1033REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

that brothers and sisters are more alike in types of rmental disease than are parents and descendants.This is what one would expect if there is a greatersimilarity biologically and socially between members

Iof the same generation than between members of two Igenerations. "

The book ends with a warning against any attemptto influence legislation in a eugenic direction. Prof.Myerson recognises, however, a basis for the demandthat no one should be allowed to conceal the fact ofmental disease when entering upon marriage, and thatsuch concealment should be a cause for annulment.He advocates sterilisation of those types of feeble-mindedness which are known to run in families, andhe is of the opinion that wherever mental diseaseexists in a family group for more than one generationit would be wise for society to sterilise those of thesecond generation who pass into institutions. " I donot believe," he says, " that we can ask much morethan that in the present state of our knowledge, andwe cannot afford to be unduly dogmatic. The commonsense and stolidity of legislatures, what seems to bestupidity, is often enough justified by the dogmaticattitudes of science, a dogmatism hard to understandby one who knows the history of the theories ofscience."

This work is in every respect a valuable contributionto the literature of the subject and can be recommendedto all concerned with these branches of science.

Heredity in Nervous and Mental Disease. ByVarious Authors. New York: Paul B. Hoeber.1925. Pp. 332.$3.75.THE third volume of the reports of the Association

for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease is animportant contribution to the subjects there reviewed.The work is divided into five sections. The first dealswith general considerations, including the r6le of thecell and the chromosomes and the significance ofexogenous and endogenous factors in heredity. Thiscontains an excellent review by Dr. Charles Metz ofwork in connexion with the examination of thechromosomes of the fruit-fly, Drosophila, which is ofthe highest importance and interest. There is also apaper by Dr. L. F. Barker on the significance of certainfactors, such as consanguinity, race, and alcoholism,in the development of the heredo-familial diseasesof the nervous system. The second chapter is a studyby Dr. Smith Ely Jeliffe of the parts of the centralnervous system which tend to exhibit morbid recessiveor dominant characters, and outlines the work carriedout by many observers in connexion with the hereditaryaspect of nervous and mental disease, such as thefamilial muscular dystrophies, disseminated sclerosis,epilepsy, and dementia prsecox. Chapter III. dealswith the pathology of diseases of known hereditarytendency, particularly Freidreich’s ataxia, amauroticfamily idiocy, Leber’s disease, and retinitis pigmentosa.A final section, by Dr. Charles R. Stockard, gives anaccount of the experimental work he has done on theproduction of congenital malformations by means ofchemical traumata. The fourth chapter considersHeredity in the Psychoses, the hereditary and familialfactors being dealt with by Dr. A. M. Barrett, the Ipathological changes in patients dying from hereditary Iand familial psychoses by Dr. S. T. Orton, whileDr. C. B. Davenport discusses the proportion offeeble-mindedness in such hereditary conditions. Aninteresting chapter is contributed by Dr. J. Collinson the attitude of the novelist to the hereditary factorin life.The book is enriched by many excellent histological

plates and genealogical tables and other illustrations,and includes discussions which took place in thesociety, following the presentation of the variouspapers. The wide scope and detailed survey of thefield of research given in the volume render it a workworthy of careful and diligent study on the part ofthose interested in the hereditary aspect of mental andnervous disease.

THE MEDICAL, DENTAL AND PHARMACY DIRECTORYOF SOUTH AFRICA.Edited and published by EwALD HERBERT.Johannesburg. 1924. Pp. 259. 15s.6d.THE area covered by this directory includes the

Union of South Africa, Northern and SouthernRhodesia, and South-West Africa, Basutoland, andSwaziland Protectorate. The greater bulk of thevolume is taken up by useful information relating tothe Union of South Africa. The personnel of theDepartment of Public Health is detailed and that ofthe medical councils and pharmacy boards of eachof the provinces ; the principal medical officers of theDepartment of Defence are named and also themedical and lay members of the Council of PublicHealth. Medical, dental, and pharmaceutical societiesare listed, with their presidents and secretaries. Thenames, qualifications, and addresses of practitioners(a) of medicine, (b) of dentistry, (c) of pharmacy arethen set out first in alphabetical order, and thengeographically according to the town of residee.An account of the medical schools, hospitals, anddistrict surgeons concludes that part of the volumedevoted to the Union of South Africa. Correspondingparticulars are given in respect of the other countries.

It is noted in the preface that the directory has beenbrought out under great difficulties, since no penaltyis imposed on practitioners who fail to notify changeof address in South Africa ; official registers are thusnot always reliable, and it is difficult to trace themovements of practitioners.

Generally speaking, the medical and dental degreesand diplomas of Great Britain and Ireland, which areregistrable in Great Britain, are recognised in theUnion. But those who hold foreign degrees ordiplomas are advised to write to the council or boardunder whose jurisdiction they propose to practise,in order to ascertain if they are entitled to practisethere.

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THE PEARL OF FORTUNE.A Tale of the South Seas. By Lieut.-ColonelT. R. ST.-JOHNSTON, C.M.G. London : Selwynand Blount. 1925. Pp. 261. 7s. 6d. ’

Dr. T. R. St.-Jolnston, of the Colonial Civil Service,has to his credit already an interesting volume ofSouth Sea reminiscences, a work on the ethnology ofthe Pacific Islanders, some verse and fairy-tales. Tothis rather unusual literary output for a medical manhe now adds a sensational novel concerning thediscovery on a deserted coral island of a priceless pearl.There were three men only on the island at the time ;one found it, one legitimately succeeded to it as atrust, and most of the book is taken up with theattempts of the third, essentially a " bad man," toobtain it, being stimulated not only by ordinarydishonest greed, but by a well-described passion forrevenge. The story, while running on familiar generallines, is made interesting by the special knowledge theauthor is able to display in the mise-en-scène. Wewill not spoil it for the reader by detailing the way inwhich the interest is sustained by the temporary successand ultimate failure of the villain’s designs.

JOURNALS.

QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PHYSIO-LOGY. Vol. XV., No. l.-Contributions to thePhysiology of Gastric Secretion : I. Gastric Secretionby Local (Mechanical and Chemical) Stimulation, byRobert K. S. Lim, A. C. Ivy, and J. E. McCarthy.The investigations were carried out entirely on dogsprovided with gastric pouches or fistulae. The variouskinds or types of fistulse used by different observers

, are described and illustrated. Some observations onnormal men are included for comparison, and radio-. graphs of the entire stomach pouch after meals are, figured. A long historical account of previous observa-. tions on local mechanical and chemical stimulation is

given with well-documented references to the original

1034 REPORTS AND ANALYTICAL RECORDS.

papers, and the authors’ experimental results are

recorded. The mechanism concerned in gastricsecretion is discussed and the following workinghypothesis is suggested. All stimuli that excitegastric secretion act essentially by increasing theactive blood-flow through the gastric glands; themeans by which this is accomplished may be quitevaried, the motility of the stomach being in someway involved. This view is not held to the exclusionof others, for the enteric reflex may play an importantr6le. But since this mechanism does not suffice toexplain the secretion to meals in the denervatedpouch, and since all attempts up to the present havefailed to prove a hormone or humoral mechanism, theauthors believe it is better to adopt a hypothesiswhich offers a common mechanism, and they claimthat their observations offer a satisfactory explana-tion for at least a part of the hypernormal gastricsecretion (" hypersecretion") that is observed tooccur in cases of pyloric obstruction. The factorsconcerned in the excitation of gastric secretion are :(1).The cephalic phase, heretofore referred to as the"

psychic secretion " demonstrated by Pavlov, whichis excited chiefly by the taste, smell, and masticationof palatable food, and by slight or hypnotic suggestionof palatable food. The term " psychic secretion " isrejected because it is not necessarily psychic, as ithas been shown to occur in the absence of the cerebralcortex. (2) The gastric phase, in which mechanicaland chemical stimuli are effective. (3) The intestinalphase, in which the stimuli are certain chemicalsubstances acting in the intestine as proved in thenext paper by the same authors, entitled " TheIntestinal Phase of Gastric Secretion." The intestinalphase of gastric secretion, they hold, is due to theaction of the products (e.g., peptone, amino-acids,and amines) of digested complex food substancesand not apparently to the food in its raw state (meat,

carbohydrates, and neutral fat). Water in theintestine stimulates, but not invariably. Gastricsecretion may be stimulated from the intestine by anon-absorbable substance-namely, 0-5 per cent.saponin solution. The authors conclude that theirobservations definitely disprove the specific pyloricor gastric theory as originally stated by Edkins, andmaintain that their observations demonstrate thatthe intestine as a pathway for the stimulation ofgastric glands must be considered in an analysis ofthe factors concerned in the genesis of gastric secretion.In short, the existence of an intestinal phase is proved.-The Effect of Lesions of the Hind- and Mid-brain onMicturition in the Cat, by F. J. F. Barrington. Inprevious publications the author had shown that twoof the reflexes which go to make up micturition do notin the cat arise in the cord but in the brain stem,at approximately the level of a plane through theposterior part of the inferior colliculi dorsally andthe middle of the pons vertically. These two reflexesare the only two which produced a powerful andsustained bladder contraction, and to their abolitionthe suppression of micturition resulting from transec-tion of the spinal cord is apparently due.-Alterationsin the Form of Mammalian Erythrocytes in HypotonicPlasma, by Eric Ponder and W. G. Millar. Theauthors find that the diameter of the human erythro-cyte becomes less as the cell volume becomes greater,and this condition is typical of the behaviour of aballoon-like body. They conclude from their ownresults, and from those of other observers, that thered cell may be treated as a balloon-like body-i.e., iscomposed of a membrane containing a fluid or asemi-fluid material, probably a colloidal system, andis not, as suggested by Rollett, composed of a densestroma in the meshes of which the haemoglobin iscontained.-Action of Adrenalin on the Perfused FishHeart, by A. D. Macdonald.

Reports and Analytical Records." HYPOLOID " BISMUTH METAL.

(BURROUGHS, WELLCOME AND Co., SNOW HILL BUILDINGS,LONDON, E.C.)

" HYPOLOID " bismuth metal in isotonic glucosesolution (0-2 g. in 1 c.cm.) has been prepared byBurroughs, Wellcome and Co. as an additional remedyagainst syphilis. It presents metallic bismuth,now recognised as a definite spirillicide, in the formbest suited for intramuscular injection. The isotonicglucose solution allows uniform absorption to takeplace and practically eliminates abscess formationif the proper technique for intramuscular injectionis observed. The required dose is drawn up directinto the syringe barrel by puncturing the rubbercap with the syringe needle and withdrawing thepiston to the requisite mark on the barrel. Onwithdrawing the needle the aperture in the rubbercap closes automatically and reseals the container.The preparation is supplied in rubber-capped bottles5 c.cm. and 10 c.cm. The commencing dose suggestedis 1 c.cm. at each injection.

SQUIBB’S MINERAL OIL, " LIQUIDPETROLATUM (SQUIBB)."

(QUELCH AND GAMBLES, LIMITED, 211/215, BLACKFRIARS-ROAD, S.E.)

It is claimed for this Californian oil that it differsin essential respects from other American oils, andis superior to Russian oils. As a mechanical lubricantfor internal use the purity of an oil is of importance,and this preparation is stated to be free from inorganicmatter, organic sulphur compounds, or injurioushydrocarbons. Colourless, odourless, and tasteless, ithas a high specific gravity and a high natural viscosity,the index of lubricating power. The usual dose is onetablespoonful twice a day between meals, one of thedoses being taken on going to bed ; but the dose can

be later increased or decreased according to its effect.For children and infants smaller quantities are, ofcourse, necessary than for adults.

BERINA FOOD AND BERINA MALTED MILK.(MONTGOMERIE AND Co., LTD., IBROX, GLASGOW.)

We have received from this firm, who are theproprietors of Bermaline bread, a food speciallyprepared for infants and a preparation of maltedmilk designed as a diet when necessary for childrenof a few months old. The ingredients are stated tobe whole cream milk, cream of wheat-a shortextraction of flour from the wheat berry-andlactose, malt being added in the second preparation.The malt is a product of Scotch barley, and is pre-pared by the firm at their own maltings. A pamphletis supplied with both preparations giving carefuldirections for use, with tables of dosage for thedifferent ages. In this pamphlet a prudent insistenceis laid upon the fact that no more food shouldever be prepared at one time than is required forimmediate use.

TRIVALIN.(THE SACCHARIN CORPORATION LIMITED, 72, OXFORD-

STREET, W.)We have received samples of trivalin capsules and

ampoules from the Saccharin Corporation Limited.Trivalin is a combination of caffeine valerianate,cocaine valerianate, and morphine valerianate incertain proportions selected so that the undesirableproperties of one drug should be counteracted by theaction of the others, with a proportional developmentof the beneficial properties. It has been used as a sub-stitute for morphine, and medical evidence is forth-coming as to its value as an anodyne. It is suppliedin ampoules for hypodermic injection of 1 c.cm., eachcontaining gr. 1/17 caffeine valerianate, gr. 1/12 cocainevalerianate, and gr. 3/10 morphine valerianate, thedose being from to 1 c.cm. once to thrice daily.The capsules are contained in -bottles of 12, one

capsule to be taken once to thrice daily by the mouth.