LITERARY NOTICES. 



125 



in this book ; yet thirty-two species have 

 been found in America and one hundred and 

 ninety in Europe. Of these European spi- 

 ders one hundred and sixty-eight were pre- 

 served in amber. In the course of this vol- 

 ume the author has been brought in contact 

 with many of the modern problems of bi- 

 ology, lie has not taken sides in any con- 

 troversies, but the facts that he has recorded 

 concerning the araneads can not fail to 

 throw light on some of the matters in dis- 

 pute. His contributions to science, already 

 notable, are made much more so by this 

 splendid work ; and when it is remembered 

 that his observations have been made in the 

 moments that could be spared from a busy 

 professional life, his achievements excite 

 wonder as well as admiration. 



School Supervision. By T. L. Pickard, 

 LL. D. New York : D. Appleton & Co. 

 Pp. 175. Price, $1. 



Not only superintendents and teachers, 

 but all those concerned in the management of 

 children, will find helpful hints in this volume. 

 It is the outcome of twenty years of keen ob- 

 servation in the superintendency of schools, 

 such excellent oversight that Dr. Harris 

 writes of it, that "In the visits of inspec- 

 tion made to the principal cities of the coun- 

 try in the decade 1867 to 1876 . . . he found 

 no system to compare with that of Chicago 

 while under the supervision of Mr. Pickard." 

 The first subjects treated are the qualifica- 

 tions and duties of the superintendent in 

 the State, the county, and the city. The work 

 of the State Superintendent is largely ad- 

 visory ; he needs to be upright, broad- 

 minded, forcible, and judicial. The county 

 superintendent comes closer to the school- 

 room, while the city superintendent finds 

 his chief duty supervision of instruction. 

 The relation of the superintendent to pupil, 

 teacher, parent, and Board of Education is 

 considered in special chapters. In discuss- 

 ing courses of study, a vigorous argument 

 for the high school is given. The author 

 points out in the preface that his views of 

 promotions and examinations have changed 

 materially in later years. " Examinations 

 appear too frequently as the end of school- 

 work rather than as a means to an end. So 

 prominent has been the error, and so ruin- 

 ous its acceptance, that wise men are tend- 



ing to an opposite extreme." Other impor- 

 tant topics which receive attention are physi- 

 cal training, moral training, and government 

 of pupils. 



Two obstacles to the progress of the pub- 

 lic schools are noted : " 1. The large propor- 

 tion of inexperienced teachers employed. 2. 

 The lack of professional spirit." About 

 twenty-two per cent of new teachers are re- 

 quired annually. The majority are women 

 who make teaching a temporary matter 

 rather than a life-work. To effect a change 

 the superintendent must meet the old theory 

 that " ' competition determines wages,' with 

 the newer theory that salary is attached to 

 place and not to person, and, where places 

 are vacant, the most competent persons avail- 

 able should be called to fill them without 

 regard to sex." Professional schools are 

 needed as well as advancement in normal 

 schools. Among the means suggested for 

 the improvement of teachers are teachers' 

 meetings, the use of good periodicals, and 

 " lines of study outside of school-work," 

 such as scientific societies and summer 

 schools afford. The book contains besides 

 an index two appendices one in which a 

 strong plea is made for moral influence in 

 the school, and another devoted to a study 

 of boys. 



Hypnotism. By Albert Moll. The Con- 

 temporary Science Series. New York : 

 Scribner & Welford. Pp. 410. Price, 

 $1.25. 



While this subject is doubtless still in 

 its infancy, it has already engaged the efforts 

 of so many and so able investigators, and 

 has aroused such a wide popular interest, 

 that no list of books on the science of the 

 time would be complete without a treatise 

 upon it. Dr. Moll's book is a survey of the 

 whole subject, adapted to the general reader. 

 The author passes over the history of hyp- 

 notism very briefly. His method of giving 

 the reader an idea of the phenomena of 

 hypnotism is by relating several experi- 

 ments, and this leads to a short considera- 

 tion of the methods of inducing hypnosis, 

 who can be hypnotized, and what distinct 

 stages of hypnosis there are. On this last 

 point Moll accepts provisionally a classifica- 

 tion lately published by Max Dessoir, divid- 

 ing the states into two large groups, which 



