SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



705 



considered. Prof. Shaler takes up the question, which has appeared only 

 in recent times, as to how far it is justifiable to inflict pain upon animals 

 for the benefit of man, and seeks to reconcile the opposing views on this 

 subject now current. He has something to say, also, on the general condi- 

 tions of domestication, which indicate the possible future of the art. The 

 volume is handsomely printed, and is bound and generously illustrated in 

 the style of the day. 



GENERAL NOTICES. 



THE lack of a trustworthy and complete 

 work on dietetics * has long been felt among 

 medical men in this country. The dietary 

 of a patient is of no small importance in his 

 treatment, and Dr. Thompson, appreciating 

 this fact, seems to have adequately supplied 

 the want referred to. Of the seventy odd 

 chemical elements, thirteen regularly enter 

 into the composition of the body, and ten 

 more are occasionally found. Although 

 these are comparatively few in number, their 

 molecular arrangement is very complex. In 

 Part I, after a study of these elements as 

 they occur in food, the different foods and 

 food preparations are taken up individually 

 and studied from the various standpoints of 

 the dietician : How much force can be ob- 

 tained from them, how much heat, are they 

 stimulating or depressing, are they difficult 

 or easy to digest? etc. In Part II, the 

 chemical composition of the common stim- 

 ulants, beverages, and condiments is given, 

 and then their effects upon body and mind 

 are considered when used in moderation 

 and in excess. The ultimate dangers which 

 their habitual ingestion may lead to in 

 the shape of permanent tissue change, and 

 the special diatheses which absolutely con- 

 traindicate their use, are dwelt upon at 

 some length. Cooking, the preservation of 

 food, and the quantity of food required, are 

 the topics dealt with in Part III. The 

 changes which cooking and the various 

 methods of preservation salting, smoking, 

 canning, etc. produce in the chemical com- 

 position and digestibility of the food stuffs 

 are studied carefully. This is one of the 

 most important departments of dietetics, and 

 yet one which is usually given little atten- 

 tion. Part IV deals with special dietaries 



* Practical Dietetics, with Special Reference 

 to Diet in Disease. By Oilman Thompson, M. D. 

 Pp. 802, 8vo. New York : D. Appleton & Co. 

 Price, cloth, $5 ; sheep, $8. 



VOL. XLVIII. 61 



for infancy, old age, diet and heredity, cli- 

 mate and season and food, body weight and 

 food, etc. The physiology of digestion, and 

 the conditions which specially affect it, are 

 next considered. The chapter on the gen- 

 eral relation of food to special diseases, and 

 the diseases which are caused by dietetic 

 errors, will prove of great value to the lay- 

 man as well as the physician. Administra- 

 tion of Food to the Sick, Part VII, is also full 

 of practical data for the nonmedical. Part 

 VIII, which consists of about three hundred 

 pages, and which forms the main portion of 

 the book, is devoted to diet in special dis- 

 eases. Each disease is first described in a 

 general way, and then the appropriate diet 

 for it worked out. This chapter is prefaced 

 by some general remarks regarding the care 

 of the sick-room and the patient. Many of 

 the suggestions seem matters of little impor- 

 tance, but it is these small details that are 

 most frequently disregarded, and that are 

 oftentimes the deciding features in the case. 

 Rations and dietaries are discussed in 

 Part IX, army and navy diets, diet in pris- 

 ons, in athletic training, the various diet 

 " cures," diet and occupation, artificial in- 

 fant foods, and sleep and food, being some 

 of the special topics. An appendix con- 

 taining receipts for the preparation of in- 

 valid foods and beverages, and the list of 

 illustrations, finish up the eight hundred and 

 two pages. Dr. Thompson's book should be 

 on every physician's table, and as a part of 

 the general household library it would not 

 be out of place. A large portion of it bear- 

 ing on hygienic questions, its possession 

 might oftentimes prevent the necessity for 

 calling a doctor, through the prevention of 

 unhygienic feeding and the long train of 

 ills which follow in its wake. 



We have already noticed the first two 

 half volumes of the noble work of the Pro- 



