64 The Dancing Mouse 



The results obtained by Kishi in his study of the ear of 

 the dancer differ in many important respects from those of' 

 all other investigators, but especially from those of Rawitz and 

 Alexander and Kreidl. 



Kishi's work was evidently done with admirable carefulness. 

 His methods in the preparation of his materials, so far as 

 can be judged from his report, were safe and satisfactory, 

 and his descriptions of results are minute and give evidence 

 of accuracy and conscientious thoughtfulness. The material 

 for his histological work he obtained from three different 

 animal dealers. It consisted of fifteen adult and nineteen 

 young dancers, and, as material for comparison, ten com- 

 mon gray mice. The animals were studied first biologically, 

 that their habits and behavior might be described accurately 

 and so far as possible accounted for in the light of whatever 

 histological results might be obtained subsequently; then 

 they were studied physiologically, that the functional impor- 

 tance of various organs which would naturally be supposed 

 to have to do with the peculiarities of the mouse might be 

 understood; and, finally, they were killed and their ears 

 and portions of their brains were studied microscopically, 

 that structural conditions for the biological and physiological 

 facts might be discovered. 



The ear, which was studied by the use of several series 

 of sections, as well as in gross dissections, is described by 

 Kishi under three headings : 



(1) The sound-receiving apparatus (auditory organs). 



(2) The static apparatus (equilibrational organs). 



(3) The sound-transmitting apparatus (ear drum, ear bones, 

 etc.). 



The chief results of his structural investigation may be stated 

 briefly under these three headings. In the sound-receiving 

 or auditory apparatus, Kishi failed to find the important 



