1899] INHIBITED 361 



He then fully describes his experiments, and thus summarises the results : — 



" The length of time which the fields normally remain in consciousness was 

 increased by direct will power. Efforts to decrease the number of changes of 

 the fields in a given time were unsuccessful. With the so-called pure will 

 efforts there were in every case accompanying eye movements. Elimination of 

 the eye movements decreased the ability to hold either of the fields. The in- 

 troduction of conscious eye movements was accompanied by a lengthening of 

 the time of the field whose lines served as the guide for the movement. Count- 

 ing the lines upon either field increased the length of time that field remained 

 in consciousness. Figures which induced the greatest eye movement remained 

 longest in consciousness. The lines of a moving field remained in consciousness 

 nearly all the time, but did not inhibit the normal rivalry of the two fields. 

 Contraction of the right side or of the left side of the body had the same effect 

 upon the rivalry, viz., increased the time which the field before the right eye 

 was seen. Coloured borders did not affect the rivalry. Of two fields of different 

 sizes, the smaller remained longer in consciousness. Under different conditions 

 adjacent parts of the retinae showed different rates of rivalry at the same time. 

 Increase in the intensity of the light stimulus caused an increase in the rate of 

 the changes, while the ratio of the phases of the rivalry was normal and con- 

 stant. Of two unequally lighted fields, the lighter remained longer in conscious- 

 ness. After-images showed the same phenomenon of rivalry ; but the changes 

 occurred at a slower rate than in the case of direct stimulation. When both 

 fields were of the same colour the rivalry of the two sets of lines was not affected. 

 Different stimuli falling upon the same area of the retina of one eye produced 

 the phenomenon of rivalry. 



He then treats of the " inhibition of motor reactions " and concludes by an 

 endeavour to apply his results to education. He advocates strongly motor 

 training. His most pertinent criticism of our prevalent methods of school 

 education is the following : — " We imprison the child for hours each clay in 

 his seat ; meantime we try to teach him to think without giving him a chance 

 to react." 



" From the point of view to which this work leads, the value of manual train- 

 ing for the development of the mind — i.e., as a culture study — finds its basis in 

 the very nature of consciousness. Here we find an explanation of the fact 

 that the boy who gains the ability to perform bodily adjustments in a de- 

 cided, accurate and rapid manner is better able to think accurately and clearly, 

 and why a hesitating and inaffective bodily reaction is the accompaniment of 

 a weakened or confused state of mind." T. S. Clouston. 



A LOYAL DARWINIAN. 



Darwinism and Lamarckism, Old and New. Four Lectures. By Frederick 

 Wollaston Hutton, F.R.S., etc. 8vo, pp. x. + 169. London : Duck- 

 worth & Co., 1899. Price 3s. 6d. net. 



Captain Hutton's " excuse for adding to the already voluminous literature 

 on Darwinism is that the subject is always advancing, and that the interest 

 attached to it is not confined to naturalists, but enters into everyday life. It 

 is, indeed, intimately connected with our systems of theology, for it forms one 

 of the foundations — perhaps the corner stone — of Natural Religion. It is 

 therefore important that a knowledge of the theory should be widely spread ; 

 and any attempt to convey that knowledge in simple language can hardly fail 

 to do good, provided it be sufficiently clear to be understood at the first reading, 

 and sufficiently short to discourage skipping." 



But a new contribution to a subject so much over- written as this may 

 perhaps be expected to justify itself by some particular Cjuality, such as novelty 

 of treatment, freshness of ideas, precision of statement, or up-to-dateness ; but 



