364 The Journal of Heredity 



we may even observe the transition of different conclusions from those of Herr 



these tubercles into villose appendages. Gadow. In particular, he found that 



From these comparisons we must there- the organs contain both nerves and 



fore draw the conclusion that these nerve-terminations, " and that therefore 



appendages have arisen from tubercles ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^ „ 



of the skm, such as we find scattered a" . ^i . r " ■ r ^ 



over the skin of this species in other ^'^s,. ^^ ^^^ ^^/^^ function of these 



regions of the body and such as are Peculiar appendages, one can only 



recorded from other Ranidae. S^ess. Evolutionists will certainly hope 



' ' These hair-like appendages are there- for observations on living specimens, m 



fore to be considered as highly developed order that some light may be thrown 



tubercles of the skin." on the cause which called forth this 



Mr. Kiikenthal then had recourse to hair-like covering, so different from 



the microscope, and arrived at quite anything found on other frogs. 



NEW PUBLICATIONS 



Report of the Commission to investigate the extent of feeblemindedness, epilepsy and 

 insanity and other conditions of mental defectiveness in Michigan. Lansing, Mich., Wynkoop, 

 Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers, 1915. 



In 1913 the Michigan Legislature appointed a commission to make a survey of 

 the State and report on the amount of mental defect in the population. The 175 

 page report of this commission makes a startling document, although it is not to 

 be supposed that conditions are worse in Michigan than in most other states of the 

 Union. It is found that there are 7,703 insane in institutions, of whom probably 

 two-thirds owe their insanity to heredity, and that the various county infirmaries 

 and reform schools are crowded with people, many of whom are feebleminded. 

 Many of these are set at liberty each year, to reproduce their kind, and many 

 insane persons are similarly uncontrolled. The State laws prohibiting marriage 

 to these classes are not enforced, and the Michigan sterilization law is practically a 

 dead letter. A general reorganization of the method of caring for defectives in the 

 State is necessary; but as the commission points out, the first, cheapest and most 

 effective thing to do is to segregate at least the female defectives for life. 



Ins.\ne AND Feebleminded IN Institutions IN 1910. Department of Commerce, Bureau of 

 the Census. Washington, D. C, Government Printing Oflfice, 1914. 



Statistics in regard to the insane and feebleminded in the United States in 1910 

 have been published Ijy the Bureau of the Census, with an analysis by Joscjjh A. 

 Hill. It is re])orted that the nvimber of insane in institutions was 248,560, an 

 increase of 25.1% over the figures for 1904, while the general population of 

 the United States increased only 12% in that time. This indicates, in part, 

 that more insane are being segregated, rather than that insanity is increasing so 

 rapidly. A summary of laws relative to the care of the insane is presented. The 

 number of feebleminded in institutions was 33,969, l)ut there is reason to believe 

 that the number in the United States is well above 200,000, — effective institutional 

 segregation of the insane has gone far ahead of similar segregation for the feeble- 

 minded. Even of the small number of feebleminded who are in institutions, 

 40% are in almshouses. 



