160 



SCIENCE. 



IS. S. Vol. II. No. 32. 



COMPARATIVE NEUEOLOGT. 



We have just received Dr. Ludwig Ed- 

 inger's Bericht ilber die Leistungen auf clem 

 Gehiete der Anatomie des Centralnervensys- 

 tems, 1893, 1894. (Schmidt's Jahrbiicher 

 d. Ges. Medicin.) These reviews began in 

 1885 and the rapid advance of comparative 

 neurology is well indicated by the 345 titles 

 in the present Bericht. Dr. Edinger sums 

 up the present tendencies of research as 

 follows : 



" It is a special subject of congratulation 

 that investigations are increasing upon the 

 anatomy of the simpler types of brains and 

 upon certain iibre tracts in the lower orders 

 of mammals, La which these tracts are 

 much better displayed than in the higher 

 mammalia, which have been chiefly investi- 

 gated hitherto. In general, as a result of 

 this work, we have gained a deeper insight, 

 and have placed the relations of certain 

 tracts upon a firmer comparative basis. 

 The admirable method of Marchi has come 

 into more frequent use than heretofore, 

 especially in the study of secondary degen- 

 eration in the hemispheres, in the thalami, 

 crura cerebri, and a great many new facts 

 have thus been brought out. Studj^ upon 

 the olfactory fibre tracts has been renewed 

 with great success, after a long interval in 

 which these tracts have been somewhat 

 neglected ; in fact, research in this region 

 was completely stagnant until the discovery 

 of the ' glomerular structure ' finalljr made 

 it possible to determine the separate regions 

 of the olfactory system more accurately. 

 This discovery also made it possible to 

 unify the results obtained in comparative 

 anatomy, and to separate a distinct portion 

 of the forebrain with its tracts as part of 

 the olfactory apparatus proper. This dis- 

 covery also threw new light upon the de- 

 velopment of the mantle of the hemispheres, 

 a region in which far more progress has 

 been made since it has been found that 

 there are certain clearly defined cortical 



regions with as clearly defined anatomical 

 relations. 



" Numerous researches upon the arrange- 

 ment of the cells in special ' nuclei ' of the 

 nervous system give a constantly increas- 

 ing insight into their finer structure. It 

 should also be specially noticed that dur- 

 ing the last two years has been renewed the 

 study of the changes which take place in 

 the ganglion cells during periods of function 

 and rest ; in old age, death and in disease. 

 Here is also a field which promises very 

 rich results. * * With the above grounds 

 for satisfaction, I still cannot let the report 

 of this year go bj' without expressing a re- 

 gret for the custom, which seems to be con- 

 stantly increasing, of rapidly publishing- 

 isolated and small observations, while 

 longer and more thorough researches are 

 becoming more infrequent. It would be a 

 serious blow to this branch of research, 

 which has hitherto been followed with sci- 

 entific exactness, if the large number of 

 hastily prepared researches of beginners 

 should gain the preponderance. My warn- 

 ing is especiallj^ directed against conclusions 

 of a far-reaching character which are 

 founded upon a limited number of observa- 

 tions." 



THE AMERICAN MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 



The eighteenth annual meeting of the 

 Society will be held at Cornell University, 

 Ithaca, N. Y., for three days, beginning on 

 the morning of August 21st. The accom- 

 modations afforded by the University build- 

 ings, and their equipment for carrying on 

 all lines of microscopical work, add vexy 

 materially to the attractiveness of Ithaca 

 as a place of meeting. Add to this the 

 richness of both terrestrial and aquatic 

 fauna and flora, and it is almost an ideal 

 place, both to the student of natural history 

 and to those who love beautiful scenery. A 

 large and influential local committee, with 

 Pi'ofessor W. W. Kowlee as chairman, has 



