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NOTES, COMMENTS, AND ABSTRACTSPOLITICS AS A BIOLOGICAL PROBLEM

Mr. Roberts is a veteran among amateur socio-logists whose work must always command attention.The purpose of his most recent book 1 is to try toinstruct politicians and public men generally in suchprinciples of biological science as provide some guideto the complexities of modern political life. Even thewritings of such masters of sociology as HerbertSpencer and William McDougall can hardly be saidto provide practical statesmen with a programmeor with driving power, and we doubt whether Mr.Roberts’s lessons will solve many of their morepressing problems. He has always been a realist,almost a pessimist in political outlook. For himit is the subhuman, instinctive forces which governsociety. Man is at best only a pseudo-rationalcreature and is dominated by vague biologicaltendencies much more than by his own intellect orby the pursuit of the ideal. Mr. Roberts bases histhesis largely on an elaborate and ingenious analogyof human society to the physiological organisation ofthe lower organisms. In this effort to minimise theimportance of intellect in human affairs he perhapsreckons without his host. Even without giving wayto undue idealism or optimism the enzymic nature ofintelligence cannot be overlooked. It might evenbe maintained that the ills which beset humansocieties are more the result of aberrations ofintelligence than a consummation of the bruteinstinct. That the brain is an uncertain and dis-appointing organ in adjusting man to his environmentis only too obvious, but we may well believe that inthe end it will do its job and have its say. A man maybatter his head against a stone wall once, or twice, orseveral times, but in the end he generally desistsbefore he has battered himself to pieces. Mr. Robertslacks cohesion as an exponent of philosophical thought.His ideas are formlessly thrown together, his analogiesare occasionally treacherous, and his verbiage oftenconfusing. From time to time, however, he writeswith vigour and clarity. This book is certainlysuggestive and well worth reading by anyone interestedin the deeper issues of modern social life.

A STETHOSCOPE WITH A VALVE AMPLIFIER

A STETHOSCOPE with valve amplifier for use inauscultation of the heart has recently been producedby the Western Electric Company, Ltd. (Bush House,Aldwych, London, W.C.2). It is recommended foruse by doctors who suffer from some degree of deaf-ness or alternatively by those of normal hearing whowish to detect cardiac murmurs below the limits of

normal audibility. The instrument is containedin a neat black case 12 in. by 9 in. by 4 in. Ithas a moderately heavy metal chest piece which isheld against the patient’s chest, while the receiverresembling an ear-phone but fitted with a clip whichholds it in the physician’s waistcoat pocket, isconnected by a rubber tube to his binaural stetho-scope. The physician thus hears through his ownstetho -scope the heart sounds magnified by passage throughthe instrument. The degree of magnification canbe altered by a volume control and a filter is providedwhereby, by turning a knob, the heart sounds them-selves can be reduced in intensity and the murmursrelatively accentuated.We have tested the instrument and find that

it certainly increases the intensity of the heartsounds. The alteration in quality, although thishas been reduced to a minimum, is still great enoughto make the sounds seem strange and unfamiliarto the observer with normal hearing. Unless he iswilling to discard the ordinary binaural stethoscopeand use only this instrument he is unlikely to gainmuch help from it ; but a physician who is hard of

1 Biopolitics. An essay in the physiology, pathology, andpolitics of the social and somatic organism. By MorleyRoberts. London: J. M. Dent and Sons. 1938. Pp. 240. 15s.

hearing and therefore willing to accustom himselfexclusively to the new instrument might well findthat it restores confidence in his power to interpretheart sounds and murmurs.

STUDIES OF NATIVE RACES

SOME curious procreative beliefs are currentamong Australian aborigines according to Dr. Ashley-Montagu.’ He says that the relationship of parentsto children is regarded purely as a social one, andthat this failure to recognise any blood-tie betweeneither mother or father and child has been insufficientlyappreciated even by students of Australian ethnology.Among the aborigines the mother is looked uponmerely as a vehicle through which the spirit-child,the incarnation of some ancestral being, must passto enter the world. A child, they hold, must beborn into a family ; hence the necessity for a father.Should a child be born out of wedlock-that is, out-side the family-the event is regarded as the work ofsome malign influence, either human or superhuman.

Dr. Laubscher has studied the South AfricanCape Bantu and in particular the Temba tribe ona broader basis. He is concerned with their folk-lore, customs, initiation and burial rites, and sexualbeliefs, and includes in his book 2 an interesting studyof their psychopathology.

CHILDBIRTH AS A PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS

Mr. Ludovici, who is a man with a theory and a goodliterary style,3 inveighs against what he calls thehoax perpetuated ‘by women and doctors that child-bearing is a dangerous and painful proceeding, whereasin fact it should be regarded not only as painless buteven as pleasurable. In the second part he discussesthe conditions which he thinks militate against this,such as the relative senility of primigravidae, feminineathleticism, miscegenation, faulty nutrition, faultyposture, and a host of other more or less controversialfactors. Widely read and adept though he is atselecting and manipulating facts for his own ends,his book is irritating in that it is at times contradictiousand contains many ill-drawn conclusions. Thuswhile he condemns athleticism in women because ittends to increase the rigidity of the pelvic girdle,he finds no fault with their living a life demandinghard physical work and endurance such as that ofthe Highlanders ; and though he accuses doctors oflooking upon childbirth as a pathological processhe quotes Eden and Holland and many other medicalauthorities to the contrary. Those with obstetricalexperience will feel that he insists unduly on thenormality of the lateral recumbent posture duringparturition and his analogy with the quadrupeds isnot a good one. We might with equal justificationsay that we have yet to see our fellow biped, the hen,reclining on her side during the act of egg-laying.When he deplores the relative senility of primi-gravidae he is on surer ground and with considerablejustification blames civilisation and feminism as

being at the root of this evil, but he offers no verypractical remedy-and moreover have not these thingstheir pros as well as their cons ? If the girl of 16 isphysiologically mature enough for childbearing isshe also mature enough to become a good wife andmother ? Who is to marry, or at any rate impregnate,her ? Not it seems the youth of 16, for whomMr. Ludovici has no plans. Nor incidentally doeshe seem to care that half the world-population shouldremain more or less illiterate. His ideas as to what

1 Coming into Being among the Australian Aborigines. ByM. F. Ashley-Montagu, Ph.D., assistant professor of anatomy,New York University. London : George Routledge and Sons.1937. Pp. 362. 21s.

2 Sex, Custom and Psychopathology. By B. J. F. Laubscher,senior psychiatrist, Union Mental Service. Same publishers.1937. Pp. 347. 21s.

3 The Truth about Childbirth. By Anthony M. Ludovici.London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co. 1937.Pp. 294. 10s. 6d.

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constitutes frustration in the male and female aresomewhat theoretical, and the statement that athleticwomen are more prone to dysmenorrhoea thansedentary ones is not well supported by facts. Perhapsthe author does not know that the G.P.O. with itsvast sedentary female staff has been described as thehome of dysmenorrhoea. Again he repeatedly infersthat the maternal death-rate is necessarily higher inwomen of the unskilled working class, whereas this isnot borne out by figures. His attempt to prove thatadolescence is an advantageous time for childbearingwould be more convincing if he quoted more figuresrelating purely to primigravidae at various ages.Mr. Ludovici is perhaps unjust to the profession inthat he implies that only a few enlightened doctorsthink clearly about the problems of maternity, or,shall we say, think as he would have them think.He forgets that the profession has to face these

problems as they are and not as it would like themto be.

VERNON-SPENCER HEARING-AIDS

PANAUDION LTD. (120, Wigmore-street, London,W.1) have submitted to us their Vernon-Spencerthree-valve hearing-aid, model V.S.2. In this thehigh-tension battery is housed in a case 5! in. longwhich weighs 10 oz., while the valves and low-tensionaccumulator are contained in a similar case weighing18 oz., and the microphone is separate. Thus themodel is designed to be carried in the pockets orunder the clothing. Piezo-electric crystals are

employed for the microphone and for the earphone ;these are produced in the United Kingdom and aresaid to be superior to imported crystals. For thelow tension, a 2-volt accumulator is used, as beingpreferable to a dry battery ; two of these are suppliedtogether with a trickle charger, and are of specialdesign, containing neither free acid nor jelly acid.The high tension is supplied by a 45-volt Ever-Ready battery obtainable anywhere. The advantageof this " two-unit " design is that the instrument canbe worn upon the person, and this without greatinconvenience. The instrument is very well finished,and the cases are covered in real morocco leather.Another model, V.S.1, is similar in all respects exceptthat it is contained in one case weighing 28 oz. ; bothare priced at 20 guineas. It is claimed that theseinstruments, which are provided with an entirely newtype of midget valve, have a substantially even

response up to 8000 cycles, whatever volume isemployed, and the advantage of a crystal microphonein giving a quiet background is well known. A Juniormodel, with two valves and a carbon microphone, ispriced at 12 guineas, and there is also an all-mainsinstrument, listed at 50 guineas, which is intendedespecially for use at board meetings and conferences.A free trial is always allowed before purchase.

THE COMPASS CAMERA

IN the last twelve years miniature photographyhas made large strides, chiefly because its problemsare identical with those that the cinema industry hashad to overcome. Its success depends first on theproduction of films of sufficiently fine grain to allowof great enlargement, secondly on the manufactureof lenses with much increased resolving powergiving sharper negatives, and finally on improve-ments in the design and construction of the camerasthemselves. To the inherent advantage of theminiature camera-its portability--have been addeda new precision, a greater range of possible subjects,and economy in materials. If their full scope is tobe utilised, however, many miniature cameras requirea number of loose accessories, which add to theirbulk and complexity. It is claimed for the CompassCamera that it has overcome this objection. Itis a metal instrument about 2 in. square by H. in.thick, weighing about half a pound. It takes nega-tives 1 in. by 1 in. either on separate films or plateswhich are loaded in daylight in light-tight envelopes,or on roll-films. Everything necessary for goodresults is built into the camera, including an exposure

meter, a range-finder and focusing screen, a depth-of-focus scale, three alternative light filters, and a

shutter giving exposures from 1/500 to 4 sec. Foreasy subjects only the simplest adjustments need bemade, but results can be obtained in difficult con-ditions that compare favourably with those of bulkyinstruments, and it is suggested that the cameramay be useful for clinical photography. It wasdesigned by Mr. N. Pemberton-Billing and is manu-factured in Switzerland for Compass Cameras Ltd.,57, Berners-street, London, W.1.

PRONTOSIL THERAPY

A READABLE review of experimental findings andclinical experiences recorded by those who haveused Prontosil Rubrum, Prontosil Soluble, andProntosil Album (sulphanilamide) and other prepara-tions of this group of drugs has been compiled bythe medical department of Bayer Products Ltd. ofAfrica House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2. Thepharmacology, absorption and excretion, and modeof action of the compounds are discussed, and theresults obtained by various observers in infections ofvarious systems of the body are set out briefly andcritically. The producers of these drugs are evidentlyanxious to prevent the disappointment that mustresult from attempts to use them promiscuously.It is made clear that in certain infections-for examplepulmonary tuberculosis, syphilis, malaria, typhus-itis doubtful whether any favourable outcome of

chemotherapy in this form is to be expected. Thereremains an impressive amount of evidence that itsapplication may still be capable of vast extension.The booklet has a useful section on therapeutics,including notes on dosage schemes and estimation inbody fluids and a discussion of toxic effects and theway to avoid them, as well as a list of referencesand a good index.

TESTS OF PHYSICAL POWERS

THE inhabitants of the United States take theirsports and pastimes more seriously than we do.They even publish papers on grading student achieve-ment in golf knowledge, they construct objectivetests of knowledge and interpretation of the rules offield hockey, and they develop whole batteries oftests to measure playing ability in basket ball,achievement in archery, and skill in tennis, icehockey, baseball, soccer, and a host of other games.1Perhaps they are right ; perhaps, with a campaignfor physical fitness in full swing, we ought to endeavourto measure its advantages and its effects. Those whothink so will find this book useful. It tells of anthro-pometric measurements, of cardiac functional tests,of strength tests, of tests of physical efficiency,neuromuscular control, and the thousand and oneindices of physical and athletic ability that ingenious,but not always very critical, workers have evolved.

OPEN-AIR NURSERIES IN LONDON

THE National Society of Day Nurseries (177, Picca-dilly, London, W.) is attempting to establish sheltersin the London parks where mothers can leave theirchildren for a few hours in the open air while theydo their housework or shopping. The equipmentrequired is simple-a hut or tent, small chairs, tablesand stretchers, an abundance of toys, and a plentifulsupply of milk, rusks, and biscuits. A fee of a half-penny an hour is charged and a responsible staff hasto be provided. In 1935 the L.C.C. put an enclosedsite in Battersea Park at the disposal of the societyand the nursery there has been so successful that thecouncil have this year offered an additional site inSouthwark. The society is hoping that sufficientfunds will be forthcoming to allow it to take thisopportunity of extending its activities.

1 Tests and Measurements in Physical Education. Secondedition, revised. By John F. Bovard, Ph.D., and Frederick W.Cozens, Ph.D., professors of physical education, University ofCalifornia at Los Angeles. London : W. B. Saunders Company.1938. Pp. 427. 14s.