them, the important question is that of cause; as a rule this also is easily determined. A French psychologist of note enumerates three classes of backward children. First, those suffering from physical or mental infirmity. These are cases for the physician or specialist rather than the teacher. Second, those not apt in intellectual matters generally and only to be stimulated by relating their lessons to their personal interests; hence the great importance of small classes which allow the teacher to make personal study of individual pupils. Third, those who simply require a change of teachers owing to the well known but subtle influence of personality; hence the value of a discriminating inspectorate and a flexible transfer system which is always possible in cities; and in the country school, special assistants. Finally there are pupils who are wilfully idle, who are physically normal but indifferent to all appeals. With such pupils the best results are obtained from a system that moves with the regularity and steadiness of a machine, leaving neither time nor opportunity for opposition or evasion.

EDUCATION OF ADULTS.-The twenty-second annual report of the system of education for adults in France, which has been carried on under the direction of M. E. Petit, inspector general, has just been published. Necessarily the number of adult attendants declined by reason of the war. Nevertheless 30,000 lessons were given during the year, 13,000 for young men; 17,000 for young women, and in addition 17,670 lectures. The number of young women attending courses of instruction in domestic arts, commercial subjects, languages, etc., noticeably increased; in Paris alone this number rose from 700 in 1913 to 1220 in 1916.

Great interest was shown in the vocational classes conducted for soldiers mutilated by the war, a work in which French teachers have shown wonderful skill and devotion.

Russia and Italy are alike in respect to the unequal diffusion of education in different sections, with a consequent high proportion of illiteracy. They are alike also in respect to recent measures taken to overcome these evils. In 1908 a measure was sanctioned by the government of Russia assigning credits for the maintenance of elementary schools as follows: 6,000,000 rubles in 1909, 10,000,000 in 1910; 7,000,000 in 1911, and 9,000,000 in 1912. Under the building law of 1909 large sums have also been allowed for building school houses. By these measures the foundation is laid for a system of universal education.

A similar measure was adopted by the government of Italy in 1906, providing that 18,000,000 lire ($3,600,000) should be expended in the erection of school buildings in the needy district of Central and Southern Italy. It need hardly be said that in the absence of school buildings, compulsory laws are negligible.

A. T. S.

Book Notices

EARLY EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION. A textbook for Secondary Schools. By Roscoe Lewis Ashley, New York. The Macmillan Company. Price $1.50.

To meet the demand for a change in the course and study of history in the high school the chief question is on what to place the emphasis. To do away with the annals of courts and conquerors, wars and conquests, it was necessary to consider whether a treatment of social and economic history is suitable for the age and ability of the average high school pupil. The demand now is for such treatment, and to meet this, Mr. Ashley has tried, he says, to keep in mind three things: the importance of any change as a part of the development of early European civilization; the connection between such change and modern life; and the interest and capacity of the student in the high school. How well he has accomplished his aims is strikingly evidenced in his book,— which is in every way supremely adapted to the needs and requirements of pupils in secondary schools; is remarkable for the selection of subjects when it was necessary to omit much that has hitherto been considered a requisite part of a text on history; and is written in a style that is most attractive and inviting. With or without the stimulus of a teacher the student will find this book most alluring, instructive and fascinating. Its place in secondary schools is assured.-M. T. P.

PHYSIOLOGY AND HEALTH. By Herbert W. Conn, Ph.D., Professor of Biology in Wesleyan University. Silver, Burdett & Co. Book One for Lower Grammar Grades, 224 pages, price 40 cents. Book Two, for Upper Grammar Grades, 384 pages, price 66 cents. The two books combined in one volume, price 73 cents.

Both books deal with the practical, every-day problems of health. They aim to establish habits which are essential in the proper training and growth of every child. They will be interesting to all children because they answer the why, the where, the what, and the how questions. They are related to the actual life of the child. They do not, however, in order to be simple and interesting, neglect to give the basal scientific facts of physiology and hygiene, but they link those facts with the consideration of personal and civic health rather than with anatomy. The mechanical features are of a high order. The volumes are strongly bound, have numerous illustrations which will be helpful to both teacher and pupil, and are well printed on a good quality of paper. The discriminating teacher, or school official will find them worthy of consideration from both the pedagogical and the mechanical standpoints.

Book One contains thirty-four chapters, in each of which some topic

or question is treated, such as "Why We Need Food", "What to Drink”, "The Teeth and Their Care", "The Care of the Eyes", "Disease Germs", and "The Young Citizen and The Public Health". There is a glossary of technical terms and a good index.

Book Two is divided into four sections. Section I under the title of "Feeding the Body" devotes twelve chapters and one hundred pages to this subject. Section II under the title of “What the Body Does With Its Food" in thirteen chapters and one hundred seventy-two pages discusses various functions of the body, as circulation, breathing, bones, removal of wastes, care of the skin, etc. Section III under the title "How the Body is Governed" describes in six chapters and seventy-six pages the mechanism of the nervous system and the part played by the special senses. Section IV under the title of "Safety First" in one chapter and twelve pages treats interestingly and briefly of a number of public hygenic matters.

The author has shown the rare faculty of being able to use language to express his ideas which is within the comprehension of the child. -H. N. K.

MOSQUITO CONTROL IN PANAMA, THE ERADICATION OF MALARIA AND YELLOW FEVER IN CUBA AND PANAMA. By Joseph A. LePrince, C.E., A.M., Chief Sanitary Inspector, Isthmian Canal Commission 1904-1914, and A. J. Orenstein, M.D., Assistant Chief Sanitary Inspector, Isthmian Canal Commission, with an Introduction by L. O. Howard, L.L.D., Entomologist and Chief, Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture. G. P. Putnam's Sons. Price $2.50 net.

We doubt if there is a more interesting or thrilling chapter in American history than that which has been so painstakingly presented for the first time in its full details in this volume. The building of the Panama Canal by United States engineers was an enterprise of world importance. Almost superhuman difficulties had to be overcome. The first and in many respects the greatest was found in the fact that it was impossible for the white race to live and work in the disease-laden Tropics, where the work had to be done. Until Americans cleaned up Havana practically nothing was known of the sources or media of infection from which sprung the maladies that devitalized or swept from the face of the earth an enormous percentage of the laborers. At Bohio, a village fifteen miles south of Colon, blood samples taken even from natives showed eighty per cent of malarial infection. The construction of the canal was an impossibility under such conditions. Colonel Gorgas, the hero of Havana, undertook the task of making Panama habitable. The brilliant results of his work are now known to scientists throughout the world. How it was done, in the face of stupendous difficulties and with scientific precision, is told in detail in this attractively printed and bound volume, of 334 pages and 300 illustrations. Every public library, every school and college library should place this story upon its

shelves. It should lend encouragement to multitudes of thoughtful people to improve local health conditions and to sound the slogan "Swat the fly and the mosquito."—R. V.

HOW TO KNOW YOUR CHILD. By Miriam Finn Scott. The Children's Garden, New York City. Cloth 316 pages. List price $1.25. Little, Brown & Company, Boston, Mass.

This is a book for the home as well as for instructors of youth. It should have a place in the living room of every household where the inmates could take it up to read, each spare moment. There is food for thought on every page. The author handles the subject of "Play" in a psychological manner. Many games are given; better materials named; and the way to bring forth the initiative of the child will be appreciated by any one interested in child life. Parents, take time to play with your children! Many a child and its parents are strangers to one another. Let this book give you the introduction!

The last chapter of the book should be read first. Why? Notice the title: "How to Know Yourself". For a few moments, make a rigid inspection of yourself, then answer silently: What kind of disposition have 1? Do I control my temper? Do I take mental care of myself? Am I a comrade at home or simply a caller? For further examination, read the story of Jennie in this chapter, which begins with these familiar sentences:

"Jennie has an absolutely vicious temper!" said a clever, well-to-do, affectionate mother, in concluding a description of her child. “I can't imagine where she got it. I simply don't know what to do with her; she almost drives me crazy!"

Miss Scott was given charge of this Jennie, and tells us in her book, the reason for above description. It will pay all to find out.-R. R. G.

MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION. A Text-book for Secondary Schools. By Roscoe Lewis Ashley. The Macmillan Company. Price $1.10.

The history of human progress is sketched from the time of barbaric invasions to the peace of Westphalia. The exploits of the great leaders and the life of the people are vividly portrayed. The arrangement of the book is excellent; the marginal summaries and the illustrations will aid the student in grasping and remembering the lessons learned.-R. V. THE PLAIN STORY OF AMERICAN HISTORY. By John Spencer Bassett, Ph. D., Professor of American History in Smith College. The Macmillan Company. Price $1.00.

This is a book that interestingly and clearly states the main facts in the history of our own land. It has been a romantic story, in fact; and this author has grasped the significance of the facts and presents a narrative that stimulates the historic imagination while it holds closely to the strict details as the life of the nation has unfolded. We know of no better text-book upon this subject. It covers the entire period from "before the arrival of Columbus down to the year 1916."—R. V.

WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA. A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of the United States. Vol. IX. 1916-1917. Edited · by Albert Nelson Marquis, Chicago. A. N. Marquis & Company.

Perpetually, the great die, and new geniuses step forward to take their places. The perennial supply makes necessary a biennial edition of this now famous book, which was first published in 1899. It grows somewhat more portly as it grows older. We always welcome it's genial presence. We know that it will tell us the latest news about "the four hundred." It is a book that is full of human interest, with an appeal to the imagination; and it has many practical uses in the newspaper office, the business man's office, the bookworm's "den" and the archives of the librarian and the "bibliophile." Go on, Brother Marquis! Your thought was a bright one and you have made humanity your debtor. May it be many a year before your name will have to be omitted from the biennial list of "Who's Who" in America.-F. H. P.

TEACHING LITERATURE IN THE GRAMMAR GRADES AND HIGH SCHOOL. By Emma M. Bolenius, A.M., formerly Instructor in English, Central Commercial and Manual Training High School, Newark, New Jersey. Cloth 337 pages. List price $1.25, postpaid. Houghton-Mifflin Company, Boston, Mass.

When school people see a book listed among the Riverside Textbooks in Education it is taken for granted that something out of the ordinary is stored away between the two covers of that book. This is truly the case of the book mentioned in this review. It is not a reading book to be read and then placed upon the shelf; it is one you will have to study more or less to get the benefit of what the author has placed within your reach. This is the book for TEACHERS and Normal students, superintendents and principals; and all others who wish to know how to get the most out of their reading or study of Literature. It tells how to teach in English, not how to tell about English. Sample lessons are found throughout the book. The author brings out the details of each chapter in the child's point of view, which very few writers of texts attempt to do.

What books mean to you: What is poetry? The Ballad; The Lyric; The Metrical Tale; The Metrical Romance; The Epic; The Drama; The Short Story; The Novel; The Essay and the Oration are some of the principal topics discussed in full. These topics are not idle dreams of the author; instead, they represent the practical helps developed from thirteen years of practical teaching.-R. R. G.

THE DAYS OF THE SWAMP ANGEL. By Mary Hall Leonard. New York. The Neale Publishing Company. Price $1.20 net.

We heartily recommend this book as one of the best of recent historical novels. It is a story of the Civil War, especially full in details of the earlier years of the great conflict in which the views and the feelings of