January i8, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



41 



In examining the ancestry of deaf-mutes, I have had occasion to 

 consult the original population schedules of former censuses, which 

 are preserved in the Department of the Interior ; and I have found 

 little difficulty in tracing the families backward from census to 

 census in the male line of ascent. If the name of the father had 

 been given in former censuses, it might now be possible for gen- 

 ealogical experts to trace from these records the American ances- 

 try of every person now living in the United States in every branch, 

 for the name of the father would give the maiden name of females. 

 I therefore suggest that in the census of 1S90 the father's name 

 should be noted in that part of the schedule that relates to the na- 

 tivity of the parents, so that the people of the United States may 

 leave to their descendants genealogical records from which their 

 full ancestry may at any future time be ascertained. 



MENTAL SCIENCE. 



Negative Suggestions. 



The meaning of this term as applied to certain hypnotic phenom- 

 ena has become quite familiar. It refers to the ignoring by the sub- 

 ject of a portion of his sensory experience. If told that upon awaken- 

 ing a certain person will be absent from the room, such a person 

 may stand directly before him, and he will be entirely ignorant of 

 his presence. Dr. Bernheim, in studying the details of this phe- 

 nomenon {Revue de I'hypnotisme, December, 1888), regards the 

 condition as of purely psychic character. The defect is not physi- 

 ological. The eye sees, for the subject will not run against the 

 " invisible " person, but the brain ignores the impressions made upon 

 it. It refuses them a hearing. This point, that in this condition 

 the perceptions are really present but are not allowed admittance 

 into consciousness, Dr. Bernheim proposes to demonstrate. He tells 

 an apt subject in the hypnotic state that on her awakening he will 

 be gone. She is awakened, searches about, but gives no sign of 

 recognizing Dr. Bernheim. The latter speaks to her, shouts into 

 her ear, sticks a pin into her skin, even touches her eye with it, but 

 all with no response. She is oblivious to all impressions coming 

 from him. If some one else touches her with a pin, she withdraws 

 her hand at once. To do this, she must distinguish Dr. Bernheim 

 from the other spectators ; and this involves sight. 



It should be noted that this experiment will not always have the 

 same result. If told that they will not see Dr. Bernheim, some 

 subjects will not see him, but will hear him and feel his touch, — a 

 condition causing them a good deal of surprise, and often leading 

 them to infer that another person must be speaking to them, and 

 so on. By suggesting in detail that the doctor will neither be seen, 

 heard, nor felt, a complete anesthesia can be established 



Returning to the former subject. Dr. Bernheim, while invisible, 

 spoke abusive words to her ; but her face betrayed no emotion. 

 Thereupon she was hypnotized by an assistant, and given the sug- 

 gestion that upon her re-awakening the doctor would again be pres- 

 ent. Dr. Bernheim then asked what he had said to her. She de- 

 nied his having been present ; but he insisted, impressing upon her 

 that she would remember all. She declares it must have been a 

 dream, but at last with great hesitation repeats Dr. Bernheim's words, 

 his actions, his sticking her with a pin, and so on. The latent im- 

 pression can thus be revived, showing that it was physiologically re- 

 corded. It is not remembered, but by a new suggestion or great 

 effort can be revived. 



A similar experience often happens in the normal state. We are 

 absorbed in work while conversation goes on about us. We hear 

 nothing at the time, and we have no idea of what has been said. 

 Later, a chance association, or what not, shows that we had really 

 been taking in what was said, though absorbed by our own work. 

 The proof of this power of revivification is important as an aid to 

 the explanation of hypnotic states, and is equally valuable in the 

 medico-legal complications that might arise from them. 



Fatigue of Sight. — Experiments have recently been made 

 showing in what order a fatigued eye recovers the power of perceiv- 

 ing different colors. The important factor is what color has been 

 used to induce fatigue. If the eye has been fatigued by long expos- 

 sure to red, the sensitiveness for green is the first to re-appear, 

 then for blue, then yellow, and finally red. After a" blue-fatigue," 



the order is yellow, red, green, blue ; after a " green-fatigue," the 

 order of recovery is red, blue, yellow, green ; after " yellow-fatigue," 

 it is red, blue, green, yellow. The eye recovers last the perception 

 of the color by which the fatigue has been induced, and first recov- 

 ers the sensitiveness for the complementary color. The fatigue is 

 in the retina, for it is an independent phenomenon in the two eyes. 

 The point of finest vision, the fovea, requires a longer time to re- 

 cover from color-fatigue than the less sensitive lateral portions of 

 the retina. The physiological process is considered to be related to 

 the visual purple of the rods and cones. 



Sense of T.4STE. — In the case of a patient whose entire tongue, 

 including the large circumvallate taste-papillae at the root of the 

 tongue, had been removed, it was found that some power of taste 

 remained. The sensations of sweet, bitter, and sour could be ob- 

 tained by applying appropriate substances to the back of the phar- 

 ynx or the stump of the tongue, though if applied to the tongue the 

 taste was apparent only during swallowing. The taste of salt was 

 not perceived. Though these results are not fully in harmony with 

 previous experiments, they are helpful in localizing the tasting-pow- 

 ers of various portions of the mouth cavity. 



Acrophobia. — Among the many curious psychical experiences 

 that are now attracting attention, the one to which the term " acro- 

 phobia " has been applied has many points of interest. It refers 

 to an exaggerated condition of the fear when in high places. Dr. 

 Verga has recently described the phenomena in his own case- 

 Though by nature not at all timid, all his courage leaves him when 

 above ground. He has palpitations in mounting a step-ladder ; 

 finds it extremely unpleasant to ride on top of a coach, or even to 

 look out of a first-story window. His idiosyncrasy forbids him to 

 use an elevator, and the mere thought of those who have cast them- 

 selves down from high places causes tingling all over his person. 

 The thought of the earth spinning through space is enough to cause 

 discomfort. He finds this fear growing upon him as sight and hear- 

 ing become less acute, and what walking in high places was for- 

 merly possible for him is getting more and more difficult. A greater 

 or less degree of this fear is undoubtedly quite common. A very 

 intense form of it seems perfectly consistent with normal mental 

 functions. 



Color-Blindness. — Examinations in English schools tend to 

 bear out the opinion that color-blindness is often declared to be pres- 

 ent, when really no organic defect, but only a poor training in the 

 naming and distinction of colors, is apparent. Some pupils, who at 

 first seemed unable to tell colors, could be taught to do so in a few 

 hours. One boy always called black white, and white black, and 

 regarded colors in general as of little importance. Of one hundred 

 boys examined, not one could be declared color-blind ; of two hun- 

 dred boys who were set to arranging and matching shades, none 

 found any difficulty after a few hours' practice ; and all could dis- 

 tinguish ordinary colors. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



Professor Shaler of Harvard has just published in the " Mem- 

 oirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology," by permission of the 

 director of the Geological Survey, a report on the Cambrian district 

 of Bristol County, Mass., including a discussion of twenty-three 

 species of fossils in the lower Cambrian section, from localities pre- 

 viously unknown to science. The total section of Cambrian beds 

 exposed has a thickness of about seven thousand feet, and below that 

 section there is a pre-Cambrian series of unknown depth, but prob- 

 ably approaching ten thousand feet. The report includes a geolo- 

 gical map of the district, and two plates of fossils. 



— Frederick Schwatka, the noted Arctic traveller, who made the 

 longest sledge-journey on record in search of Sir John Franklin's 

 remains, is about to head an expedition through the hitherto un- 

 known northern mountains of Mexico. 



— Surgeon-Gen. Hamilton has gone to Chicago on official busi- 

 ness, and will be absent from Washington for a month. He re- 

 ports progress in his efforts to reduce Florida cities to a safe sani- 

 tary condition. 



