3i8 



SCIENCE, 



[Vol. XIV. No. 353 



date a certain number of those obscure problems which concern 

 the nature and therapeutic value of mineral waters. One of the 

 most original memoirs produced at the congress was that of Dr. 

 Schlemmer, on microbes and thermal waters. According to the 

 author, there is found a certain number of microbes in these 

 waters ; but, far from offering any danger, the microbes of mineral 

 waters seem, on the contrary, to possess beneficial properties. It 

 is thus that in certain springs of Vichy, Chantemesse and Fremont 

 have isolated a micrococcus possessing a most pronounced diges- 

 tive power on albuminoid alimentary substances, which it trans- 

 forms into peptones. With the knowledge of this fact, it will be 

 seen that it is impossible to imitate this natural mineral water by 

 the aid of the bicarbonate of soda. No artificial chemical com- 

 bination would be capable of conferring on a water this micro- 

 organic life, any more than of conferring upon it the electro-dynam- 

 ism of telluric elaboration. The origin of the gases contained in 

 the mineral waters was well demonstrated by Dr. Labat. He 

 stated that whether they proceed from the air or from watery 

 vapor, or whether they are manifestations of the soil or of vol- 

 canoes, the gases do not ordinarily play a preponderating role in 

 the curative action of mineral waters. Nevertheless, nitrogen is 

 an agent distinctly sedative and anti-catarrhal ; sulphuretted 

 hydrogen, a modificator of the skin and of mucous membranes; 

 carbonic acid, an excitant of the blood-vessels and nerves. It is 

 capable, for instance, of arousing the languishing functions of the 

 digestive mucous membrane. 



BOOK-REVIEWS. 



The Life- Work of the Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. By Flo- 

 RINE Thayer McCray. New York, Funk & Wagnalls. 12". 



This book contains both a biography of Mrs. Stowe and an 

 analysis of her principal works. It is written with the approbation 

 of the Stowe" family, who have supplied information on certain 

 points. It contains much that is interesting, and, so far as facts 

 go, gives a fair picture of Mrs. Stowe and her work. But it is 

 marred by an overflow of "gush," which is neither pleasing nor 

 improving to the reader. Mrs. McCray is so enthusiastic over her 

 theme that she can hardly write soberly, even in the most common- 

 place passages, and some of the most ordinary personages assume 

 in her eyes the character of heroes. Thus, she says that certain 

 sermons on intemperance by Lyman Beecher " shook the world," 

 and that Professor Stowe on another occasion " spoke eloquently 

 and with magnetic force," and "stood forth a commanding figure 

 upon the arena of the world's advancement." Of course, Mrs. 

 Stowe herself is still more highly lauded. The book is a handsome 

 one, but is marred by bad punctuation and by frequent misspell- 

 ings, such as " Arabian Knights," " Thomas Carlisle " for " Thomas 

 Carlyle," Henrick Heine " for " Heinrich Heine," etc. Still the 

 work has an interest from its subject, and also from the sinceri'ty 

 and earnestness of its author. 



Hypnotism : Its History and Present Developme7it. ByFREDERIK 

 BjoRNSTRoM, M.D. Tr. by Baron Nils Posse, M.G. New 

 York, Humboldt Publ. Co. 8°. 75 cents. 

 The general aspects and methods of hypnotism may be now re- 

 garded as sufficiently well understood to make a detailed review of 

 the contents of a general restiini of the subject unnecessary. As, 

 however, the available literature of standard merit in English is 

 small, and much of this is in the way of translations, it may be 

 useful to call attention to the present essay of an eminent Swedish 

 physician, especially as its general accessibility will provide it with 

 a large body of readers. The work is purely expository in char- 

 acter, and offers about as convenient an introduction to the subject 

 as we have in English. The topics are well selected, the points 

 clearly stated, and the whole fairly represents the present status of 

 investigation upon this vexed phenomenon. A general historical 

 introduction is followed by a chapter defining the ordinary hypnotic 

 condition, according to various authorities. The method of hypno- 

 tizing and the stages of hypnotism are next interestingly discussed. 

 The so-called " unilateral hypnotism " is needlessly honored with a 

 special chapter, thcugh the physical and the psychical effects of 



hypnotism are more satisfactorily treated in succeeding chapters. 

 As is proper, most space is given over to the phenomena of sugges- 

 tion ; in which, however, the selection of cases is not as judicious- 

 as it might be, considering the needs of the general reader. The 

 concluding chapters treat of hypnotism as a remedial agent, as a 

 moral remedy, in relation to the law, and, finally, its abuses and 

 dangers. Considering the short space at command, the topics are 

 fairly presented except the last, which concerns itself rather use- 

 lessly with Parisian methods of deceiving the credulous. The 

 chief defect of the work, however, lies in its placing too nearly on a 

 par views and theories the evidence for which is still regarded by 

 the most able investigators as very different. This is true of the 

 " hemi-hypnotic " phenomena ; but it is still truer of the " mental 

 suggestion," or telepathic experiments, to which entirely too much 

 space is devoted. This somewhat uncritical treatment of the out- 

 lying fields of hypnotism is certainly the chief defect of the work. 

 In spite of this, however, the work is a valuable addition to the 

 easily accessible literature of the topic, and can safely be placed in 

 the hands of the general reader, especially if he bring to the read- 

 ing of it the understanding that the views expressed are partly in- 

 dividual, and partly prematurely positive. 



Practical Electric Bell Fittitig. By F. C. Allsop. London and 

 New York, Spon. 12°. $1.25. 



This treatise on the fitting-up of electric bells and the apparatus 

 necessary therefor supplies just the information on the subject that 

 would naturally be needed by the average workman. Beginning 

 with the proper way to join two pieces of wire, it goes carefully 

 through all the ramifications of the subject, explaining, in a manner 

 not easily misunderstood, each step, by means of well-worded text and 

 a sufficient number of illustrations. The author shows that he not 

 only thoroughly understands his subject, but that he knows how to 

 treat it clearly and exhaustively without saying a word too much. 

 Much of the thoroughness of the treatise is due, no doubt, to the 

 manner in which it first appeared, or, rather, to the way in which it 

 grew from that part of it which first appeared. The work was first 

 published as a series of papers in a technical journal, and their 

 favorable reception induced the author to re- issue it in book form, 

 taking the opportunity to revise it according to the light gained by 

 the comment and criticism accorded it in its serial form. Much 

 additional matter was added also, the result of numerous questions 

 addressed to him on the subject from time to time. 



The points treated are grouped as follows. The first chapter is 

 devoted to wiring, soldering, and joining wires, and earth connec- 

 tions. This is followed by a chapter on pushes, pulls, contacts, 

 and switches, and another on bells, relays, and indicators. Batte- 

 ries and the magneto bell have each a chapter devoted to them, 

 followed by one on connecting-up. The last two chapters treat of 

 the localizing of faults and of portable sets of apparatus. The 

 book contains nearly a hundred and fifty explanatory engrav- 

 ings. 



Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. Pt. XIV. 

 June, 1889. London, Soc. Psych. Research. 8"^. 

 The varied contents of this issue testify to the vigorous activity 

 of the society in the directions inaugurated in former publications. 

 The most interesting and novel contribution is upon the curious 

 phenomena of crystal-vision, an account of which will appear else- 

 where in Science. The president's address is very brief, and con- 

 tains hardly more than a report of progress, with renewed protests 

 against misinterpretation of the society's work. A paper by the 

 late Edmund Gurney, completed by F. W. H. Myers, treats of 

 apparitions occurring soon after death, and in part refers the fre- 

 quency of such apparitions to the emotional disturbances connected 

 with the decease of a friend, and in part considers the matter as of 

 super-normal significance. It cannot be said that any essential 

 advance is made in the present discussion of cases. Mr. Myers 

 also writes suggestively, though with a disproportion of introduc- 

 tion to thesis, upon the Daemon of Socrates, explaining this vexed 

 question as the appearance of the unconscious mind of Socrates 

 through the medium of spoken language, just as the subconscious 

 " strata of personality " reveal themselves in automatic writing. In 

 the supplement we have an account of some very heterogeneous 



