PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

BOOKS.

The Roman Empire of the West. Four Lectures delivered at the Phi- losophical Institution, Edinburgh, February 1855. By Richard Con- grave, M.A., late Fellow and Tutor of Wadbam College, Oxford.

On the Influence of Education and Training in Preventing Diseases of the .Nervous System. By Robert Brudenell Carter, M.R.C.S.E., &c. Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Edited by Robert Bell. Volume IV. (Annotated Edition of the English Poets.) Printing : its Antecedents, Origin, History, and Results. By Adam Stark, Author of a "History of the Bishopric of Lincoln," 8ec. (The Traveller's Library.)

[The invention of printing, like that of most other arts, is veiled in obscur- ity. Block-printing is supposed to have been practised in Chine from a very remote antiquity ; there is no doubt that it was in use long before the art was discovered in Europe, or transmitted, as some argue, by the commu- nications which religious or commercial motives kept 91 with the East throughout the middle ages. Some writers ascribe the first application of block-printing to the production of playing-cards. In the early part of the fifteenth century it was extensively employed for religious purposes ; a figure with a text or some maxim constituting the plate, and when the cuts were formed into a book two sheets were pasted together. The honour of invent- ing the art of printing by moveable types has been claimed for several per- sons ; but the weight of evidence and of authority ascribes it to Guttenberg, towards the middle of the fifteenth century. The first book ever printed is universally admitted to be the celebrated Bible, which is supposed to have been finished between 1450-60. The fact seems to be as well authenticated as any fact can be; yet there are strong general arguments against it. Like other projectors, Guttenberg appears to have soon got rid of his money in his experiments, and to have been compelled to take partners to supply the need- ful. Independently of the time and labour necessary to print the Bible when the whole process was new, the "necessity of present life," one would have thought, must have suggested a task from which quicker returns might have been expected. Nor is the absence of earlier works conclusive evidence. Few copies of the celebrated editions printed before 1500 have come down to us ; it is not therefore too much to conjecture that all the copies of an edition may have perished.

Whatever doubts may hang over the origin and early history of type- printing, they are owing to no lack of learning or of books. England, France, Germany, and Holland, have contributed authors of all kinds, from the laborious inquirer to the clever compiler. They have directed their at- tention to every topic connected with the theme, and expressed their re- sults in the Latin of the learned, as well as in their own vulgar tongues. Few branches of human art afford such an infinite variety of materials ready to a compiler's hand ; while as regards the history of printing there is a

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sufficient access to the specimens themselves without going further than the London collections. There are also histories already published, which though expensive are succinct, and not unpopularly treated. With such help at hand, a better coup d'ceil of Printing should have been produced than Mr. Stark has furnished. It is not only that he is wanting in precision—so much so, indeed, as at times to contradict himself—or that he wanders into extraneous matters, or dwells on trifling details: the mind of the writer is unfitted for anything approaching to history.]

77m Tester Deep Land Culture; being a detailed Account of the me- thod of Cultivation which has been successfully practised for several years by the Marquis of Tweeddale at Tester. By Henry Stephens, F.R.S.E., Corresponding Member of the Societe Nationale et Generale d'Agriculture of France, and of the Royal Agricultural Society of Galicia; Author of the "Book of the Farm," &c.

[Tester, meaning a strath or dale, is an estate of the Marquis of Tweeddale in East Lothian. It has become known to the more inquiring class of agri- culturists for certain experiments that have been there carried on upon some

thousand acres of inferior land, which the Marquis had taken into his own hands. Thorough draining with drain-tiles was a preliminary, but that practice has no novelty. The new features are a subsoil ploughing to the depth of two-and-twenty inches and the ploughs invented by the Marquis to accomplish the work ; the best implement in use when he commenced his experiments not being sufficient for the task.

The object of Mr. Stephens's book is to give a detailed account of the ex- pe,riment and its successful results, so that any farmer may pursue the me- thods of the Marquis. There are also full particulars on collateral matters, —as the site and climate of the farms, the nature of the soils, and the sig- nificant results which the draining and subsoil ploughing produced upon the warmth of the land, with other meteorological facts as they may be called. This is done clearly in the text, with illustrations by tables and diagrams. There is perhaps a leaning to underrate the expenses • for although, for ex- ample, the Marquis may make his own drain-tiles on his own property, there are very few farmers in that position. However, there seems nothing in the cost to prevent the application of the "Tester deep land culture" to any soil where it is likely to be beneficial, the capital existing, and the will to use it. The book, at all events, should be read by every intelligent-agri- culturist.]

Olympus.

[Morals, religions old and new, social practices, and the struggles of life, are the topics of this volume. The thoughts are not very novel, and only occa- sionally expressed with the point which gives effect to commonplaces on the hypocrisy, folly, or weakness of mankind, and the predominance of chance in human affairs. They have sufficient application to existing society to have been telling had they been presented in a better form, and not so much overlaid with verbiage, and a framework at once common, cumbrous, and incongruous. The writer is supposed to make a tour to Mount Olympus : ascending the hill, he overtakes a friend whom he knew to be dead, though his ghost is solid and fleshy ; in his company he reaches the top, and is introduced to the Hall of the Departed, where the dialogues of the dead begin.]

Mistory of the Catholic hfiesions among the Indian Tribes of the United States, 1529-1854. By John Gilmary Shea Author of the "Dis- covery and Exploration of the Mississippi," Member of the Historical Societies of New York, Illinois, and Louisiana.

[This history of the various attempts made by the Roman Catholic mission- aries to convert the Indian tribes of North America is an importation from New York. The author is a Roman Catholic, with a natural tendency to make the most of his own church, and to bring out the neglect or ill success of the Protestants among the Indian tribes; though it really does not seem that any church has a great deal to boast of, owing to the fickleness of the Indian mind. The story of the different missions is plainly told, but not in a manner to excite general interest. The book wants breadth and character.]

Sabbath Evening Readings on the New Testament : St. John. By the

Reverend John Cumming, D.D., F.R.S.E., Minister of the Scottish

National Church, Crown Court, Covent Garden ; Author of "Sabbath Evening Readings on St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke," lko. [The collection into a volume of the prolific Dr. Cumming's commentaries on St. John which have already appeared in numbers. The other Evangelists and Revelations have been previously published.] Sharpe's Road-Book for the Rail; Western Division, including the Lines South of the Thames; and comprising the South-Western, South-Eastern, Brighton and Weluth Coast, Great Western, North_ and South Wales, London and North-Western and neighbouring Lines; upon a scale of ten miles to an inch. With Notices of Towns, Vil- lages, Principal Seats, Historical Localities, Tunnels, Viaducts, and other Objects of interest on the route.

[An application of the principle of the old road-book to the iron way. Of three broad columns into which the page is divided, the central column is supposed to be the rail itself, crossed by the names of the stations on a uni- form scale. The two columns on either side give the distances from the station of the different places in the vicinity ; two narrow divisions for "up" and "down" mark the miles of the railway stages. Notes appended to the different lines give topographical information. We perceive some discrepancies, though errors in so many minute facts must be difficult to avoid.] The Botanist's Vade-Mecum ; being a Practical Guide for Collecting, Classifying, and Examining Plants. With a complete Glossary. [Selections from the new edition of Dr. Balfour's Manual of Botany, de- signed for botanical students. In addition to the usual scientific matter of manuals, there is information of a practical kind—directions for making microscopic observations, hints for botanical excursions, &c.]

Ifainnton's Marriage; a Poem, in two cantos. By J. G. H. [If the opinion of the author of this poem be true, that as many manages de convenance are made now-a-days by parental pressure as formerly by parental violence, he should have planned his tale to illustrate his view. The story of Mammon' Marriage is drawn from the commonest repertory of romance, and is at once wild and stale. The style is a diluted imitation of Byron, with Scott's diffuseness added.] The Noble Laird of Thornyburne ; a Northumbrian Border Ballad, in three fyttes. With Introduction and Glossary.

[The tradition of a Border foray versified. It is tripping ; but wanting in strength.] /van III., or a Day and Night in Russia, a Dramatic Sketch. By John Bell, Sculptor.

In the following list the "Rag-Bag" and "Out-Doors" are collections of papers contributed by Mr. Willis to the American Home Journal; the works are importations. Except the volume of Hughes's Continuation of "Hume and Smollet," and the second edition of Mr. Tayler's "Clnistian Aspects," the remainder are cheap books.

The Rag-Bag; a Collection of Ephemera. By N. Parker Willis. Out-doors at Idleteild ; or the Shaping of a Home on the banks of the Hudson. By N. P. Willis.

The History of _England. By Hume and Smollet. With the Con- tinuation by the Reverend I'. S. Hughes, B.D., &c. A new edition. Volume IN.

Christian Aspects of Faith and Duty. Discourses by John James Tayler, B.A. Second edition.

The Ogilvie,; a Novel. By the Author of "The Head of the Family," &c.

Israel Potter : his Fifty Years of Exile. By Herman Melville, Author of " Typee," &c.

The Pride of the Mess • a Naval Novel of the Crimean War. By the Author of " Cavendie.h."

Jonas Clint ; a Tale.

Small Arms. A Practical Treatise intended for persons inexperienced in husbandry, but desirous of employing time and capital in the cul- tivation of the soil. By Martin Doyle, Author of "Hints to the Small Farmers of Ireland," &o. (Books for the Country.)

Peaszkaarre.

Inaugural Address delivered by his Grace the Duke of Argyll, on his Installation as Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow, March 29, 1855.

Letter to Lord Brougham on a Question of Trusteeship in England. By Le Che- valier de Chatelaine, Author of "Ram- bles through Rome," and Translator of "Gay's Fables."

The Twenty Years' Conflict in the Church, and its Remedy.

Sir John Pakinpton's Plan. A Reply to the " Remarks " of J. C. Colquhoun, Esq. By Henry Kingscote, Esq.

Der Norddentsche Stoat. Das Zusich- kommen des Weltlichen Gewissens der Deutschen Nation. Wirkungen—Ge- genwirkungen Zweeke. Erstes Heft. Die Rebellion des Hantiverschen Feu- dalismus gegen Preussens Kuegsbafen am Fadsbusen. Von Rudolph Schramm. Light Horse. By Jacob Omnium.

A Glossary of Military Terms: intended as a Handbook for J unior Officers, Can- didates for Commissions, and Readers of Military History.

England's and France's new Demands against Russia in the Black Sea not Just; and proposed Union between the Peelites and the Conservatives. By J. G. V. Porter, Esq.

The aril Bernice. Letter to R. M. Brom- ley, Esq., C.B., Accountant-General of the Navy, Ste. From James Buller, M.A., late Treasurer and Accountant to the Tithe and Copyhold Commis- sions.

Red-Tapeism: its Cause. By One Be- hind the Scenes.

"R of the Acting Committee of West erit

India Planters and Merchants.