110 



SCIENGE. 



[Vol. VII. , No. 156 



tions, rate of action, and the like, the type of 

 processes in the lower tissues. So far disposition 

 is merely a part of constitution : and cheerfulness, 

 hope, apathy, or gloom are only expressions of 

 physical change. That all such qualities react 

 upon the body in such a way as to influence its 

 vitality, is undoubted. On the other hand, they 

 may certainly be overruled by the action of the 

 will, so as to be no longer mere bodily impulses, 

 but trained servants of a governing intellect. 

 They may thus acquire a compensatory value in 

 correcting faults of constitution, and strengthen 

 in proportion the tenure of life. 



This brings us to the sphere of intelligent effort. 

 There can be no doubt, in our opinion, that there 

 is much room for exercise of private judgment 

 and energy in seeking the prolongation of one's 

 own life. If there is any known diathetic fault, 

 this implies a law of one's being which will repay 

 in a gain of vitality the man who recognizes it, 

 and guides himself accordingly. The doctrine of 

 the ' survival of the fittest ' does not work itself out 

 by blind chance, or without evident design, even 

 among the lowest forms of life. Much less is it 

 to be believed that man is unable so to adjust his 

 circumstances to his needs as to continue to live 

 after a certain mean period. The weaker will 

 sometimes prove himself the more tenacious of 

 life by observing rational methods of living, of 

 which the more robust is careless. Moderation 

 has probably more to do with success in this 

 respect than any thing else. To eat sufficiently, 

 and drink stimulants sparingly, to alternate work 

 with adequate rest, and to meet worries heartily, 

 will afford to every one the best chance of arriving 

 at a ripe old age. 



Some interesting particulars of the German 

 universities have recently been published by the 

 London illustrated nors. There are, it appears, 

 twenty-nine now existing, including those in the 

 Austrian empire and Switzerland, and the Russo- 

 German university of Dorpat. Twelve have ceased 

 to exist, with only one exception during the first 

 sixteen years of the present century. The oldest 

 is Prague (1348) ; the youngest, Czernowitz (187.")). 

 Six have been founded during the present century, 

 among them four of the most important, — Berlin, 

 Bonn, Munich, and Zurich. The number of stu- 

 dents in the universities belonging to the German 

 empire has risen from 14,808 in 1830, to 23,207 in 

 1883 ; but the percentage to the population is 

 exactly the same. This percentage had declined 

 very greatly during the intervening epoch, but 

 has been rapidly recovering itself since the reno- 

 vation of the German empire in 1871. The per- 



centage of students of Catholic theology lias 

 declined during these fifty-three years from 12 

 to 3, mainly owing to the establishment of semi- 

 naries under direct Episcopal control. Protestant 

 theology also exhibits a falling-off in percentage 

 from 27 to 13, but the actual number of students 

 is diminished only by a fourth. Jurisprudence 

 has gained in number, but suffered in percentage. 

 Medicine has more than doubled its numbers, and 

 philosophy nearly quadrupled them, the percent- 

 age of the two united being 52, against 32 in 1830. 

 The students of the exact sciences in the philo- 

 sophical faculty are now 37 per cent, against 13 

 per cent in 1841. 



It has been estimated, says the New York medi- 

 cal record, that one-half the adult men of Ameri- 

 can birth living in our cities are bald-headed. The 

 estimate is not exaggerated, if it is applied to 

 persons above the age of thirty, and it may be 

 rather under the mark. If, now, it be conceded 

 that one-half of our American business and pro- 

 fessional men are bald at the present time, it 

 would be interesting to speculate as to the con- 

 dition of the heads of their descendants some 

 hundreds of years from now. The probabilities 

 point toward a race of hairless Americans, for 

 baldness is extremely liable to be propagated in 

 the male line, and to appear a little earlier in each 

 generation. The American nation is threatened 

 with the catastrophe of a universal alopecia. The 

 cause is usually imputed to the excessive strain 

 and ceaseless mental and physical activity to 

 which our methods of business and modes of 

 living conduce. From the visitors' gallery of the 

 stock exchange, for example, one views a mob of 

 shining pates, belonging, as a rule, to rather 

 young men. 



The much neglected scalp should be thoroughly 

 cleansed at certain intervals. It should be care- 

 fully and regularly examined, and if it be 

 unhealthy, dry, and scurvy, the proper applica- 

 tions should be made to it. The wearing of 

 un ventilated hats is one of the greatest sources of 

 failure of nutrition of the hair, and these must be 

 avoided. The beard never falls out, because it 

 gets plenty of sunlight and air. These are what 

 the hair of the seal]) needs also. Women are less 

 bald than men, because, for one reason, their 

 scalps are better ventilated. In fine, civilization 

 has made the hair-producing organs of the scalp 

 delicate and feeble. They have to be nursed and 

 cared for, or fchey atrophy and disappear. Young 

 Americans who do not wish to lose their hair 

 before they are forty must begin to look after their 

 scalps before they are twenty. 



