758 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1883. 



IV. — PSYCHOLOGY. 



The last part of the human economy to yield to scientific treatment 

 is the mind, or spiritual nature. Indeed it may fairly be said that no 

 scientific society has yet taken up the study of mind as it has the study 

 of objective phenomena. It was a long time before anthropology was 

 divorced from mere biography of individuals and historic annals, which 

 are mostly only biographies of peoples. Those who study the animals 

 in order to spell out the hieroglyphics of human evolution are wont to 

 take the extraordinary, spasmodic, and inexplicable actions of pets and 

 trained animals as their illustrations. The same method would not 

 hold in natural history. G. J. Romanes is almost alone in giving to the 

 subject a careful consideration, though it may be from the point of 

 view of a special pleader. 



The relation of brain weight, texture, convolutions, and, we might 

 add, the circulation of blood therein, to thinking as to its quality and 

 amount — that is the field of true psychologic study, which may be prose- 

 cuted by profound examination of single individuals or by the com- 

 bined exertion of thousands of observers. To this topic already much 

 attention has been paid. 



M. Alix has paid some attention to dreams, a subject of the greatest 

 promise if rightly considered. 



Cranio-cerebral topography is still a living question with many anat- 

 omists, and quite a showing of papers appears in the accompanying 

 bibliography. 



The question of the nature of consciousness and personality must al- 

 ways be one of tbe highest interest. Baussiere, Cleland, and others 

 have bestowed much attention upon it. 



Several journals have sprung into existence devoted to a comparative 

 study of mind. The American Naturalist has added a department of 

 psychology. The Society of Psychical Research was organized in London 

 during the year, and publishes a quarterly journal, entitled " Proceed- 

 ings." Prof. Henry Sidgwick was the first president. The subjects con- 

 sidered were thought-reading, thought-transference, haunted houses, 

 clairvoyance, mesmerism, muscle reading, insanity, dreaming, and the 

 divining rod. The Archivio di Psichiatria, &c, has reached its fourth 

 volume. 



V. — ETHNOGRAPHY. 



Among the ethnologic works of a comprehensive character that of A. 

 H. Keane, of Oxford, stands pre-eminent. Taking advantage of von Hell- 

 wald and the older ethnographers, his purpose is to arrive at an accu- 

 rate analysis of the races of men by a careful scrutiny of the tribes. 

 Richard Andree is the author of an illustrated monograph on ethno- 

 graphic comparisons and parallels. 



In special ethnography much good work is done. F. Boas is the 



