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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ogy in the direction of his ideal. While the 

 difficulties in the way of quantitative esti- 

 mates of physiological phenomena are some- 

 times very great, that is no reason for relax- 

 ing efforts to overcome them, since in the 

 accomplishment of this lies the hope of per- 

 fecting the science. 



We have little space for special criticisms, 

 but we think the author would have done 

 better to leave some things to psychology, 

 which he includes in his work. For in- 

 stance (page G58), he speaks of pain as 

 " a third kind of sensation, unlike touch and 

 temperature." Now, there is a long-stand- 

 ing controversy as to this point whether 

 pleasure and pain are distinct sensations or 

 a quality of all sensations. Dr. M'Kendrick 

 ought to have seen that this question could 

 not be disposed of in a paragraph. Moreover, 

 he should have recognized that it is clear- 

 ly and peculiarly a psychological question. 

 To include such a statement as he makes in 

 a physiological work is certainly an error, 

 whether he be right or wrong. And the as- 

 sumption he makes is, besides, one which he 

 would have great difficulty in substantiating. 

 The likelihood is that pleasure and pain are 

 not distinct forms of sensation, but qualities 

 of all sensation whatsoever. 



Problems in American Society. By Joseph 

 H. Crooker. Boston : George H. Ellis. 

 Pp. 293. Price, $1.25. 



Six essays on moral and social problems 

 of the time constitute this volume. The first 

 is entitled " The Student in American Life," 

 and its key-note is contained in the words 

 "Americans are prone to ignore the vast 

 practical importance of cultivated men." 

 The second essay gives a sketch of the his- 

 tory of scientific charity, from the " Ham- 

 burg System " to the " Charity Organiza- 

 tion " system of England and America, em- 

 bodying many of the principles of this 

 method of diminishing poverty. " The Boot 

 of the Temperance Problem " is the subject 

 of the next paper. The author does not 

 think attacking the saloon-keeper is the way 

 to reach the root of drunkenness. On the 

 contrary, " true temperance methods," he 

 says, " are such as reach the reason, the 

 conscience, and the will of each individual." 

 There is an essay on " The Political Con- 

 science," which in many men is a coarser 



article than the private conscience. In re- 

 gard to " Moral and Beligious Instruction in 

 our Public Schools," the author maintains 

 that, " logically there is no stopping short 

 of a state religion, if religious instruction is 

 insisted upon in the public schools " ; and 

 in answer to the question, " Shall, then, our 

 public schools teach a formal moral code?" 

 he answers : " No ; rather let them possess a 

 moral atmosphere, derived from the person- 

 ality of the teacher." In the closing essay 

 he discusses the fact that many villages hav- 

 ing churches of half a dozen sects are almost 

 destitute of real religion. 



The Town-Dweller : His Needs and his 

 Wants. By J. Milner Fothergill, M. D. 

 With an Introduction by B. W. Bichard- 

 son, M. D., F. B. S. New York : D. Ap- 

 pleton & Co. Pp. 118. Price, $1. 



Two general reasons are given by Dr. 

 Fothergill for the dwellers in towns being 

 inferior physically to the inhabitants of the 

 country. First, a natural selection draws 

 the slight men of active brain from the 

 country into the towns ; and, second, the con- 

 ditions of life in the towns are hostile to 

 physical vigor. In successive chapters of 

 this book the dangers in these conditions of 

 city life are pointed out. The house of the 

 town-dweller may be built on a rubbish-heap, 

 and have smoky chimneys and dangerous 

 plumbing. His surroundings may include 

 noisy or ill-smelling premises, while street 

 noises afflict the best city neighborhoods. 

 The air he breathes lacks ozone, and is 

 charged with the oxides of carbon, sulphur 

 dioxide, and metallic fumes, and contains 

 often irritating dust. The water-supply of 

 towns is not always wholesome. The town- 

 dweller eats too much meat and white bread, 

 and he rejects fat, which shows that his di- 

 gestive organs are too weak to digest it. Too 

 much tea and alcoholic beverages are con- 

 sumed by town - dwellers, and the liquors 

 often contain substances more harmful than 

 alcohol. Most of the work of the town is 

 done indoors, and in a hot atmosphere, 

 which favors the handling of small objects. 

 Town amusements are also mostly carried on 

 indoors, and furnish little of the recreation 

 needed. The brain and nerves of the town- 

 dweller are unnaturally developed, while his 

 muscles and internal organs are proportion- 

 ately weakened. Blight's disease and dia- 



