616 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 355. 



covers only the current literature. The older 

 publications should not be neglected, but should 

 be cataloged ia a series of monographs on 

 special subjects. 



The annotation of books by experts, advo- 

 cated for many years with rare enthusiasm by 

 Mr. George lies, or at least the indexing and 

 condensing of authoritative book reviews, is 

 another work that would naturally come 

 within the scope of a Central Cataloguing 

 Bureau. 



And finally, the bibliographical interests need 

 an organ of their own where pi-oblems can be 

 discussed and results made known. 



It is clear that all these various undertakings, 

 if carried out simultaneously, would result in 

 a great deal of unnecessary duplication were 

 there no central organization to guide and su- 

 pervise the whole, and, if no provision were 

 made for the utilization in many places of any 

 title entry needed in several catalogues, with- 

 out the necessity of setting up the matter anew 

 for every time. As long ago as 1850, Professor 

 Charles C. Jewett proposed that stereotype 

 plates be made of the titles of all the books in 

 American libraries, these to be kept at the 

 Smithsonian Institution and to be utilized for 

 the printing of catalogues of any library desir- 

 ing it. The cost was too large then and the 

 proposition too new. What was then looked 

 upon as the visionary, though interesting, 

 dream of an enthusiast, is now a reality, proved 

 to be of economic value. The experience of 

 the John Crerar Librarywith electrotype plates 

 for title entries, used for printing of catalogues 

 in book form as well as on cards, has been that 

 the cost of making these plates and of their 

 care and handling is less than that of printing 

 the same matter over again from newly set 

 type. 



The purpose of these lines has been to call 

 attention to the need of an Institute for Bib- 

 liographical Research where all the biblio- 

 graphical and library interests of the country 

 would center, and I hope that they may reach 

 some one who might be able and willing to en- 

 dow such an institute. 



Aksel G. S. Josephson. 

 The John Ckerae Library, Chicago, 

 Sept. 10, 1901. 



DISCORD. 



To THE Editor op Science : Permit me to 

 respond briefly to Mr. W. Le Conte Stevens's 

 remarks on ' Discord and Psychology ' in the 

 issue of Science for September 20. (1) How 

 Mr. Stevens found out that I had not read the 

 investigations of Professor Mayer on this sub- 

 ject is an enigma to me. His intimation that 

 they were unknown to me is based solely on 

 the fact that I do not swear by the authority of 

 these investigations, made 25 years ago (1875). 

 I have known them for many years. But I 

 know also many more recent investigations 

 which do not agree with those of Mayer. Phys- 

 icists who are interested in psychological theo- 

 ries and discuss them in their text-books may 

 keep up with current literature by looking once 

 a year at the ' Psychological Index,' published 

 annually by the Psychological Review^ or at any 

 other psychological bibliography. (2) With Mr. 

 Stevens's request to criticize from the psycho- 

 logical standpoint the sentences quoted by him, 

 I shall gladly comply by quoting a few sentences 

 from a physicist who was unusually familiar 

 with psychological literature, namely the late 

 Professor Melde, who says (Winkelmann's 

 'Handbuch der Physik,' I., p. 789): ' Eine 

 Hauptstorung eines regelmassigen Tones oder 

 eines coiisonirenden Zusammenklanges bilden 

 die Stosse oder Schwebungen. Sie konnen 

 durchs Zusammenwirken der primaren Tone, 

 also durch Interferenz eutstehen, oder es kon- 

 nen auch auf rein mechanische Weise solche 

 Stdsse erzeugt werden. Ihre Wirkung muss in 

 beiden Fallen mehr oder weniger die einer 

 Beimischung eines Rasselgerausches sein. Zur 

 Erklarung des inneren Wesens einer Con oder 

 Dissouanz konnen aber nach des Verfassers 

 Ueberzeugung auch nicht die Stosse {viz., auch 

 nicht Nebentone) herangezogen werden, denn 

 eine sogenannte Dlssonanz besteht sicherlich auch 

 ohnejedes Verhandensein von Siossen.''^ Let me 

 further quote from Stumpf, ' Konsonanz und 

 Dissonanz ' (1898), p. 5, where the author dis- 

 cusses the very investigations of Professor Mayer 

 which I am supposed to have ignored: " Wir 

 konnen Intermissionen in beliebiger Frequenz 

 auch bei zwei konsonanten Tonen kiinstlich her- 

 stellen, ohne dass sie dissonant wilrden.''^ 



When there are beats, the psychologist speaks 



