418 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



continued experience in practice could en- 

 able the author to add. A new introduc- 

 tion has been written, and six new and care- 

 fully prepared chapters have been added, 

 while a part of the old work, considered 

 less essential, has been omitted. The vol- 

 ume contains a condensation of whatever 

 seems most worth preserving from the 

 world's literature on the subject, and much 

 that is original with the author, embody- 

 ing the results of his own studies for many 

 years, and having never before been given 

 to the public in a printed form. The trea- 

 tise begins with a discussion of the causa- 

 tion of hernia, in fetal and infantile life 

 and in adults, to which are added some re- 

 marks on its effects. Next are considered 

 its kinds and frequency; its anatomy, de- 

 scriptive and surgical, and strangulation. 

 The essential purpose of the work is devel- 

 oped in the fifth chapter, in which the op- 

 erations for hernia are considered generally ; 

 and the sixth, in which the author's own 

 method is described and explained. Under 

 the former head full justice is done to pre- 

 vious operators, all of whose methods that 

 seem to have merit are candidly and im- 

 partially described and estimated ; and ac- 

 knowledgment is given for what the author 

 has derived from them, particularly from 

 Ileaton's method, of which Dr. Warren's 

 is a modification and improvement. The 

 principle of Warren's method is the in- 

 jection of an astringent solution to induce 

 closure of the rings and canals, to produce 

 what is commonly called a radical cure. 

 This principle was suggested by Dr. Pan- 

 coast, of Philadelphia, extended and ap- 

 plied with much success by Dr. Heaton, 

 and was brought to a higher degree of per- 

 fection by a more complete adaptation of 

 the injecting instrument to the conditions 

 required by the delicate tissues operated 

 upon, and some modifications in the in- 

 jected fluid, by Dr. Warren. All of the 

 operations, from that of Chauliac to that 

 of Wood, are declared to be " severe, and 

 likely to be attended with great danger to 

 life, if not absolute loss of it." No such 

 arguments, Dr. Warren adds, "can be used 

 against the operation that I recommend, as 

 no fatal results have ever occurred in any 

 of the operations performed by the various 

 .surgeons who have undertaken them " ; and 



the only losses likely to occur, he intimates, 

 are from blunders and awkwardness. He 

 is particularly at pains to demonstrate that 

 no danger of peritonitis, so much feared by 

 physicians, is incurred in it. A great deal, 

 however, is acknowledged to depend on the 

 proper selection of cases to be operated 

 upon. Beaton's great success may be 

 largely ascribed to the disci imination he ex- 

 ercised in this matter, and we arc told that 

 " when speaking of his invariable success, 

 he was in the habit of giving me a peculiar 

 wise and knowing look of the eye, and he 

 would say that he cured all, or about all, 

 that he would operate on." The general 

 health of the patient has, of course, much 

 to do with the success of the operation, and 

 something depends on the kind of hernia. 

 The succeeding chapters to those on opera- 

 tions are devoted to the treatment of stran- 

 gulated hernia, kelotomy, or herniotomy, 

 "Artificial Anus and Wounds of the Intes- 

 tines," hydrocele and varicocele, some ob- 

 servations on trusses which might be made 

 of general application, copious accounts of 

 cases, an extensive bibliography, and a list 

 of operators. The work is presented by the 

 publishers in excellent shape, with the best 

 of paper and print, and an abundance of 

 clearly delineated illustrations. 



Proceedings of the Biological Society of 

 Washington. Vol. I. Washington : 

 Printed for the Society. (G. Brown 

 Goode, Secretary.) Pp. 110. 



This volume contains the constitution of 

 the society, the list of honorary, correspond- 

 ing, and active members, and the proceed- 

 ings from the first meeting, for organization, 

 November 19, 1880, to May 26,' 1882. In 

 addition are given in full the addresses de- 

 livered on the occasion of the Darwin Me- 

 morial Meeting, May 12, 1SS2, comprising 

 " The Doctrine of Darwin," by Theodore 

 Gill ; a " Biographical Sketch," by William 

 H. Dall ; " Darwin's Work in Entomology," 

 by Dr. Riley ; " Darwin as a Botanist," by 

 Lester P. Ward ; " Darwin on the Expres- 

 sion of the Emotions," by Frank Baker, M. 

 D. ; and " A Darwinian Bibliography," by 

 Frederick W. True. President Gill's inau- 

 gural address of 1881, on "The Proper Use 

 of the Term Biology," is also published in 

 full. 



