354 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



Thirdly. The same theory introduces unity into the entire sphere 

 of sensational phenomena. The whole of these phenomena are re- 

 duced to the simple principle of motion, as the invariable antecedent ; 

 this motion, as it exists in external nature, exciting a corresponding 

 action in the nerves, and then, through the nerve-force, affecting the 

 mind. Thus then we find, by the combined aid of physics and phys- 

 iology, (1) that man possesses a nervous system, pervaded by a force 

 which can pass freely from every point in the human system to the 

 centre, and from the centre to every point in the circumference ; 

 (2) that he is placed in a universe palpitating with countless millions 

 of vibrations, of which vibrations the nerves of the different sense- 

 organs are directly susceptible ; (3) that the whole connection which 

 the mind has, or can possibly have, with the external world, is formed 

 by the motion of the fluids around us, or the motion of the particles 

 of bodies that come into chemical contact with the nerves ; (4) that 

 the material universe, therefore, makes itself known to us entirely 

 through the medium of motion ; (5) that this motion expresses itself 

 in the nervous system by modifying the regular vital action which is 

 always going on there ; and (lastly) that this modification of the 

 nerve-force manif sts itself to our consciousness in the varied phenom- 

 enon of what we t^rm sensation. Thus the world communicates with 

 the consciousness wholly through motion as a link of connection, and 

 out of the experiences thus formed our whole intelligence is subse- 

 quently built up by the laws of mental development. 



PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES ON THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUC- 

 TION OF CATARACT. 



The following is an abstract of a paper read before the British As- 

 sociation, at its last meeting (1861), on the above subject, by Dr. 

 Richardson : 



Medical science, up to the present time, has been based almost 

 exclusively on the analytical method of research ; but recently physi- 

 ologists have added greatly to a knowledge of disease by attempts 

 to induce diseases in animals of an inferior order. This method has 

 been arranged and formularized by the author under the title Study 

 of Disease by Synthesis. Experimental researches on the artificial 

 production of disease have been instituted by Bernard, on diabetes ; 

 by Brown- Sequard, on epilepsy ; by Weir, Mitchell, Kunde, and the 

 author, on cataract ; and by the author on rheumatism and endocar- 

 ditis or inflammation of the heart. 



In this paper Dr. Richardson confined his observations to the syn- 

 thesis of cataract. He explained that Dr. Mitchell, in making some 

 experiments with frogs, had discovered that by the exposure of a frog 

 to simple syrup, cataract was the result. The author had repeated 

 and largely extended this inquiry, and had produced cataract in frogs 

 by various sugars and by salines. He had further ascertained that 

 the same results could be obtained in warm-blooded animals, and 

 had determined that any soluble crystallizable substance present in 

 the blood in such quantity as to raise the specific gravity above the 

 normal standard would produce the cataractic condition. Several 

 frogs were now exhibited by the author, showing induced cataract 



