the marks rarely having more than three letters, and usually only two. In a few instances, where the nature of the classification requires it, digits are introduced at the end of the mark, but they are never mixed with the letters.

The revised classification is accompanied by a country list, which, while following in the main the order adopted in the Boston Athenæum list, is an improvement on that in the more systematic disposition of some of the geographical divisions, particularly of Europe. The different countries are indicated by two figures, ranging from II to 99, with an additional figure for the subdivisions of southwestern Asia, west Africa, and the political divisions of the United States. The only disadvantage which this list shows when compared with the B. A. list is that the use of figures prevents the mnemonic indication of such countries as England, France, Germany, etc. The gain in sim. plicity, however, more than counterbalances the mnemonic loss, which must in any case be very limited.

In its general plan the Revised Classification follows that which Mr. Cutter devised for use in the Boston Athenæum, with such modifications as experience has shown to be desirable, and with a constant view to its use in other libraries. The only change in the disposition of the chief divisions has been the transposition of Language to a position before Literature, which is where it properly belongs.

A full description of the system, which will doubtless be given to the public in due season, does not come within the scope of this report, but an analysis of one or two of the main divisions may be interesting as exhibiting, not only the plan of the work, but showing how logical and natural are the transitions of the subordinate groups. Let us take as an example Mr. Cutter's treatment of the Social and Political sciences, - topics not usually considered susceptible to a natural and systematic arrangement. Here we find the general subjects Socialism and Statistics standing at the head as introductory to the whole. Then comes Political Economy, the divisions of which show a gradual progression closely corresponding to a natural transition of the subjects themselves. First, we have Population, then Production, the normal result of the association of individuals, - with the logical subordinate divisions, laboring classes, hours of labor, wages, trades-unions, strikes, arbitration, and coöperation. Production naturally leads to Exchange of products, and exchange is perfected by Transportation and Commerce,

Money, the medium of exchange, stands midway between production and the distribution of returns, to wit Taxation and Public Finance. The acquisition of products naturally includes property, personal and landed, which in turn leads to the subject Rent. This gradation at last ends in the destination of the products, namely Consumption and the question of Luxury.

But the natural order does not end here. With the acquisition of property there will always be found a class of persons who never possess, or cannot keep, property, namely, the Poor, which is the next main subdivision in Mr. Cutter's list. This

is of course closely connected with Public Morals, the next topic, which naturally leads to the subject Education and culture. The succeeding division, Woman, which requires a special method of treatment, fitly stands by itself as the crowning result of education, and a connecting link between man considered socially and man considered politically.

Social science is then followed by Political science and Government, since in nature when men have associated themselves for mutual advantage, the question of government and its various political forms soon occupies a prominent place in the social body. Under political science Mr. Cutter's transitions are both natural and obvious, viz. Forms of government and Constitution, Representation and Suffrage. In nature disregard of the principles upon which government is founded leads to crime and its punishment, the next topic. Then we have Legislation, which defines crime and perfects the governmental principle. After this comes Jurisprudence, which embraces all that has gone before, and is defined as the knowledge of the rights and customs of men in a state of community necessary for the due administration of justice. The social sciences are properly closed by the subject National and Local Administration, which is the systematization of civic polity and the culmination of social development. It will thus be seen that the whole arrangement is easy and natural, and the reporter would respectfully commend it to those anti-classifiers who doubt the possibility of a natural gradation of non-material topics.

In Science the same plan of development has been followed. Beginning with Mathematics, the foundation of the physical sciences, the progression is from Physics and Chemistry through Astronomy to Geology, which is followed by Palæontology, the connecting link between the mattersciences and the life sciences. Then at the foundation of the life sciences stands Biology, which

embraces Botany, Zoölogy, and Ethnology; man as the final effort of creation standing at the head. The order here followed corresponds closely, as will be seen, with the order of evolution in nature, and consequently may be called both a natural as well as a logical one. In the subordinate divisions of descriptive botany and zoölogy the evolutionary principle is also observed, both beginning with the lowest forms of life and rising regularly to the highest.

But, it may be said, granting that a natural arrangement is possible in Science, which deals with objective forms, such an arrangement is scarcely possible with subjects like the arts and manufactures, in which the minor divisions are more or less coördinate in rank. Well, it may be conceded that the progression from subject to subject will not be so obvious as in Science, for example, but Mr. Cutter's arrangement of the arts, nevertheless, shows that a logical and natural sequence is possible even there. And here it may be well to call attention to the two principles of evolu tion in accordance with which the Revised Classifi cation is arranged; viz. the evolution of nature, shown in science, and the evolution of man, shown in the life history of human beings. The progression of the physical and natural sciences is the develop ment exhibited in nature, that of the arts is the development in the life history of man — a part of the larger evolution of nature.

At the beginning of the useful arts stand Inventions and Patents, etc., apparently out of the natural order, but placed here because they are general in their character and include all that follows. Man's first effort at conquering nature consisted in extracting his necessaries from the soil; consequently we have first Mining and Metallurgy; this is followed in the classification, as in life, by Agriculture and Animaliculture. Following this are the other arts of life, indicating a more advanced state of civilization. The Constructive Arts begin, as they necessarily must, with Engineering, succeeded by Building and then by Sanitary science, which becomes necessary as building becomes perfected. Transportation might logically have followed Manufactures, but transportation is more closely connected with engineering, and hence properly stands between Engineering, Building, and Manufacturing.

Following the useful arts we have the art of War, military and naval, the latter portion of which forms part of the Nautical Arts in general. It might be urged that the admission of the art of war here was an exception to the principle which

is supposed to govern this classification, since warfare is one of the earliest pursuits of man. But it must be remembered that primitive warfare is provided for in anthropology, and that modern warfare is one of the most specialized of the arts. Moreover, warfare is not always waged for conquest, but often for the preservation of national life and the fruits of man's industry and labour. From this point of view it fitly stands where it does. Note, too, at this point the close connection in Mr. Cutter's scheme of the art of war - or the national preservative art — with the individual preservative arts represented by Lighthouses, Lifesaving service, and Fire extinction, which succeed them.

Aerial navigation is likewise well placed between the Useful Arts and the Recreative Arts, including sports and games, which is the next main division.

When his material wants are satisfied, man turns to the arts of design and decoration, and to litera

ture.

Hence the Fine Arts immediately succeeds the Recreative Arts, which in turn is followed by Literature and the so-called Book Arts. Language, which is the material of literature, is placed immediately before literature rather than among the early arts of man, where it might otherwise be supposed to belong.

From this somewhat extended review it will be seen that Mr. Cutter's classification is based upon a philosophic principle which pervades the whole of it not only in the main divisions, but in the subdivisions as well. This principle is that of evolution or development

a principle which it is now generally admitted pervades the whole plan of nature, and is applicable, not only to objective nature, but likewise to the mental and moral world.

All attempts to systematize knowledge on any other principle than that which underlies the constitution of nature must prove more or less unsatisfactory. Whether a perfect systematization of knowledge is possible to human minds, may be questioned, but it must be admitted that Mr. Cutter's Revised Classification has come nearer to it than any yet put forth.

In the Library journal of this year (vol. 14, nos. 1-4) Mr. Fletcher has brought out a plan for the classification of books on what he calls the rational as distinguished from the logical or scientific plan. As has been pointed out, it is difficult to perceive just wherein his so-called rational order differs from a logical order. Judging from internal evidence, it appears to consist in arranging the subjects consecutively according to their natural

account of its extreme subdivision, serve as a valuable storehouse of titles which classifiers cannot afford to overlook.

In its general outline it follows the usual meth. ods of classification, but without any attempt at a logical arrangement, either in its principal or subordinate divisions. The class-marks used are a combination of letters and figures, each of the minor divisions being characterized by the addition of a supplementary letter or figure to the preceding one. The chief divisions are marked with a capital letter from A to U, omitting J. The following subdivision is indicated by adding a small italic letter, thus Ba, Bb, Bc, etc. The next subdivision is marked with a Roman numeral, and the subsequent divisions by Arabic numerals, capital letters, small letters, Roman numerals again, and Greek letters according to the extent of the segregation. This cumbersome system of notation often results in ridiculously long and inconvenient class-marks. Thus, for example; Italian drama is DiII 3 A c III and the loca botany of the Rhine provinces is Sb II 2 Ab a II I B g.

Not only each division but each subdivision is preceded by a set of preliminary classes which correspond to Mr. Cutter's nine "generals," though Dr. Hartwig does not limit himself to this number, but adds to each subject as many as he deems necessary, sometimes to the extent of sixteen or eighteen. Consequently no one letter or figure

stands for the same preliminary class in all the divisions. This repetition of the preliminary classes in the minor divisions necessarily results in the most inconvenient arrangement of the books on that subject. For instance, we have separate places for periodicals on general history, on the history of the old world, on modern history, on German history, on Prussian history, and on the Brandenburg province of Prussia. The history of individual countries, and particularly that of Germany, is carried out with equal minuteness. But under this system, unless a library contains an enormous number of volumes, the result of such a needlessly extravagant subdivision will be that a class will often have but one book.

As a classification, Dr. Hartwig's scheme is a monument of patience and industry, but it is cumbrous, unwieldly, and overburdened with symbols; and while it cannot, on the whole, be considered needlessly minute for a very large library, it has not the adaptability and elasticity which is an indispensable prerequisite for general usefulness.

In The Library for January, 1889, is an article by Mr. Tedder on "The bibliography and classification of French history," in which he reviews favorably M. G. Monod's "Bibliographie de l'histoire de France," and gives his systematic arrangements of the subjects in French history. As this classification is intended solely for bibliography, it is not adapted to the allocation of books themselves, and hence calls for no criticism in this report.

dren, and occasionally a few dollars thrown in for fun, and as the profits depended upon the sales, and the sales depended largely upon the indexing, it will be seen that I was heavily interested in "how to make a good index." It was soon apparent to me that not one author in fifty made a good index, for one of two reasons: First, most authors find the writing of a book, reading proof, and other work incidental thereto so much more tedious and onerous than they anticipated, that, by the time they come to prepare the index, they are tired out and disgusted with the whole subject. Few men make even a fair index until after several failures. Second, because the

peculiar turn of mind necessary to write a good treatise is seldom accompanied by the ability to make an index.

Therefore I was obliged to have professional indexers. To direct them, it was necessary for me to understand all the details; what to do and what to avoid.

One of my first ventures was a law book prepared by a judge of one of our State Supreme Courts, who made an index that satisfied no one. As the book was having a large sale, I engaged a gentleman, who seemed to be competent, to make another; but, although it was a great improvement on the first, it did not fill the bill. A professional indexer was then set to work on the third edition of the book, but failed to give satisfaction. At least $5,000 was sunk in the transaction. What I know was learned in an expensive manner.

Do not expect to make an index that will satisfy everybody; for, if you should take the advice of fifty men and follow it, your index would be so long that not ten in the fifty would be satisfied with it.

How to make a Good Index.

1. Make your skeleton thus: Procure an indexed book such as book-keepers use to their ledgers, and write in every word which you have reason to suppose a searcher will expect to find matter under. Indexes are generally consulted by folks in a hurry, who think of one word and none of its synonyms: therefore all should appear in alphabetical order, followed by the proper cross-reference. This skeleton the indexer should have by him for frequent consultation during the progress of his work, so that one uniform plan is followed.

2. Where there are several synonymous words, decide which one you will use (or if you wish, use more than one), and then set them all up, cross-referencing all of those under which you place nothing to those under which you do. For instance, take the words fines, forfeitures, imprisonment, penalties, and punishments; or compensation, fees, pay, salary. If you decide to use all, then set up each in its alphabetical order, and cross-reference each to all the others. If you conclude

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ADMIRALTY COLLISION - Action For. Collision between schooner and pilot boat, section 300.

This slip is thrown to "ADMIRALTY," and when that topic is arranged it is passed to the main head of "COLLISION," and from there down to the sub-head of "Action For." By this means the indexer decides the precise place of the slip of paper at the time it is written off, so that he does not have to again load up his mind with it, but can turn the arranging of the slips over to a subordinate, who will present his work for final inspection.

4. Set up every sub-head and refer to the main head. In the above case say, “COLLISION. See Admiralty," (giving the division. number of collision). "ACTION. For collision, see ADMIRALTY."

5. Cross-reference all kindred topics to one another.

6. Back cross-reference all double headings. If you place matter under the heading of Change of Venue," then also say, under V, "VENUE. See Change of Venue."

All this may seem very simple, and yet not one indexer in fifty follows half these instructions, and some will not do so even if requested. A good index will be short, well cross-referenced, every possible (and proper) word set up in its alphabetical order, so that every searcher can readily find all the book contains.

Never lose sight of these two facts:1. The index is frequently used by persons who are in such great haste, that they think of but one word, and, failing to find that word, or to find under it what they wish, they will condemn the whole index, when a proper cross-reference would direct them to just what they wish.