelties will also be found in its pages. The account of the War in Egypt is accompanied by an unusually clear, full-page map, made for this work, and by illustrations of scenes on the Nile. The Franco-Chinese War in Tonquin is recorded, with illustrations, in the article on China. The reader will also naturally turn to the article on Afghanistan, where two great European powers seem likely to come into conflict. The always interesting subject of Arctic Exploration is illustrated with a map, and a landscape at the farthest point that has yet been reached by voyagers toward the pole. The engravings on steel this year represent President Cleveland, the King of Italy, and General Gordon, who perished at Khartoum. That of the President is accompanied by a carefully prepared biographical sketch. Among the other portraits are those of Vice-President Hendricks, Fanny Elssler, Sir Bartle Frere, Henry Fawcett, Arnold Guyot, Charles O'Conor, Wendell Phillips, Arthur Wellesley Peel (the new Speaker of the British House of Commons), Charles Reade, General Stewart, and General Todleben. Our Astronomical article is contributed by Prof. Simon Newcomb, of the Washington Observatory; and our articles on Chemistry, Metallurgy, and Physiology, as usual, by Dr. Youmans. The construction and work of the Microscope, not very recently written upon for any cyclopædia, are here treated fully, and brought down to date, with more than forty illustrations, by Dr. R. H. Ward, one of the best microscopists in the United States. Botany-another science not recently treated by cyclopedists-is contributed by Prof. Dudley, of Cornell University. The manias for Bicycling, Skating, and Tobogganing are recognized and discussed, with illustrations, by good authorities. The article on the Skate is especially interesting, as it exhibits the development of the instrument from the bone-skates of prehistoric man to the latest improved roller-skates. The Tonic Sol-fa System of Music is set forth by the President of the American Association, Prof. Theodore F. Seward; and the Ocarina, a new and peculiar musical instrument, is described and pictured. The diseasetheory of Micro-Organisms is given with its latest developments. The other scientific subjects include Liquefaction of Gases, Cholera, the new disease called Miryachit, the new anesthetic Cocaine, and-what, perhaps, is most immediately important of all-Sanitary Science. The last-named article is contributed by Charles F. Wingate, the well-known sanitary engineer, of New York. Under Adulteration of Food, and Canned Provisions, the housekeeper will find valuable information drawn from the most recent investigations. In addition to the usual article on Geographical Discovery, we have this year one on the opening up to commerce of the great Congo country, illustrated with a map, and one on Mountain Exploration, noting some remarkable achievements; while recent discoveries in Archæology and Paleontology are chronicled and illustrated. The peculiar Presidential contest of 1884 is recorded in the articles United States, Grover Cleveland, and James G. Blaine, with full statistics of the results; while the articles on some of the States and Territories exhibit movements and tendencies that may give shape to the political struggles of the near future. The topic of Reform in the Civil Service, an important factor in the great problem, is treated by Edward O. Graves, Assistant Treasurer of the United States, who has been among the foremost in the movement. This and the Reform article of our volume for 1883 make together an exhaustive history of the subject. What was done in the business world may be learned from the articles on United States Finances; Railway Service, from the pen of Edward Atkinson ; Financial Review of 1884, contributed by Mr. Carey of the "Journal of Commerce"; and the analysis of the peculiar course of the Metal Market. The Exposition at New Orleans and the Electrical Exhibition at Philadelphia are described and illustrated. Some important decisions in Constitutional Law that were reached in the course of the year are recorded, and the history of a novel question in jurisprudence is given under the title Mignonette Case. The wonderful recent development of taste in ornament is discussed under Decorative Art in America; the proposed Spelling Reform is presented by one of its devotees in its own peculiar style; and the subject of Photography for amateurs is suggestively treated. Under Obelisk the reader will find not only a description of the New York monolith, but tabulated information concerning nearly all the known obelisks in the world, contributed by the venerable Dr. Weisse, who has made a long study of the subject. The completed Washington Monument is described in an article by itself. Among the other topics of curious interest, treated in occasional articles, are Navigable Balloons, Catamaran, Crape-Stone, Clubs, the Dynamite Gun, Dogs, and Net-Making. While no yearly record can be absolutely complete within the compass of a single volume, it is hoped that this presentation of the world's progress in 1884 will be found reasonably full and judiciously presented. At the close of the book we give an analytical index that covers the nine volumes (including the present one) of the New Series. NEW YORK, May 1, 1885. |