Literary Notices. 207 



Although the paper yields no definite results so far as our knowl- 

 edge of the nature of the nerve impulse is concerned, it contributes 

 several curiously interesting facts, and a few analogies of problematic 

 value. R. M. Y. 



Lillie, Ralph S. The Relation of Ions to Ciliary Movement. Amer. Jour. 

 Physiol., Vol. lO, pp. 419-443, 1904. 



Gowers, William R. Subjective Sensations of Sight and Sound, Abiotrophy, 

 and other Lectures. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston' s Sons vSt" Co., 1904. 



This is a collection of lectures mostly published before, but well 

 worth having united in book-form, and carefully revised. 



The lecture on subjective visual sensations limits itself largely to 

 the conditions in migraine, epilepsy ; the one on subjective sensations 

 of sound to the various forms of tinnitus. As such they form an in- 

 teresting supplement to any chapter of hallucinations. A note (p. 90- 

 95) is a plea to change the accepted form of designating musical notes 

 as C, C2 C2 C C' C C^ C C^ C*, which gives the "neutral C" to the mid- 

 dle C between the bass and treble staves, and has some mnemotechni- 

 cal advantages concerning the number of vibrations (C3=33; Ca=66; 

 further C the first number with four figures, i. e. 1065, and C*=42 24). 



The lecture on Abiotrophy ; (diseases from defect of life) intro- 

 duces a new term for deficiency of vitality of special tissues and parts 

 of tissues: skin, baldness, muscles, nervous system, etc., and the sup- 

 plementary interstitial overgrowth, either as deficent constitutional 

 endowment, or as such defect brought on through toxic and toxinic 

 factors with selective degenerations. Leture IV, on Myopathy and a 

 Distal Form, deals with an important type of this group. 



The remaining lectures, on Metallic Poisoning, Syphilitic Dis- 

 eases of the Nervous System, Inevitable Failure (a study of syphilitic 

 arterial disease), Syringal Haemorrhage into the Spinal Cord, Myas- 

 thenia and Ophthalmoplegia, and the use of drugs, are probably of 

 more exclusively medical interest. 



It is to be regretted that the "Dynamics of Life" are not included 

 in this collection. A. M. 



Bourneville. Recherches et Therapeutiques sur L'Epilepsie, L'Hysterie et 

 L'Idiotie. Vol. 23, Paris, Filix Alcan, 1903. 



This Annual Report of the Institution at Paris is followed as usual 

 by the study of a number of cases : The Mongolian type (with histo- 

 logical examination of two brains); the role of alcoholism in the pro- 

 duction of idiocy, etc. This is the 23d Volume of a very creditable 

 series. A. m. 



