Septkmbek 3, 1896J 



NATURE 



411 



thereby shortening very materially the length of time 

 they are able to stand the test, without, however, under- 

 going any other suspicious change ; indeed, if they be 

 subsequently allowed to stand for a time in a cool place 

 out of the reach of white light, they recover their ap- 

 parently lost property, and stand the heat test as well 

 as ever. 



The effect of sunlight on both guncotton and nitro- 

 glycerine has long been known, but it is only lately that 

 this important point has received much consideration in 

 Government and private factories. Care is now taken 

 to screen off direct sunlight, or even white light, by some 

 non-actinic material placed o\er the windows. 



We feel constrained to make a few remarks on one 

 other point, viz. the author, in detailing the various advan- 

 tages claimed for a certain smokeless powder, states that 

 it gives lessened recoil and high velocity. Now these 

 are very common advertising phrases of no practical 

 value, as the recoil of a gun is nearly proportional to the 

 velocity of the projectile, by a well-known law of dynamics. 

 Taking the figures given — 38 grains of the particular 

 powder referred to was necessary to obtain the same 

 velocity (about 2000 f.s.) as the service charge of cordite, 

 31 grains in the Lee-Metford rifle with a 215 grain 

 bullet. Now 



Velocity of recoil x weight uf gun 

 = velocity of bullet x (weight of bullet + iii weight of charge), 



III being a factor, which is found by experiment to be 

 practically constant. 



It will be seen at once that, other conditions being 

 equal, the heavier charge must give the greatest recoil. 



H. 



THE PRACTICE OF MASSAGE. 



The Practice of Massage; its Physiological Effects and 



Therapeutic Uses. By A. Symons Eccles, M.B. 



.■\berd. Pp.377. (London: Macmillanand Co., 1895.) 



TH E rubbing and kneading of the surface of the body, 

 and various modifications of such processes for the 

 relief of pain, have been in vogue from time immemorial 

 in many countries, both civilised and uncivilised. It is 

 well known, indeed, that the natives of India have always 

 largely employed such measures, and that even among 

 the aboriginal tribes of America something of the kind 

 has been practised. Mechanical frictions and rubbings 

 were included by Hippocrates and Galen in their systems 

 of therapeutics, and in some form or shape they have 

 ever since been in use in the older spas and baths of 

 Europe. But although the practice is so ancient and so 

 widespre.id, its admission into modern medicine as a 

 recognised means of treating disease only dates from the 

 present century, and the literature of the subject — now 

 comparatively large — may be said to have had little or 

 no e.xistcnce fifty years ago. The Scotch and French 

 physicians seem to have been the first in modern times 

 to investigate the subject scientifically ; and it is to the 

 latter, in jjarticular, that we owe the systematic ways of 

 application of the various manipulations now in use, as 

 well as the nomenclature which is now practically 

 universally adopted by practitioners in all civilised 

 countries. Within the last few decades a considerable 

 number of valuable observations on the uses and effects 

 NO. 1 40 1, VOL. 54] 



of massage have been published, as well as several 

 comprehensive te.\t-books on the subject. Among these 

 latter, the work now before us is likely to take an im- 

 portant position ; for not only is it the outcome of a 

 lengthy and extensive practical experience on the part 

 of the author, but it is written in a scientific spirit, and, 

 indeed, constitutes a very able resume of the whole 

 subject. 



Dr. Eccles commences by describing the different 

 manipulations and the methods of applying massage 

 in general, as well as to particular parts of the 

 body. In the second chapter, he treats of the physio- 

 logical effects of massage ; and it is in this department 

 that we naturally feel most interest. As might be 

 expected, the effects vary with the kind of manipulation ; 

 thus gentle " effleurage," or skin stroking, will give rise, 

 first, to a pilo-motor reflex, or condition of " goose-skin," 

 and if firmer friction be employed, a dilatation of the 

 superficial cutaneous vessels is produced, followed by 

 increased activity of the sweat glands. The direction of 

 the stroking being centripetal, the contents of the super- 

 ficial veins and lymphatics are forced along, and the 

 rapidity of the cutaneous circulation increased. Among 

 the important results of effleurage, the author mentions a 

 general soothing effect on the nervous system, and an 

 acceleration of the heart-beat. With the process of 

 "petrissage," or the kneading, rolling, and squeezing of 

 the integuments and underlying tissues, it is shown that 

 the circulation of the skin and contiguous muscles is still 

 more accelerated, the absorption of waste products pro- 

 moted, and the general nutrition of the parts improved. 

 Muscle-kneading thus serves as a substitute for muscular 

 exercise, and also as a restorative of fatigued muscle. 

 The experiments of Lauder Brunton and Tunnicliffe on 

 the effects of massage on blood-pressure are here alluded 

 to, as well as the author's interesting observations on the 

 results of muscle-kneading on the temperature of the 

 body. 



" Tapotement," or the delivery of a rapid succession of 

 blows, produces its principal effect through the direct 

 stimulation of the nerve trunks ; localised muscular 

 contractions are induced ; and if applied over a molar 

 nerve, the muscles supplied by that nerve are profoundly 

 affected. The author observes, moreover, that stimula- 

 tion of the sensory nerves by this " muscle-hacking " while 

 producing increased temperature and vascularisation 

 of the part so treated, may also give rise to sym- 

 metrical reflex secretion. The various movements 

 classed under the head of " vibrations," are also 

 designed to act mechanically on the subjacent nerves, 

 and thereby to produce reflex effects of a sedative 

 character. The author has frequently, for instance, ob- 

 served relief following nerve-vibration in non-inflainma- 

 tory abdominal pain. The so-called "massage k friction, ' 

 especially used for the manipulation of joints, is a 

 combination of rubbing and kneading, having for its 

 purpose the dissipation and squeezing out of waste pro- 

 ducts from the tissues in which they have accumulated : 

 and in this connection von Mosengeil's experiments are 

 quoted, which show conclusively that artificial injections 

 in a joint can be removed by massage, and forced into the 

 ascending lymphatics. 



The succeeding chapters of the book treat of the 



