352 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1132 



mentaries," to Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa's 

 diametrically opposed " History of the Incas," 

 to the reliable and unbiased Cieza's writings, 

 and to many other equally valuable works. 

 Nor are Sir Clements's own works to be left 

 unread by any student of the subject. He did 

 more than any other one man for South Amer- 

 ican anthropology. 



Perhaps the most endearing trait of the 

 great scholar's character was his unselfish- 

 ness. It happened that I ran across a copy 

 of a certain rare book on Peru. Although I 

 did not then know Sir Clements I ventured 

 to write to him and ask him whether it would 

 be worth while to publish an English trans- 

 lation of the work. He replied that it would. 

 Although he himself had already made a trans- 

 lation (still in MS.) he encouraged me to 

 go ahead with mine and he personally made 

 arrangements for its publication in England. 

 Such generosity is of the best sort. It shows 

 that Sir Clements placed the advancement of 

 knowledge above his own advancement, and it 

 shows that he was glad to help even an un- 

 known beginner by a personal sacrifice. 



X. 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



The Horse in Health and Disease. E. B. 

 Hadley. W. B. Saunders and Co., Phila- 

 delphia. 



This book, designed as an introductory text 

 to the study of veterinary science in agricul- 

 tural schools and colleges, ought to fulfill its 

 purpose. The author is to be congratulated 

 upon his judgment in selecting the most suit- 

 able material. He has succeeded in bringing 

 together in a condensed form a number of 

 branches of veterinary science. 



Although couched in scientific terms, most 

 of which are defined with their first appear- 

 ance, the book ought to be intelligible to a 

 careful reader. The arrangement is complete, 

 leaving little to be desired. The horse is taken 

 as the type. Beginning with the anatomy and 

 physiology, the structure and function of the 

 normal or healthy animal is explained. This 

 knowledge is indispensable to one expecting to 

 recognize abnormal conditions. Then follows 



a brief description of a great variety of dis- 

 eases, together with measures of control. 



By way of adverse criticism, very little can 

 be said. In discussing the subject of diagnosis 

 of disease, there occurs : " Even an experienced 

 diagnostician fails to make an absolutely accu- 

 rate diagnosis in more than 50 per cent, of his 

 cases." This must be very discouraging to a 

 novice and the facts of the case do not render 

 the statement justifiable. To be sure, the word 

 absolutely makes the statement invulnerable, 

 but the impression created is detrimental and 

 uncomplimentary to the author's profession. 

 Under retention of the urine occurs the fol- 

 lowing : " The bladder of the stallion or gel- 

 ding can be emptied only by use of the 

 catheter." Practitioners frequently evacuate 

 the bladder of males by pressure upon the 

 bladder per rectum, even upon recumbent 

 animals. 



The illustrations, most of which are photo- 

 graphs, are clear and numerous. The excellent 

 paper and the clearness of the type are char- 

 acteristic of the publishers. 



V. G. Kimball 



Philadelphia, Pa. 



QUOTATIONS 



THE CONTROL OF EPIDEMIC INFANTILE 

 PARALYSIS 



The severe epidemic of infantile paralysis — 

 or acute anterior poliomyelitis, to give the dis- 

 ease a more descriptive title — that now pre- 

 vails in New York has not unnaturally given 

 rise to a certain degree of anxiety in our own 

 country also. During the last two months this 

 epidemic has caused the death of some 1,400 

 children in New York, the mortality being 

 about 25 per cent. ; comparatively few adults 

 have been attacked. Quarantine regulations 

 are now being widely enforced in the neigh- 

 boring districts, and children under 16 years 

 of age, we read in the Times, are forbidden to 

 travel, to the vast inconvenience of holiday- 

 makers. The public health authorities in New 

 York are only too familiar with epidemic in- 

 fantile paralysis, for the disease is always pres- 

 ent and always more or less active in that cos- 

 mopolitan town. They are endeavoring to 

 limit the epidemic by the isolation or quaran- 



