November 6, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



407 



structure and uses of the organs are just enough 

 dwelt upon to make the subject clear. Besides 

 the common ideas of the injuries of impure air, 

 he tells of the evils of carpets, drapery, curtains, 

 and upholstery as introducing bad air into our 

 living apartments. He comes down heavily on 

 the fear of slight draughts of air. If any adverse 

 criticism is to be made, it is that the author does 

 not make enough of the impure exhalations of the 

 lungs and skin as injuring the air, laying the sin 

 of air-poisoning too much at the door of carbonic 

 acid. And the perils of carbonic oxide, as found 

 in the products of combustion of water gas. are 

 not dwelt upon. 



— One of the best compends on its subject that 

 has yet appeared is Edinger's ten lectui-es ' Ueber 

 den bau der nervosen centralorgane,' just pub- 

 lished at Leipzig. The subject is beset with very 

 many difficulties, and there are many controverted 

 points at every step, and many degrees of certainty 

 about what is generaUy accepted. The author is, 

 moreover, an original investigator, hable to give 

 too great prominence to his oavq work. Despite 

 all these difficulties, however, we have here without 

 doubt the most lucid and the most judicious pre- 

 sentation of the subject of the finer internal anato- 

 my of the nervous system yet made in so small 

 space. The work contains 120 illustrations, many 

 of them original, which add gTeatly to its value. 

 We have long needed a concise presentation of this 

 subject, which should include, as none of the larger 

 and well known manuals do, the results of recent 

 investigations, especially those of Meynert and 

 Flechsig, to which full justice is here done. It is 

 sure to prove of peculiar value to teachers. If 

 another lecture could be added on the embryology 

 of the normal brain, the value of the book would 

 be increased. 



— E. Wasmandorff has pubhshed (Virchow's 

 and Holtzendorf's Sammlung wissenschaftUcher 

 vortrage, ser. xx.) an exhaustive study of the 

 various forms, in wliich sorrow for the loss of 

 friends has manifested itself among aU. peoples, 

 ancient and modem, civilized and savage. Forti- 

 fied by a wealth of references to original sources 

 of information, it constitutes a valuable contribu- 

 tion to anthropological science. It is impossible, 

 within our limited space, to give more than a single 

 example of the author's interesting generalizations. 

 The ordinary colors of mourning garments are 

 black and white. As is the European custom, black 

 prevailed among the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, 

 Greeks, and Romans, and the native races of this 

 continent. "White is the color among the inhabi- 

 tants of China, Japan, Oceanica and large por- 

 tions of Asia ; so also in parts of Greece and 



anciently in Germany. Blue is the color in Arabia, 

 and among the Turks and Egyptians, and m. 

 Catholic upper Germany it is prescribed by the 

 church. Yellow was used by the ancient Celts 

 and in some of the kingdoms of Asia. 



— Several inquiries having been made of us 

 relative to our statement on page 351, that an 

 'actual competitive examination' was required 

 for admission into the Royal society of London, 

 we print from Nature the following extract from 

 Professor Chrystal's address before the British 

 association, which seems to warrant what was 

 said : " I think our great scientific societies — the 

 Royal societies of London and Edinburgh, and the 

 Royal Irish academy — might do more than they 

 do at present to prevent this languishing of local 

 science, which is so prejudicial to the growth of a 

 scientific public. Besides their all-important pub- 

 lishing function, these bodies have for a consider- 

 able time back been constituted into a species 

 of examining and degree-conferring bodies for 

 grown-up men, that is to say, their membership 

 has been conferred upon a principle of exclusion. 

 Instead of any one being admitted who is willing 

 to do his best, by paying his subscription or other- 

 wise, to advance science, every one is excluded 

 who does not come up to the standard of a certain 

 examining body. So far is this carried in the 

 case of the Royal society of London, that there is 

 an actual competitive examination, on the result 

 of which a certain number of successful candi- 

 dates are annually chosen." 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



♦** Correspondents are requested to he as brief as possible. The 

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



The care of pamphlets. 



In response to the demand which Mr. Goode makes 

 in Science of Oct. 16, for descriptions of methods of 

 caring for pamphlets, I describe my own method. 



Each pamphlet is perforated at the back with holes 

 to admit a cord. This is most conveniently done 

 with a cutting punch, which makes a round and 

 smooth hole, but it can be done with an awl. Cords 

 are then passed through these holes, and any num- 

 ber of pamphlets may be bound together. Whenever 

 it is desired to insert a new pamphlet, or to re- 

 arrange the old, the cords can be withdrawn and 

 re-inserted. To facilitate re-arrangement, all holes 

 are made at exactly the same height above the lower 

 end of the pamphlet. If, then, all the pamphlets on 

 the fauna of a country, for instance, have been 

 bound together temporarily, and it is desired to re- 

 arrange them by zoological groups with the groups 

 of other faunas, no difficulty in regard to the binding 

 arises from the interchange. These holes are made, 

 for octavos, at 2.5, 7.5, 16, and 21 cm. from the 

 lower edge of the pamphlet ; for duodecimos, at 2.5, 

 7.5, 11, and 16 cm.; for quartos, at 2.5, 7.5, 21, and 

 26 cm., etc.; so that pamphlets of any two or more 



