December 22, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



891 



But I am especially interested here in add- 

 ing to what was said by Dr. Franz's commitee 

 a word for the subject of abnormal psychology 

 in a premedical course. A glance at any of the 

 text-books on mental disorders — such as those 

 of Stoddart or Diefendorf — reveals at once 

 psychological conceptions of the crudest nature. 

 In the medical school, when the student's at- 

 tention is necessarily directed entirely to the 

 body side of that complex affair called the 

 human individual, it is but natural that a 

 strongly materialistic bias should develop 

 which, if not counterbalanced by a predirected 

 emphasis on the side of the psychical, is cer- 

 tain to issue finally in a complete loss of the 

 necessary scientific equilibrium. The medical 

 school teacher delights in demonstrating to 

 his pupils that the phenomena of insanity are 

 merely symptoms of diseases of the brain and 

 nervous system, which can be explained in 

 purely physiological terms without invoking 

 any non-material influences. Now this may 

 all be true, but certainly it is but fair that 

 the psychologist should be given his oppor- 

 tunity to demonstrate also that those same 

 phenomenon can be fully described, and many 

 of them explained, in purely mental terms 

 without referring to the brain or nervous sys- 

 tem at all, and that a purely psychological 

 description is in many cases the only really 

 valid and useful one. It would be well, of 

 course, if all psychologists and all physicians 

 were broad-minded enough to appreciate 

 equally the mental and the physiological fac- 

 tors in human life, but this is perhaps too 

 much to expect of any infra-angelic intelli- 

 gence ! Such being the weakness of the human 

 intellect, therefore, we can but recognize it, 

 and seek to overcome the one-sidedness of the 

 physician's outlook by the other-sidedness of 

 the psychologist's viewpoint. 



For the reassurance of the physician it may 

 be well to add that, on the principle that "he 

 who laughs last laughs best," no possible harm 

 can be done by accepting the suggestions I 

 urge, as it is the medical school teacher who 

 will have the last shot at the student and thus 

 the better chance of influencing his views for 

 the future. Furthermore I am convinced that 



a firm preliminary grounding of the student 

 in the principles of the normal and abnormal 

 mind as the psychologist studies them can not 

 but be of the greatest positive value to the 

 physician. 



Jaded S. Moore 

 Western Eeserve University 



the retention of oil by clay at 

 waterville, maine 



While attempting to unravel the extent of 

 the post-Pleistocene terrace at Waterville, I 

 had occasion to ask one of the railroad officials, 

 Mr. Thomas Harrold, whether the railroad 

 yards are underlain by clays or the slate ledge 

 which outcrops near by. He informed me that 

 they are underlain by clay and gave the fol- 

 lowing interesting facts in explanation of his 

 knowledge. In March, 1911, he was superin- 

 tending the installation of a new set of scales 

 in the "Waterville yards. During the excava- 

 tion for the foundation, clay was encountered 

 a few feet below the surface and a fluid, sup- 

 posedly water, collected in the hole. Further 

 examination showed this to be kerosene, and 

 about five barrels were removed. The pres- 

 ence of the oil was explained when it was re- 

 membered that in 1909 the contents of a tank 

 car had been lost in the yards. 



Several years after the events recorded 

 above, in the summer of 1914 or 1915, came a 

 period of unusually heavy precipitation. The 

 water table over the clay rose near the surface 

 and kerosene began to collect in the drainage 

 ditches near the tracks. One man is said to 

 have collected eleven barrels of the kerosene 

 and the adjoining population were so active in 

 digging pits to collect the fluid that the tracks 

 were undermined and the railroad officials 

 found it necessary to prohibit the removal of 

 the oil. 



These are the facts as reported to me. I 

 might add that the railroad j'ards are just to 

 the west of the Kennebec River. The river 

 flows in a slate gorge here, the rock extending 

 to the top of the bank on this side ; then comes 

 a flat of 10-15 feet representing the old railroad 

 bed; back of this the ledge is overlain imme- 

 diately by the fill beneath the present tracks. 



