Having described the great and growing interest taken in child study, President A.R. Taylor announces as the principal aim of his book, The Study of the Child,[41] to bring the subject within the average comprehension of the teacher and parent. Besides avoiding as much as possible technical terms and scientific formulas, the author has made the desire to announce new principles subservient to that of assisting his fellow-workers to a closer relationship with the child. As teachers and parents generally think it extremely difficult to pursue the study of the child without at least a fair understanding of the elements of psychology, the author intimates that they often forget that the study will give them that very knowledge, and that, properly pursued, it is the best possible introduction to psychology in general. Every chapter in the present book, he says, is an attempt to organize the knowledge already possessed by those who know little or nothing of scientific psychology, and to assist them to inquiries which will give a clearer apprehension of the nature and possibilities of the child. The treatise begins with the wakening of the child to conscious life through the senses, the nature and workings of each of which are described. The bridge over from the physical to the mental is found in consciousness, which for the present purpose is defined as the self knowing its own states or activities. The idea of identity and difference arises, symbols are invented or suggested, and language is made possible. The features of language peculiar to children are considered. Muscular or motor control, the feelings, and the will are treated as phases or factors in development, and their functions are defined. The intellect and its various functions are discussed with considerable fullness; and chapters on The Self, Habit, and Character; Children's Instincts and Plays; Manners and Morals; Normals and Abnormals; and Stages of Growth, Fatigue Point, etc., follow. A very satisfactory bibliography is appended.
The Discharge of Electricity through Gases[42] is an expansion of four lectures given by the author, Prof. J.J. Thomson, of the University of Cambridge, at Princeton University in October, 1896. Some results published between the delivery and printing of the lectures are added. The author begins by noticing the contrast between the variety and complexity of electrical phenomena that occur when matter is present in the field with their simplicity when the ether alone is involved; thus the idea of a charge of electricity, which is probably in many classes of phenomena the most prominent idea of all, need not arise, and in fact does not arise, so long as we deal with the ether alone. The questions that occur when we consider the relation between matter and the electrical charge carried by it—such as the state of the matter when carrying the charge, and the effect produced on this state when the sign of the charge is changed—are regarded as among the most important in the whole range of physics. The close connection that exists between chemical and electrical phenomena indicates that a knowledge of the relation between matter and electricity would lead to an increase of our knowledge of electricity, and further of that of chemical action, and, indeed, to an extension of the domain of electricity over that of chemistry. For the study of this relation the most promising course is to begin with that between electricity and matter in the gaseous or simpler state; and that is what is undertaken in this book. The subject is presented under the three general headings with numerous subheadings of The Discharge of Electricity through Gases, Photo Electric Effects, and Cathode Rays.
For a clear and concise presentation of the framework of psychology and its basal truths, the Story of the Mind[43] may be commended. Although the space afforded is only that of a bird's-eye view, no skeleton bristling with technical terms confronts us, but an attractive and well-furnished structure with glimpses of various divisions that tempt us to further examination. The text is simply and charmingly written, and may induce many to search the recesses of psychology who, under a less skillful guide, would be frightened away. A bibliography at the end of the volume supplies what other direction may be needed for more advanced study. Admirable in construction and treatment as the book is, there are, however, paths in which we can not follow where Professor Baldwin would lead, and in others that we undertake with him we do not recognize our surroundings as those he describes. This is especially the case with the environment of the genius. We do not find that "he and society agree in regard to the fitness of his thoughts," nor that "for the most part his judgment is at once also the social judgment." If such were the case, how would he "wait for recognition," or be "muzzled" for expressing his thoughts? In almost all cases it is the story of Galileo over again. In art, science, and social reform he sees far beyond his fellows. Society can not accept him because it has not the vision of a genius. He contradicts its judgment and is fortunate when he escapes with the name of "crank." The military hero does not enter into this category: he glorifies the past rather than the future; he justifies the multitude in a good opinion of itself and, is therefore always received.
The first edition of Professor Bolton's Catalogue of Scientific and Technical Periodicals[44] was issued in 1885, and was intended to embrace the principal independent periodicals of every branch of pure and applied science, published in all countries from the rise of this literature to the present time, with full titles, names of editors, sequence of series, and other bibliographical details, arranged on a simple plan convenient for reference; omitting, with a few exceptions, serials constituting transactions of learned societies. In cases where the scientific character of the journal or its right to be classed as a periodical was doubtful, and in other debatable cases, the compiler followed Zuchold's maxim, that "in a bibliography it is much better that a book should be found which is not sought, than that one should be sought for and not found." The new edition contains as Part I a reprint from the plates of the first edition, with such changes necessary to bring the titles down to date as could be made without overrunning the plates; and in Part II additions to the titles of Part I that could not be inserted in the plates, together with about 3,600 new titles, bringing the whole number of titles up to 8,477, together with addenda, raising this number to 8,603, minus the numbers 4,955 to 5,000, which are skipped between the first and second parts. Chronological tables give the dates of the publication of each volume of the periodicals entered. A library check list shows in what American libraries the periodicals may be found. Cross-references are freely introduced. The material for the work has been gathered from all available bibliographies, and by personal examination of the shelves and catalogues of many libraries in the United States and Europe, and from responses to circulars sent out by the Smithsonian Institution. The whole work is a monument of prodigious labor industriously and faithfully performed.
In Theories of the Will in the History of Philosophy[45] a concise account is given by Archibald Alexander of the development of the theory of the will from the early days of Greek thought down to about the middle of the present century; including, however, only the theories of the more important philosophers. In addition to contributing something to the history of philosophy, it has been the author's purpose to introduce in this way a constructive explanation of voluntary action. The account closes with the theory of Lotze; since the publication of which the methods of psychology have been greatly modified, if not revolutionized, by the development of the evolutional and physiological systems of study. The particular subjects considered are the theories of the will in the Socratic period, the Stoic and Epicurean theories; the theories in Christian theology, in British philosophy from Bacon to Reid, Continental theories from Descartes to Leibnitz, and theories in German philosophy from Kant to Lotze. The author has tried to avoid obtruding his own opinions, expressing an individual judgment only on matters of doubtful interpretation; and he recognizes that speculation and the introspective method of studying the will appear to have almost reached their limits.
Dr. Frank Overton's text-book of Applied Physiology[46] makes a new departure from the old methods of teaching physiology, in that it begins with the cells as the units of life and shows their relations to all the elements of the body and all the processes of human action. The fact of their fundamental nature and importance is emphasized throughout. The relation of oxidation—oxidation within the cells—as the essential act of respiration—to the disappearance of food, the production of waste matters, and the development of force, is dwelt upon. The influence of alcohol is discussed in all its aspects, not in a separate chapter, but whenever it comes in place in connection with the several topics and subjects treated. Other narcotics are dealt with. A chapter on inflammation and taking cold is believed to be an entirely new feature in a school text book. Summaries and review topics are arranged at the end of each chapter; subjects from original demonstrations and the use of the microscope are listed; and many hygienic topics, such as air, ventilation, drinking water, clothing, bathing, bacteria, etc., are specially treated.
The prominent characteristic of Professors F.P. Venable and J.L. Howe's text-book on Inorganic Chemistry according to the Periodic Law[47] is expressed in the title, and is the adoption of the periodic law as the guiding principle of the treatment, and the keeping of it in the foreground throughout. So far as the authors have noticed, the complete introduction of this system has not been attempted before in any text book. They have made the experiment of following it closely in their classes, and their success through several years has convinced them of its value. "In no other way have we been able to secure such thorough results, both as to thorough, systematic instruction and economy of time. The task is rendered easier for both student and teacher." After the setting forth of definitions and general principles in the introduction, the elements are taken up and described according to their places and relations in the periodic groups, and then their compounds are described successively, with hydrogen, the halogens, oxygen, sulphur, and the nitrides, phosphides, carbides, silicides, and the alloys. The treatment is systematic, condensed, and clear.
The purpose of Mr. John W. Troeger's series of Nature-Study Readers is declared by the editor to be to supply supplementary reading for pupils who have been two years or more at school. They are composed, moreover, with a view to facilitating the recognition in the printed form of words already familiar to the ear, and to making the child at home with them. In carrying out this purpose the author takes advantage of the child's fondness for making observations, especially when attended by his companions or elders. In doing this the aim has been kept in view not to weary the child with details, and yet to give sufficient information to lead to accurate and complete observations. Most of the chapters in the present volume, Harold's Rambles, the second of the series, contain the information gleaned during walks and short excursions. Among the subjects concerned are birds, mammals, insects, earthworms, snails, astronomy, minerals, plants, grasses, vegetables, physics, and features connected with the farm. These Nature-study readers are published as a branch of Appletons' Home-Reading series. (New York: D. Appleton and Company. Price, 40 cents.)
Another of Appletons' Home-Reading Books is News from the Birds, which the author, Leander S. Keyser, explains has been written with two purposes in mind: first, to furnish actual instruction, to tell some new facts about bird life that have not yet been recited; and, second, to inspire in readers a taste for Nature study. It is by no means a key for the identification of the birds; but, instead of telling all that is or may be known respecting a particular bird, the author has sought only to recite such incidents as will spur the reader to go out into the fields and woods and study the birds in their native haunts. For the most part the author has given a record of his own observations, and not a reiteration of what others have said. He has gone to the birds themselves for his facts, and has made very little use of books.
It has been Mr. Ernest A. Congdon's aim, in preparing his Brief Course in Qualitative Analysis (New York: Henry Holt; 60 cents), to render it as concise as possible while making the least sacrifice of a study of reactions and solubilities of chemical importance. The manual covers the points of preliminary reactions on bases and acids; schemes of analysis for bases and acids; explanatory notes on the analyses; treatment of solid substances (powders, alloys, or metals); and tables of solubilities of salts of the bases studied. A comprehensive list of questions, stimulative of thought, is appended. The book is intended merely as a laboratory guide, and should be supplemented by frequent "quiz classes" and by constant personal attention. The course has been satisfactorily given in the Drexel Institute within the allotted time of one laboratory period of four hours, and one hour for a lecture or quiz per week, during the school year of thirty-two weeks.