UNDER the above title MESSRS. METHUEN are publishing a series of books on Historical, Literary, and Scientific subjects. The University Extension Movement has shown the possibility of treating History, Literature, and Science in a way that is at once popular and scholarly. The writers in this series aim at a similar combination. Each volume will be complete in itself, and the subjects will be treated by competent writers in a broad and philosophic spirit. The Following Volumes are Ready : THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND. H. DE B. GIBBINS, M.A. Third Edition Revised. With Maps and Plans. [2s. 6d. [2s. 6d. Conditions of [2s. 6d. A HISTORY OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN ENGLAND: from Adam Smith to Arnold Toynbee. L. L. PRICE, M.A. PROBLEMS OF POVERTY. An Inquiry into the Industrial the Poor. J. A. HOBSON, M.A. "The object of this volume is to collect, arrange, and examine some of the leading facts and forces in modern industrial life which have a direct . bearing upon Poverty, and to set it in the light they afford some of the suggested palliatives and remedies."- Extract from Author's Preface. VICTORIAN POETS. AMY SHARP, Newham College, Cambridge. Chapters on Browning, Tennyson, Swinburne, Mrs. Browning, A. H. Clough, Matthew Arnold, Rossetti, Wm. Morris, and others. PSYCHOLOGY. F. S. GRANGER, M.A. [2s. 6d. [2s. 6d. [2s. 6d. THE EVOLUTION OF PLANT LIFE: Lower Forms. An Introduction to AIR AND WATER. Professor V. B. LEWES, M.A. Illustrated. [2s. 6d. [2s. 6d. [2s. 6d. CONTENTS:-I. Langland and Ball. II. More. III. Wesley and Wilberforce. [2s. 6d. [2s. 6d. THE MECHANICS OF DAILY LIFE. V. P. SELLS, M.A. Illustrated. [2s. 6d. [2s. 6d. THE EARTH. An Introduction to Physiography. E. W. SMALL, M.A. The Following Volumes are in Preparation :— ENGLISH PAINTERS. D. S. MACCOLL, M. A., Fellow of University College, London, U.E. Lecturer in Art and Literature. THE PRE-SHAKESPERIAN DRAMA. H. M. FITZGIBBON, M.A AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. M. J. R. DUNSTAN, M.A. HYGIENE. J. LORRAINE SMITH, M.A., M.D. PLANTS AND ANIMALS. P. CHALMERS MITCHELL, M.A. METHUEN & CO., 36 ESSEX STREET, W.C. An Introduction to the Study of Inorganic BY. EVAN W. SMALL M.A. (CANTAB.) B.Sc. (LOND.); F.G.S. SOMETIME UNIVERSITY LOCAL LECTURER IN CHEMISTRY AND GEOLOGY WITH 71 ILLUSTRATIONS Methuen & Co. 36 ESSEX STREET, LONDON, W.C. PREFACE THIS little volume contains the substance of a course of lectures delivered in various centres during the winters of 1884-1890. It differs from many of the smaller works on Physiography in that it is not a text-book arranged to meet the wants of students preparing for any special examination, and from most of the larger works in that it does not attempt to cover so wide a field. The lectures were originally designed to precede a course on geology, but it is hoped that the book may also serve as introduction to the study of other branches of science. It is primarily intended for the "general reader," who wishes to acquire a certain amount of knowledge—accurate and definite so far as it goes-of the more striking phenomena of the earth; more detailed information on certain subjects is however added in the form of tables, which represent to some extent the more specialised work of the class as distinct from the lecture, in the University Extension method of teaching. The list of lantern slides given in the appendix will probably be of use to teachers who may use the book. In addition to the works mentioned in the references for further reading given at the end of each section, use has |