March 1, 1887.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



117 



to know what is the value of the discovery to me for 

 publication. The angle can be trisected geometrically in 

 hundreds of ways. In my " Cieometry of the Cycloidal 

 Curves " there is a trisection. The difficulty is to trisect 

 the angle by a method which shall involve the use only of 

 the line and circle — that is, ruler and compasses. Supposing 

 Mr. Brown had managed this, which is equivalent to sup- 

 posing that he had discovered a way of making steel rails 

 out of cheese-cakes, the discovery would be worth a sum 

 which may fairly be represented bv .r sovereigns, where x is 

 the root of the equation, x' + (1,000)- = 0. 

 * * * 

 The following words of a letter I have just received 

 from a friend in London, who kindly sifts out all Know- 

 ledge correspondence, and forwards to me only what is 

 worth forwarding, may save a certain class of correspondents 

 trouble : 



Some kind correspondents are solicitous about your soul, and add 

 to the store of tlie waste-paper basket. 



i\Iy friend evidently shares my opinion that any one who 

 imagines it his duty to turn from the culture of his own 

 soul-business to inquire into the soul-busine.ss of others, is 

 necessarily what tlie profane call a humbug, and probably a 

 hypocrite. 



J\fblftU£f. 



The Functions of the Brain. By David Ferhier, M.D. 

 (London : Smith, Elder, & Co. 1886.) — Dr. Ferrier's work 

 on the functions of the brain is already a classic on the 

 subject with which it deals. This second edition has been 

 largely rewritten, and much new matter has been added, 

 bringing the book up to date in every particular. The 

 larger portion consists, as before, of Dr. Ferrier's own ex- 

 perimental investigations into the localisation of faculty in 

 the various regions of the brain ; but these are expanded 

 into a systematic exposition of the entire subject by the 

 addition of much recent physiological and pathological 

 material. As yet, our knowledge in this du-ection is of the 

 inchoate sort which, for the most part, interests specialists 

 alone ; the results are still few and hazy ; the faculties 

 locali.sed are vague and psychologically unimportant ; and 

 only students of nervous phenomena are likely to wade 

 through the long details of Dr. Ferrier's operations on dogs 

 and monkeys. The electrisation of portions of the hemi- 

 sphere was followed, as a rule, by special movements of the 

 limbs or other relatively uninteresting motions. Cerebral 

 topography, in fact, must reach far higher planes than this 

 before it becomes a matter of popular study. The results 

 so far are immensely valu;\ble, but valuable as first indica- 

 tions only. We shall have still to wait a long time before 

 we get a real knowledge of the way the brain works and the 

 parts performed by its several portions. 



Modern Jletkoch of lUustratini) Books. (Elliot Stock.) — 

 This book is the latest addition to " The Book Lover's 

 Library," edited by Henry B. Wheatley, and although the 

 title-page does not bear any author's name, Mr. H. Trueman 

 Wood's name appears on the cover, and he ia presumably 

 mainly respon.sible for the contents. In the preface he says 

 that he has endeavoured to avoid technical details except 

 such as were necessary to make descriptions intelligible, and, 

 with a view to help those who may require fuller or more 

 special information, he has added in an Appendix a list of a 

 few works where the best information can bs obtained. 

 Much valu.able and intere.sting information is given as to 

 various methods of illustrating books, but the main interest 



of the work is in the description given of some of the many 

 modern " processes " which are now so much in vogue, some 

 of which bid fair to supersede wood-engraving for certain 

 purposes. The information given as to the methods pursued 

 by the inventors of these various proce.sses is necessarily 

 limited, as they are mostly worked in secret, but the 

 whole of the work is very interesting to those engaged in 

 the production of books, whether as authors, printers, or 

 publishers. 



IlazdVs Annual Cyclopwdia, 1887, containing nearly 2,000 

 Concise and Explanatory Articles, on every Topic of Current 

 Political, Social, and General Interest referred to by the 

 Press and in Daily Conversation. Edited by E. D. Price, 

 F.G.S. Ptevised to February 7, 1887. Price 3s. Gd. 

 (Hazell.) — We give the title of this book in full in order 

 that we may say at once that the contents fully justify it. 

 There is scarcely any subject of current interest that we 

 have not found mentioned, and, judging from those subjects 

 on which we presume to be competent to speak, we must 

 say that the details given are exceedingly accurate. We 

 cannot speak too highly of the general conception and 

 execution of the work, and shall now look upon it as an 

 indispensable supplement to the indispensable " Whitaker." 

 To illustrate this we will take some subjects at random, on 

 all of which in " Hazell " are given very u.seful information, 

 but on none of which can we get any help from " Whitaker" : 

 viz., Kyrle Society, Socialism, Bi-metallisin, Jezreelites, Tithes, 

 ^'oms de Plume, Noms de Theatre, Society for Psychical 

 Research. One of the most interesting features is the series 

 of short biographies of living celebrities, both EnglLsh and 

 foreign; but the most useful articles, we think, are those 

 devoted to subjects of current interest, but which are fre- 

 quently those on which the generality of the public have 

 little accurate information. We may quote as illustrations 

 the articles on Socialism, Tithes, and Bi-metallism, men- 

 tioned above. 



The World of Thought. A Novel. By the Author of 

 " Before I BEf;.\x to Speak." (London : Simpkin, Mar- 

 shall, ct Co.) — Landon Deecroft. A Socialistic Novel. By 

 Laox Ramsey. (London : William Reeves.) — We have 

 classed these two books together as, probabl}', two of the 

 worst novels it was ever our misfortune to be compelled 

 to wade through. Wide as the poles asunder in some 

 respects, they have this in common, that they are written in 

 the most bombastic and inflated language possible, and the 

 ordinary elements of human interest, incident, surprise, or 

 plot are practically absent in both. 



As Mr. Landon Deecroft is a Socialist, who wears " his 

 black hair combed back over a finely-shaped head" (who 

 does not recognise the blatant platform speaker with his hair 

 combed back '.'), it is not surprising that he rants tlirough 

 whole pages and chapters of the book. Of course, this 

 Socialist is a kind of angel on earth, while his partner, poor 

 man, who has only worked and saved money, is exhibited as 

 a mean and contemptible creature, because, apparently, he 

 has an objection to lend his capital without interest. These 

 who can keep awake over the stilted maundering of Landon 

 Deecroft, Annie Binham & Co. (we confess, in the most 

 sacred confidence, that we could vot}i, may learn how mar- 

 vellously ]Slr. Deecroft's Communistic farm succeeded — on 

 paper — in one of the Northern States of America. 



In what grade of society the author of " Before I Began to 

 Speak " has moved it would be exceedingly difficult to deter- 

 mine, so uncommonly vague are his ideas of the manners and 

 customs of English ladies and gentlemen. We wonder who 

 told him that a guest specially invited teahouse to meet and 

 thank a sick man could or would ever send up his card to 

 him ! Or, again, in what social rank it would be tolerated 

 that people should break ofl' a conversation to produce pocket- 



