Apkil 10, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



301 



drawing- together of the scattered particles, 

 become heated, according to the well-known 

 law for gases. 



It will not do, perhaps, to be critical here, 

 any more than one should be of a fairy-tale, 

 for it would. destroy the charm of the illusion ; 

 and there is no reason why this speculation is 

 not as good as, or perhaps better than, an}* 

 other cosmological theory. 



The book, further, contains an additional 

 part, giving a historical account of the evo- 

 lution of cosmogonic doctrines ; while, as a 

 whole, it contains very full references to the 

 literature of the subjects discussed. 



HOVEY 1 S MIND-READING. 



The title of this book gives no adequate 

 idea of its contents. It is a very full account, 

 indeed in great part a reprint, of such of the 

 Proceedings of the English Societ}* for ps} T chi- 

 cal research as refer to thought-transference, 

 with a few pages of introductoiy and conclud- 

 ing matter. Why this fact should not be 

 made apparent in the title, we fail to see, as 

 it is distinctly stated in the body of the work, 

 and is evident on every page. The title will 

 naturally suggest to the reader an original dis- 

 cussion of the history or philosoplry of the sub- 

 ject, which the book does not pretend to give 

 him. None the less, however, must we thank 

 the author for presenting to the American 

 reader so complete an account of what is realty 

 important and interesting in the volumes issued 

 b} r the society referred to. He has wisely 

 omitted every thing not pertaining to the spe- 

 cial subject of mind-reading and telepathy. 

 The matter pertaining to this subject is pre- 

 sented so fully and so faithfully, that it leaves 

 little for the reviewer to say of the general 

 character of the contents of the book. 



What are really original, are the author's 

 own discussions in the first and last chapters. 

 These discussions are, we regret to say, of a 

 nature rather to cast discredit upon the whole 

 subject, in the minds of the closest thinkers, 

 than to throw light upon it. The author 

 wholly mistakes the point at issue between 

 the believers and unbelievers in psychic force. 

 He joins the great army of hobby-riders by 

 holding up to ridicule or disapprobation cer- 

 tain real or supposed men who in the past 

 have opposed, on scientific grounds, views 

 which afterward turned out to be correct. 

 This is just what every man does who has an 



Mind-reading and beyond. By William A. Hovey. Bos- 

 ton, Lee & Shepard, 1885. 



engine to run without fuel, or a patent gun 

 which is to destroy the largest armored ship. 

 Mr. Hovey represents those who differ from 

 him as men who pronounce untrue that which 

 they cannot explain ; and all the way through 

 he imagines himself talking about people who 

 deny his facts. Now, there are no such people 

 worth talking about, and there is no question 

 of fact at issue. The real state of the case is, 

 that he has a theory for explaining admitted 

 facts, and the only men he has to oppose are 

 those who do not believe that he has estab- 

 lished his theory. The admitted facts are cer- 

 tain phenomena known as mind-reading, and 

 certain acts of copying drawings by a blind- 

 folded person not in contact with any other 

 person. The contested theory is that these 

 facts prove the transfer of thought from mind 

 to mind without the intervention of am* physi- 

 cal agenc}\ Those who refuse to accept this 

 theory may or may not have a theory of their 

 own : it is not at all incumbent on them to 

 form one. They may saj^ that the}- meet with 

 phenomena which they cannot explain, eve^ 

 day of their lives, and that this is amongst 

 them. The ps} r chic societies were organized 

 for the express purpose of investigating the 

 subject, and finding out what theory, if any, 

 was the correct one. If there were not some 

 question as to how the phenomena should be 

 explained, there would be little occasion for a 

 psj'chical society. 



TEXT-BOOKS IN CHEMISTRY AND 

 MINERALOGY. 



The lecture-notes on general chemistry, by 

 Dr. J. T. Stoddard, are, as the title indicates, 

 merely an outline which should be the basis 

 of a student's notes in a course of experimen- 

 tal lectures. A few general principles of the 

 science are given briefly, and then follow state- 

 ments of the properties, uses, history, method 

 of preparation, and occurrence, of the common- 

 est of the non-metals and their compounds. 

 The appendix contains some tables and hints 

 as to the methods of chemical calculation. 

 From its briefness, the book can be of little 

 value except as a suggestion of some elemen- 

 tary facts which the beginner should learn : 

 and its use as an outline for the basis of a 



Outlines of lecture-notes on general chemistry. Part i, 

 The non-metals. By J. T. Stoddard. Northampton, Gazette 

 publishing company, 1884. 84 p. 8°. 



An outline of qualitative analysis for beginners. By J. T. 

 Stoddard. Northampton, Gazette printing company, 1S83. 

 4+54 p. 8°. 



Systematic mineral record, with a. synopsis of terms and 

 chemical reactions used in describing minerals. By E. M. 

 Shepard. New York, Barnes, 1884. 26 p. 8°. 



