Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, June 1, 1878, Page 9

LITERATURE. Vegetable and Animal Life of the Equatorial Regilon. “H. H."---Tho Bermuda Islands ---Poole’s Index to Pori- odical Literature, Art and Literary Gossip---Tho ¢ Portfollo.”--Thackoray in a Now Form. Fiora Round About Chicago: Pond-Weed Family--Do Fish Bloep?---Tho Opossam, The LITERATURE. TROPICAL NATURE, TROPICAL NATURE; axn Orizn Essave, Dy Avrnev It WaLLACE, Atfhor of *“The Malay **The Geouraphical Distribntion cte. London: Macmillan & Co. aneen, McClurg & Co. Byo., pp. 336, Price, 33.50. Bo vivid a pleture of Tropleal Nature s glven In the opening chapters of this volume that one feels as though an sctual rather than a mental view had been presented to the senses. There are no gcencs on the earth more captivating to the imagination than those which comprise the novel, rich, and lush vegetatlon, and the curious and beautliul forns of animal lfe, pecullar to tho Equatorial reglon. Thelr charm s never exhausted, and ho who hos, ltko Mr. Wallacs,, the power to sketch thein with a graphic, life. like vizor, ia sura'of o constant and delighted circle of readers. 1t fs the aim of the author In these pages to delineato such physical features as are essen- tially Troplcal, and separate the Equatorial bett most definitely from the Temperate Zanes. Ile has, therefore, dwelt upon the phases of ciimate and the forms of life that are restricted to the lands girdling the centre of the earth, that these dlstinctive characteristics may be properly understood, Phenomena that are merely local and accidental are omitted, leaving to those which are genoral and pecullar thelr rightiul predominance. The details and no- menclature of Bclenco have also been entlrely svolded, and the conditlons and causes of the special aspecta of Naturs in torrid countrics are deacribed and discussed in slmple and familisr languoge. The first chapter treatsof the climate of the Troples, of the varicus thoorles that have been sdvanced to account for Its uniform hich tem- perature, and of other interesting meteorolomic- ol phenomens. In speaking of the rapia tran- elitlon from day to night, and night to day, Mr, ‘Wallace corrects tho exaggerated notion preva- lent, that darkoces shuts down immediately upon thogfjtting of the sun. Ilc states that, on the disappearance of this orb, the gloom is sudden and marked because, from the clear- ness of tho atmosnhicre, the light continues fn- tenxe until the source of ft 1s hiil below the horizon. But this gloom acarcely deepens for the space of ten minutes after sunset; thea It rapldly Increanea during an equal fnterval; and, ut the'end of about twenty-five minutes, total darkness envelops the carth. ‘The succossive changes swhich inark the passage from night to day are thus described: ** Up to about a quarter poat 5 o'clock the darkness {s complete; but about that time & few crivs of birds begin to break the allence of night,—perhaps indicating that signs of dawn are perveptibloin the eastern horizon. A littls later, tho melancholy volces of the goat-suckess are beard, varied cronkings of frogs, the plaintive whistle of mountain- thrushes, and strange cries of 'birds or mammals eullar Lo each locality. About half-past 5 tha llrst Fummcr of light becomes percoptible; 1t elowly becomes lghter, and then increases so rupldly that at about a quarter to 0 ft seema full davlight, For the next quarter of an hour this changes very litlls in char- urter; when, suddenly, the sun's rim sppears above the horizon, decking the dew-laden foll oge with elittering gems, sending gleams of gnh!cn light far Into the woods, and waking all Natore 1o lite and activity. Dirds chirp and fluttes about, parrots screnin, monkeys chatter, Lees hum among the flowers, and gorgeous but- terflles futter loztly mlonz, or sit with fully- expanded wings cxposed te the warm ond in- vigoratiog rays. Tne flrst hour of morning fn the Equatorial regions possesses o charm and n Leauty that can never be forgotten, All Nature seems refreshed and strengthened Ly the cool- ucss and mofsturs of the past nizht; new leaves und buds unfold simost before the evc, and fresh shoots wmay often be observed to have rrown many fuches since the preceding day, The teinpernture s the most delicious conceiv- able, ‘The stizht chill of tnrl{)dlwn, hich was {taclf sgreeable, 1s surceeded by an fnvicorating warmth; und the Intense sunstilne lHehts upthe Rlorlous vegetution of tho ples, and realizes all that the mogic art of the painter orthe lowing words of the poct have pictured as their deals of terrestrial beauty.” Mr, Wallace states, contrary to the gencral oplnlon, that violent metcorological phenomena sreby no means characteristic of the ‘Fropics. Electrical disturbances are more frequent, but ure not, as a usual thing, mors tumultitous than fn the Temperate Zones, Wiid-storms rarcly rage with extremo fercenens, The rainfall s great, and s chtefly cxpended within three or four months, The hoavleet fall rocorded at Ha- tavia during three yearswas throc and eight- tenths Inches fu ano hour, and thiswas quite ex- ceptio The greatest ralnfall recordod Iu twenty-four hours is scven and nquarter inches. ‘Tho avernge fall Ina ycaris seveuty or eighty fnches; but only two or three times fn o twelve- month do norethan four fuches 1all in one day. “Unitormity and abundance, rather than eny excessive manifestations, ure the prevalling characterlstiva of all the climatal phicnomens of the Equatorlal Zone,” The forcsts arc the dominant fenture of Troplcal scencry, “With few and unline vortant excoptions,’” says Mr, Wallace, “a eat forest-baud, frem 1,000 to 1,500 miles n width, girdles the earth ot the Equator, clotbing * hill, plaln, snd mountain with an evergreen mantle, Lofly peaks aud preci) itous ridges sre sometiines bare, but ofton the woudy covering continucs to a hiht of 8,000 or 10,000 fect.”” Tunt which first strikes the ob- seryer, un beholding thess vast, virzin forests, is the aspect of the treo-trunks, which, varled yet symmetrical, and set at consideravle {nter- vals, rise to a vast hight, perhaps of 100 fect, withiout sending oft & branti, and then spread out thelr glant arms, which, nterlucing with thoss abous (hem, form au xlmost unbroken canopy fu thie far-off cther, This Jufty scrocn of densa foliage excludes the sunlight, save fn scattercd flashes, and creates **a weird gloon and a solemn stlence, which comblne ta produce ascnse of the vast,—the primeval,—alinoat of the fofinite. It is o world in which man seems an Intruder, aud where lic feels ovorwhelned b{ the contemplation of the ever-acting forces which, from the slmplest elements of the at- masphere; build up thy great mass of yegetation which overshadows and alinost seems to oppress the carth,” The varfoty in the forms and colors of thesa tall shafts that Jift their beads so proudiy alolt, orms o notablo characteristic “of 'Propfeal forests, **All are tall und upright columns, but they differ from each other moro than Gothic, Greek, and Eeyptlan temnple a majority have s smooth bark, of varylug bues acconding to the specivs; but some are deeply furrowea and cracked, and othiers haves the outer integument hanging in flakes or long brous ribande, Epiny or prickly trunks are rare. ‘the lurge, thick, and glossy leaves, liko those of the mazoolla and rubber-tree, constitute another Pecullar truls of this arboreal vegetation. But, beneath tho high ceiling upheld by the colossal munarchs of the forest, there exists an undergrowth of moderate-sized trees whoso topmoat boughs, from [forty to fifty feet high, foll 1o reach the lowest urms of the canopy spread above thews, Bencath this second forest, thero fu often a third growth of small trees, six to ten feet high,—of dwarl F'"‘"‘ tree-ferns, and gigentic herbaceous l:m‘;d Il“lnnuv. coverivg thie grouud, there i ne, arich carpet of mosses, with some- times floweriug olants, bearlug pretty but usually not consvicuous blossoms. Ocrasion- ally the forcst-soll {s bare ot plants, and lies buried under a coverinig of leaves, twigs, snd frults, in all stazes of decay. Amovg the Wilnog Pccullurmu of the lufty forests is the array of lowers ou Lhe stcis and large Lrauches ©f tho trecs, fnstead of oo their upper aad swaller boughs. Tho cacuo-tree exhibits thils curious babit, and & member of the family of the custard-apules offers a besutifulilluatration. Thls amall tree s not uncommon fa the foreats 0, a0d, whico Mr. o Bern Wallace saw i, “its about tifteca to twenty foct THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: SATURDAY. JUNE 1, 1878=TWELVE. PAGES, hizh, was completely coverad with star-shaped flowese, three inches across, and of arich orange. red color,—making the trees look as if they had Ihec:ll I‘|'I’“fll'|l"] decorated with briillant ” gar- ands. The woody creeping and climbing plants that fiil the Tropical foreats are only sccond In in- terest to the trees themselves. They grow tn i immense length, and probably to an Inmense age; and are in such profusion that thelr com- plox and voluminous futds surprise the eyre st every poinl. ** They twist around the rtenderer stems; they drop down pendent from the hranchies; tliey stretch thehtly from tree to tre: they hang looped In large festovns from bong! to bough; they tivlst in grent aerpentine colls, or le in chtanzled masseson the ground. Nome are slemler, amooth, and rout-like; others aro rugged or knotted. Often they are twined to- Rother into veritable cables, Some are flat like ribands? others are curlously waved aned indent- el.” Theae meandering plants wauder eo far from their starting-place, as they travel through the trees In search of 1ight and epace fu which to expand thelr follaze and flowers, that thelr ‘mhlo! ddeparture is often fmpossthle to trace, t is only when lhe‘)‘v have reached the summit of the loftlest trecs that they break nto bloom, and then they frequently forn vivid patches of color in a aea of rreen. Of the groups of plants which give a speclal character to Eauatorial vegetation, the most conspieuous are the palms, ferns, bamboos, orchids, arums, ginger-worts, and wild plan- tsins. Bome of ‘the palms some have stems not thicker than a lead: Bencll. Lut growing four or five feet hich, Others streteh to a hight of 200 feet, and boar at their suminit entire leaves that are thirty feet long and four or five feot wide. In somo specics the pinnate leaves are ahove filty feet lonz, and in othera tha fan-shaped leaves are ten or twelve feet in diamet he ferns are in vaat abun- dance and variety, and exhibit every couceivable maodification of size, forin, and labit of growth, Mm{ among them are elegant tralllng and twinlng plants,—mantling abeubs and bushes, and rlln?lnn o the park of trees fikeivy, In the ringle voleanie mountains of Pungerango, In Javo, 800 specles hiava been fotnd. ‘I'he orchids are pre-eminently Tropical plants, and are nearly omnlpresent, Someof tho forms sre_visible In every situation,—on the trunks and braaches of trees, vu the rocke, on decay- Iuwr vegetation, or on the ground, Moro than thirty years nzo 1,000 spocles were known, and thelr number has probably since been nearly doubled, whiie muititudes more remalin to be discovered, It Is not, however, by thetr lowers that tho orchids attract nttentfon. A ver{lm(e rovortfon of the species have Inconspleuous Elauums. and the geason of fMlowering s with theim so brief that but Jittle effect is produced by the display. An experienced collector In- forined Mr, Watlace that, of 300 species of urchids produced on aalngle mountainofJava, only 2 per cent were sufliclently ornamental or showy to be worth sending home as a commercinl specu- Iation. The bamboos, bein absent from the entire African Continent, and comparatively acarce in South America, ean hardly be regardeil a4 iypical plants of the Equatorial zone, Mr. Walace considers n clump of Iarize bamboos ns perhaps ** the most graceful of all vegetable forms,—resembling the lizit and airy plumncs of the bird-of-Paradise copled on a gizantic scale 1n living follage. Buch clumps nre often cighty or 109 feet high,—tho losay stems, perhaps six inches thick at the lnase, spriozing up b first straight as an arrow, tapering gradually to a slender lpuhu. and bending over In elegant curves with the welght of the siender branches and grasey leaves.' Among the humble forms of vegetation, none arc more interesting than the rensitlvo species of mimnsa. Thev all orizinata In Bouth Amerf- ca; but ono speeles, Mimosa pudlea, has becoins avundant in Africa and Asin, 80 that now it cai pets the ground fn many parts of both the Eas ern and \Vestera Troples, ** Wherea large sus face of ground,' says Mr. Wallace, *‘is thus covered, the effect of walking over 1t s most cullar. At cach atep the piants for somo dls- anco round suddenly draop, us it struck with paralyais, and o broad track of frosmto herb- are, several fect wide, fs distinctly marked out by the different color of the closed leaflets.’” It is the goneral belief that the floral display in tho Troples far surpasscs that of the ‘Tem- perate regions; but, as an actaal fact, atriking and showy flowers arc much less abundant where, ns in hot, molst climates, the vegetation i extremely luxuriant, A large portfon of Equatorial plants produceinconapicuous flowers. Far the greater part, for cxample, of those in Trovlcal” America bear unattractive green or whiteblossoms. * Conspicuous masses of flowers ure so rarc,’” says Mr. Wallace, “that weeks and months may be passed without observing a single flowering rumwnrlhy of special ndmira. tion. Occastonally soma tree or shrub will bo scen cavered with magnificent yellow, or crimn- Ban, or purple flowers; but it is usually an oasis of color in a desert, of verdure, and, therefore, hardly affects the general nspect ol the vegetn- tion,” Wafaney the Tropics present a spocta- cla of gorgeous bloom, elmllar, on a gand scale, 1o that in our hot-houses; but, in reality, no tribes of plants peculiar to tha Torrid Zone surpass in color our Rhododoudrons, Azaleas, Camellias, Pelargoniums. Calceolarias, Cinoras rins, Hoses, Peonles, Hullyhocks, Topples, and many other brillfant croups of Tomperate plants that might be mentioned. - Animuls rarely play an imbortant part in ‘Troplcal scenery, and thelr abeence s In most cnsea s natahlo us the scarcity of flowers. Of all thetrites of the animal kingdom, the outter- tlies are most abundant and most cansplcnous. ‘They are not nnl{ cverywhere present in_aston- {shing numbors, but they are remarkable for thelr larao size, elegant “forms, and rich and varicd colors, Tho specles aro more nuincrous in America than {n the Eastern Hemtaplere, and nt Para, near the mouth of the Awmazons, aro more abundant than {n any other locality known. Above 700 specica have been found in the fmmediato vicinity of this city, In all Britaiu thers oceur only slxty-fuur ‘specics of butterfiies, and fn Germany obout but, in o aingle fine day, from thirty to seventy specles may be collected in many localitics in the ‘Tropics. Ants ara so excessively abundant as todeserve mention noxt after thio le{)lllnpu'ru. Nearly 700 different specles fuhabit India and the Malay Archipelago, and various other Tropleal coun- tries arc tho hone of probably equal numbers, ‘Wasps and bees are notessorthy for their enor- mous numbors, and thelr largo size and brilliint colors, Bome have broad, hafev bodies, often two inches long, and richly banded with yellow or orange; othera havo blue-blnek budles and wings, snd extremely loug lexs; and the dif- ferent lszclu: arg frequently met with in the forest dragging aloug larco avlders, boctles, or other insects Lhut they have killed. More conspleuious than oven the curious mantide, or praying Inscets, aud the ahasmidm, ar walking sticks, are the large locusts with highly-cotored ‘wingy, that mcasure nearly a faot in expanse, Bectles exist in endless varietics,~some of the largzer ones being three or four inches long, —many having exquisitc murkings, and many being distingulshed for thelr Jo und elegant antenne. Large and nandaoma spfders are com- mon,—some with bodics nearly two Inclics long, and fezs expanding six inches: some with bord, flat bodles, terminating In horned proceases, which arc often long, sicnder, and curved like s pair of cow’s hiorns; ond others so gorgeously colared that they nblo Jewels rather than spiders, ‘Tho birds creato by tho scarcity of showy spacles as much disappolntinent us do the flowers, The parrots arc aimong the most promineut groups, thero being 5N difforent cles, malnly confined to tne Troples, and ex- hibittng every voriety and form of gav nnd love- Iy plumage. ~ Tropical America possessea about 140 spocies, and the Austialion regivn about 0. Ouly sizteen #pecies of plzeous fntabdit 1l Northern Tenperate regions, but 330 specie inhablt thae Tropies; therefore, these biras may be regarded ascharacteristic of the Torrld 2 Lizards swarmeverywhere,~ofthe P known, the great majonty being peeuliur to the Troples, “They present extremo diversity in thelr size and aspect, hut the most curlous and interesting aro the flylng lizards of India and the Malay Arclxl{whu:u. y tiesns of a '3 ke membrane alung the slles of the budy, they are enabled to iy from tree to trew over a space of thirty feet, They are usuully not more than three or four jnches long exclusive of the tsil, and look, when in the air, imore I wmsect than & reptile, Monks through the Tropics, be heard or seen sporting in the sumunits of the loftiest treos of tho forest, wnong whoso branches they con bound as rapldly us a deer will truvel over the eround. Almost “the only other order of namuuls specially developed fo_tho ‘Torrid Zono b4 that of the bats. In thu Fast the groat frult-Lats, or fiylug-foxes, ** muy sometimes be seen n immcnse flocks, which take hours to pass by, Individuals of this svecics are often tlve feet ocroes the oxpanded winzs. ‘Iho vampires of Houth America forms auother group of atriking tmportance, B n entlre chapter is devoted by My, Wallace to the humming-birds, which alford & fair fllus- tratlon of theluzurfance of dropteal Nature, Thero aro 150 different fumilics of birds, com- prising the 10,000 specics now known to uatu- ruliste. The two largest fauillica aro the war- blers, embracinz above 000, and the Huches, em- Lraclug above 500, specics. Thess two families sro spread over the wholo globe; but the bum- wivg-birds, composing sbout 400 distincs species, are vontiued cxclusively to the Wustern Hemis- liere, The restriction of this lurge group w a imited area renders it one of the most remark- able of all the families of birds, But we can folluw Mr. Wallace no further in bls wost {nteresting chargcterization of the uls- tiugulsblug features of Tropleal Nature, Weo bave reproduced ooly & few of the puints made in tho tirst four chapters of blsa work. The re- inalniog four are occupled with a_ dlscussion of the causos of the colors of aulwals wud plaots; 9! Darwln's theory of sexual sclection; of the ' stemless, and- orlgin of the color sen«e; nnimals, the antliuity of man, ani tie ro- latfuns of some living thinzs to their environ- nent. The reader doea not need to be told that Mr, Walince advanced the theory of nntural selec. tlon almultaneously with Mr, Darwin, but ue ernmsly ylelded to the Jatter the rolo credit of orizinating {t. For tweive vears bo was en- gaged in stud t!ng the 1ife of the Troples in the Eastern and Western Hemispherea: and, while 80 engaged, canceived, as un explanation ol the cntrlous and vaslous relatlons of apecica, the hy- pothesis which, within a very few gears, has made the ductrine of Evalution” acceptable to the m:\[u:ll" of sclentific men, A natnralist who has made such extensive researchies into the plienomena of 1He, and speculated so boldly and Ingenfously with regard to thelr origin, spenks with wundenlable authority when ex- paunding the subjects dealt with in' this most cngaging volume, soqf, 1LY BILS OF TRAVEL AT HOME, thorof *'Bite of Travel," ete, erts firor. Chicago: Jansen, M 18mo., pp. 41, Upward of three dozen scparate papers are collected Into this last yolume by the britffant writer who signs herselt H. . All are de- seriptive of the scencry of our own Continent,— that whicn is oven to tho ordinary tourlss in Californfa, Colorado, snd New England, and that which must be rought on by-roads nud In out-of-the-way places In these separate portions of the United States, They exhibit the marvel- ous descriptive powers of the author, and her scusitivo avpreciation of tha variod attributes of Nature, No Incident, no feature in the great panorama of life spread about her, Is so minute as to umro hier obacryation, her understand- tog, and her commnent. Her {magination is kindied by the most trifling circumstances, and puomis and pictures of the most fiposing char- acter start up before her ot every look aud step of advance. It is amazing how much one gifted with auch keen Insight, such fine poetic Instincts, and such wonderfui faculty for delineation, can see, aud feel, and vortray under conditions und with surroundings :l:l: d-nre Iitile or no significance to the common mind. It has been sald that genius conslsts in a per- fect confidence in one’s Intultions and Ideas. The trath in this definition constantly comes out fn these sketches of 1L [l A greaf part of thelr extraordinary power fa owing to the author's assurance that every smallest dotall {n the experleuce she {3 narrating will have as decp an Intercst to others as ¢ had to her. There- fore, nothing Is omitted, nothing slurred over, in fl]llnz up every part of the plcture or history that is belngz produced; and the result is a com- plete, exact representaflot of the orlinal scenes and facte, with the rdded charm of ideallzation, 8lic uot only sliows In ler word-paintings all the beauty “and mennlnsi that existed in the originals, but Intensifics thelr natural effect by the aid of her poetle futerpretation. Lika o veritabla seer, sbe divines what moet aro - capable of apprehending, and, more than that, can tell ft al) in words of magical eloqueuce, PETRARCIL FOREION CLASSICS FOR ENGLISH READ- Bits, PETRARCIL Dy Hexnr Rezve, Phila. By 1L 11, Au- Doston: 'fioh- cClurg & Co. delphia: J, 1, L|pglncnn & Co. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg & Co. Nm. Bvo., pp. 148, Price, B1. ‘This Is one of the best, It not io fact the very beat, work of this series that has yet been pub- lished, ‘The nuthor statea that he nas studled his subjcct for years, and liis essay 1s evidently a work of love. Ila has made use of a number of authoritios not easlly available, and his style Is flowlug and natural. The translations also are uniformly good, and the selcctions well chiosen, thougzh fow. Thio fifa of Petrarch was £0 uneventfal that it s by no meaus casy to make the storyof it attractive to the ‘general reader. lle was o schclar, devoted to [literary pursuits, and rarely leaving them © for any length of ftimg to mix with - the world of politics. Yet ho exerted a very great nfluence over bis age,—an Influcnce that can with difllculty be explalned or undcrstoodi 1118 country and the world wlil be indebted to hin forever for his_Invalusble asslstance in the recovery of some of tho classics from frrotrieva- bie loss, no less than for the positive additions of bis own to belles-lettres, 1Ilis rouncts aro the foundation on which his fame rests, yet they comprise only about 4,000 lines of verse. ‘Though they are,” when read continuousiy, ‘monotonous, yet their delicate touches of pas- sfon, thelr accurate descriptions of scenery, thelr exquisite diction and rhythm, will ever {nsure them & high place in literature. Mr. Reeve socms to be too severs when he savs that Potrarch’s sonuets are the creation of tho funcy rather than of the heart: and that they excite pleasure and admiration Ly their exquisite purity of language and rhythm'in the orlgtnal, withotit atirring tho deeper sources of tenderness and grief, It ls only because thoy do toueh the * sources of tenderness and grief ' that they live, that toey aro read. And It fs because his numerous imitators, hoth In Ialy ond England, bhave fafled in this, that thelr elfusons have dlicd a natural denth. NATIONAL-BANK CASFS, NATIONAL-BANK CARES: CoxTarn: x5, or Uoti Tin FEDERAL ' RELATING T0 NATIONAT, BAXI Notea ANy IEFEnENxcEs, Dy 18AAC GRANT Tuoxraos, Editor of the Alvany Luw Journal and of the Amerlcan Reports.” Albauy: John D, Iarsone, ~Chicago: E, 1, Myets. 8vo., pp. XX, aud 080, The title of the work so well states its scopo and object that no further explanatioa would maoke It any clearer. Natlooal Bonks have coma to play so important & part in our com- wmercial system that new questions as to thelr powers and privilezes are arising almost dally. In such & case, It wil bo of very pgreat value to & lawyer to haveall thedccisions of the Courts, both Federal and Ktate, collected into ona volume, ‘The roports of tho cases in the United Btates Bupreme Court are first glyen, then those In the Circuit and District Courts, and lastly the rases décided in tho various State tribuuals,~—begin- ning in alphabetical order. Tho opintous o al- most ull thocascs aregivon fu full, and refcrences are also uade to the volume from which they bave been copied. The work hus bLeen well doune, and a copious index siso adds toits value. ——— TUHUCYDIDES, ANCIENT CLASSICS FOR ENGULISH READERS, THUCY DIDES, § ov. 0 iy the Hov. W, lucas Cote hiladelphin I, Lipplucolt & Ch fi{? Jansen, McClurg,& Co, tm. 8vo,, pp. 183, Price, 81, The present forms one of the supplementary sorles of the Ancient Classics for English Read- ersy which have won much populurity In En- gland, The work ls rather a pleasantly-written sketch of the Peloponnesian War, of which Thucydides was the bistorian, than a sketeh of Thucydides Mmself. Ui facts, however, on whicti to base u blography are 8o fow that they would be exhausted in o Dage, and, as his fame tests on his history, it 18 unavoidable that the latter should ocCupy a prominent part in o skotch of his life. ‘The series of which this forms a numbor is too well kuow: to demund comumendatioh now, and it s cnough ta say that the preseat is Iulfy up to the staudurd of its predecessora. AN AMERICAN CONSUL. ADVENTURES OF A CONSUL ABROAD, By BAMUKL BAMILETON. . Late United Statos Coneu) at Verdecuerno. Uoston: Lee & Shep- and, Chicago: Junsen, McClurg & Co, 3dmo., pin 270, Frice, $1.50, Siguor Lulel Montl gives, under a pseu- aonym, a rather amusing account of tho experl- ence of an Amcrican Consul at a port In the Mediterranean. The officlal departed for his statlon with the jntention of Jiving economlical- lyanu layiog b{ & conslderablo portion of his 1,500 salary. Ifow ho found ths Consuls of other natlous, with whom ho was ussoclated, living in o havdsume inunncr upon fat incomes bow he mavaged to Fepresent his country ina anunly §f not showy fashion, potwithstauding bis strajtened resources; and how, fu the end, lie caino home o wisor but uo richier inan than he went, is quite pleasantly recounted, There is & good moral to the story, and ita lessous are chielly pofuted by the simple, sensible conduct ol the Cousul’s * Yaukes ™ wife, FICTION. ESTHER PENNEFEATHER: A Arice Penov. Price, 75 cents, JUSTINE'S LOVERS: A Nover. Price, U0 cents, 13 1K POPENJOYY A hovel. By Axtioyy TwoL- hnrl. Price, 13 coute. Now York: Harper & ros, A uew library of fiction planned by the firm in Franklin Square is to coutain only novels by Amcrican authors, Tho initial numbers pre- sent the first essay of s young writer, Mlss Alice Perry, and & story which withholds the pame of ita author. The books appear in pa- per covers of moss singular desigo,~a yellow grouud, with the corn und puinpking of the North, the cotton of the South, snd the game- birds of the West figured upou it in brown and green; aod fa the contre of the leal o plat ot purplish gray, holdiog the title. The books will range frow 50 to 76 cents in prico, A secund enterpriso of a kindred nature, pro- Jected by the same fum, is to bear the titlo of by “ Fraoklin-Square Library.” Into this will Novst. B;s he placed reprints of forelgn novels, Th work of Anthony Trollope, ' [ He Ponenji opeus the aerics, and shiows the atyl edition, which {s & sqnare-oetavo, well _printed, but destitute of covere, ¢ atory thus pre- gented, after the manner of {ta author, fs tediously drasn out, It 1s bualed with utterly commanplace people and thelr commonplace duings, vet thers 18 asort of Interest in it that Keeps e reading on 1o the end, deapite the peepetual protest agalnst s prosiness. It is related of Mr. Trollope that he writes a certain number of howrs, produving a rpe armonnt every day of hix iite, The task {1 accomplishea 8 4 rtint with incxorable fidelity, The present novel is an cxample of the kind of literary work which an cducoted tnn with averaze atility can bring hilmaself uy to pesform by dint of aogred resolution and Jung practice, ‘Iliero I8 not a acintillation of genfus in §t, but industry can trerform wonders with erely moderate talent. HEROES OT IISTORY, THFE VOYAGES AND ADVENTURRES OF VASCO DA GAMA, Dy Gronae M, Torre. Illustrated, Boslon: Leo & Snepard. Chicagn: Jansen, McClarg & Co. 16mo., pp, 204, Price, §1. This little volume begins a scries of biogra- phics of great men, prepared expressly to en- Rawe the young In astudy of the herole deeds by which varlous natiuns - havo been gradually Hited out of barburism iuto a bizh state of civilization. Judging by the character of this flest number, the serles witl successfully sccom- plish its purpose, for no romance ronld be morn Absorbing than the history of Vaseo da Gama 83 Mr, Towle has related i, 1t Ia easy aud win. uing in style, and full of exciting naceiote and Incident, ~ Yet It makes no perversion ot facts, while arraying them In a masuer culentiated to fascinate the juvenile reader. The book de. serves wide circulation, and we hope Its suc- cessors {a the series will be equally meritorfous. — BOOKS RECEIVED. HARPEI'S HALF-HOUR SEIIES, THE WHIRLWIND, Ny 3any Crcl Chicago: Jdansen, McClurg & Co, THE ECESSITY AND ADVANTAUES OF POPULAR EDUCATION IN CHURCH-MUSIC, Iiy the Rev. Citantze Ceminent lanr, New Yori: Anson D, F. Randolph & Co. Chicagu: Jansen, McClurg & Co, Paper. THE QUEER IIOME IN RUGUBY COURT. Ry AsxnrTre LuoiLis Noatk, Autlor of ** Head and Meart, " ete, New York: National Tempe; Hociety and Pablication louse. Chlcago: G, 1olm 0. B'l;:lllfl’; New York: Chicago: Janscn, Mce mo,, pp. $1%. Price. $1.50, OURE. By CiARLES InexEx«, People's With Hlustrations by Pinx and Cninxe Phi llul&hlu: T, Il.” Petorson & Bros. 100, Melarg & Co. 12mo., pp. V66, (LAY Dietsman And the. Hojseit G, W, tarleton & Co. Clarg & Co, 1mo., DLEAK 1t Editlon. By JiouAce J, RoLuw, New York: D, Appleton & Co, 21:lueu¥o: Jansen, McClurg & Co, 12mo., PP, 207, 3 ) . N neon D, F. Nandolph & New 10ni0, , libbon-Hownd, PiI8, OUR REVENUE 2 CIVIL SERVICE: SITALL HIMEDY Ty Wity ( Preface by Prof, Wi KN CITIES. By At 1A rising Papers by M, Mesien, LEON CHATTEAU, Panice Gonwiy, and J. 8. Moone, New York: O. P Potnam ons. Chicago: Jansen, Me. Clurg & Co. Paper, PERIODICALS RECEIVED, DUSINESS-MAN'S llAQAZIN.B—-Juno (James P, seoit, Chicago). KIROGRAPHEI AND STENOGRAPHER—No. 2 J. B. & E. G, Sinith, Ambersl, Maes,). AMERICAN” ANTIQUARIAN-—No. 1 (Brooks, Behinkel & Co., Cloveland, FAMILIAR TALK. THE BERMUDAS, ‘The Bermuda Islauds rest upon a foundatlon of coral, which wus raised up from the depths of the ocean by tho tiny coral-buflders, until the rock or reef appeared above the surface, The attrition of the waves then broke avd ground the upper portions down tosand, in which vege- tation finally took root, and by its perpetual growth and decay formed In process of time a rich and stable soll, capable of supporting, not ouly plunts, but animals, aud at last inan him- sclf. The only rocks on tho fslauds are lime- stones of every degree of hardness, which have Leen consolidated from the fine graias of coral- saud. This sand surrouuds the fstands for a diatanco of about twenty iniles, nnd is contlnu- ally washed in by the sea, and plled up by the wind in huge drifts or dunes, often forty or fifty feet bigh, Driven about in cvery alrection by the fitful breezes, the sand-heaps assume overy sort of fantsstical form,~the successive strata being doposited one above nnothier in the mosat confused manner, and, when solldifled into rock, prescating an extraordinary appear- anco of irreguiarity, At some points on_ the lslanas, tremendous sand-giaclers extst, which travel fnward ot a elow but steady pace, graduaily overwhelming every object Iging fu thelr path. At Elbow Bay, on the soutnern shoro of the main island, one of thesa rivers of sand, kaving u depth of about twenty-ive feet, I8 little by Nttle futally inun- datlug the land. Al the tiine the scleutific stall of tho Challenger vistted this glacler, a light breeze was blowing {uland, and, by holding up & sheet of paper perpendicular to’ the surlace, the passage of the sand was shown b{ its rapid bankiug up awainst the windward eido of the paper. Sir Wyvillo Thompson relates that, while his party wore observing the phenovmenon, the owner of @ garden which was being bmilt uader tho glncter * was standine with bis hands 1u his pocketa, au s too much the habit of his race, contemolating the opproach of tho in- exorable Intruder, He had iunde some at- tempt to stay its progress by planting u line of oleanders and small cedara along the top of the slope, A neizhuor, a little morge energetic or more serfously mennced, man- aged to turn the flack of the sand by thismeans, Lnnt as it was onthe polut of enionlfing hishouse; ut another was cither too late In adoptiug pre. cautionary measures, or perhiaps submitted helplessly to his fate, for all thut now remains of his cottagzo Is the top of vne of the chimneys projecting above tho white sand lke a tomb- stone, with a great bushjuf oleander drooping overlt. On its yath upward from the beach, this ‘glacler’ has overwhelmed a wond of cedars. , . . The only war of stopping it artificially seems to bo to cover It with vegeta- tion, If planted fn largo numbers, and tended aud watered for o time, it acems that oleanders and the Juniper will grow in the vure sand, and, 1f they onco take root, tho motion of thc sand ce: Somu oatlve plants, which form a pecultar vegetation, sending out onor- mmmr long runners or yoots, . » . then take hold of it, and it becomus permanently fixed, The outer aspect of the sand-hitl, of course, slopes downward toward the sea, and, wherever its Sruzmnhmlwnnl—lu Rrowth—has been urrested, the tendency of the incoliercut mags I8 to travel back again by gravitation aud the action of the rain; accordingly, it 13 not un- usual to bo told that onc of these couleesis grutlnally disappearing.” Bir Wyvilie statcs that tho oleander (Nerlum oleander), which s so useful in staying the progress of moving sand, /s not a native of tho Bermudas, but has been fntroduced in modern times, Thu climate and soll are so fayorable to fts growth that t hus slucu lterally taken posscssion of the islunds, — “Large bushes,” says Sir valllnfl *tweuty fect high, are everywhere,—round the cottages, along the road-stiaes, and fun the woods; and thick hedges of great hight, planted partly as boun- dury-fences and partly for shelter, fntersect tha cullivated ground in every direction. Nothing can be Imoglnednore ornumental, There are all variaties of color, from white through pale-ross and lilae to nearly crimson; the flowers tend to come double or semi-double, and they bloom triost prul\lul{. The country round Ham!ilton and Bomeract Tsland was a perfect blaze of color 1u Juoe; and, as the Howers como {u sucression, sud stand a loug timo, they would remaln so during the greater part of the sumer.” LITERARY 1TEMS, Miss Yonge's ** History of Germany for Young Folks " Is among the forthcoming publications of D. Lothrop & Co. Porter & Coates have nearly ready a new vol- ume on Russia by so English traveler, A, Muuro Butler Jobnstone, The American books in the British Museumn have becn catalogued up to 1837, by Mr, Menry Etevens, of Verwont, aud form a list of 72,000, A volume of **Natural tilstory, 8port, and “Travel,” by Edward Lockwood, late Magistrute of Moogbyr, Bengal, will shortly sppear Iu London. Mr. I H. Holly's work on “Modern Dwell- 14 tssucd by the Hacpers iun a square- octavo volume, fllustrated with wumerous ea- eravinge. La Marquise de Bolssy, whoss Recollections are soou bo published, with those of the Count do Waldeck, by J. 8. Lippincott & Co., s better known to Amerlcan readers ss the Countess Gulccioll. BAiss Mary R D. Bmith, who has propared the Recollections for pubilica: wns_personally acqualnted with the Mar- e, aed i3 firm fn the onfnion that her reia- tlons with Bsron were purely piatonie, The (irreks proposa publishing, rs a feature of their tepartient at the Parls ngo!lllnn, s pamehlet on the commerce and industrics of thelr country. Prof. 1. Giraetz’s History of the Jews, which In the origiual filla eleven Volumes, 18 Lo be pre- rented In an English verslon condensed into three volumes. Mrx, Thomas Brasses’s intercsting record of 8 pleasure-vovoge round the world n the yacht Bunbeam, will ba reprinted In] America by Messra, flunry Holt & Co, Capt, L. J. Trotter, the suthor of a fate Iistary of India, Is engazed on a “Life of Warren Iluctings,” in which bie will en or to vindicate his hero from the charies made by Mill and Macauluy. Miss Alhert, an Enzllsh writer, has com- preseed Motley's “ Rise of the Duten Itepub- e into a sinle volume, called * Holland aud Her Heroen 1o the Year 1555, ller work iy sald to be very well done, The library of the late Gormau novellst, Ferdinand Frelilgeath, wiil be sold, ot his resi- dence in Constatt, near Stuttgart, on June 18 and the dave following, ‘Lhe vatalogue aliows the coilection to be rich in English poetry, A cauoelng tour In the cauals and rivers of Flanders and Northern France ta abiut to be Imhll.-hml fn London by Mr. It. Louts Suther- and, under the title of ' An Intand Vogare," ‘Tho author Is & young magazine-writer who bas given avidence of brilimnt tatent. Another transcript of travel In the Fnglith colonies in Bouth Africa ha« been lately bronght out in London. Jt is eatitled *Our Trek in the Transvaul; or, Over Berzand Veldt in S8outh Afriea)’ by Harrlet A, Roche. Ita pletorus of Nfe In Transvaal are pronouticed very clear and entertainin The Britlsh Muscum, with certain other 1i- brarics in the United Kingdom, s entitled to o copy of every work that slght, Under this during 1877, Lestdes 1,020 pamphlets, 6,877 parts of perl- adienls, and 1,439 pleces of mu: ‘The Christian I/nfon will repring, [n one of its pucket-extras, the papers on * How to Spend tie Summer: Whers to Go: How to tiog How ta Save Muney,” which have sopeared In Its columns, They are the protustiona of Dopald G, Mitchell, Itéten 1unt, Gail Hamtlton, W, H. H. Murray, and the Kev. Lymaun Abbott. D. Lothrop & Co., of Doston, snnounce a story called **From Different Standpo’nts,’” which conslots of letters from two well-known writers of juventies,—* Faye Iluntineton ** and * Lansy,'—the one assuming the character of a scnsible, broad-minded woman, aud the other that of a proud and bigoted Jady. In the argn- ment maintained between the tivo, the victory Isgranted to the exponent of common-sense. ART-GORIP, The Egyotian scction at tha Parts Exhibition contalns a careful selectlon of vbjects from the Muscumn of Antignitles at Boulak. Marlette Bey bas regulated tho choice of this collection, scruring for it o representation uf thg progress In workmauship in the various ar:is and indus- tries, from tho anclent Emolre to the times of the Polemiex. ‘The examples include house- hold-furniture, wood-carving, vases, lulald work, mosales, Jewelry, works in brouze, glnss, and stoue. Insomo enses, casts have been scnt in place of the original artlcles, Marmontel mentlons, In his Memolrs, a re- markable artistle gift possessed by a Chevaller Hubert whom he met fn deneva, Switzeriand. *You would have eald,” states Marmontel, “he hud eves at Ws finuers' ends. With his hanits hehind - his hack, he would cut out o portralt in profile a« ke, and even more lilte, than he could have drawn with a pencil. He had Vol- taire's face so stronly fiupressed on his Imaget- uation, that, absent or present, his sclasors rep- resented him meditating, writing, In action, and in all attitudes. I have acen landsvapes cut ont by him in white paper, where Lhe perspeutive was prescrved with prodigious art," ‘The New York MMera'd contains a full account of tho opening of the Farls Salon, which oc- curred on the 2ith of Moy, It had been poste poned {n order not to conflict with tho Expost- tion, and it was supposcd that I3 displ ay would be materially fmpaired by the desire of artists to exhibit thefr best pieces at the Workl's Fajr, Contrary to expectation, however, the nverage quality “of the works s higher this year than usual. The catalogae names 4,035 paintings, seniptures, watcr-colors, cartoons, engravings, etchings, ote.,—Dbetng 4G9 more than were con- tributed last vear, Of the whole number, 2,50 are ofl-paiutings and 015 are sealptures, ~Flity- slx American ariists, amoug whom are alx wom- en, aro represented in the colleetion, and their works are sald 1o oxhibit s marked fmprovement unorn those tn the last Salun, The Purls correspondant of the London 1Fze speuks in strong commendationof the Amcrlan exhipition in_the Du}m.‘lmnn: of Fine Artaat the World's Falr. After deprecnilnz the vizor of the American Judges In exeltding fro aumfl many olctures waleh woild hay fiected credit upon the nation, hegoes onto 1 could only wish they had not been cone selentians to a” fault. What they do exhibit Is very zoud, ouly there Is but tou Jittle of it ‘There 18 sume wonderfully stroug painting: a head of a youth, for Instance, by Jf. P, Vinton, which, 12t had been done” by o pupl) of Velas- q_ue:. might huvo earned the master’s pralse, here Is alsn o superh moonlit sen by Mr, W, P. W, Daua. Muny of tae subjects, I rejolco to Aee, are loe-scenes, thaugh they aco trented, as they should be, i1 the style of the foreien schools, in which; as yet, the art 1s best learneld. The New Enzland Cedara of Mr. Gifford louks Hlke a work by Corot ; Mr, Bunce's * Approach to is mil ot owledze, elucerity, and mauly strengths and there are fine works, land- ecapes and other, by Hart, by Quirsly; *The North Rtlver, New Yark,' by Wyait Eaton ‘The Haryesters,” by Bolton Jones, *The Laugh.' by Hamilton, of 'bitadelphia, i3, not to mince miatters, o study of a cocutte, but it is very well done. Dridgman_ sends his' +Funeral on the Nile;! Shirlaw, * Shicep-Shearing in the Bavarian Highlands,' FEnzlish artists must not mlss this gallery; It whl tend to open thelr eycs.’” e POOLE'S INDEX ‘TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE, ‘The value of perfodical literature for the past hall-century has been stendily fuereaslug, and now no writer or student can make an exhaust- fve examination of any subject in hiterature, science, or saclal economny witkout knowing what has been writton upon It In the siandard reviews and mugazines. Theae ecrials liave bo- como 80 numcrous, and comprise so many volumes, that it is impossible for any Individual to leeep track of what they contain, or for any librery to Index thelr contents, Mr, W. F. Poole, when a student at Yale Collewe, maile the first attempt in this direction, by preparing o goneral Index to such perfodicals as e bt access to, which he publisied In 1315, A coud editlon, much vhlurzed, was publishea 0 1533, fo which tho references wers brought dowu to the year 1852, This Index to Partodi- «col Literature ™ has been out of print for many yeurs, and coples have sold, in this country ant n Europe, for §20. To the veriodieal lteraturo of the last twenty-six years, there is no Index or uther clew to its contents. At tho Confercico of American Librarlans at Philadelpbia, in October, 1870, tho subject came up forconsideration, ‘The concurrent testim of the lbrarians waa, thai the Index of 1851 was ‘used In thelr Murarles s much as thele catalogues; and several libraries had endeavored, ut a great deal of expense, to fudex the current veriodieals, but o fatled, Mr. Poule was called on to bring out u uew caf- tion of his Index, and was promised all the ns- sistance ho needed. . fle stated that all his work on the two previous editions had been a latior of love, and the task waus now tou larzato Juy upon one lmllvmunl, even Il he was willing to work without pav. e suggested_this vlan, which was accepted on thy spot: That each lbrary should take un cquitable share of the work uf {udexing, under a system of rules which would be furnisned, and should send ity work to the eentral bureau, where ft would be revised and arranged, He would do his share ot the imlex- mgg, tuke churge vl the work of the contyal bureau, bo respousible for all the costof editing, and would present a complete copy of the print- ed work to each co-operating lbrary. En uccordance with this plan, & 1ist of 183 pe- rlodivals has been prepared and printed, and the work of {nuexing 170 of thew has beca dis- tributed among forty-four Aweclean librariva, aud Is now in progress. 'The remaluing twelve scriuls have been reserved for English lbruriaus to fudex, who have wsppoluted u committce to co-operate with the American tbranans. The English committeo bhave been fuvited to add to the list such Euglish gerials us they thiuk prx er. ‘The eutire matter of tho editlon of 185 will be Incorporated in the new edition. Bup- plements will bs {ssued once la tive years, or ubuuslly if it shall herealter scem adyisable, THE *“*PORTFOLIO." Mr. T. Beaviogton Atkinsou’s sccond paper ou **The Schools of Moderu Art {n Germany " is the moat Important one ln the May For(folio. It treats of tne Germau revival in Muuich, which was stimulated and sustaloed by the fos- tering care of Kivg Ludwig, ‘Thu Munich the re- Seliool was in {ta beginning under the rway of Cornellus, who was appolnted Director of the Academyof At In1821. Forty-one yeara after, Kaulbnen suceneded him in position and Influ- ence, and reslzned hotl, on foining the ** great mafority " In 1874, to Carl Piloty, the third snd present” Director of the Academy. An Inter- esting sketch of a visit ta the atwio of Kanl- bach contal the following picture of the gilted artist: “The painter atood s the per- sonal emboiment of his art: hie talked os he dealgned, with volulle enthusiasu, and the ut- terances became now and awain pungent with eaustic worde, The man, like hisart, was many- sided s he passed raptdly from grave to gay, from the grave to the zi®esquc. e moved to and fro in his spacious studio constantiy, ue §f crea- tve deas struggling for exit from anexeited brain allowed rest not even to the body, Per- hapa for rellef from nervous tentlon, one hand nisyed with a brush, while the otlier toyed with acliarette; the latter went out at lenst half-a- dozen timesumler guaty and peripatetie, o . . When { then saw Kaulbach, hu was touched with ages his head was weathier-besten, his - telileent. favn jurtoweds his scanty nair, us thinned by thne, gave prominence to his well. developed forehiead : yet his eve rekindled with its fortier fire, und a geninl smile played among his mobile features, especlatly when he hap- nened 1o speak of friends and” puplls whom he held dear, Kanthact, while yet he had good work in him dted in Muuich, of the cholera, In 874, ab the age of 63, The pstunal features of this number are less attractive than ueual, Tle etehing by Richeton resents the tizare of an [allnn ir), patated by Fililes, and exbibited at the Dudley Gallery last autumn. A reproduction by the “heltogravure process of un etehing by Durer has o vaiue as an examnple of the work of this creat artist ina 1ine of urt which was oririnated in his time, and wihoze lntention, In fact, hixs heen wrongly us. eribed to bim. The third plate fa nn cugraving aftern work by Piloty, representing * Gallieo in Prison.” THACKERAY IN A NEW FORM. Ta tie Iditor of The Tribune, An edition of the works of Willlam Make- peace Thackeray, ona scals of great magnifi- cence, {a the Jatest enterprise in the London publishing world. The edition I8 to be strictly Hmited to 1,000 coples, and will be comnpleted within one year,—the type to be distributed after each sheet has been printed. It will he brouzht out under the auspices of Messre. Smith & Eder, Thackeray's otd publishiers. The undertaking = attracting much attention througliout the literary circles of Ureat Britaln, 08 nothing equal to it in the matter of cost has been attemnpted of any authur's works since the eplendily-Nustrated edition of the Waverly Nurvels, kuown us the Abbottsford Editton, up- peared, nearly forty yeurs ago, ‘The readers of Thackeray, in comparison with those of Scott and Dickens, are few in number, though his fame as an author I us extended as thetrs, and his namo os often quoted, To cumpare the papulurity of Dickeas aud Thack- ecrav amoug general readers I8 to com e Macaulay's polpnlnmy as an essuyist with that of Carlyle. ‘Thackeray's writings, it {s safe to ailirm, will always Le conflued to & small clrcle a8 loug us buman nature [s what it (s, Small as that dircle inay Le, It cuibraces the cholcost,—u class predisposed o thougit, \With the advan. tages of lelsure, culture, and inoney on thelr shle; consequently, well able to afford au editin de Iuze of their favorite author. To venture such an edition as this promises to be proves, however, that its publishers understand the class who appreciate ‘I‘X)nckcmy. They oannounce that ‘the lettornress of the odition will be printed h{l Ciny (the most celebrated of all English printers), on paper of the finest W expressly made Ly John Dickenson & he steel and copper plates will be printed on real China paper by Metueen (the lrl.»pnhlllher(, mounted on plate-paper manufactured expressly by Dick- enson & Co, The woudeuts and vignetfes will also be printed on real Chinu paper, and mount- ed with letterpress, In addition to Thackeras's own {llustrations, many new {llustrations b ceminent artists will be given, If the work fs carried out In keeping with the announcement, a thousand cnglu is certainly not a large num- Ver for distribution wherever the English Jun- Ruage is spoken. The cost to American aubscribers, including the watter of duty, ete., will be $3.50 per vol- ume, The work will be furnished to subscrib- ers {n the United States by Little, Brown & Co., Hoston, 1t wlll bo # worthy monument to the memory of a writer whom nany consider tha greatest genfus {n the anoals of modera Ea- elish lterature, SPARKS OF SCIENCE. FLORA ROUND ALOUT CHICAGO. Tne PoNp-Weep FamiLy.—The group of plants ranrod in the order Nnladaces have not muchof theromantle gruccand beauty associated with the mythival nymphs of the water, the Nalads, from whom they take thelr sclentific name. But thoyero aquatic in thelr habit, dwelling fn both fresh and salt waters, aud from this clreumstance have been called after the mythical maldens who 1o ancient times were supposed to haunt fountainy, lakes, and streams. The Pond-weeds are comnion all over the world outside of the Tropics, and iudeed, are not en- tirely absent from Equatortu! reglovs, They number about sixty species, which are classed in nine different generu, Only a single genus, Potamogeton, is repre- sented In our iors, aud by turee specles. The I, natans and P, pectinatus are common in our lakes and rivers, and the I, gramiueus is abun. dant at Plne Station. They al have Jointed and mostly rooting stems, alternate leaves, and flowerlng spikea rulsed to the surtace. They blossom In summer, and the fi_rccnl!h flowers ure small anl {ncousnicuous, The stem of P. natans is simple or sparineiy Lravehed, and the sbapoof the foliage which floats un the water gives It the popularname of Broad-leaved Pona- weed, It grows from one to three foot long, the upper leaves are from two to four inches long, while the lower ones are from three to seven Inchies lonr and barely a line wide, The submersed stem of the P. gramincus parts into many branches, and the leaves and peduncles growlng under water vary greatly. The I peetlnatus hos extremely slender, branched stems, and leavos crowded fnto fascl- cles in the axils, None of the ypecles of this family have any known uses; therefore theirstory is very quick- ly written out, DO FISK SLEEP{ The editor of the Flhking laztte proflers some Jittle testimony bearing upon the interest- ing query whether fsh sleep, It Is his opinion that tha trout alecps st uight; and, as proof, he states that, when coterlug bis flah-louse at night fo summer-thne, bio aas observed all the fish {n the tanks Iving motlonless on the slate bottoms, and las often watched them thus for some Jength of time. Thelr slow respiration and analogous moyement of the flog jndicated a diminished actlon of the heart, and a state of rest, similar to that of the human belng fu sleep. On striking a light whilo the fish wero In this quicscent condition, they would start as It seurcd, and iy about wildly, exhibitivg the same ulurmed [eeling. that a man not uncom- monly does. when suddenly rouscd from pro- found slumber, This evidence rofers to fish n an artificlal state: hut tho writer believes that it applies equally to those which are wild i thetr uative waters, * We may salely come to the con- elusion,” he remurks, ** that repose of the brain, more or less comulete, docs exist fu the plscine world; and certainly, tho higher the organiza- tioi of the unimal, the more need we shall find for somu systens of rest or reparatiou of the nervous systemn.' The moVemenc of gills, fing, aud tatl, which is ever presont fu itah, the writer vonslders to be us purcly the result of reflex uction asthat ot the heating of the heart; and therofore be recards these movements, when the fish ts otherw liv still, aa o fodication that ft Is not in & state of abiolute repose aud uu- couascivusnesy. %ulflt THE OPOSSUM, ‘The questiou baving been started by 8 corre- spondent of Forest and Stream as to the wavner 1o which the offspring of tho opossum are de- posited Iu. the abduminsl pouch, en extract from the proceedings of tho Essex Institute s published in that paper as o satisfactory au- swer. The article from which the account i3 taken was comwunlcated to tho lustitute by Mr, James 4. Sbute, of Woburu, aud relates an obscrvation made {u Beaufort, C.: “The date was March 16, 188, During the delivery of the yuung, the pareat lay ou the right side, with the body curved I such a wanueras to bring the sexual oritles opposite that ot thu pou thy anouth of the pouch was opcn or drawn down by cou. ruction of the muscles, so 13 to recive tho young - when delivered. The young wery seven o number, The thne occupled tu dehv- ery was aboul four hours. The parent re- malned in the sume posiiion about thirty-six hours, sud refuscd ali sustenance, limedlate 1y alter the trausfer ol the young o the pouch, Iremoved ous by detaching it {rom the teat, In order to sscertaic if tho movement of the fetus was fostlnctive. I found that it was ot least partly voluutary, as it made an cdort 1o regaiu 1t pluwe lu the pouch, wud the gawe movewcat 9 was made by the parent as at first to recetve ft. 1 dtd not nottee -n{ use of tho limbs or lips of the parent during the transfer of the young." METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENON. A remarkable metcorologleal phenomenan,oc- curring at Logelbach, in Upper Alsatia, is de- scrlbed by an evewitness in La Nature. An abstract of the account, printed In Nature, states that the rising sun scemed to be sur- rounded by n vast column of fire, which, when first noted, had reached n hizht of twenty-fiva to twenty-eight degrees. * Its breadth remala- ed copatant, and amounted to two or fwo and a half degrces. Ita color was grayish- red, and at 1ts upper end orange; the dull and cloudy sky » turmed o @ fine with the brililant ohenomenon, From 8. m. il 7 o'clock Ite brilllancy remalned. much the same, while Its extent towards tho west Increased by about four or five degrecs, At 7 o'clock the Aun's disc apprared before the horizon, and its tint was an fntense red. The whote sky now seonied to be a rizantle rainhow, all the shiades ot which appeared in_horlzontal layers, forming a splenditl backzround to the bright red and orango vertieal column, mitnute later, the sun lost Its red tint, and the column gradualiy decreased: for five minutas it formed a hand of five degrees iu hight, and then disappeared sitogether." BRIEF NOTES. Toe London [nstitution of Civil Engineers has 2,803 members, besides a class of 520 mem- bers, Before the close of tha current year [t s ex- peeted that telephones will be In use In 220 telegraph-offices In Germany. Trof. Bpencer T. Balrd has been chosen by the Trustees of the Smithsonian Institute to fill the placo of Becretary, rendered yacant by the death ol Prot. Henry, Preparations are being made in Holland for celebratlug the 300th amniversary of. the emi- nent philosopher, Hogo de Groot, whe was born April 10, 1383, The Zoological Gardens at Berlin have tho Inrgest collection of anthropold apes (o Europe. 1t hias lately been Increased by & palr of orang- outangs in flue conditfon. A factory has been bullt at Osaka, Japan, for the manufacture of oil from camphor, which i satd to be cheaper and to have s greater lllu- minating power than kerosene. A statuo will be erected to Capt. Cooke on Diamoud Peak, an extinct crater near Honolulu, to commenorate the 100th anniversary of his discovory of the Bandwich Islands, Dr. George Engleman, of St. Louls, has ro- cently been clected Fatefgn Member of the Line nwau Soclety of London, a3 an acknowledgment of his original resesrches in Botamy. According to tho Civil-Servica estimates, £30,000 18 to be spent during the prescnt year upon the buflding and fitting of the new Nat- ural-Hlistory Muscun at South Keusington, 8lnce th= discovery of gold In New Gulnes, an expedition comprising twenty-five mioors has sctout from Sydney, und some anxlety is felt lest their contact with the natives mav creata difficulties Involving tho British Government. At the closc of nine years of prosperity, the English journal of Scieuce, Nature, tinds it nec- essary to double its number or pagea in orderto sccommadate tha original and contributed mat- ter which vresses for admission iato its colums, The French steamer Picardia will leave Mar- seilles, June 30, to convey o nm{ ot tourfsts around the world. The ‘vessol Is said to bs cquipped {n the best manner, i3 under the com- mand of Licut. M. (. Blard, bas a completa stafl, and will soun close its passenger-list. It {s only within the past six years that the Japanesc have attemnted to make use of the ctroloum-wells existing within their domains. Now scveral relining-cstablishments are In operation, aud the manufacture ot kerosenc-otl bias hecome an important industry. A Peruylan chemist, Dr. Arosemano, has ob- talued a dyo from the vioiet or marcon Welsh curn of Peru, which is said to [mpart tho culor, odor, and tasteof claret toall lizht white wines rendering {t_impossible to tell thein from real claret, while not inthe least jwpalring thuie ‘wholesomencss. ‘The new Muscum of Antlquitics nt Constan- tinople lins recently been completed, An old Kklosk on Serazlio Polnt has been renovated for the purpose, and now exhibits a_spacivus edi- Hee, richly decorated with marble, and utnply adapted to the accommodation of the extensive cotlection of antiquitics in the possesston of the Turkish Capltal, The Zoological Soclety of London held its forty-ninth suuiversarg-meeting the last Mon- day1n April. Tuhe Soclety numbersd, at the close of 1877, 3,353 memoers, and its incoine for that year amounted to 8154,040. Tuo nwmber of visltors to the Zoolugleal Ganlens during 1877 waa 781,877, The total number of animals of tho first threo classes of vertebrates at prese ent In the Gardens In 2,200. Itis proposcd to construct n line of tele- graph through Africa, startine from tho present telegraph-atation at Kimberly, and going to Tete,on the Zambesl,and thence via Livingstonia, on Lake Nyassu, to Zanzibar, The plan pre- sented by the Sutmnmcnuum. of Telegraphs at Cape Colony contemplates the establlshineut of stutfons ot Intervala of 200 miles, and the com- letion of tho lino withiu u year, at acost of s0mu £200 per mile. Tho Manuger of the Jardin d'Acclimation at Paria baos called tho attention of African ex- plorers to the valuable qualitics of the zebia as & beast of burden, Ho regards it as better sulted to the cliinate uf Atriva than aoy of our dowmestic animals, not cven excepting the ass. It Is pusaible that M. de Smellc, who is planniug a tour frowm tho mouth of the Niger to thoeass const may ake a test of the capacity of tho -nun?l to aoswer the nceds of the African traveler. The iabors of the Fisn Commission of the United States are already in the enjoyment of encouragl wards. Quitea nuwmberof salwon have been taken fu the Delaware River this apring, several of which weliched above twenty unds. Prof. Balrd notes the capture of ono n the Chesapenke Bay welichlny twenty pounds; and others huve been’ takeu iu various waters East and West, which are undoubtedly the prod. uct of stock planted some years ago by arti- ticlal means, The flsh of the northern rivers of Great Britato are suflering from a pecullar dlscase which is proving rry destructive, Mr. Worth- ington Swmith has discovered that the troubls oriziuotes with u fungus (Boprolegnia ferax) which attacks tho head, tall, and fios of salmon, trout, eels, flounders, and other flal. The scales are covered with & Hue, white, cottony growth, which finally blinds the fish, aud closes the gill and mouth, producing death. The fungus af- focts only the fish tn fresh water, and {s occur- rence (s wscribed by Mr. Smith to the uuiverssl wilduess of the pust winter, ¥ —————— A JUNE LEGEND. A yoath and mald, long centaries ago, Loved, aa some simple couples whou we know. Hut Death. uncqual Death, took of the youts, Leaving ths walil to tears aud louely rut Euch duy vhe sought tie spot whiero he waslald, With mournful tributes to bis abssut shad: And pou ‘T4l uace she there besougbt each piteous God, And kuelt, snd, ltog'ring. kissed the broken sod, Then utrafshiway vighed hoe love-lora liloaway, And all the peaple miourned hur beauteous clay Turough the long woath—'twss June, the legonds . And builed her, poor true-heart, whero sho lay, Bot s00n they marked, whers hor last kissea fell Aud sighed licr !itu out [u 8 vain farewell, A tonder verdure plerced the crambling niold And, bour by hour, Its slender leaves unrolled; Then, rustling softly, o'er the double tumb Aantling shrub diplayed its blushing bloom, ‘The flowers partovk her swest 1ips® gentia dyes, And breatbed tho frageance of her parting slgns, Whils ruund the stewn, sot thick in wand'ring rows, Bbary, cruel thorus bespoke her waiden wov nd, l{ke the youtl, whow Earth but briufly knew (F'be tiuds just sbowed bim here, sud then with- drew) 8a tho frail blooms, thete purc bearts once fuldlled With evening dews froo lansuld sire dutilled, Ouce saw the worp, and wits & kindred ruy 4luve buck Sy colors of sdvanciug day, Tuen paled and witbered 1o tho zeicviuz spray, Aud willl fond lovers, 'neath the same 20l woom, n fow'ry nlghts of Summer-ecentod June, el sactod falth, their loving pains discloss, Aud pivad thelr passiva with the br g 1088, Cuanies Noa —— The New Lord Leltrim. Tte uew Lord Letriw Lus not benefited from a pecunlary polut of view Ly Lis accession to bis uucle’s title, for the whole "of the late Peor's estates bavo been loft to 8 second cously, Col, ‘Tucopbllus Clemeunts, of Cavan., Tho preseut Lond is the mors to be pitied, siuce sy unsleaed will iu his favor bus becn found ameny the mur- dered myu's papers. It fs lkely that the case way be brought betoro the law courts, but still wore likely that some compromlse will b wade. Lord Leitrln has wow only somo fow bundreds a year, though he baj expectations frum other quarters. e will sbortly tuke his seat | thy House ol Lurds. The Leitrin es- tates sro estlmated at X40,000 a yuar, ev the watter ls worth contestivg. ke 43 = o N gt e e I, 2 pwR et prent e ST 1Y AT s e T ) 3 g i