522 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VLL, No. 175 



I have recently attended three very interesting 

 seances given by Professor Luys concerning hyp- 

 notism. The meetings were held at his private 

 residence, and were attended only by some per- 

 sonal friends and acquaintances of Dr. Luys. 

 The results of the experiments were very sin- 

 gular indeed, especially during a somnambulistic 

 trance. M. Luys has studied, and showed to us, 

 the effects of different drugs and poisons when 

 put in a glass vial, firmly sealed with the lamp, 

 and kept near the patient (action des medicaments 

 d distance). Each different drug produces a spe- 

 cial and characteristic effect. Valerian does not 

 act like ether or brandy. Wine, brandy, and 

 champagne do not produce exactly the same ef- 

 fects ; that is, the drunkenness brought on by 

 the presence of these different alcoholic bever- 

 ages is not precisely the same, and the differ- 

 ences closely correspond with those observed in 

 persons really intoxicated with wine, brandy, or 

 champagne. For instance, ether acts on Esther 

 N. in the following manner. After a few min- 

 utes' application of the ether-vial behind the 

 neck, she grows less drowsy, opens her eyes, 

 and begins laughing and grinning without any 

 reason whatever. Her mirth is soon very great, 

 and even noisy. A very singular fact is that 

 in her normal condition many colors are not 

 seen by her; but under the influence of ether 

 she sees them quite distinctly, and is astonished 

 at the vividness of her color-impressions. Vale- 

 rian acts upon her very differently. She begins 

 scratching the floor, as cats do, and believes she 

 is disinterring the remains of her mother ; and 

 she is in a very sad train of thought. Wine, 

 similarly put behind her back, intoxicates her in 

 a most pronounced and realistic manner : she is 

 certainly in a state of beastly intoxication, and 

 could not possibly be more so if she had really 

 swallowed several bottles of wine. It is quite a 

 sight to witness the experiment. She goes 

 through the whole ordeal from beginning to end, 

 and finally rolls on the floor as drunk as drunkard 

 ever was. Water brings on symptoms of hydro- 

 phobia. These experiments fully confirm those of 

 Drs. Burot and Bourru, of Rochefort, on the same 

 subject. 



Near the end of last month, during the Easter 

 holidays, the Congres de societes savantes began 

 its meeting in the Sorbonne for the twenty-fourth 

 time. After having been made up entirely of pro- 

 vincial scientists, this society has recently enlarged 

 its membership, and now comprises members from 

 all parts of France. The number of persons who 

 attend this meeting is always very great : hut the 

 Parisian members are rather scarce, especially 

 when the weather is as fine as it has been this 



year, and tempts them to go and seek in some 

 nook of Compiegne or Fontainebleau forests a 

 week of leisure and rest after a winter of hard 

 work. However, the meeting was very interest- 

 ing. In the section devoted to economical and 

 social science, presided over by M. Levasseur of 

 the institute, many questions were discussed con- 

 cerning property, the share that can be given in 

 benefits to workmen, the Torrens act, and similar 

 plans for the mobilisation of property, etc. In the 

 historical and archeological section many papers 

 were presented, as usual. These literary scientific 

 studies are the ones that interest the greatest 

 number of members ; since these sections are the 

 original society itself, which has only of late added 

 sections for the study of natural history, mathe- 

 matics, chemistry, and physics. 



Apropos of societies, the Association franchise 

 pour l'avancement des sciences has just published 

 the first part of its report on the Grenoble meeting 

 of 1885. This report is now published in two 

 parts, separately bound as usual : it is published 

 with great care, and is very large. 



Professor Duclaux published last week a new 

 edition of his book, ' Ferments et maladies,' under 

 the title of * Le microbe et la maladie.' It is an 

 entirely new work, and gives a very good account 

 of the facts at present positively known concern- 

 ing the pathogenetic properties of different bac- 

 teria and bacilli. We recommend this book, which 

 is very interesting and well written, although with 

 too many attempts at literary effect. 



The Institute of France has been recently called 

 to elect a member in the place of Professor Bou- 

 ley, deceased some time ago. There was only one 

 candidate of sufficient notoriety and fitness for the 

 place, and this was Professor Chauveau of Lyons, 

 the well-known veterinarian and physiologist. He 

 was elected by a great majority, and is to fill the 

 place of M. Bouley in many ways, being already 

 inspector-general of veterinary schools, and 

 member of the institute, and soon to be elected a 

 professor in the Museum d'histoire naturelle, in 

 M. Bouley's place. His duties will be different 

 from those of his predecessor. He will be profes- 

 sor of general physiology and pathology, instead 

 of professor of comparative pathology, at least it 

 is rumored so; and this is not surprising, Professor 

 Chauveau being by training more of a physiologist 

 than of a pathologist. He is a very able man, has 

 worked a good deal, and thoroughly understands 

 comparative anatomy and physiology. His elec- 

 tion in Bouley's place is very favorably commented 

 on here. 



M. Laurent has communicated to the Academy 

 of Belgium the results of some experiments on the 

 influence of different bacteria on the growth of 



