!24 



NATURE 



[November 21; 1918 



ELECTRICITY AND HEALTH. 

 Studies in Electro-pathology. By Temp. .Major 

 A. While- Robertson. Illustrated. Pp. \iii + 

 304. (London : George Routledge and Sons, 

 Ltd., 1918.) Price I2.v. 6d. net. 



'TMllS book begins with the thesis thai civilisa- 

 *■ tion is a mistake be< ause it is a negation ol 

 the "wild," the law of which is "Thou shall be 

 fit or thou shah die." But we are justified in 

 asking, Whal is "fitness"? The author appears 

 to have left the development of the brain alto- 

 gether out of consideration. Do music and paint- 

 ing count for nothing? The statement is made 

 that "suffering has come with the law of the arti- 

 ficial "-—-thai is. the civilised. If we arc to accept 

 this we must hold that all existences prior to 

 civilisation were devoid of consciousness. Disease 

 is certainly not absent from wild animals or men, 

 and when the author says that it has increased 

 enormously owing to civilisation, we must 

 remember that the conditions producing it can and 

 must be done away with, and this without abolish- 

 ing civilisation itself. Moreover, is not the increase 

 spoken of apparent merely and due to improved 

 means of detection? It may be doubted whether 

 the physician is the best judge as to the extent of 

 the increase. 



The conclusion of the book is that we must go 

 back to the "law of the wild." How? By living 

 in accordance with the theories of the essentially 

 electrical nature of all physiological and patho- 

 logical phenomena familiar to some of us in con- 

 nection with the name of Mr. A. E. Baines. The 

 effects of light are now added on account of their 

 electrical nature. It is I rue that in the far distant 

 future all phenomena may possibly be explained on 

 the basis of the electrical structure of the atom; 

 but no man living can do this, and the author's 

 attempt can only be described as premature, a 

 fact for which he cannot be held responsible. The 

 book shows an extensive acquaintance with litera- 

 ture, although the quotations are apt to be rather 

 disconnected and their relation to the argument 

 not always obvious. The inner meaning attached 

 to many of these quotations appears to be due to 

 the electrical obsession of the author, who is not 

 always consistent. On p. 57 he inclines ,to the 

 view that enzymes are "forces"; on p. 115 he 

 speaks of phosphorus as their essential factor, 

 apparently, however, forgetting that a very active 

 pepsin lias been prepared free from phosphorus. 



The reader must be warned against accepting 

 without que. lien the statements contained in the 

 book. Mr. Haines's remarkable experimental 

 results are quoted without criticism. No attempl 

 is made to answer the objections that have been 

 brought againsl them, and it is not to be expected 

 that they will be believed until they have been 

 described in such a way that others can repeal 

 them. This applies especially to such experiments 

 as that referred to on p. 231, where a boiled 

 potato is made to sprout by the application of an 

 electrical current. The electrical obsession is indi- 

 cated also by the view taken that the function of 

 the waxy or fatty layer on the surface of plants 

 NO. 2560, VOL. I02] 



or animals is to prevent escape to the air of elec- 

 trical i harges. 



The author holds the view that the constitution 

 of "vilamines" is that of phospho-lipincs, and 

 his remarks about "quick " food must be referred 

 to on account of the possible mischief that they 

 may do. "Quick" food is that which has a par- 

 ticular electrical reaction, when teste d In the 

 method of Mr. Baines, on account of the pre 

 of insulating lipoids. It is the only kind of food 

 that is to be taken. Cold storage destroys this 

 property, as also does over-cooking. But the 

 remarks made as to the misleading nature of 

 calorie \alues raise doubt as to the competence of 

 the author to advise on problems of nutrition. The 

 application of the theories to medical and surgical 

 practice consists in the addition of a phospho-lipine, 

 lecithin, or similar substance to Mr. Baines's 

 "dielectric oil " or liquid paraffin. 



W. M. B. 



THE RADCLIFFE FOUNDATIONS. 



Dr. John Radcliffe: A Sketch of liis Life, with an 

 Account of his Fellows and Foundations. By 

 Dr. J. B. Nias. Pp. 147. (Oxford : At the 

 Clarendon Press, 1918.) Price 125. 6ii. net. 



DR. JOHN RADCLIFFE, a very successful 

 Court physician at the time of William III. 

 and Queen Anne, was one of the most generous 

 of all the numerous benefactors of Oxford, for he 

 left: most of his large fortune to the University. 

 He covenanted that a portion of it should be used 

 to endow two travelling fellowships, to be held 

 by Oxford medical graduates for the space of ten 

 years, and he made a special proviso that at least 

 ball of this period should be spent by his fellows 

 "in parts beyond the sea, for their better improve- 

 ment." Radcliffe's idea was an excellent one, for 

 leu medical men could fail to broaden their out- 

 look and increase their experience by visiting the 

 most noted medical schools in foreign countries. 

 At the same time the period of ten years is too 

 long for most men, and so from 1859 onwards 

 the tenure of the fellowships was reduced to three 

 years. The list of fellows includes many distin- 

 guished names, and of those elected under the 

 new foundation nearly twenty at the present 

 moment hold appointments on the staff of one or 

 other of the London hospitals. The book under 

 review gives only brief records of living fellows, 

 but detailed biographies of the deceased fellows 

 of the old foundation. 



The other foundations under Dr. Radcliffe's will 

 include the imposing Radcliffe Library, or 

 "Camera." For the first century or more after 

 it was built this library was stored with books of 

 all kinds, but from 181 1 onwards they were re- 

 stricted to scientific and medical subjects. In 1861 

 these science books were transferred to the 

 recently built "Museum," whilst the library itself 

 is now used as an annexe to the Bodleian Library. 



.Another notable foundation bearing Radcliffe's 

 name is the observatory. This institution was 

 not contemplated in Radcliffe's will, but it was 

 founded in 1772 by the trustees out of the trust 



