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posely patted and praised it wthile the dog's eyes kindled omiinously at the pretended neglect of binaself. Suddenly the kitten jumped from may arms to the floor, and before I could interfere the dog bad seized and sbaken its little life out of it. I mention this as simply an instance. I believe that even birds sbow jealousy and sulk if too much notice is given a mate or a rival. L. L. H.
BOOK-REVlEWS. A Treatise on Plane and Spherical TXrigonometry. By EDWARD A. BowsmR, LL.D. Boston, D. C. Heath &; Co., 1892. THE different treatises in Dr. Bowser's series of text-books are all characterized by an abundance of well-selected exercises. For class-room use this is acommendable feature. The accompanying texrts, however, are often open to some criticism; they partake too much of tbe nature of compilations. It can be asserted that all such works are compilations to a greater of less extent, but such a claim is not always just. An author mnay go over the whole ground, making bimself thorougbly familiar vwith his subject, then condense his materials, classify carefully, present in a comprehensive manner, allowing bimself to be governed in all this work by well-known pedagogical principles. Against atextbook prepared in this way this charge could not, in justice, be brought. In a prospectus issued along with the trigonometry, his publishers state that Dr. Bowser is accustomed to bring out, on the average, one new volume a year. Whetber such a feat is a matter of pride on the part of the publisher or the author does not appear. At any rate, it f urnishes an exrplanation of the weakness as well as the strength of the series. As a general rule, a presentation of a science which varies greatly from tbe historic development is likely to be more difficult to master than 'one wbich does not. Some authors of trigonometries actually reverse the natural order. If the student could commence just where Hipparchus commenced, witb the relation
[VOL. XX. NO. 5I 2
between arcs and chords, and be sbown the advantage in tbe use of a table of chords, and then led frorn that to a table, of sines and thence to the other functions, the subject would be learned in its true bearing from the start. It is true trigonometry was for centuries regarded merely as an introduction to astronomy, the result being that the spberical part was developed abnormally. But from the days of Regiomonta-nus (Cantor, II., p. 242) it was studied as an independent sciencel and grew accordiDgly. As topics in a 'natural treatmesrt of plane trigoDometry we might bave : Arcs andi chords; cbords and sinaes; sines and the other functions; these functions in the solution of right triangles, exercises; solution of oblique triaingles by dropping perpendiculars, exrercises. Principle of conDtinuity; aDgles aDd functions in otber quadrants; fundamental relations between the functions; derived relatioins. Addition and subtraction formulae, including all formulae wthich are easy consequences. Cases in the solution of oblique triaiigles, with exercises, deriving appropriate formulae as needed. Logarithms; solution of triaDgles by logaritbms, model arrangements, exercises. Solution of trigonometrical equations, De Moivre'stheoretm, and such other topics as it may be thought best to insert. It is a grave pedagogical mistake not to use the natural tables first, and until the student is made to feel the -need of some. labor-saving system. The use of the functions and the use of the logaritbms are entirely distinct, and sbould be well separated from each other in the mind of the beginner. The nlatural tables were calculated to fifteen decimal places tbe century before Napier invented his logarithms. To sum up in one sentence, there should be more of historical evolution in the presentation of trigonome-
try. Let us test the plane portion of the present work by the principles suggested. After giving the ratio definitions of the functions first, the student is plunged into the generalized conception of arcs and functions. Next the- addition formulee are given and all tbeir corollaries, which means a considerable part of tbeoretical trigonomietry. Next, logarithms and the log-function tables are
I
CALENDAR OF SOCIETIES. Reading Matter Notices. The mother-liquor from this salt was heated to drive off when Tabules: best liver tonic. 802 quickly, quite large Ripans Chemical Society, Washington. and distinct crystals were obtained, which Talbules cure jaundice. Ripan.s Nov. 10.-F. P. Dewey, Crystallized Sul- gave the 1-2 formula, thus showving that the pbite of Zinc; W. 11. Bigelow, On the Vis- salt crystallizes with two proportions of cosity of Sorghum Juices. Mr. Dewey's water, and that both formulas are correct. paper first reviewed the literatures of sul- It was also found that sulphite of zinc beated By DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. phite of zinc from Berthollet (1789) to De- with free access of air is completely decom- ,'The book is good, thorougl good, and will long niges (1892), sb0WiDg that most of the early posed and yields an oxide carrying less than rmain the best accessible eeetayehngah in our Christian Union. language."-The investigations were occupied with the com- 0.01 per cent of sulphur. W. D. Bigelow "We strongly recommend. Dr. Brinton's Races. plex: action of SO, on metals, in which the read a paper on the Viscosity of Sorghum and Peoples' to both beginners and scholars. We not aware of any other recent work on the production and excamination of sulphite of Juice's. About one bundred juices of dif- are science of which it treats in the English language."t zinc was merely an incident, and while ferent specific gravity were taken and the -Asiatic Quarterly. souae bad produced tbe sulphite by the direct amount delivered by a 50 cubic centimeter "His book is an ex¢ellent one, and we can heartilv recommend it as an introductory manual of ethnoiunion of ZnO and SO,,, only a fewv bad pro- pipette was carefully weighed. This was ogy."1-The MWonist. duced it by double decomposition. Two deducted from the true weight of 50 cubic "A useful and really interesting work, which deto, be widely read and studied both in Europe, formulae bave been an-nounced. The first centimeters of the juice and the result taken serves and America."-Brighton (Eng.) Herald. IIThis volume is most stimulating. It is written as losr, due to From this it was was 2H,,O both Musviscosity. proposed by ZnSO, with great clearness, so that can underpratt and Forclos aind GJelis in 1843, upon estimated that a 50-cubic centimeter pipette stand, and while in some ways. anybody perforce, superficial, well the would fleld deliver of from to 49.5 cubic 49.9) centi- grasps very complete humanity."1meagre analytical data, followed, in 1844, New York Times. meters of the juice. It was also noticed Thwe"*Dr. Brinton invests his scientific illustrations and by Dr. KSoene with quite satisfactory results. that mnost varying results were obtained measurements with an indescribable charm of narIn 1845, Rammelsburg announced the for- fromthe so that 'Races and Peoples,' avowedly a recdifferent juices of the same speciflc ration, ord of discovered facts, is in reality a strong stimmula as 2 ZnSOB 5 H.0, which was sUp- gravity. ulant to the imagination."-Philadelphia PublicLedger. ported byr Marignac, in 1857, in an elaborate The work is indispensable to the student who reBiological dSociety, Washington. and complete examination. Finally, in quires an intelligent guide to a course of ethnoNov. 19.-Theobald On Certain Smith, graphic reading."-Phi7wdlhaTms 1892, Deniges somewliat arbitrarilay announced that the formula must be 2 ZnSO, Minute (Parasitic ?) Bodies within the Red Price, postpaid, $1.75. Blood Corpuscles; a. w. Stiles, The TopooM,.hr. Dewey's first results, which grapbical 5H20 Relations of the Excretory Canals were all obtained by dissolving ZnO in of Cestodes; David White, A Walebia from IT. Do' C. 874 N. Y. and unmistakably sUp- New Mexico; F. M. Webster, Some EntomSO,g water, clearly ported the earlier (1-2) formula, but, on re- ological Factors in the Problem of Country U IURD^ I vCabinet Specimens, Collections, and m wj.L4 material by the pound, for mxinerpeating Denige's work, the later formula Fences; F. V. Coville, Comparative Value of alogs coletors, colleges, schools, and chemists Send for 100-page catalogue, paper bound, 16 cents, (2-5) was obtained. Finally, from the same Plants in Determinling FRloral Zones. bound,25 cents; supplement. 2 cents. Gzo. L solution of ZnO in SO, water, both salts Appalacbian Mountain Club, Boston. cloth ENG[LISHI & CO., hlineralogists, 788 &i 785 B'way, N. Y. were obtained. By allowing the SO,, to go Nov. 9. -John Ritchie, Jr., The State off slowly, a crop of small, powdery crystals. Park on Temple Mountain, N.H.; John ColeKindty mention " Science " in was obtained, showing the 2-5 formula. man Adams, The Brook Path up Chocorua.I writing to Advertisers.
RACES AND PEOPLES,
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