LITERARY NOTICES. 



129 



be allowed to languish for the want of a 

 little support at a critical period. 



Admirable papers on subjects connected 

 with Lcpidoptera are either in hand or prom- 

 ised by their authors for the present volume. 

 Each monthly part contains from eighteen to 

 twenty-five pages, and at least four colored 

 plates will be given during the year. For 

 its aims, value of its articles, and general 

 appearance, " Papilio " is one of the cheap- 

 est scientific publications in the world, and 

 its directors promise that nothing shall here- 

 after be wanting on their part to maintain 

 it in the high position to which it aspires. 



A Practical Treatise ox Diseases of the 

 Skin. By Louis A. Duhring, M. D., 

 Professor in the Hospital of the Uni- 

 versity of Pennsylvania. Third edition, 

 revised and enlarged. Philadelphia: J. 

 B. Lippincott & Co. Pp. 685. Price, 

 $6. 



This is a competent and comprehensive 

 work that admirably fulfills the aim with 

 which the author says he set out, " to write 

 a concise and practical treatise, one which, 

 while making no pretensions to being ex- 

 haustive, should comprise sufficient to afford 

 a clear insight into the elements of derma- 

 tology, and a knowledge of the important 

 facts in connection with each disease treated 

 of." Simplicity and intelligibility have been 

 primarily sought, and therefore questions of 

 theory, discussions of unsettled points, and 

 obsolete terms have been avoided. The 

 classification of Hebra has been adopted, 

 with some changes and modifications. The 

 definitions of the diseases have been made 

 from the clinical stand-point, with a view to 

 giving them practical value, and to having 

 them embody succinct descriptions of char- 

 acteristic symptoms. In the matter of treat- 

 ment, the methods favorably regarded by 

 dermatologists at large have been mentioned, 

 and the author has furthermore taken the 

 pains to describe the remedies and mode of 

 treatment which have proved of the greatest 

 benefit in his own experience. The work 

 was considerably enlarged in the second edi- 

 tion, with many additions and new chapters, 

 and was entirely rewritten to meet the re- 

 markable progress which had been made in 

 the science of dermatology during the five 

 years since the first edition was published, 

 in 1876. Then, in a little more than an- 

 vol. xxiii. 9 



other year, a critical revision was called for, 

 with a rewriting and elaboration of the 

 chapter on the anatomy and physiology of 

 the skin, for the sake of incorporating the 

 later results of the studies in microscopic 

 anatomy. Advantage was taken of the re- 

 vision to introduce additional cases illustrat- 

 ing rare forms of disease, and new and im- 

 portant observations and personal experi- 

 ences. The method and arrangement of the 

 treatise deserve commendation. The gen- 

 eral considerations of the subject are given 

 in the first part under the headings " Anat- 

 omy and Physiology," "Symptomatology," 

 "Etiology," "Pathology," "Diagnosis," 

 "Treatment," "Prognosis," and "Classifi- 

 cation." The second part is devoted to the 

 account of special diseases, which are classi- 

 fied as " Disorders of Secretion," " Hyper- 

 aemias," " Inflammations," " Haemorrhages," 

 " Hypertrophies," " Atrophies," " New 

 Growths," " Neuroses," and " Parasites." 

 In connection with each disease are given 

 its synonyms, a general description in a sen- 

 tence, its symptoms, diagnosis, etiology, 

 pathology, prognosis, treatment, and, when 

 proper, illustrations. The curious facts are 

 brought out by the author that skin-diseases 

 manifest variations of type in different 

 parts of the world ; that the differences are 

 quite material between the United States 

 and Europe ; and that the diseases met 

 with here resemble more closely those of 

 Great Britain than those of cither France 

 or Germany. These facts give the work the 

 more value as an American treatise describ- 

 ing American types of disease. 



A Dictionary of Electricity; or, The 

 Electrician's Hand-Book. By Henry 

 Greer. 1883. Pp. 192. Price, $2. To 

 be obtained of the author, College of 

 Electrical Engineering, 122 East Twenty- 

 sixth Street. 



The Storage of Electricity. Bv the same. 

 18S3. Price, $1. 



Mr. Greer hopes, in the preface to his 

 dictionary, that " the explanations may meet 

 the wants of students and others engaged 

 in these professions" (electrical and tele- 

 graph engineering), and it may be presumed 

 that such was his object in preparing it ; but 

 had he been attempting instead to crowd 

 the greatest amount of rubbish possible 

 into the least space, he would have had no 



