are founded on these wants; but they have been divided and subdivided until their name is legion.

The contents of this volume might be arranged in the same way that the articles exhibited in the Crystal Palace of London were, under the heads—Producer, Importer, Manufacturer, Designer, Inventor, and Proprietor. But we think the arrangement pursued, though rather irregular, may be quite as convenient. So great is the variety of subjects treated, that it is difficult to condense the contents in a smaller compass.

The general difference in character and habits of those engaged in various occupations—their comparative morality and intelligence, the effects of a decline in wages, the effects of trades-unions, are all, more or less, involved in this subject of employments; also the opinions of the working classes on machinery and its results. Employments that have for their object the health, comfort, and protection of mankind—those that produce the necessaries and the luxuries of life—those for amusement and capable of being dispensed with—are all treated of to some extent.

Numbers of women have been lost to society from the want of a systematic organization for their employment, and by a deficiency in the number of remunerative pursuits open to them. The destinies of thousands are daily perilled, mentally, morally, and physically, by the same cause. The disease has raised a great and turbulent cry; but, strange to say, few means, and they limited and inefficient, have been used as a cure. Indeed, a remedy has scarcely been devised. To open new and suitable occupations to women, and secure for them fair wages, would, I believe, be an effectual mode of relief. But to bring about a favorable change, not only must more occupations be opened to women, but, as Mr. Walker says, "employments of an equally indispensable character with those of the other sex." Many persons would be surprised to find the large number of people employed in such occupations as pertain only to civilized life—such as could be dispensed with in an emergency; and the small number employed in such occupations as really furnish us with the necessaries of life. In the first class, aside from those engaged in domestic duties and labors, the majority of women are employed.

In the selection of a pursuit, it would be well to take into consideration what occupations are most likely to increase in this country. Those absolutely necessary for the preservation of life are permanent. Those essential to the health and comfort of mankind must be pursued by some. The steadiness of employment the year round should also be considered. Another item is the danger attending a trade, and the effects of the occupation on the health of the individual. A better compensation should be given to those prosecuting either a dangerous or unhealthy pursuit. There is at present more danger of women suffering from either an excess of work, or the entire want of it, than from any peculiarity pertaining to an occupation. A matter of some importance is the ability of an individual to furnish herself with the implements of a trade, goods for merchandizing, or the appurtenances of a profession, if she intends to conduct business on her own responsibility and at her own expense. If she has friends to advance her the money, she might perhaps make an arrangement to refund as she advances in business.

It is a matter of doubt with us whether the labors of women are on an average less laborious than those of men. That they are generally performed indoors, is not saying anything in their favor as regards health. If we include domestic employments, we cannot say they are neater on an average. They may be better adapted to the constitution of the female sex, but the question arises, Are those in which women now engage, except domestic duties, more congenial to their taste, more acceptable to their feelings, more likely to develop