72 Journal of Comparative Neurology. 



A general statement such as ' ' The paper displays a pain- 

 ful lack of discrimination " is only permissible v/hen accom- 

 panied by instances of such failure to discriminate. A charge 

 that "the author has failed to avail himself of the literature of 

 his subject " should point out some omissions of the sort de- 

 scribed. In a word, a critique must not appear to exist for the 

 sake of finding fault but for the sake of of correcting or refut- 

 ing error and must be absolutely impersonal. Even such a 

 statement as " the evidence for the author's position seems to 

 be insufificient, " harmless as it seems, were best either omitted 

 or followed by an explanation of the ambiguity or insufficiency. 

 If an author be charged with failure to make his point it is but 

 just that he should be shown where and how he has erred. 



8. It ought not to be necessary to insist that the reviewer 

 should be held responsible for a faithful effort to understand his 

 author. The author may ^e obscure but before he can be taxed 

 with this fault the reviewer must make a reasonable effort to 

 reach his point of view. Many long and profitless public dis- 

 cussions would have been prevented by a private correspond- 

 ence and such a course is to be recommended where at all pos- 

 sible. The use of the pages of a scientific periodical for pur- 

 poses which could better be served by personal enquiry is to be 

 deprecated. It is not claimed that the writer has lived up to 

 the principles here laid down but in so far as he has failed he 

 expresses contrition and only adds that, in order to attain the 

 ends above sought and to add dignity to the reviewer's posi- 

 tion, it is believed that all extended critiques should be signed 

 by the writer. 



C. L. Hkrrick. 



