LITERARY JSTOTICES, 



559 



growth of the young mind " is the one thing 

 that seems especially given into the hands 

 of the parents, and it is treated by the au- 

 thor as a duty that should be peremptorily 

 observed from the very moment of birth. 

 The subject is handled in all its aspects as 

 by one who is well qualified to do it, and the 

 presentment, both in matter and manner, is 

 admirable. 



Lkctures on the Science and Art of 

 Education, with other Lectures. By 

 Joseph Payne. New York : E. L. Kel- 

 logg & Co. Pp. 2L6. Price, $1. 



Dn. Joseph Payne was for many years 

 a distinguished and most successful prac- 

 tical teacher in England, and, retiring from 

 his profession late in life, he continued to 

 devote himself to the subject with great 

 assiduity, and became at this period the 

 first Professor of the Science and Art of 

 Education in the College of Preceptors in 

 London. Dr. Payne was well versed in the 

 history of education, and familiar with the 

 most advanced methods of teaching, and the 

 lectures contained in this volume are the 

 ripe results of wide knowledge and critical 

 experience. The book is full of valuable 

 suggestions and wise practical observations, 

 and will be found very useful to inquiring 

 teachers. 



A History of Tuberculosis. By Eric E. 

 Sattler, M. D. Cincinnati : Robert 

 Clarke & Co.- Pp. 191. Price, $1.25. 



The first five chapters of this book con- 

 sist of a translation of the first part of a 

 work on " Studies of Tuberculosis," by Dr. 

 Arnold Spina, of Vienna, who is a vigor- 

 ous opponent of the theories of Koch. 

 These chapters present the results obtained 

 from long series of inoculation, inhalation, 

 and feeding experiments, the first of which 

 date back to 1789, bringing the history of 

 the subject up to March, 1882, when Robert 

 Koch published his investigations. In the 

 next chapter Dr. Sattler presents a review 

 of the steps by which Koch arrived at the 

 conclusion that tuberculosis is caused by a 

 specific micro-organism. Koch's announce- 

 ments set many investigators at work upon 

 tuberculosis and other diseases supposed to 

 be infectious, and many additional discov- 

 eries have been published. There are those 

 also who deny many of the discoveries 



claimed, and even the existence of the 

 Bacillus tuberculosis. After giving some 

 account of the controversy. Dr. Sattler says 

 in conclusion : " Whether Koch has been too 

 sanguine in the one direction, or Spina has 

 gone too far in the other, it is not for us to 

 decide. The great number of scientific men 

 engaged throughout the civilized world in 

 repeating these experiments, and in study- 

 ing their results, will soon sift out the 

 truth of the matter, and bring the question 

 to a final and authoritative decision.'' 



BiOGEN : A Speculation on the Origin and 

 Nature of Life. By Professor Elliot 

 CouES. Second edition. Boston: Estes 

 & Lauriat. Pp. 66. Price, 75 cents. 

 The substance of this disquisition was 

 delivered as a lecture before the Philosophi- 

 cal Society of Washington, and now appears 

 with the trimmings— dedication, mottoes, 

 I preface, introduction and appendix — form- 

 ' ing altogether a very lively little treatise 

 on biological mysticisms. Professor Coues 

 I seems to have got tired of working under 

 j the restraints of observation, analysis, and 

 j induction at the mere phenomena of life, 

 i as is the work-a-day habit of science, and 

 ! so he determined to break away and have 

 ' a spree of speculation, and see what might 

 come of it. He makes a rally for the re- 

 lief and rescue of the old but declining 

 doctrine of the " vital principle," or " vital 

 force," which he denominates " Biogen," and 

 which he insists is a thing, and a very real 

 thing, " possessed of sensible qualities and 

 attributes which may be investigated by 

 proper scientific methods, and by scientific 

 experimentation, quite as readily as any 

 other of the so-called 'imponderables' of 

 Nature. It is as open to examination as 

 luminiferous ether, and its properties if not 

 its substance may be studied as we may 

 study light, heat, or electricity ; it is there- 

 fore not only a proper object of science, but 

 a proper subject of philosophy." However 

 this may be, it is certaui that the doctrine of 

 the " vital principle " was made the most of 

 in times of ignorance before anything was 

 known of the laws of life. The " vital 

 principle " explained everything in the mid- 

 dle ages, and we observe that the publishers 

 of this brochure^ doubtless aware of the fit- 

 ness of things, have printed it in mediaeval 

 type. 



