2 04 



NA TURE 



[December 31, 190S 



a circumscribed area of what were normal into cancerous 

 cells, cither under the influence of unknown causes in the 

 body itself or through the mediate intervention of diverse 

 external chronic irritants, which may be actinic, chemical, 

 bacterial, mechanical, in short, are legion ; the other factor 

 is the constitutional condition of the living body, which 

 may favour or hinder growth of the limited number of 

 altered cells into .i tumour. Extensive observations on in- 

 breeding stocks of cancerous mice show that in-born pre- 

 disposition plays only a very subsidiary, if any, part in 

 determining both the one and the other; both are acquired. 

 Cancer is a foe to all men, and the liability to it being 

 in all probability acquired may ultimately be found to be 

 avoidable. 



A sudden revolution of all former views on the nature 

 and treatment of cancer has not been effected. Much of 

 the knowledge inherited can be utilised, much of it must 

 be discarded. I have not dwelt on the initiative, the 

 sacrifices, and the patient toil of my colleagues Bowen, 

 Cramer, Gierke, Haaland, Murray, and Russell, nor on the 

 enlightened and generous encouragement of the executive 

 committee of the Imperial Cancer Research. It will be 

 evident to all who read my colleagues' papers in the re- 

 port how much they have contributed to raise the British 

 national investigations of cancer to the premier position 

 among similar institutions abroad. I have not made refer- 

 ence to work by other distinguished investigators, but full 

 credit is given to them in the report it.self. Slowly feel- 

 ing the way from one certain step to another has often 

 simply meant being met by new and unsuspected difficul- 

 ties. Each hitherto unsuspected difficultv when overcome 

 has, however, brought us more nearly face to face with 

 the realities of cancer genesis, cancer growth, and the 

 natural means by which the body protects itself against 

 them ; they -nil are better comprehended and nearer solu- 

 tion to-dav than ever bifoii-. E. F. B. 



STUDIES JX ANTHROPOLOGY. 



"THE growing interest in the study of anthropology as 

 a branch of university teaching is illustrated by the 

 publication of the Proceedings of the .Anatomical and 

 Anthropological Society of Aberdeen, of which Prof. R. \V. 

 Reid is chairman, for the years 1906-8. The most 

 important contribution in the volume is a report by Dr. 

 G. A. Turner on the natives of Portuguese East Africa 

 south of latitude 22°. The habits, customs, and mode of 

 life of the three chief races in this territory, the 

 Myambaams, Mtyopis, Shangaans, and Lourenyo Marques 

 Boys, are described chiefly with reference to the principal 

 forms of disease which appear in their kraals. Incident- 

 ally, some remarkable customs of much interest to the 

 anthropologist are discussed. Thus, if a man dies of a 

 disease like consumption, which causes constant gasping 

 for breath, the ofiicianl .-it the burial has to open the 

 thorax of the deceased in the middle line and remove both 

 the lungs and heart. These are so placed in the grave 

 that they will not slip back into the thorax when they 

 are laid upon it. The rite is obviously a piece of sympa- 

 thetic magic intended to .save the person conducting the 

 interment from contracting the disease. 



Full details are given of the remarkable habit of the 

 Mtyopi women, who produce, by means of cicatrisation, 

 lumps varying in size from that of a walnut to a pea 

 along the breast, abdomen, and legs. The males of the 

 same tribe file their teeth in the form of pegs, of which 

 the rather doubtful explanation is suggested that it is a 

 mark of primitive cannibalism, because they would be 

 better able to tear human flesh if their teeth were filed. 

 The existence of the practice, however, among tribes who 

 are not cannibals seems to indicate that it is more prob- 

 ably one of the savage's misguided attempts at personal 

 ornamentation. Witchcraft is common among these races, 

 and the witch is much dreaded and often shamefullv 

 treated. Some natives, we are told, were in the habit of 

 bringing suspected women for examination by the Portu- 

 guese commandant, who was asked to report on their 

 alleged possession of supernatural powers. Finally, to put 

 an end to such proceedings, he shrewdly gave as his verdict 

 that while he was unable to detect an'vthing extracrdinarv 



in the women, he could not speak with such confidence of 

 their male companions. This opinion abruptly brought 

 the investigation to a close. The methods of circumcision 

 are fully described, the most remarkable feature in the 

 operation being the extreme cleanliness enforced upon the 

 performer of the rite, a precaution which usually obviates 

 the risk of septic poisoning. 



Local anthropology is represented by a paper bv Dr. 

 VV. R. Macdonell on the physical characteristics of the 

 medical students at the University, a summary of a long 

 series of measurements which have been taken with the 

 utmost care. For the purpose of comparison the subjects 

 were divided into two groups, those of pure Scotch descent 

 on both sides and those where one or both parents were 

 foreign to Scotland. The general result is that in physical 

 characteristics the two groups are practically identical. 

 They closely resemble Cambridge students and graduates 

 in length and breadth of head, , but they are slightly lower 

 in stature. In all three characters Ihey are uniform with 

 the rural population of Aberdeenshire. The average 

 growth between the nineteenth and twenty-third year of 

 age is about i| per cent, in all characters except auricular 

 height, in which it is about 3 per cent. There is prac- 

 tically no di (Terence between honours and pass men in 

 length and breadth of head, and the Aberdeen head is not 

 larger than that of other classes of the cominunitv. 



IIVC.IENE^PERSONAL AND ENVIRON- 

 MENTAL.' 

 'PHREE well-printed -and well-filled volumes containmg 

 all the .iililnsses and papers read at last year's School 

 Hygiene t^ongress in London, and a summary of many of 

 the important discussions, have been published recently. 

 On a more leisurely and comprehensive review than was 

 possible at the congress itself, one cannot but be struck 

 with the small amount of irrelevant matter. School 

 hygiene, involving, directly or indirectly, the whole series of . 

 systems of modern education, lends itself to the fanatic, the 

 crank, and every other type of abstractionist. It is, how- 

 over, with agreeable surprise that one finds here a large 

 number of papers full of concrete experience, presented in a 

 well-ordered way. Like the four volumes of the first con- 

 gress (.\urenil)erg|, these three form a most convenient con- 

 spectus of school hygiene at the present day. There are 

 signs that the movement has become more mature, for 

 the studies are in many respects more detailed. It is 

 diflicult to select papers for special observation, but there 

 are many that will repay reading and re-reading. The 

 general address by Bishop Welldon on " The Effect 

 of School Training on Mental Discipline " contains 

 many well-loadetl aphorisms, but it is disconcerting to 

 read: — "But, at whatever cost, the habit of unquestioned 

 obedience must be created in the young. When I was 

 headmaster of Harrow School, I u.sed to say to my young 

 colleagues, ' Begin by making the boys feel that you are 

 prepared, if need be, to grind them to powder ; then you 

 may safely grant them as much liberty as you will.' " 

 This is one ideal, but it is not the ideal ol Froebel, of 

 Pesfalozzi, of Herbert Spencer, of Earl Barnes, of Stanley 

 Hall. 



The discussion on duration of lessons, sequence of sub- 

 jects, and seasons of the year as affecting school work, 

 contains good papers by W. H. Burnham (Clark Univer- 

 sity, Mass.), by .M. Chabot (Lyons), who enters into much 

 e.xact detail, and by Dr. L. Burgerstein (Vienna), whose 

 well-known handbook on school hygiene is a standard. 

 Another " set discussion on the lighting and ventilation 

 of class rooms " contains a careful paper by MM. Courtois 

 and Dinet. The general conclusion is that class rooms in 

 France have too little cubic space, and that the air should 

 be slightly warmed and free from dust. 



Griesbach's method of estimating fatigue by the eesthesio- 

 nieter was discussed by Dr. .Altschul and others. Obviously, 

 the method needs to be applied with skill, but, on the 



1 SeconH In'ernational ConErc^s on School Hygiene. London, 1907. 

 Transa lions, Vols, i., ii , iii. Fdileri .nnd arranired by the Ordinary 

 General Secre'ari-5, Dr. James Kerra'dE White Wallis. Price 51. each 

 volume ; complete in three volum-s, I2.f. 6d ; bound 15s. net. Vol. i., pp. 

 XXIV+3PI ; vol. ii.. pp. .\v+4oi-?48 ; vol. iii., pp. vi.f S49-1008. (London: 

 Royal Sanitary Institute.) 



NO. 



2044, VOL. 79] 



