The Structure and Appearance of a Laramie Dinosaurian, pp. 4. with Plates; and On the Mutual Relations of the Bunotherian Mammalia, pp. 7. By E. D. Cope. 1863.

Notes on the Volcanoes of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington Territory. By Arnold Hague and Joseph P. Iddings. 1583. Pp. 18.

The Heart of Man. An Attempt in Mental Anatomy. By Putnam P. Bishop. Chicago: Shepard & Johnston, printers. 1883. Pp. 93.

A History of the New York sociation. By Hyland C. Kirk. Kellogg & Co. 1888. Pp. 174.

State Teachers' AsNew York: E. L. Illustrated.

Syllabus of the Instruction in Sanitary Science. By Delos Fall, Albion, Mich. 1883. Pp. 7. 10

cents.

On the Right Use of Books. By William P. Atkinson. Boston: Roberts Brothers. 1879. Pp. 65.

God and the State. By Michael Bakounine. Translated from the French by Benjamin R. Tucker, Boston: Benjamin R. Tucker, publisher. 1858. Pp. 52. 15 cents.

A Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Edited by George Grove, D. C. L. Parts XVII and XVIII. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. 1883. Pp. 239. $1 per Part.

POPULAR MISCELLANY.

School Examinations.-In an address before the Teachers' Association of Cook County, Illinois, Colonel Francis W. Parker, formerly of Boston, now Principal of the County Normal School, severely condemned the prevalent system of examining in schools. He believed that none were more faithful in their efforts than the teachers of to-day, and none were more anxious to do good than they. He had wondered why progress had not been greater, and had come to the conclusion that the greatest obstacle was the examinations. The standard for the work had a powerful influence on the work itself. He believed that examinations were the greatest curse the schools had, though they might be made the greatest blessing. "What is the true motive of examinations? Real teaching leads to the systematic, all

The Influence of Athletic Games upon Greek Art. By Charles Waldstein, Ph. D. London. 1883. Pp. 24.

Studies from the Biological Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University. Edited by H. Newell Martin and W. K. Brooks. Vol. II, No. 4. Baltimore. 1883. Pp. 85, with Plates.

Professional Papers of the Signal Service. No. VIIL The Motions of Fluids and Solids on the Earth's Surface. By Professor William Ferrel, with Notes by Frank Waldo. Pp. 51. No. IX. Geographical Distribution of Rainfall in the United States. By H. C. Dunwoody. Pp. 51, with Maps. No. XI. Meteorological and Physical Observations on the East Coast of British America. By Orray Taft Sherman. Pp. 202. No. XII. Popular Essays on the Movements of the Atmosphere. By Professor William Ferrel. Pp. 59. Washington: Government Printing-Office.

Verbal Pitfalls. By C. W. Bardeen. Syracuse, N. Y.: C. W. Bardeen, publisher. 1883. Pp. 223. Henry Irving. New York: W. S. Gottsberger. 1883. Pp. 207.

Van Nostrand's Science Series. No. 68. Steam

Heating. By Robert Briggs, C. E. Pp. 108. No. 69. Chemical Problems. By James C. Foye, Ph. D. Pp. 141. New York: D. Van Nostrand. 1888. 50 cents each.

Astronomy. By Simon Newcomb, LL. D., and

Edward S. Holden, M. A. New York: Henry Holt & Co. 1883. Pp. 888. $1.40.

A New School-Dictionary of the English Language. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1888. Pp. 890. 90 cents.

The Fertilization of Flowers. By Hermann Mül

ler. With a Preface by Charles Darwin. London: Macmillan & Co. 1888. Pp. 669. $5.

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Year ending June

30, 1882. Washington: Government Printing-Office.

1588. Pp. 504.

Finland: Its Forests and Forest Management:

By John Croumbie Brown, LL. D.
Dawson Brothers. 1883. Pp. 290.

Montreal:

Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution for the Year 1881. Washington: Government Printing-Ottice. 1883. Pp. 837.

knowledge in the mind. In this upbuilding or instruction, every faculty of the mind is brought into action-perception, judg ment, classification, reason, imagination, and memory. Examinations, then, should test the condition and progress of the mind in its development. Is the common standard of examinations a test of real teaching? If I am not mistaken, the examinations usually given simply test the pupil's power of memorizing disconnected facts. The surest way to effectually kill all desire to study any subject, say history, when the pupil leaves school, is the memorizing of disconnected facts. A no less sure way of creating an intense desire to read history is to take one interesting subject and read from various books all that is said about it, and then under the guidance of a skillful teacher to put together this information, arranging events in logical order, and finally writing out in good English the whole story. It is very easy for an expert in examinations to judge of the true teaching power of the teacher in such work, by the written papers. If meaningless words have been memorized, if there is a lack of research, investigation, and original thought, the results will be painfully evident.

"Examinations should not be made the test of fitness for promotion. Those who understand children will readily appreciate

the excitement and strain under which they labor, when their fate depends upon the correct answering of ten disconnected questions. It is well known to you that some of the best pupils generally do the poorest work in the confusion that attends such highly-wrought nervous states. How much better, then, it is to take the work of the pupil for the whole year, than the results of one hour, under such adverse conditions! If the teacher really teaches, and faithfully watches the mental growth of her pupils through the work of one or more years, she alone is the best judge of their fitness to do the work of the next grade. The examinations of a superintendent should be to ascertain whether the principals under his charge have the requisite ability and knowledge to organize, teach, and supervise a large school. The examinations of the principal should test the teaching power of his teachers. And, lastly, the teachers should test by examinations the mental growth of their pupils. This is the true economical system of responsibility. First ascertain that superintendent, principal, and teacher can be trusted, and then trust them. The testimony of countless good teachers has been uniform, when asked, 'Why don't you do better work? why don't you use the methods learned in normal schools, and educational periodicals, and books?' 'We can not do it. Look at our course of study. In three weeks or months these children will be examined. We have not one moment of time to spend in real teaching.' No wonder that teaching is a trade and not an art! No wonder there is little or no demand for books upon the science and art of teaching!"

The Alps in Roman Times.-The ancient Romans, says Professor H. Nissen, of Strasburg, saw in the Alps a kind of a wall completely shutting them out from the people living beyond them, and so for centuries they hesitated to take possession of the mountain-lands, although their legions had subjected all the country at the base of the Alps to the Rhine, and had made demonstrations toward Germany and England. So great was their dread of those unknown heights that they quietly endured the audacity of the rapacious tribes inhabiting them till about fifteen years B. C. Yet Han

nibal had crossed them for the first time in September of 218 B. C. This was considered a deed of such magnitude that its success was ascribed by the southern people to the assistance of the heavenly powers. The darkness that rested over the Alps was first illuminated by the historian Polybius, who visited them and described them from his own observations. Roman power was extended over them by Augustus Cæsar, B. C. 15. Afterward roads were built over them, fourteen at least, the laying out of which shows that they were made after careful studies of the situation by the engineers. The opening of the mountains to travel was followed by a great streaming of adventurers in search of the riches to be found in the regions beyond, and scenes were enacted very much like those which were witnessed a few years ago in California. At one time gold was found in such abundance that the price of the metal was depreciated thirty-four per cent through all Italy. The treasurehunters carried vines with them and planted them wherever they settled down; and to this, in part, Germany owes its wealth in vineyards. The forests were laid waste, as a matter of course, just as they are now wherever a new settlement is planted, and with similar results. The Romans had no appreciation of the beauty and grandeur of the mountains, so highly admired by modern taste, but expressed only dread of them and abhorrence of their savage aspect, which they considered well represented in the barbarous names their indwellers gave to them. They entertained the wildest ideas of the height of the mountains, which they exaggerated tremendously. Pliny, who was a native of Como, at their very foot, speaks of one of the peaks as being fifty miles high, or sixteen times as high as Mont Blanc.

The Venom of Snakes.-Drs. S. Weir Mitchell and Edward T. Reichert have obtained the venoms from several snakes in the shape of a turbid, yellowish fluid, varying in viscidity, odorless, and having an acid reaction. All the venoms are soluble in water at ordinary temperatures, save for a slight cloudiness which but slowly settles. The poisonous principle of the venom of the moccasin and the rattlesnake appears to reside in two out of three proteids which it

ceives a lye formed from the residue or refuse of the grapes after pressing, which is either that obtained from the present year or some that has been kept from a previous vintage. The raisins, held in wire colanders holding from five to eight pounds each, are plunged in this lye while it is boiling. After the immersion, the workmen examine the skins to see if they are shriveled enough. If not, they immerse the grapes a second time, which is usually the last. The process of immersion is a very delicate one, requiring skillful watching and keen judgment on the part of the workmen. The grapes must not be allowed to burst, nor the skins to crack. The grapes must not get too hot or be too sweet, or the raisins will mold. Raisins dried by this process are considered inferior. To prepare raisins by steam, the grapes, after having been sunned for twenty-four hours, are put on drying-shelves in a room heated by steam to 160° Fahr., and kept there for twenty-four hours, when they are taken to a coolingroom to be gradually cooled till they are ready to be packed. Drying in the sun is preferred to the other processes wherever the sun affords enough heat. Stagings are built of brick or stone, on which the grapes are exposed at such an angle of inclination as to be in the sun throughout the day. A temperature of 145° is thus attained in Au. gust. At night, the grapes are covered with canvas or with boards. During the process of drying, those grapes that remain green or are spoiled are carefully removed, and each grape is turned, in order to preserve a uniformity in the darkening of color. Raisins prepared by the scalding process dry in four days, while those dried in the sun take ten days, but the difference of time is largely compensated for by the economy of expenditure. The raisins are not ready for packing immediately after being dried, but have to be kept for several days in the stores on the planks on which they are carried. Those that are spoiled or defective are picked out, especially if they appear broken or bruised, for one drop of moisture from them would probably damage a whole box. The crop of raisins produced in the Malaga district from the vintage of 1880 and 1881 is estimated at between 2,000,000 and 2,050,000 boxes of 22 pounds each.

Centripetal and Centrifugal Movements of the Limbs.-Dr. G. Delaunay controverts the theory of Carl Vogt, that the direction of the lines in writing, whether from right to left, the result of a centripetal, or from left to right, the result of a centrifugal, movement of the hand, depends upon exterior conditions rather than a physiological necessity. His investigations have taught him to believe that the general direction of all movements is determined by physiological and anatomical influences. Quadrupeds, he says, as a rule are capable only of vertical or forward and backward movements; a few of them, as the cat and monkeys, can make centripetal movements. Man is the only one who can execute centrifugal ones. The physiological evolution from vertical to lateral-first centripetal, then centrifugalmovements, is a result of an anatomical evolution that has been well described by Broca, in his work on the "Order of Primates." According to M. Delaunay's researches, movements are rather centripetal than centrifugal with primitive or inferior races—rather centrifugal than centripetal with superior races; and the change from one to the other takes place as the race advances. Formerly watches were wound from right to left-now they are wound from left to right. Some English watches are an exception, but the Americans, who are more advanced in evolution (so M. Delaunay says) than the European English, wind their watches from left to right. As it is with watches, so it is with most other machinery. Writing from right to left was characteristic of the earlier nations, and is still so of the less advanced peoples, but has given way to writing from left to right as the races have improved. As between the sexes, women are more inclined to centripetal, men to centrifugal, movements; this is scen in drawing and in the adjustment of clothing. Children are more inclined to centripetal than to centrifugal movements; they strike with their palms rather than with the backs of their hands, draw from right to left, and have a propensity to spell and write in the same direction. M. Delaunay sees in this a tendency to atavism. As between individuals, the more intelligent persons, better scholars, are more ready in left to right, or centrifugal; the less

intelligent, poor scholars, in right to left, or centripetal motions. Idiots can hardly strike with the back of the hand, and are not at ease in lateral movements. In a psychological respect, centripetal gestures denote primitive, egoistic, retrograde ideas, as is seen in the attitude of the miser holding his treasure, and of the coward in the presence of danger. Centrifugal gestures express generous, expansive, altruistic, brave ideas and passions. The gesture of acclamation or applause, for example, is as elevated, as outward, as centrifugal, as possible. "Pleasure," says M. Charles Richet, "corresponds with a movement of blooming, of dilatation, of extension. In grief, on the other hand, we shrink, we withdraw upon ourselves in a general movement of flexion." Thus, in the psychological as well as in other points of view, centripetal gestures mark inferiority, centrifugal ones superiority.

Ancient Love of Honey.-The bodies of Alexander the Great and of the Spartan King Agesipolis were preserved in honey. The ancient Assyrians also used the same substance for embalming. Its preservative effects are, however, only temporary, for, although it prevents the entrance of the germs of decay for a time, it is itself ultimately overtaken by decay, and the bodies it covers must follow it. The ancient use of honey for food was much more important than its application to purposes of embalming. The Greek mythology attributes its origin to Jupiter, who in his youth was fed by goats with milk and by bees with honey. He adopted ambrosia, a compound of milk and honey, to be the food of the gods, and, taking care that the earth should be supplied, caused it to fall as a dew from the sky, and taught the bees to make cells of wax and store honey in them. Aristotle said that honey fell from the air at the rising of the stars and whenever there was a rainbow; Pliny, that it comes out of the air at about daybreak; whence, he adds, "we find the leaves bedewed with honey when the morning twilight appears, and persons in the open air may feel it in their clothes and hair." He also regrets that it can not reach us as pure as it starts, but has to be polluted by the various substances it meets

in coming through the air. The northern sagas likewise represent honey as a heavenly product, and relate that it drops upon the earth from the holy ash, and is food to the becs. The ancients used honey as extensively as they did, probably, because they had not learned to extract sugar from the cane. Nearchus says the Macedonians found the sugar-cane in India, referring probably to the bamboo and its sweet juices, and Diodorus and Theophrastus speak of the sweet juice produced by a cane or reed. like plant; but, if cane-sugar was known at all in antiquity, it was known only as a rarity, and honey was still the pre-eminent sweetener. The ancients were well acquainted with the variations in the quality of honey, according to the season when it was stored and the plants whence it was derived. Honey was also used as a medicine for affections of the throat, inflammations of the lungs, and pleurisy, and as an antidote for snake and mushroom poisoning. It was given with mead in apoplexy; mixed with rose-oil it was applied to diseased ears; and it was used to kill vermin in the head. The ancient Germans had a mead or honey wine, which was made by the fermentation of a mixture of honey, water, and herbs, and contained about seventeen per cent of alcohol. Some ancient writers imagined that bees were developed in the decomposing bodies of animals, and an Arcadian shep. herd is credited with having discovered the art of cultivating them in this way. Melanchthon believed something of the kind, and

saw in it evidence of Providence and a noble

symbol of the Christian Church. Honey formed an important article of trade in the middle ages, but gradually declined under the competition of cane-sugar. The destruction of the monasteries at the time of the Reformation caused also a limitation in the use of wax-lights, and a reduction in the demand for comb.

Trees of Lake Chad.-Dr. Nachtigal in his "African Journeys " describes some curious trees that grow in the region of Lake Chad. The butter-tree, called in that country tôso-kan, bears a green round fruit, ripening into yellow, about as large as a small citron. This fruit consists of a nut resembling a horse-chestnut in color and