856 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



which our forefathers found abundant along 

 the Atlantic coast, from Newfoundland to 

 Florida. It is the one which was first hunted 

 by the Cape Cod and Nantucket whalers ; 

 and is not the one now and latterly cap- 

 tured in the Arctic seas." Facilities have 

 been given for the study of the animal by 

 the existence of five skeletons in America 

 and Europe, and by the capture of an adult 

 specimen in 1S82 off the New Jersey coast. 

 To the results of the author's studies of the 

 American specimens are added criticisms of 

 previous accounts of the right whale, and a 

 summary of historical mentions relating to 

 the present and allied species. Some of 

 Dr. Holder's conclusions have been disputed 

 by Mr. J. A. Allen. 



Saxon Tithing-Men in America. By Her- 

 bert B. Adams, Ph. D. Baltimore: 

 Johns Hopkins University (" Studies in 

 Historical and Political Science "). Pp. 

 23. Price, 25 cents. 



The tithing-man's duties in Massachu- 

 setts and Plymouth colonies were very much 

 like those of the constable, and, though he 

 was preceded by officers of that name in 

 New England, he was a far more ancient 

 officer than the constable in the old coun- 

 try. While the constable had the care of 

 public order, the tithing-man's duties were 

 rather connected with the preservation of 

 order and morals in families. Originally 

 one was appointed for every ten families. 

 Dr. Adams follows his account of the func- 

 tions of the New England tithing-man with 

 a review of the history of the office, which 

 he traces back to the Saxon rule in England. 



Medical Economy during the Middle Ages. 

 By George F. Fort. New York : J. \V. 

 Bouton. Pp. 488. 



The author styles his work " A Contri- 

 bution to the History of European Morals, 

 from the Time of the Roman Empire to the 

 Close of the Fourteenth Century." Its gen- 

 eral purpose is stated to be that of an his- 

 torical inquiry into the practical effect upon 

 social life throughout the period traversed, 

 of that singular credence which involved 

 preternatural agencies. This belief appears 

 to have been particularly general and con- 

 trolling in respect to matters appertaining 

 to the preservation and restoration of bodily 

 vigor. Superstition seems to have reigned 



supreme down to the time of Charlemagne. 

 From that epoch the slow growth of better 

 ideas and a more intelligent practice may 

 be traced, beginning with the schools fos- 

 tered by that enlightened ruler, and the 

 scholars he called around him. The scope 

 of Mr. Fort's work includes the condition of 

 medical art under the Roman emperors to 

 Galen's time ; the influence of the Alexan- 

 drine schools in producing a regular system 

 of magic cures, and the progress of the 

 magic system as a moralistic episode of the 

 middle ages, concurrent with ancient medi- 

 cal text-books in the cloisters ; the gradual 

 development of the science, aided by Arabic 

 erudition at the Italian universities ; and the 

 bloom of alchemy and astrology. Among 

 special features receiving attention are the 

 curative powers ascribed to gems, incan- 

 tations, etc., the manner of dealing with 

 abandoned women, and the status of physi- 

 cians, of both sexes, at different epochs. 



A Dictionary of Practical Medicine. By 

 Various Writers, edited by Richard 

 Quain, M. D., F. R. S. Fourth edition. 

 New Xork : D. Appleton & Co. In one 

 large 8vo vol. By 1,834, with 138 il- 

 lustrations. Price, $8. 

 This work, which has engaged the edi- 

 torial labors of Dr. Quain for several years, 

 is a single octavo volume of some eighteen 

 hundred pages. No dictionary of medicine 

 so compendious, and at the same time so 

 authoritative, has yet appeared in any lan- 

 guage. One hundred and sixty writers con- 

 tribute an immense number of articles, va- 

 rying in length from a column or less to 

 thirty pages. Each contributor " volunteered 

 or was invited to write on a subject with 

 which he was specially familiar " ; and the 

 list of authors is as representative of the 

 best literature of the profession in England, 

 Ireland, and Scotland, as any that could 

 have been framed. If the name of a dis- 

 tinguished authority is missed here and there, 

 this is only the inevitable result of there 

 being other and sometimes younger men, 

 equally qualified and more conveniently situ- 

 ated for the particular purpose. Dr. Quain's 

 editorial resources have been, indeed, of the 

 amplest kind; he has marshaled an array 

 of professional talent which is not only 

 creditable to the position of the editor 

 among his colleagues, but creditable like- 



