Miscellaneous Scientific Intelligence. 81 



6. Annual Report of the Board of Scientific Advice for India 

 for 1918-19.— The report of this Board for 1917-18 is briefly 

 mentioned in the May number (p. 388) . The present report gives 

 a similar summary of scientific work accomplished in the year 

 following. The thirty-sixth meeting was held at Simla on May 

 19, and the thirty-seventh at Delhi on November 24. A subject 

 of special interest under consideration was the discovery of 

 quick-growing trees to be recommended to agriculturists for culti- 

 vation as a fuel supply. Five sub-committees are mentioned, 

 each including three officials, to cover the entire field of scientific 

 activities for the country ; a sixth, with four members, is respon- 

 sible for the libraries. 



7. The Technical Review. — This periodical is planned to be a 

 review and digest of the technical press of all countries and a 

 survey of engineering industiy throughout the world. It is pub- 

 lished from the Technical Review office at 2 Central Buildings, 

 Westminster, S. W., 1, London. The subscription price 

 (abroad) is one pound ten shillings for 26 issues. No. 10 of 

 Volume 6 embraces pages 395-434. The abstracts given are 

 unusually full and useful. 



8. Report or the Commission appointed by the University of 

 Pennsylvania to investigate modern Spiritualism in accordance 

 with the bequest of the late Henry Seybert, with a Foreword by 

 H. H. Furness, Jr. Pp. 159, Philadelphia, 1920. (J. B. Lip- 

 pincott Company.) 



The Truth of Spiritualism; by "Rita" (Mrs. Desmond 

 Humphreys). Pp. 175, Philadelphia, 1920 (J. B. Lippincott 

 Company.) 



The recent visit to America of Sir Oliver Lodge has greatly 

 served to increase the interest in the subject of spiritualism. 

 His dignified bearing at the many addresses recently made, and 

 his evident confidence in his belief in the subject he so clearly 

 presented, cannot have failed to impress all those who had the 

 privilege of hearing the author of ' ' Raymond, ' ' even if they did 

 not accept his views. 



Of the two books, the titles of which are given above, the first 

 is a re-issue of a volume, first published in 1887, giving the 

 results of the work of the Seybert Commission, which extended 

 over more than a year and which embraced the most thorough 

 investigation of spiritualism yet attempted. The Commission 

 consisted of ten gentlemen, including Dr. William Pepper, Dr. 

 Horace H. Furness, Dr. Weir Mitchell, Dr. Joseph Leidy and 

 others not less well known, only one of whom is now living. It 

 is needless to say that the investigation was thorough in every 

 particular. The results reached cannot be summarized more 

 satisfactorily than by quoting two of the closing paragraphs of 

 the book by Dr. Furness. These are as follows : 



"Although I have been thus thwarted at every turn in my 

 investigations of Spiritualism, and found fraud where I had 

 looked for honesty, and emptiness where I had hoped for ful- 



Am. Jour. Sci.— Fourth Series, Vol. L, No. 295.— July, 1 920. 

 6 



