650 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLI. No. 1061 



ElUot C. Howe (1828-1899)— ^Itro^jTiana Howeana 

 (Peck). 



William Herbst (1833-1907) — Sparassis Eerbstii 

 (Peek). 



George Edward Post (1838-1909) — Postia Lanugi- 

 nosa (Boissier & Blanche). 



Joseph Trimble Eothrock (1839- ) — SothrocTcia 

 cordifolia (Gray). 



Harry Hapemau (1858- ) — Sullivantia Sape- 

 mani (Coulter). 



The biographies of all these worthies are 

 presented in exhaustive and attractive style 

 and will be a valuable source of reference to 

 the future medical historian. Some of them, 

 such as Adam Kuhn, B. S. Barton, Jacob 

 Bigelow, George Engelmann and Asa Gray, 

 are, of course, of great importance in the his- 

 tory of American botany. Alexander Garden, 

 of the gardenia, or cape jessamine, was a prom- 

 inent figure in the group of South Carolina 

 physicians which Welch has pronounced 

 to be the most important in the colonial 

 period. The volume is extensively illustrated 

 with rare portraits, facsimiles and beautiful 

 photographs of the plants. To Dr. Kelly's 

 friends it will always have a personal interest 

 because he has put so much of his lovable self 

 into it. 



F. H. Garrison 



Aemy Medical Museum 



The Deaf. Their Position in Society and the 

 Provision for Their Education in the United 

 States. By Harry Best. New York, 

 Thomas T. CroweU Co. 12mo. Pp. 340. 

 Cloth. 



There is, perhaps, no more accurate indica- 

 tion of the state of civilization reached by any 

 people than the extent to which its handicapped 

 classes are assisted to overcome their dis- 

 advantages and to approach a normal position 

 in society. Judged by this standard, the peo- 

 ple of the IJnited States are rapidly advancing. 

 Mr. Best has gathered a mass of very valuable 

 data concerning a much-misunderstood class 

 and embodied it in his book in a clear, intelli- 

 gent and interesting arrangement. 



It would be well if some way could be found 

 to compel the reading of this book by every 

 commissioner of education in the. country, as 



well as by others to whom the citizens have en- 

 trusted the shaping of educational procedure. 

 The problem of the deaf has passed from the 

 realm of charity to that of education, and the 

 solution of it has become an integral part of 

 the task of every public-school system. If the 

 knowledge contained in Mr. Best's book could 

 be assimilated by those in educational author- 

 ity throughout the country, the deaf would be 

 immensely benefited. 



Like every other human activity that has 

 not as yet been reduced to an exact science, the 

 effort to enable the deaf to overcome their 

 great handicap opens the way to many differ- 

 ences of opinion as to how it can be most 

 efficiently accomplished. 



Mr. Best endeavors to state the facts and 

 let his readers arrive at their own opinions. 

 But he very properly sums up his book in a 

 few general conclusions. 



He finds the matter of paramount impor- 

 tance to be the preventing of deafness, and 

 that, up to the present time, this has received 

 only minor attention, but is likely to receive a 

 greater proportion hereafter because of the 

 present general warfare against disease, and 

 the campaign for eugenics. He points out that 

 the two elements to be principally controlled 

 are consanguineous and syphilitic marriages, 

 as well as marriages between persons having 

 deaf relatives, and second, the element of 

 watchful supervision over the ears in connec- 

 tion with such diseases as scarlet fever, 

 meningitis, measles, etc., since three fourths 

 of the cases of adventitious deafness come as 

 a secondary result of infectious diseases. 

 Fifty-two per cent, of the cases of total deaf- 

 ness occur before the age of two years. If, 

 through some agency like the " Child Bureau " 

 of the national government, parents could be 

 informed of the exceptional danger to the hear- 

 ing during the first two years of life, they 

 might be induced to secure more medical super- 

 vision of their children's ears, noses and 

 throats during the early years. That, com- 

 bined with increased intelligence concerning 

 this matter on the part of physicians, would 

 reduce the percentage of early deafness. 



Second in importance to the prevention of 



