April 16, 1886.] 



SCIENCE. 



359 



Preceding the general alphabetical authors' list 

 of books, which constitutes the great bulk of the 

 book, is a list of the bibliographical authorities 

 consulted, this list numbering a hundred and 

 twelve entries, covering twenty-six pages. This 

 list, being one subordinate to the general purpose 

 for which the book is to be used, might go in a 

 subordinate or smaller type, thus saving in two 

 ways ; to wit, in the space occupied, and in show- 

 ing by the type itself that the list was subordinate 

 to the main body of the work. In the very full 

 index at the close of the book, and which consti- 

 tutes the subject-catalogue, this plan is followed 

 with good effect, and a complete subject-catalogue 

 of Indian linguistics is thus printed on forty-five 

 closely printed pages. 



The serial numbers which accompany each title, 

 and which are printed on the left, would inter- 

 fere less with the catch-word of the title if trans- 

 ferred to the right ; and the catch- word, the 

 author's name, might then advantageously be 

 brought to the left, a little beyond the line of the 

 text. These detailed matters of printing here 

 introduced and commented upon, though in gen- 

 eral uncalled for, are pertinent to the present 

 notice, since these are proof-sheets, and hence the 

 finally adopted form is presumably not yet settled. 

 Moreover, these questions admit of a more intelli- 

 gent and satisfactory settlement from the ex- 

 istence in print of this material, which might, 

 perchance, be denominated "Proof-sheets of 

 material collected with a view of constructing an 

 exhaustive bibliography of the languages of the 

 native races of North America." This would 

 seem to be a tolerably precise characterization of 

 both the book and the author's conception of it. 

 The term ' Indian ' on the titlepage is of course 

 used to include all native races, Eskimo, Aztecs, 

 etc. Whether the word should be so used, is a 

 matter for the ethnographer rather than the bibli- 

 ographer. 



The size of the work, and the fact that while 

 going through the press two hundred and fifty 

 pages of additions and corrections accumulated, 

 show the importance of considering whether 

 finally it will not be better to break this bibli- 

 ography up into several subdivisions, so that, 

 instead of having a very large bibliography of 

 North American linguistics, we may have a more 

 useful work, consisting of several parts, each 

 devoted to a special group of languages, such as 

 Algonkin, Eskimo, etc. All bibliographies should 

 provide for growth. In any very comprehensive 

 one, the first part begins to be antiquated before 

 the last part is reached. Moreover, bibliographies, 

 if of comparatively small subjects, can be revised, 

 and kept up to date ; but it is a formidable under- 



taking to revise, enlarge, and bring up to date, a 

 work so large as this. 



As the present tendency is pronouncedly in the 

 direction of full bibliographies of small subjects, 

 the most important question to be considered in 

 the publication of this work would seem to be as 

 to whether it should be one single bibliography of 

 a very large subject, or a series of bibliographies 

 of a number of small subjects. 



Would it be better to prepare a bibliography of 

 mathematics, or a series of bibliographies, on the 

 different subdivisions of mathematics ? And in 

 meteorology will the signal service best serve 

 the meteorological public by issuing one grand 

 bibliography of meteorology, covering the entire 

 field, or by subdividing into various heads, such 

 as 'observations,' 'instruments,' 'theories,' etc., 

 and issuing smaller bibliographies, covering the 

 more limited fields? It is not our purpose to 

 discuss these questions, but, rather, to sharply 

 draw attention to them for the purpose of having 

 them well considered before a final form is 

 adopted. 



The author is, in our opinion, to be congratu- 

 lated upon selecting the form of an authors' 

 catalogue rather than the subject-catalogue. The 

 authors' catalogue admits practically of but a 

 single arrangement, — the alphabetic, — since in 

 any large list the chronological order proves of far 

 less general utility. 



The subject-catalogue, however, admits of 

 several arrangements : it is always subject to 

 radical changes based upon increased knowledge 

 or new and revised systems of classification ; 

 and, lastly, to use a subject-catalogue, the system 

 of classification used in that particular catalogue 

 must be studied. It therefore seems far wiser, as 

 Mr. Pilling has done, to make the index serve as 

 the subject-catalogue. 



DISEASES OF THE FORE-BRAIN. 



The scope of this work is indicated in its title. 

 It is an attempt to explain both the nature of 

 mental action and the perversions of that action 

 from the data of the anatomist and the pathol- 

 ogist. Professor Meynert has no superior in 

 Europe in the department in which he has writ- 

 ten. To him anatomists owe much that is new 

 and important in the knowledge of the structure 

 of the braiu. It is to be expected, therefore, that 

 the results of his life-work should be regarded 

 with great interest. In a comparatively small 



Psychiatry: a clinical treatise on diseases of the fore- 

 brain, based upon a study of its structure, functions, and 

 nutrition. Part i. By Theodor Meynert, M.D. Tr. by 

 B. Sachs, M.D. New York, Putnam, 1885. 8°. 



