yo6 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



erence to its relations with British specula- 

 tion. Besides the general editor, several 

 eminent scholars and teachers have been 

 invited to prepare particular volumes of the 

 series. The prominence of Kant among 

 modern philosophers and the general merits 

 of his work make it eminently fitting that 

 he be given the first place in the series. His 

 thoughts certainly deserve and need to be 

 set forth in a shape in which they may be 

 accessible and intelligible to the average of 

 thinking readers. Professor Morris has un- 

 dertaken this task in the face, he acknowl- 

 edges, of considerable difficulties, among 

 which are that " Kant's work marks and 

 conspicuously illustrates a stadium of tran- 

 sition in the history of modern thought," 

 that " it is far more eminently the story of 

 a process of inquiry and demonstration than 

 a didactic exposition of finished results," 

 and that "Kant's intellectual attitude, in 

 some of its most essential aspects, remains, 

 to the end, thoroughly confused." 



The Psychology op the Salem Witch- 

 craft of 1692, and its Practical Ap- 

 plication to our own Time. By George 

 M. Beard, A. M., M. D. New York : G. 

 P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 112. Price, $1. 



Dr. Beard's essay has less immediate 

 bearing on the Salem witchcraft than on 

 the case of a murderer who was recently 

 executed at Washington. The witchcraft 

 excitement of 1692 is used as a pivot on 

 which to hang a plea in behalf of the mur- 

 derer. The people of New England were 

 under a delusion when they tried and hung 

 the Salem witches ; so, it is argued, we have 

 been under a terrible delusion in trying and 

 hanging the murderer of our President. 



Geological Sketches at Home and Abroad. 

 By Archibald Geikie, LL. D., F. R. S. 

 New York : Macmillan & Co. Pp. 335. 

 Price, $1.75. 



Professor Geikie is a very sound geolo- 

 gist, but we are inclined to think he is more 

 at home in the work of exploration than in 

 that of essay-writing. The papers of this 

 collection are all good and solid, and will 

 interest those already instructed in its line 

 of topics, but they have not a large share 

 of the quality which will attract general 

 readers. 



Unscientific Treatment of the Insane. 

 In his paper on " Insanity in its Relations 

 to the Medical Profession and Lunatic Hos- 

 pitals," Dr. Nathan Allen points out several 

 serious defects in the management of our 

 hospitals for the insane. The first of his 

 objections is to the separation of the ex- 

 perts from the medical profession and the 

 placing of the study of insanity and the 

 care of the insane so exclusively in their 

 hands. A second fault is in the erection of 

 so large and expensive buildings, by which 

 a multitude of difficulties, avoidable in the 

 multiplication of smaller establishments, are 

 encountered. The system itself, moreover, is 

 wrong, in that it aggregates such large masses 

 N of diseased persons ; and it violates sanitary 

 laws by bringing the diseased in contact 

 with each other, to infect each other with 

 the most infectious of all disorders those 

 of the mind. A fifth objection is that the 

 magnitude of the congregations precludes the 

 employment of the highest order of sanitary 

 agencies for the health and improvement of 

 the patients. Finally, it is objected that 

 the present system tends directly to confine 

 the knowledge and treatment of insanity 

 to a few individuals. Add to this that no 

 plans are devised or means employed to 

 prevent insanity, and we have abundant 

 reason, Dr. Allen thinks, to revise our sys- 

 tem. 



PUBLICATIONS EECEIVED. 



The Prehistoric Architecture of America. By 

 Stephen D. Peet. Reprint from the " American 

 Antiquarian." Pp. 16. 



The Prevention of Yellow Fever. By Pro- 

 fessor Stanford E. Chaille, M. D. New Orleans : 

 L. Graham & Son, Printers. 1882. Pp. 22. 



The Culture and Management of our Forests. 

 By H. W. S. Cleveland. Springfield, 111.: H. W. 

 Rokker, printer. 1882. Pp. 16. 



Tenth Census of the United States. Forestry 

 Bulletins Nos. 1 to 16. With Special Refere/ice 

 to the Lumber Industry. December, 1881. 



The Fiftv-eighth Annual Report of 'he Offi- 

 cers of the Retreat for the Insane of Hartford, 

 Connecticut. Hartford. 1882. Pp. 35. 



Consumption: Its Causes. Prevention, and 

 Hygienic Management. By W. H. Smith, M.D., 

 Ph. D. St. Clair, Michigan. Pp. It. 



Report on Surgery. By W. O. Roberts, M. D. 

 Reprint from the " American Practitioner," Lou- 

 isville. 1882. Pp.16. 



Socialism and Christianity. By H. Cheroung. 

 Printed by the Author. New York. 18S2. Pp. 

 42. 15 cents. 



Account of Field Experiments wi(h Ferti- 

 lizers. By Professor W. O. Atwater. From the 

 Report of the Connecticut Board of Agriculture. 

 1881. Pp.25. 



