912 The American Naturadist. [Octoher, 
If the appearance of the more general work is to be long delayed, 
which is probable, owing to the magnitude of the undertaking, it is to 
be hoped that Mr. Scudder will soon give us a catalogue of the known 
North American species of this order. Such a catalogue, even thopgh 
it were merely provisional, would be of great use to those having col- 
lections to arrange, and would stimulate more careful collecting in 
regions which have not yet been thoroughly explored. In this way 
much would be done to hasten the day when a fairly complete general 
work could be published. 
One has only to consider the great usefulness of our lists of Lepidop- 
tera to appreciate the value of even an imperfect catalogue. And there 
is no one else so well qualified as is Mr. Scudder to prepare a catalogue 
of the Orthoptera.—J. H. C. 
PSYCHOLOGY.’ 
Notes on the Experimental Study of Memory.’—The expe- 
rimental investigation of memory began only a few years ago. In the 
books on modern psychology which date ten years back, there was no 
mention of it whatever. Wundt’s treatise on physiological psychology, 
which may rightly be considered a typical work,.devotes but very few 
ages to memory and not a word to experiments upon this faculty ; 
nevertheless, this is a work which has passed through several editions, 
in which the author has endeavored to keep abreast with the science. 
The first investigators who directed their attention to the subject were 
Galton, Jacobs and Ebbinghaus; their studies were confined to a few 
points, and there still remain to-day many unexplored regions in this 
domain. The memory of sensations is merely outlined, and the mem- 
ory of ideas still remains to be covered, at least for the most part. 
However, within the last two years, attention has been turned in the 
direction of the memory. Miinsterberg, Calkins, Bigham, Miiller and 
Schumann and many others have already published results which are 
exceedingly interesting, although still fragmentary. As it is certain 
that these studies are more likely than some others to render great ser- 
vice to pedagogy, it is to be hoped that the movement already begun 
will not be arrested too soon. 
! Edited by Howard C. Warren, Princeton University, Princton, N. J. 
~ ? Translated and slightly abridged from the Année Biologique— —H. ©. W. 
