January 28, 1867.] 



8CIENCE. 



87 



must be said that he was the first to study in so 

 scientific and severe a manner, and with such 

 persevering patience, the subject treated of in 

 ' Die Seele des Kindes.' 



A book on animal magnetism, by MM. Binet 

 and Fere, has recently appeared. It is really a 

 book on hypnotism, as most phenomena ascribed 

 to animal magnetism are of an hypnotic nature. 

 The book is a good one. After some preliminary 

 chapters devoted to the experiments of Mesmer 

 and others, the authors speak of modern hypno- 

 tism, of the different methods of inducing hypnotic 

 sleep, and of the symptoms and degiees of this 

 sleep. They then give a theory of hypnotic sug- 

 gestion, with a long review of the phenomena pro- 

 duced under its influence. A specially good 

 chapter treats of the therapeutic and pedagogic 

 applications of hypnotic suggestion. The book 

 treats the subject fairly and fully, and will prove 

 useful. Another new book, on hygienic dietetics, 

 is from the pen of Prof. G. See. It begins with 

 an exhibit of the comparative nutritive powers of 

 different foods and a physiological study of the 

 alimentary process. The rest of the book is de- 

 voted to the practical treatment of diseases by a 

 judicious choice of foods. M. See is well informed 

 upon the subject, and his book is consequently 

 valuable, although it does not contain much origi- 

 nal matter. V. 



Paris, Jan. 13. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



The first annual convention of the Society 

 for the prevention of the adulteration of foods, 

 drugs, and medicines met in Washington last 

 week. The object of this society is the establish- 

 ment of a certain fixed standard for every article 

 of food, drink, and medicine, with the require- 

 ment that all articles not up to the standard shall 

 be so marked by a label. About one hundred 

 and twenty-five delegates were present from all 

 parts of the country. Mr. H. Wharton Amber- 

 ling of Philadelphia was elected president, and 

 Mr. Elisha Winter, secretary. The president read 

 his annual address, in which he spoke of the want 

 of proper legislation on the subject of adulterated 

 food, the sale of which, he claimed, produced 

 nearly all the cases of kidney-trouble in the 

 land. 



— The secretary of the treasury has transmitted 

 to congress the estimates of deficiencies in appro- 

 priations for salaries and expenses of the National 

 board of health during the present fiscal year, 

 amounting to $7,500. In a letter accompanying 

 the estimates, the secretary of the board earnestly 

 urges the importance of making the appropriation 

 requested, but says, in case it is deemed unde- 



sirable to continue[the work which has for its ob- 

 ject the preservation and improvement of the 

 health of the people, the laws devolving such 

 duties upon the board should be repealed. 



— The fine, large, gold medal given to General 

 Grant for distinguished services in the Mexican 

 war, now at the national museum, is bogus, hav- 

 ing a specific gravity of only seven instead of 

 sixteen. 



— A memorial has been presented to congress, 

 signed by prominent literary and scientific men 

 and representatives of several historial societies, 

 setting forth the great value and importance of a 

 full and accurate digest and catalogue of the nu- 

 merous documents found in public and private 

 archives of Europe relating to the early history of 

 the United States, and especially to the treaty of 

 Paris in 1763, and the treaty of peace between the 

 United States and Great Britain in 1783. Most ©f 

 these documents are unknown to the American 

 student, and but few of them have ever been 

 copied, owing to their inaccessibility. Mr. Ben- 

 jamin Franklin Stevens of London has, after many 

 years' labor, prepared a descriptive catalogue of 

 over 95,000 separate papers found in the archives 

 of different European countries. The secretary 

 of state recommends to congress the purchase of 

 this descriptive catalogue, and adds, "Without its 

 favorable action, not only will the completion of 

 the work be doubtful if not impossible, but the 

 fragment now prepared would probably remain 

 practically valueless." Mr. Stevens, in a letter to 

 the secretary of state, says that the work has be- 

 come too great for any individual to undertake 

 alone, unless a man of wealth, and that when 

 complete the index will probably comprise 150,000 

 documents, and fill 20,000 royal octavo printed 

 pages. 



— Lieutenant Pillsbury, commanding the Blake, 

 has started south for the season's work, and will 

 run several lines of current observations from 

 Cuba to Yucatan, and from Cuba to Florida Reef, 

 and thence northward to San Antonia. This is 

 a continuation of the work of last year, which 

 was so successful. The connection between the 

 velocity of the Gulf Stream and the advent of the 

 tidal wave on our coast has been accurately deter- 

 mined, and the credit for this important discovery 

 is due to Lieutenant Pillsbury. Appendix No. 13 

 to the coast-survey report, ' On the harmonic analy- 

 sis of the tides at Governor's Island, New York 

 harbor,' by William Ferrel, shows the results of 

 tidal observations. The report states that the 

 tides at Governor's Island and at Sandy Hook are 

 very similar. The epochs at Governor's Island 

 are somewhat greater, and the tides are thus 



