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WORK, WAGES AND PROFITS. By H. L. Gantt. New York The Engineering Magazine Company, 1913. 8vo.; 312 pp. The addition of more than a. hundred pages to the first edition of this work has given Mr. Gantt the opportunity of correcting the impression that his methods are summed up in the bonus system. This is but one feature of the plan successfully initiated by the author, and preceding this feature and forming the very foundations upon which the system rests are microscopic investigation, thorough standardization, personal instruction, and interconnected reward both to the supervisor and the workman. The illustrations used are drawn mainly from the textile industry. The results secured by the system in this industry are little short of phenomenal, as is graphically shown by the series of colored charts that form inserts to the volume. We see, for example, the time-sheet of a weave room. The workman is required to reach a certain standard of efficiency before ht; is entitled to a bonus; the days in which he fails to earn this bonus are blocked in with red; those on which a bonus is earned are blocked in with black. Steady improvement is noted as our eye crosses the page, until at the end of a few months red has almost entirely given plaice to black--inefficiency to efficiency, low earnings to high. Such actual records of achievement are attractive to the verge of conviction. Certainly they bespeak for such systems a fair trial. INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS. By Henry K. Benson, Ph.D. New York Tht MacmiUan Company, 1913. 8vo.; 431 pp.; illustrated. The student having some knowledge of elementary physics and general chemistry will find in this text a useful guide dealing with the materials, processes and apparatus commonly used in the engineering professions. The lessons take up such subjects as tht; atmosphere, industrial water, combustion, distillation, fuels and. lubricating oils. Various products of manufacture are also describedpig iron, commercial iron and steel and their alloys, clay, cement and lime products, paving, and paint materials. Cellulose products and explosives also have their chapters. In short, the prospective engineer who follows the test with caru and thoroughness will find himself possessed of a working knowledge of tha chemistry of materials and processes, and an ability in the pursuit of experimental research that will go far toward solving his problems. SUCCESS WITH HENS. By Eobert Joos. Chicago ForbesCo., 1914. 12mo.; 234 pp. Price, Si net. THE BAI'K YARD FARMER. By J. Willard Bolte. Chicago ForbesCo., 1914. 12mo.; 2;I8 pp. Price, Si net. Regarded as a crop, tht; product of our "billion-dollar industry" is in value second only to corn, and exceeds that of oats and wheat combined. "Success with Hens" exudes common sense, and avoids the impossible tstimatns and extravagant - promises that too often mar books of this kind. It instructs the tyro in the various subtleties of the occupation, details methods of equipment, hatching, brooding and. feeding, considers both intensive and extensive systems of farming, and meets with practical advice the drawbacks and exigencies encountered in the business. "The Back Yard Farmer" also devotes nearly half its space to poultry, the remainder discusses plans for making the back yard pay dividends by way of the fruit and vegetable garden. Hedges, shrubs, fruit trees, vines and the general beautification of the lawn and the surroundings come in for consideration, and there are hints on the keeping of bees and the care of the horse and the cow. This manual also maintains a conservative tone, and its instructions are based on sound principles. LABORATORY MANUAL OP GLASS-BLOWING, By Francis C. Frary, Ph.D. New York McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1914. ?p??.; 60 pp.; illustrated. Price, 75 cents net. The elements and processes of glass-blowing are presented with the aim of enabling the laboratory man to modify or repair his own apparatus. In sonle situations this may mean the saving of considerable time and money. The author assumes that the reader is entirely ignorant of the artv hence his explanations are lucid and adequate. A MANUAL OP BACTERIOLOGY, For Agricultural and General Science Students. By Howard S. Reed, Ph.D. New York GinnCo., 1914. 8vo.; 179 pph; illustrated. Price, 11.25. Students will find, in this manual, experiments whose precise results will banish doubtful habits of thought and the consequent vagueness of understanding. An added section of the work takes up fermentations caused principally by fungi. There is a large section of appendices, dealing with such subjects as sterilization, and containing tab 1 t0 of determinations, conversion tables, and record forms. BOY'S BOOK ON LOGIC, A Talk, Not a Treatise. By William Timothy Call. Brooklyn, N. Y. W. T. Call, 1914. HJmo.; 9tJjpp. Price, 50_cents. We ??? inclined to think Mr. Call's pabulum a trifle too cynically flavored for youthful con-sumptipn; there is too much of the strong man's meat along with the milk for babes; but the tiny volume is marked by the author's usual aptitude for getting down to fundamentals and expressing certain forms of truth in a humorous and alluring way. We are initiated into the mysteries of faro; we meet Fido, of the thin hind legs; incidentally bnd [incujisuioLislj' we absorb a few principles of logic. Every boy will be in hearty accord with Mr Call in his desire to simplify grammarto "strip It to the bulT," as he terms it. There is no law confining the perusal of the book to boys, and those of a targer growth may enjoy and profit by it. THE CLIMATE AND WEATHER OP AUSTRALIA. By ILA. Hunt, Griffith Taylor J B.A,, B.Sc, and E. T. Quayle, B.A Melbourne; By Authority Albert J. Mullett, Government Printer, 1913. 8vo.; 93 pp.; illustrated. Price, 5s. This, the first published text-book on Australian meteorology, is issued under the authority of the Minister of State for Home Affairs. Under "Climate" it treats of the effect of the size of the continent on climatic variation, of the march of temperature, the barometric variation, the distribution of dominant winds, special factors of climatic influence, and the chief climatic regions. Under "Weather" are discussed the characteristics of drought years, local rains, hurricanes and "bursters." Methods of forecasting are sketched., and the monograph is enriched by numerous maps of mean temperatures, heat waves, pressures, humidities, and rainfalls; by graphs of the mean monthly rainfall and of maximum and minimum temperatures for the various stations; and by charts of noteworthy hurricanes. THE SOUTH AMERICA TOUR, By Annie S. Peck, M.A. New York; George H. Doriin Company, 1913. 8vo.; 398 pp.; illustrated. Price, 2,50 net. The Questions "What is there to see?" and "May the journey be taken in comfort?" are answered with a wealth of detail in the pages of Miss Peck's rather bulky volume. She unfolds before us some of the finest scenery in the world mountains that shame the Alps, cliffs overtopping those of the Yosemite, far-flung gardens of Allah, waterfalls among the highest and the most beautiful in the world. The intermingling of strange peoples, the fascinating mosaic of ancient and modem, ruins and antiquities on the one hand and railroads and splendid city buildings on the other, call to us from the happy descriptions of the author's pen and the clear reproductions of her camera. These assure us of comiort on the way, and tempt us, if not to the actual undertaking of the journey, at least to the continuance of the personally-conducted tuur by which she leads us through the pages oi her attractive volume. THE HOME NURSE. By E. B. Lowry, M.D. Chicago Forbes Co., 1914. 12mo.; 224 pp. Price, Si net. The importance of good nursing in illness can ' scarcely be over-estimated. There are thousands of homes where a trained nurse cannot be employed, and where the duties of nurse devolve upon a meml>er of the family. Willing as she may be, her efforts are too often ill directed, and the physician's orders are but indifferently carried out. Dr. Lowry's book publishes the principles of general nursingthe care of the sick-room and the patent, the observation of symptoms, and the administration of medicine; it gives instructions for nufSing in special diseasestyphoid, pneumonia, etc.; and cites simple remedies and modes of relief for those minor disorders and accidents which (>ccur in every home. THE MECHANICAL ENGINEER'S REFERENCE BOOK. A Handbook of Tables, Formulas and Methods for Engineers, Students and Draughtsmen, By Henry Harrison Suplee, B.Sc., M.E. Philadelphia J. B. Lippincott Company, 1913. 16mo.; 964 pp.; illustrated. In any compilation of tables, methods and formulas, the merit of the resulting volume largely depends upon the selective judgment of the compiler. With such a vast field as that of engineering, the task calls for exceptional knowledge, close valuatipns, and alert faculties, even though the material be limited to the mechanical section of that field. This reference book has stood the test of time, and having been recently revised and enlarged, now passes also the test of timeliness. Machine design is very fully dealt with, and the men of the draughting room will find in the book both general principles and detailed methods. Only the more widely applicable rules and formulas are furnished. Thus not the user's shoulders, but the author's, bear the burden of selection. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT. By Parris Thax-ter Far wall, New York SturgisWalton Company, 1913. 16mo.; 362 pp.; illustrated. "Village Improvement" is a well-planned and informing little book dealing with all phases of town-beautification. Addressed particularly to those not having ready access to libraries and hence somewhat out of touch with the progress that is being made, it teaches how, with little expense and small trouble, one may surround his home and his farm with the improvements that mean so much in convenience and in solid satis-factionr The work presents village improvement, in its general aspects, and from that proceeds to specific practical suggestions in regard to roads, greens, fountains, shrubbery, bridges and buildings. A form of constitution adapted to improvement clubs is given, and proved methods of operation arejrecounted very fully. Pictures of what has thus been accomplished the country over brighten the pages and add to their inspirational value. THE NEW PHILOSOPHY, Science of Physical Phenomena. By Calvin Samuel Page. First Explanations of Electricity, Gravitation, Repulsion, and the New Atomic Element Rex. Chicago The Science Publishing Company, 1913.
