canals which cannot compete with the railroads for half the year, one, two, or twenty lines of railroads, as may be necessary, be built by the general government, or the states, to be operated solety at cost, and thus save the immense profits of the railroad companies to the producer of the West and the consumer of the East. But this is a question which is likely to tax the utmost resources of our statesmen and become a national issue during the next quarter of a century.

In concluding our notice of this Report, we can only say that it is to be hoped that some of the sagacity, prudence, and consideration for public interest which characterize the managers of this road might be "transported" into our own state, and supersede the present grasping and extortionate policy of some of our leading railroads.

Although numerous reports of similar corporations reach our table from time to time, we seldom take them up for the purpose of examination, but we confess that we are led to do so in the case of that of the Lehigh Valley Railroad by noticing among those of the directors the name of William H. Gatzmer, who, we are informed, is further connected with that company in the important relation of consulting manager. We feel assured from Mr. Gatzmer's long experience and distinguished success in railroad management that the direction of this road cannot fail to be more just and liberal even than in the past, under the influence of his integrity and enterprise. We expect to see the result of this accession both in prosperity of the company and benefit to the public. Thus led to examine this pamphlet we find in it not a little of general interest.

The Report of the company is summed up in the first sentence, "The business of the past year has been without any great fluctuations, and has shown a satisfactory increase.' As is well known, this road is mainly employed in the great coal industry of eastern Pennsylvania. The anthracite coal tonnage for the past year was 3,850,118 tons, being an excess of 1,168,609 tons over that of 1871. The receipts show the very large net income of 2,565,228 dollars; but a large portion of it was derived from coal lands owned by this company. The following paragraph from the engineer's report in regard to coal production refers to a feature of the business not altogether creditable, and which we agree with him in hoping will not again appear: "Should there be a corresponding increase for a year or two more, the total consumption will be so nearly equal to the full capacity of the mines for production as to render unnecessary all attempts to regulate or control the trade." The following extract also possesses an interest for all: "The low price at which anthracite coal has been sold and transported during the past year has induced an increase in its consumption, in consequence of which the production has exceeded that of any previous year."

Notwithstanding the immense amounts of coal and iron ore which

are annually taken from beneath our soil, yet the unmeasured mass of mineral wealth stored up in past geologic ages as the inheritance of this "peculiar people" remains comparatively undiminished. The coal deposit of England, great as it is, has been measured, and the time determined when it must fail. Already her vast manufacturing interests are beginning to seek our shores in consequence of a rise in those necessaries. Coal and iron are the substrata of modern civilization, and whatever relates to their production, transportation, and distribution, affects, directly or idirectly, every interest of the nation. The Lehigh Valley Company, we notice, is also extending its facilities by the costruction of a new line to the sea-board at Perth Amboy. These undertakings are encouraged by the public, as rendering more and more difficult all attempts at controlling the transportation and price of this great staple. The whole tenor of this Report indicate a state of healthy and conservative progress.

The Atlantic to the Pacific: What to See, and How to See It. By JOHN ERASTUS LESTER, author of "The Yo-Semite: Its History, its Scenery, its Development." 12mo, pp. 360. Boston: Shepard & Gill. 1873.

Books of travel, especially those giving descriptions of noted places and scenery, are among the most frequent emanations of the press. Every one who has seen the Alps, and can wield a tolerable pen, feels called upon to give the world another description of those mountains, and to publish his impressions of the vale of Chamouni. Now that it has become possible to see greater mountains and a more beautiful valley by a trip across the continent, descriptions of the wonderful YoSemite and surrounding scenery are almost daily laid before the public. The new interest attached to the Yo-Semite Falls, the geysers and the huge trees, have made descriptions of them all readable, but not every one who has seen them has known "what to see, and how to see it "and, still less, how to describe it. Mr. Lester possesses all these qualifications of the traveller and writer, and the result is a very readable book, full of interesting information.

SCIENCE AND ART.

The Ocean, Atmosphere, and Life. Being the Second Series of a Descriptive History of the Life of the Globe. By ÉLISÉE RECLUS, author of "The Earth," etc., etc. 8vo, pp. 534. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1873.

In the present volume the learned and instructive author of "The Earth," which has attracted so much attention in all parts of the

world, continues his history of the life of the globe, considering successively the ocean and atmosphere, vegetable and animal life in the earth and ocean, and their mutual influence. In treating of the ocean he considers in order the seas, currents, tides, shores and islands, and the dunes. In the portion on the atmosphere are treated the air and winds, hurricanes and whirlwinds, clouds and rains, thunder storms, auroras, magnetic currents and climates.

Under the head of life, are discussed the earth and its flora, the land and its fauna, earth and man and the work of man. These will indicate the comprehensiveness of the work and the amount and kind of information which may be derived from its perusal. The day has arrived when " 'many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased." This is certainly true of the votaries of physical science, who are daily piercing to the remotest corners of the globe, and bringing fresh additions to the fund of human knowledge. Since the impulse given to physical research by Humboldt, the species of "closet naturalists" has become extinct. A Whymper scrambles to the topmost peak of the Alps, while a Tyndal laboriously follows the course of the glaciers. An Agassiz sails to distant waters to drag up the secrets of the deep, and a Hall sacrifices his life in attempting to penetrate to the frozen pole.

These are but examples of that enthusiastic research, which results in such additions to our knowledge as the volume before us. It is not written to establish any theory or overthrow any hypothesis, but to present all the facts and results of observations thus far accumulated in respect to our planet. These are not confined to any one science. Thus we have geology in the discussion of the bed of the sea and its changes, the washing away and extension of shore lines, and upheaval and sinking of islands; astronomy in the tides and great movements of the sea; meteorology, the science of electricity; botany, zoölogy, and history. Yet, with this array of sciences, there is not a page which is not possessed of general interest. Facts and observations are collected from every source and quarter of the globe by the indefatigable author, and presented with the precision and moderation of statement which characterize the modern scientist, yet in an easy style and with an abundance of illustration which will attract all classes of readers. We notice occasionally a lapsus pennæ, as on page 63, the velocity of a wave at sea is given as 2,100 feet per second, where it evidently should be 21 feet per second, or about 15 miles per hour.

The average height of waves on the North Atlantic has been found to be about 30 feet, but the height to which the accumulated mass of waters known as breakers attain, when the configuration of the coast favors the movement, partakes of the marvellous. The Bell Rock lighthouse, off the Scottish coast, 112 feet in height, is often enveloped in waves and foam, even long after the tempest has

ceased to disturb the sea. Waves have been seen, too, covering the Eddystone lighthouse, and leaping in a spout of water 82 feet above the lantern! The pressure exerted by these masses of water is no less surprising. Waves have been seen to seize blocks of stone weighing several tons, and hurl them like playthings over the dykes. At Plymouth a vessel weighing 200 tons was thrown, without being broken, to the very top of the dyke, where it remained erect as on a shelf beyond the fury of the waves. What wonder that the waves are continually changing the outlines of the land, demolishing cliffs here and forming islands there! Of one of the effects of ocean currents M. Reclus thus writes:

"If Columbus had not made use of the semicircular current which flows from the coast of Spain to the Antilles he certainly would not have discovered America. If the pilot Alamius and, since his first voyage, the greater part of the navigators returning from the Antilles and United States, had not followed the course of the Gulf Stream the coasts of America would have remained practically far more distant from Europe than they really are. The colonies, now become so prosperous as independent republics, would be still in deplorable isolation; and civilization would have been greatly retarded, or even completely arrested, for want of new impetus."

Interesting and instructive as is the author's treatment of the ocean and atmosphere, that of vegetable and animal life is more so, particularly that portion which treats of the earth and man. "We are of the dust," says our author, "whether we may have sprung from the slime of the Nile, from the red earth of the Euphrates or the sacred alluvium of the Ganges." He does not conclude that all have come from one ancestor, but draws the more startling conclusion that all are rapidly merging into one race here in the new world, or "if it is a fact that fusions between different races can produce nothing more than sterile hybrids, the case is plain; mankind is condemned to death." The influence of nature on the destiny of mankind, the harmony existing between countries and the nations inhabiting them, and the reaction of man on nature, are eloquently discussed. Of the latter he says: "Numbers of the works of man have been attended with the fatal result of impoverishing the soil and disfiguring the face of nature. Taken as a whole, mankind has not yet emerged from his primitive barbarism." If this be true, we yet trust that those who read and heed this work of M. Reclus' will take one step from that sad condition.

A Review of "Prof. Reese's Review" of the Wharton Trial, with a brief notice of the Schoeppe Trial. By Prof. WILLIAM E. A. AIKEN, M.D., LL.D., Professor of Chemistry, etc, in the University of Maryland. Pamphlet, pp. 20. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1873.

PROF. AIKEN, in consequence of the conscientious discharge of his duty to the state, as a witness for the prosecution in the Wharton trial, is obliged to appeal to the public in self-defence. Sufficient time has not elapsed since that memorable trial for the incidents to be entirely forgotten. It will be remembered that Prof. Aiken, an eminent analytical chemist, was called upon to make an examination of the contents of the stomach of Gen. Ketchum. With the question of the guilt or innocence of the accused he had, directly, nothing to do. But as the results of his careful investigations and report thereof had a most important bearing upon that question, his testimony was the signal for a most disgraceful attack upon that gentleman by the opposing counsel. Not only are his professional knowledge and reputation assailed, and every effort made to destroy them, but even his personal and private character is defamed. And not only is this done to the discredit of the counsel, but to the discredit of a court which permits it, and the press which sustains it. As the result, the accused, whether guilty or not, goes forth acquitted by a court of law, but the innocent witness has suffered an injury which years may not repair. The professional reputation upon which he depends, perhaps for a livelihood, is injured, and he has no court of appeal or redress.

We mention these facts, not to take the part of Prof. Aiken, with whom we have not the least acquaintance, but to invite attention to this defect, to call it by no harsher name, in our jurisprudence. Medical jurisprudence is one of the most efficient auxiliaries of law; but if scientific witnesses are to receive no protection from the courts, what is to become of its administration? These are questions of public interest and affect the common welfare. As for Prof. Aiken, he has in this pamphlet effectually answered all objections as to the value of his experiments. These we leave for the scientists to discuss among themselves, but we hope it may not soon again be necessary for scientific witnesses to diverge thus from their professional duties in defence of their character and reputation. In the following truthful terms, Prof. Aiken states the position of scientific witnesses:

"If, after due consideration, he boldly expresses his opinion at an inquest, and persists in it, he is said to be prejudiced; if he hesitates, or expresses himself timidly, he is not to be trusted. There is but little protection afforded to a witness by a court of law; the accused person is there the sole object of sympathy and consideration, and a learned counsel is only mildly rebuked who, against the whole bearing of the scientific evidence, asserts that the prisoner is innocent and asks the