Isaac D'Israeli: To read every book would be fatal to the interests of most readers, but it is not always necessary in the pursuits of learning, to read every book entire. Of many books it is sufficient to seize the plan, and to examine some of their portions. Of the little supplement at the close of the volume, few readers conceive the utility; but some of the most eminent writers have been great adepts in the art of Index-reading. I, for my part, venerate the inventor of Indexes.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: The best rule for reading will be a method from nature, and not a mechanical one of hours and pages. It holds each student to a pursuit of his native aim instead of a desultory miscellany. Let him read what is proper to him and not waste his memory on a crowd of mediocrities.

Nature is always our friend in this matter. Nature is always clarifying her water and her wine. No filtration could be so perfect. She does the same thing by books as by her gases and her plants. There is always a selection in writers, and then a selection from the selection. In the first place, all books that get fairly into the vital air of the world were written by the successful class, by the affirming and advancing class, who utter what tens of thousands feel but cannot say. There has already been a scrutiny and choice from many hundreds of young pens before the book

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your eye.

you

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comes to

Julius Charles Hare: The difference between desultory reading and a course of study may be illustrated by comparing the former with

a number of mirrors set in a straight line, so that every one of them reflects a different object; the latter to the same mirrors so skilfully arranged as to perpetuate one set of objects in an endless series of reflections.

If we read two books on the same subject, the second leads us to review the statements and arguments of the first; the errors of which are little likely to escape this kind of proving, while the truths are more strongly imprinted on the memory, not merely by repetition, but by the deepened conviction thus wrought in the mind, of their being verily and indeed truths.

Desultory reading is indeed very mischievous in fostering habits of loose, discontinuous thought, by turning the memory into a common sewer for rubbish of all sorts to float through, and by relaxing the power of attention, which of all our faculties needs most care, and is most improved by it. But a well-regulated course of study will no more weaken the mind than hard exercise will weaken the body; nor will a strong understanding be weighted down by its knowledge, any more than an oak by its leaves, or than Samson was by his locks.

John Morley: I will not take up your time by explaining the various mechanical contrivances and aids to successful study. They are not to be despised by those who would extract the most from books. Many people think of knowledge as of money. They would like knowledge but cannot face the perseverance and self-denial that go to the acquisition of it. The wise student will do most of his reading

with a pen or pencil in his hand. He will not shrink from the useful toil of making abstracts and summaries of what he is reading.

James Russell Lowell: There is a choice in books as there is a choice in friends, and the mind sinks or rises to the level of its habitual society, or is subdued to what it works in.

Read such books as make us think, and read them in such a way as to help them do so, that is by endeavoring to judge them, and thus to make them an exercise rather than a relaxation of mind. Desultory reading, except as a conscious pastime, hebetates the brain and slackens the bow-string of will. It communicates as little intelligence as the messages that run along a telegraph wire do to the birds that perch on it. A man is known by the company he keeps and not only so, but he is made by it.

XXII

LIST OF TECHNICAL INDEXES

American Journal of Science, m.-6.00

"Scientific Intelligence" contains book reviews and abstracts of periodical literature and federal and state publications, classified as chemistry, geology, and miscellaneous.

Amer. Soc. of Civil Engineers (Proc.), m.-8.00

"Monthly List of Recent Engineering Articles of Interest" classifies under the main branches of engineering the contents of about 100 periodicals, onefifth of which are French and German. Titles only given. Illustrations are noted but neither length nor value of articles are given. Journals are referred to by a system of numbers instead of by name, thus making reference difficult. Printed on one side only. Chemical Engineer, Chicago, m.-2.00

"Index of Articles on Applied Chemistry"; indexes about 75 journals, about one-third being foreign. Selects only articles of interest to the chemical engineer. Gives descriptive of evaluative note on each article. Titles of articles in foreign languages are translated. Printed on pages backed by advertisements.

Electrical World, New York, m.-3.00

"Digest of Current Electrical Literature" contains good abstracts of important articles appearing in the electrical periodical press of the world, frequently several hundred words in length. Foreign articles abstracted in English.

Abstracted from Monthly Bulletin (June, 1910) of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. This list is not intended to be complete; it is merely intended as a guide to the more important indexes and bibliographies of current technical literature, which are of value to writers on engineering subjects.

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ENGINEERING LITERATU

Engineering-Contracting, Chicago "Monthly Review Index of Civil Eng ature" classifies articles in about 100 j all in English. The literature indexed to Civil Engineering.

Engineering Magazine, New York,

"Engineering Index" indexes the co 200 periodicals, mainly English, French Gives length of article and descriptive cates illustrations. Classified under C Mechanical, Marine and Naval, and neering, Mining and Metallurgy, Indus Street and Electric Railways.

Eng'g. and Min'g. Journal, New Y

"Mining Index" contains a classified of the current literature of mining an giving author, length of article and o notes.

Illuminating Engineer, New York,

"Proceedings of Technical Societies" of the Technical Press" gives reviews of index with many abstracts of journal a mination and photometry, electric ligh and acetylene lighting.

Industrial Engineering and The

Digest, New York, m.-2.00 "Technical Press Index" indexes co American and Canadian and 74 fore Gives length of article, number of illus at which article can be supplied and wh a descriptive note summarizing the art fied under Architecture, Automobiles and gation, Civil, Electrical, Marine, Mecha Municipal, and Railroad Engineering, E Education, Industrial Technology, and each classification is further subdivided Metallurgical and Chem. Eng'g., m

"Synopsis of Metallurgical and Che ture" gives lengthy and well-prepared selected articles.