412 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. TV., No. 91. 



cases called attention to it as a ' new method ' 

 for the administration of this anaesthetic. His 

 work made an impression in his own country 

 and on this side of the ocean. Others took up 

 the method ; and the journals had much to say 

 about the promise which this improvement held 

 out of being very useful, not merely in some 

 special operations, but also in general. Then 

 came reports of unpleasant complications and 

 unexpected effects more or less beyond the 

 control of the operator. 



While this experience was growing, and 

 practical rules were slowly getting formulated, 

 some of the older doctors, and some of the more 

 ' literary fellers ' of the craft, bethought them- 

 selves, and remembered that this ' new method ' 

 was, after all, nearly as old as ether anaesthesia 

 itself. It seems that in 1847 Pirogoff recom- 

 mended this application of ether- vapor, others 

 having tried a similar use of the liquid alone 

 or in a mixture with water. Pirogoff and the 

 few others who gave the realty new method a 

 trial were not altogether satisfied, and seem to 

 have abandoned it in a short time, except to 

 meet a few very special conditions. Twenty- 

 one years ago (1863) all this was fully de- 

 scribed, and the dangers of such administration 

 pointed out, by Perrin and Lallemand in their 

 work on surgical anaesthesia ; and as late as 

 1875 Claude Bernard mentioned it as an ' his- 

 torically curious ' method of considerable un- 

 certainty and little practical value. 



There would seem to be no easy way of 

 avoiding such repetitions, unless, perhaps, to 

 have some member on the editorial staff of 

 every medical journal learn a few of the larger 

 indexes by heart, and stand ready to nip all 

 ' new ' methods and schemes in the bud. In 

 general, however, a certain amount of repeti- 

 tion, even in practical matters, is not always 

 objectionable ; and, in scientific research in 

 competent hands, it is even less so. The cor- 

 roboration which may thus be obtained has 

 frequently considerable value. Then, too, it 

 must not be forgotten, that a fresh investi- 



gator who takes up an old problem apparently 

 solved, perhaps is likely to approach it from 

 another point of view, and with different tra- 

 ditions and equipment from his predecessors. 

 Thus it is possible, that what at first appears 

 to be needless repetition may lead to impor- 

 tant results. It is a common experience, too, 

 that few sets of old observations are really 

 complete or useful, save for the particular and 

 limited objects which interested the investi- 

 gator. 



The use of the word ' scientific ' at the pres- 

 ent time, illustrates how custom overrides ety- 

 mology, giving sanction to an application of a 

 word quite inconsistent with its derivation. 

 'Scientific' means, strictly, 'knowledge-mak- 

 ing; ' but it is employed to signify ' relating to, 

 or in accordance with, science.' Last week we 

 reviewed a work on ' scientific butter-making.' 

 Now, if we could, by anj r process of manufac- 

 turing butter, produce science at the same 

 time, every one would agree that it was an emi- 

 nently practical and economical invention ; but, 

 alas ! the true Anglo-Saxon defies etymology ; 

 and nobody will misunderstand the customary 

 meaning of 'scientific' in adjectival association 

 with butter-making, or when used to qualify 

 much else which never makes knowledge. The 

 word is a curious example of error becoming 

 correct through usage. If we could only add 

 the word ' sciential ' to the language, usage 

 might then conform to etymology in regard to 

 ' scientific ' by transferring half its duties to 

 the new adjective. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



**# Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The 

 writer's name is in all cases required as proof of good faith. 



Iroquois grammar. 



The lively letter of your esteemed correspondent, 

 Mrs. E. A. Smith, is satisfactory in one respect ; as it 

 explains clearly her views on the subject discussed 

 by her at the late Montreal meeting, and now more 

 briefly in your columns. Her remarks lead to infer- 

 ences for which she is probably unprepared, and 

 which she will be inclined to regret and disown ; for 

 she doubtless, like all who know the French mission- 

 aries among the Iroquois, has a high opinion of their 

 learning and worth. Yet her suggestions necessarily 

 imply that these worthy men are sadly incompetent 



