OCTOBER 22, 1897. ] 
tion of the experimental phases of the topic, 
such as hypnotism, automatic writing, crystal 
vision ; and it further gains strength by the in- 
herent weakness of former theories, both ‘cen- 
trifugal’ and ‘centripetal,’ which attempted 
to present the illusion as a reversal of the physio- 
logical process of true sensation or of some of 
the cortical and subcortical functions. Inspite 
of these advantages, it cannot be claimed that 
this or any other theory at present serves any 
other purposes than that of a temporary frame- 
work for a building that is yet to be planned. 
The physiologist and the pathologist, as well as 
the alienist and psychologist, must all expend 
very much more planning and labor upon the 
foundations before a really suitable superstruc- 
ture can be possible. More literally, the pres- 
ent status of the subject seems hardly likely to 
yield a true explanation of the illusory process, 
a satisfactory account of what really goes on in 
nerve and brain-cell as well as in the field of 
mental processes when we see with the mind’s 
eye. 
This criticism is offered in no disparagement 
of Dr. Parish’s essay. His attempt to bring 
order out of chaos is most commendable, and 
for what is, perhaps, the most striking example 
of the fruitful nature of his conception the 
reader may be referred to is the ingenious anal- 
ysis of ‘audible thinking’ as the analogy of ‘ au- 
tomatic writing’ which is given in Chapter 
VIII. 
A considerable portion of the volume is de- 
yoted to the presentation of the statistics of 
hallucinations of the sane and their critical 
discussion, one phase of this discussion being 
devoted to those hallucinations which are sup- 
posed to be ‘veridical’ or to serve as proofs of 
‘telepathic’ agencies. This portion of the 
work is most commendable; the sincerity and 
painstaking devotion of the compilers of the 
census and other evidence for telepathy are 
fully appreciated and acknowledged. But the 
verdict is ‘not proven,’ with a strong indica- 
tion in favor of the negative. The extreme 
complexity and variety of the sources of error, 
the inherent defects of the logical cogency of 
the evidence, and the likelihood of the appli- 
eability of other and more normal forms of ex- 
planation, are all admirably set forth and to- 
SCIENCE. 
635 
gether form a line of argument which the nu- 
merically strong but logically weak accumula- 
tions of cases are not likely to overcome. This 
careful sifting of obscure sources of error, this 
technical and thorough analysis of the real na- 
ture of these elusive hallucinatory conditions, 
makes rather difficult reading, but it is the only 
profitable mode of dealing with the subject. 
This lack of popular attractiveness in Dr. 
Parish’s work is probably a desirable feature, 
at least in some respects. The interest in this 
and kindred topics has been entirely too much 
centered upon the explanation of individual 
experiences and the proving of this or that 
hypothesis. The prevalent popular attitude is 
that of the man who has had an experience 
and wants it ‘explained,’ even to the most 
trifling detail, and who, in default of such ex- 
planation, feels warranted in disparaging the 
science that so dismally fails when practically 
tested, and in accepting any hypothesis, however 
unnatural or unscientific, which seems to cover 
his case. It is well to impress this individual 
with the inherent difficulty of such study, with 
the technical acquisitions needed to qualify one 
to form any opinion on the matter, and with 
the true statistical and impersonal method of 
dealing with ‘cases.’ The principle that in 
the progress of science the interest in the ab- 
normal precedes and only slowly gives way to 
an interest in the normal has recently been 
well emphasized and illustrated ;* it is as true 
in psychology as in other sciences. The super- 
ficial interest in much that is ‘psychic’ doubt- 
less belongs to this earlier stage of culture and 
will probably give way to a better comprehen- 
sion and appreciation of man’s normal psychol- 
ogy. A lesser form of utility of the present 
volume is in disparaging an undesirable and 
uncritical interest in the abnormal. 
JOSEPH JASTROW. 
Manual of Bacteriology. By RosBert Murr, 
M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P., Ed., Lecturer on 
Pathological Bacteriology, and Senior Assist- 
ant to the Professor of Pathology, University 
of Edinburgh; Pathologist, Edinburgh Royal 
Infirmary ; and JAMES Rircuiz, M.A., M.D., 
B.Se., Lecturer in Pathology, University of 
* By W J McGee, SciENcE, Vol. VI., p. 413. 
