January 30, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



115 



that the author is a confirmed invalid ! His 

 definition of physiology is certainly unique : 



"Physiology proper naturally divides itself 

 into three departments, Anatomy, Phj'siology 

 and Hygiene." " Bones, like all other organic 

 structures, consist of cells ; the cells are more 

 or less of a hexagonal form." He seems es- 

 pecially hazy about the lymphatic system : 

 "The lymphatics perform the office of absorp- 

 tion, chiefly in the skin." At one time he has 

 the lymph ' poured into the blood through the 

 thoracic duct into the vana cava in the neck,' 

 but farther on he modifies this by saying that 

 the lacteals ' terminate in two ducts, which 

 open into the large veins, and finally into the 

 heart,' one on the right side and the other on 

 the left side of the chest ! " The liver performs 

 the double office of separating impurities from 

 the blood and secreting bile." The ' bile acts 

 as a solvent of the fatty portions of food,' while 

 we are informed that ' fat is an oily concrete 

 substance, composed of stearine and elaine !' 

 One of the chief functions of the saliva is to 

 'quench thirst,' and the 'epiglottis serves to 

 deaden sound ! ' Among other ' important facts' 

 the author says that the ' heart of quadrupeds 

 lies in the middle line, and not to the left, as in 

 man.' " All reptiles have two auricles and one 

 ventricle." From the fact 'that coagulation 

 is greater in the lower animals' he derives the 

 very interesting conclusion that ' this seems to 

 be a wise provision, since these animals can 

 not stop a flow of blood from a wound by arti- 

 ficial means.' 



But enough. These few examples are chosen 

 almost at random. The book contains more 

 poor English, wild and loose statements of fact, 

 errors and absurdities than I ever saw before 

 in a text-book of modern times. One might be 

 amused at such stuflT, published as ' science' 

 were it not that tens of thousands of children 

 in this State are compelled to learn it, usually 

 taught by teachers whose ignorance of the sub- 

 ject is greater than that shown by the author 

 himself. 



Everywhere that a moral can be lugged in 

 bj' the ears or tail the baneful effects of the 

 poison alcohol are urged. Can such a book be 

 expected to serve any useful purpose in teach- 

 ing the principles of temperance ? 



And this is what politics may do for science 

 in the public schools ! 



S. "W. WiLLISTON. 



University of Kansas, Lawrence. 



THE STORING OF PAMPHLETS. 



On reading Professor Minot's explanation of 

 his method of storing pamphlets as given in the 

 issue of December 30th I feel inclined to add a 

 word in commendation of the method. I began 

 using these boxes six or seven years ago and 

 now have 1.52 upon my shelves. About one- 

 half are devoted to Experiment Station bulle- 

 tins, the boxes being labeled by States and 

 arranged alphabetically. The other half is used 

 for miscellaneous pamphlets on subjects pertain- 

 ing to my line of work. The boxes have proved 

 perfectly satisfactory in every way, and as a 

 simple time-saving device they are worth many 

 times the cost. My system of pamphlet arrange- 

 ment differs in some ways from that adopted 

 by Professor Minot and has been adopted only 

 after trial of several other methods. 



Each case is labeled and is also given a num- 

 ber. The pamphlets are numbered consecu- 

 tively and arranged in the cases, as far as pos- 

 sible, by subjects, and each one is stamped with 

 the number of the case in which it belongs. 

 The location of each is, therefore, permanent. 

 It is always returned to the same case and the 

 same relative position as regards others in the 

 case. 



In a convenient drawer of my desk is a card 

 index where all papers are recorded by author 

 and by title. Each card carries the pamphlet 

 number and the case number, thus indicating 

 the exact location of the pamphlet desired. 

 Often a dozen or more pamphlets may be in 

 use, scattered over my work table for several 

 days ; when ready to be returned, the numbers 

 direct to the case and to the correct position 

 within the case. If each pamphlet contained 

 but a single article the alphabetical arrange- 

 ment would be the most simple ; but many 

 contain more than one title, often several, and 

 not infrequently by different authors. These 

 were a sourse of annoyance until the present 

 system was adopted. I do not find the system 

 cumbersome, and the time employed in keep- 



