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Reviews and Notices of Books.Materials for the Study of Variation, treated with especial

regard to Discontinuity in the Origin of Species. ByWILLIAM BATESON, F.R.S.. M.A., Fellow of St John’sCollege, Cambridge. Pp. 598. London : Macmillan andCo. 1894.

IN the second chapter of the " Origin of Species " Darwinremarked that before applying. the principles in regard toselection which he laid down it was necessary to discuss

whether organic beings in a state of nature are subject to anyvariation, and he continues, "that to treat this subject at allproperly a long catalogue of dry facts ought to be given,"which he reserved for a future work. We all know how heredeemed this promise in his Forms of Flowers" and hislater well-known volumes, and how many interesting exampleshe collected from his own observation and from the writingsof others. In the important treatise before us Mr. Batesonhas continued this line of inquiry, regarding it as the firstduty of the naturalist that he should collect and codify thefacts of variation, and he very justly observes that the com-paratively small number of such facts that have been col-lected to support the mountains of theory that have beenraised upon them may be attributed "in great measure tothe unfortunate circumstance that natural history has cometo be used as a vehicle for elementary education, a purposeto which it is unsuited. " In order that such education maybe given to large classes, facts have to be organised,scheduled, and reduced to diagram and system. "By thismethod the pupil learns to think out schemes of nature

sufficient, turning for inspiration to books, and supposingthat by following his primers he may master it all," whilst herarely learns the habit of spontaneous observation ; and thissystem, Mr. Bateson thinks, reacts on the teacher, inducinghim to forget that " the caricature of nature shown to hispupils is like no real thing, " and he instances the frequencywith which variations occur and are yet wholly unheeded bystudent and teacher alike, in creatures so commonly submittedto dissection as the crayfish and the cockroach. There are

mighty difficulties in explaining or accounting for the presentcondition of the world of life. Apart from the mystery of theorigin of life on the earth, driving men to suggest the possi-bility of its introduction from another sphere in meteorites,forgetful that the same difficulty in regard to its origin stillconfronts us, it is a problem of extreme obscurity why nearlyallied species should retain their characters. ’

In spite of all that has been written, no genuine instanceof a change of specific form, a conversion of one species intoanother, has ever been observed. All our artificial varietiesleft to themselves speedily revert to the ancestral type. The

slight deviations that commonly occur in nature are non-

persistent, and in the historical period neither man nor

animals seem to have undergone any marked change. The

lap3e of age is commonly demanded for the production ofone species from another, during which various concomitantcircumstances-as isolation, sexual selection, utility, specialconditions of soil and climate-are acting, but there is no proofforthcoming that any amount of adaptation to surroundingcircumstances has effected a change of species, or has

developed a new species from a pre-existing form. AsMr. Bateson remarks : " Many suggestions have been madeas to the benefits which edible moths may derive from theirprotective colouration, and as to the reasons why unpalatablebutterflies in general are brightly coloured, but as to the

particular benefit which one dull moth enjoys as the resultof his own particular pattern of dulness as compared withthe closely similar pattern of the next species, no suggestionis tnade. "

The foundations on which the theory of evolution may be

said to rest, and which show broadly that life has been con-tinuous on the earth, are the facts derived from the study oforganic remains in the various geological strata and the factsderived from the study of embryology. Both are found to lend

support to the theory, though there are many gaps in both.But if we are to accept the doctrine that life has been

continuous, that variations occur which, according as theyare or are not beneficial to the individual, lead to the pro-duction of new forms through infinite modifications bynatural selection or to the degradation and extinction of therace, it is clear that the facts proving the existence of varia-tion, the extent to which it may occur, the value of the

particular variation, and the causes which occasion it, are offundamental value. To this subject Mr. Bateson devotesthe present work, and first considers the phenomena ofsymmetry and repetition of parts, by which means patternsof various form are produced, which, he observes, constitutesone of the most general characteristics of living things, butwhich is at the same time exceedingly difficult to explain :"If anyone will take into his hand some complex piece ofliving structure-a passion flower, a peacock’s feather, acockle-shell, or the like-and will ask himself how it hascome to be so, the part of the answer that he will find ithardest to give is that which relates to the perfection of thepattern." He proposes the term

‘° merism " to denote the

phenomenon of repetition of parts, and the term "meristicvariation" to indicate departures from the usual type in suchcases. He gives instances of discontinuous meristic varia-tion in the sudden occurrence of supernumerary wings inlepidoptera, though these are rare and have not been verycarefully examined ; in the appearance of four joints instead ofthe normal five joints ; in the tarsus of Blatta ; in the repeti-tion of horns in sheep, goats, and deer ; and in the appearanceof hermaphrodite and gynandromorphic animals, the latter .

being animals in which the characters of the whole or part ofone side of the body, wings, and antennæ are male, whilethose of the other side are female. In plants similar examplesof meristic variation are found in the division in the tulip ofthe floral organs into four parts instead of three ; of a.

narcissus into seven parts instead of six. Such forms of

meristic variation he classifies into examples in linear series,in radial series, in bilateral series, and in secondary sym-metry and duplicity, giving many instances of each.

Mr. Bateson has ransacked the archives and proceedingsof societies, both native and foreign, and collected quite anextraordinary number of cases of meristic variation in thenumber of vertebras and ribs and spinal nerves ; in the

segmentation of numerous arthropoda ; in the number anddisposition of mammas and of teeth; in the eyes and

wings of insects; in colour markings and in many minorsymmetries, as those of the digits ; in mammals, shown incases of polydactyly, oligodactyly, and syndactyly occurring-in man, monkeys, in the horse, cat, pig, and other animals.The general result of his inquiry is to show that the transitionfrom one form to another is by no means in all instancesgradual, imperceptible, or, as he terms it, "continuous,"but that, on the contrary, it is frequently sudden and con-

siderable, or, to use his phraseology, discontinuous ; and heconsiders that it is an error both far reaching and mischievousto assume that a new variation must immediately be swamped.The causes of variation we are not as yet in a position toexplain.

St. Thomas’s Hospital Reports. New Series. Vol. XX1,Edited by T. D. ACLAND, M.D., and BERNARD PITTS,F.R.C.S. London: J. and A. Churchill.

WE consider that the plan followed by the editors of theseries of reports issuing from this hospital and from,St. Bartholomew’s Hospital is the one which should inmany respects form a model for hospital reports. Thepresent volume is divided into two parts ; the first contains

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contributions from members of the staff or old students, thesecond part the statistical reports of the hospital. Amongstthe contributions to the first part is one - In Memoriam7. Le Gros Clark, F.R.C.S., F.R.S.-by Mr. WagstafEe, agraceful contribution from the pen of one of his old pupilsto the memory of a former surgeon of the hospital and aformer President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England,a man of high character and strong personality. The lateDr. Hadden contributed a Clinical Study of Infantile

Hemiplegia with Acute Onset. Dr. H. P. Hawkinswrites on the Pathology of Perityphlitis. Dr. HectorMackenzie gives a further carefully considered contribu-tion on Diphtheritic Paralysis and the Nervous Symptomsand Sequelæ of Diphtheria. The late Dr. T. Crans-

toun Charles contributed a paper on Intermittent Albumi-nuria. Dr. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., contributes a

short note on the Knee-jerk. Dr. R. Percy Smith of theBethlem Royal Hospital contributes a paper on Sulphonaland Hsematoporphyrinuria ; Dr. C. J. Cullingworth writes onEffusions of Blood into the Fallopian Tube : a contributionto the Study of their Etiology, based on seventeen casesverified by operation ; Dr. F. Foord Caiger has a paper on theComplications of Scarlet Fever, with special reference to

factors concerned in their incidence ; Mr. A. F. Stanley Kentdeals with the Relation of Function to Structure in the

Mammalian Heart; Mr. H. Milton of the Kasr-el-Aini Hos-pital, Cairo, publishes Sixty-two Cases of Vesical Calculustreated by Lithotrity; and Mr. E. C. Stabb, the resident

assistant surgeon, relates the history of Eight Cases ofAbdominal Surgery, an extremely interesting series. Mr..Edmunds and Mr. Bidwell write on Abscess of the Liver, andthe former suggests a new method of evacuating the pus. Aease of Successful Removal of a Pancreatic Cyst is recordedby Dr. Sharkey and Mr. Clutton. Mr. Makins and Mr. Abbottwrite on the Treatment of Aneurysms of the Lower Extre-mities, their paper being based on a consideration of 57 casesunder care in St. Thomas’s Hospital; of these, 46 were cured,2 relieved, 4 died, and 5 refused treatment. Mr. BernardPitts gives the History of Transfusion, with short notesef cases in which the method of infusion of saline fluidinto the veins has been adopted. Mr. F. G. Parsonsconcludes this part of the volume with a contributionto Craniology. In the second part Dr. Hector Mackenzieis responsible for the medical report, Mr. E. C. Stabbfor the surgical report, Dr. R. Cory for the report of themidwifery department, Dr. Cullingworth for the reportof the in-patient department for diseases of women, Mr.C. H. Usher for the statistical report of the ophthalmicdepartment, Messrs. A. H. Woodcock and G. W. H. Birdfor the report of the department for diseases of the skin,and Mr. R. Lake for the report of the aural department.These various statistical reports, especially the medical andaurgical ones, involve much labour, but are, as usual, verysatisfactory and enable anyone to see at once the result oftreatment of any disease or injury about which he may beanxious to obtain information. The autotype portrait of thelate Mr. Le Gros Clark, which acts as a frontispiece, is anexcellent likeness and well executed ; the illustrations tothe papers are well done, the chromographs appended to Dr.Cullingworth’s paper being especially worthy of mention.

Die Behandlung der Leukæmie :Kritische Studie. Von Dr.H. VEHSEMEYER, Arzt in Berlin. (The Treatment ofLeukæmia: a Critical Study. By Dr. H. VEHSEMEYER.)Berlin : S. Karger. London : Williams and Norgate.1894.

THIS critical study of the treatment of leukaemia is anexample of a useful class of literature. Any disease whichbaffles medical skill must periodically be re-studied, and

Healing efforts up to date futile or partially successful mustbe reviewed with care before fresh efforts can be expected to

yield additional light upon its nature and successful treat-ment. Appended to Dr. Vehsemeyer’s b’l’och1l’l’e there is a

very complete bibliography of the subject, while the textcontains a careful study of the most important points in thoseworks bearing upon his subject. In gauging the influence ofa particular agent in any disease it is naturally of the firstimportance to have a clear idea of the disease under treat-ment. The leukæmic state is one associated with so manyconditions that its improvement in some instances whilea particular drug is being administered does not neces-

sarily imply a like amelioration when the causes of theleukasmic conditions are somewhat different. The diseasethe author treats of is that better known in this country asleucocythæmia in association with splenic enlargement, andhe mentions as the only successful case on record one

published by Martyn, in which ammonia appears to have hada decidedly curative influence. Encouraged by Martyn’ssuccess, however, the author proceeded to use that agentin the case of a rachitic infant, with the effect of producingemesis-not cure. The child had the large spleen sometimesseen in such cases, glandular enlargement, and an increase ofwhite cells in the blood. It improved under dietetic treat-ment, and ultimately died in a convulsion-a termination ofthe rachitic state too familiar to the physician. We have men-tioned these two cases to. emphasise the fact that in the treat-ment of leukasmia we must ever bear in mind that we are

dealing with a symptom, not with a disease per se, and that injudging of the result of therapeutic efforts we must have dataassociating the blood state with some anterior conditionbefore we can exalt one method of treatment at the expenseof another. In writing this we are glad to find ourselves inagreement with the author, whose studies have led him to theconclusion that from a pathogenetic point of view leukaemiais not to be regarded as a primary disease of the spleen, butthat that organ is secondarily affected like the lymphaticglands and other structures. He consequently considersthat splenectomy is contraindicated in these cases. Wecan commend Dr. Vehsemeyer’s pamphlet as being an honestattempt to throw light upon a subject of which we stillknow very little.

The Etiology of Osseous -Deformities of the Head, Face, Jaws,and Teeth. By EUGENE TALBOT, Professor of Dental

Surgery at Chicago. Chicago : The W. T. Keene Company.1894.

THIS is an elaborate and ingenious work, profuselyillustrated, and is full of information of a very interestingnature. It commences with a historical sketch of theoriesregarding irregularities of the maxillæ and teeth, and thecausation of such conditions as supernumerary teeth, want of

proportion between jaws and teeth, and the like. Then

follows a consideration of the conditions of the crania, vault,jaws, and teeth, in a large number of somewhat diverse condi-tions. The various forms of crime are fully considered, asare also neuroses, genius, idiocy, intemperance. and maternalimpressions.The chapters on neuroses of development of the jaws,

palates, vault, and teeth are very full and interesting, espe-cially to dentists. The causes of local irregularities of theteeth are dealt with later. So varied and diverse are the

subjects and considerations found in this work, and sonumerous are the theories brought forward to explain them,that a review can give but a poor idea of the scope of the work,which must be read to be appreciated. An extraordinaryamount of patient labour must have been expended in its

compilation, for the theories of all writers on different

subjects of deformities of the jaws and teeth are broughtforward. A large number of the explanations offered areoriginal, and, though it would be easy here and there to pointout examples of somewhat speculative theorising, still it mustbe remembered that the nature of the subject permits of this,

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and the ingenuity of the author heightens the interest of thereader without sensibly weakening the utility of the book.We recommend a perusal of this work by scientific dentists,and by those interested in developmental pathology and

the relations of deformities of the cranium, jaws, and teethto insanity and crime.

Yecur-book of Pharmacy and Transactions of the BritishPharmaceutical Conference. London: J. & A. Churchill.1893.

THIS volume consists of two distinct parts, each of whichpossesses considerable interest. The earlier portion, the

"Year-book," comprises valuable abstracts of papers on

Pharmacy, Materia Medica, and Chemistry, contributed toBritish and foreign journals from July lst, 1892, to June 30th,1893. The labour of condensing these papers has been

performed with customary care, and, as full referencesto the originals are given, this volume affords a con-

venient index to the work of the year. The alkaloidsof aconite and hyoscyamus and the glucosides of digitalishave led to a vast amount of patient research in numerousquarters. Details are given of a new and simple methodfor the purification of chloroform, while the products formedduring the spontaneous decomposition of chloroform havebeen reinvestigated. The value of Ehrlich’s sulphanilic testhas been assailed. It is, however, impossible in the briefspace of a review to indicate the variety of work summarisedin this volume, it must suffice to indicate that it rangesfrom the more recent polysyllabic additions to the list of

drugs to the decomposition of potassium chlorate by heat inpresence of manganese dioxide.

Turning to the work of the Conference, it is a pleasure toperuse once more the address of the President, Mr. OctaviusCorder, with its interesting account of Gerard’s "Herbal"and its appreciative references to so many of the herbaceousplants. The twenty papers read at the Conference are givenin full, together with the discussions which ensued, and theyafford evidence of the attention devoted to improvements inpharmacy and to recent therapeutic research. The vexed

question of the standardisation of the alkaloidal tinctures ofthe British Pharmacopoeia produced a scholarly paper, which,however, provoked but little discussion. Mr. Edmund Whitewas more successful in raising comment with his paper onthe Pharmacy of the Thyroid Gland. Other papers deservingmention are those by Mr. E. M. Holmes and by Mr. F. C. J.Bird upon the Ipecacuanhas of English Commerce and uponDeemetinised Ipecacuanha respectively. The general impres-sion, however, derived from this account of the Conference isthat the serious business scarcely formed the chief attractionto Nottingham in the middle of August.

Zfs Exeentqique.3 :Etude Psychologique et Anecdotique. ParM. LE Dr. MOREAU DE TOURS. Paris : Soci6t6 d’EditionsScientifiques. Pp. 120. 1894.

IN this brochure Dr. Moreau de Tours discusses the verynumerous cases of persons who, without being really mad,perform all sorts of extravagant actions, very often due

simply to a spirit of emulation or of imitation or of a desireto become notorious. Thus a whim takes some absurd andidle fellow that he will walk from the confines of Russia toSt. Petersburg, and occupies a year and seventeen days inaccomplishing his self-imposed task. Forthwith anotherman rides 6000 miles in 200 days. Then, as in the year1889, an epidemic of these follies breaks out. Three Austrianswheel a wheelbarrow before them from Vienna to Paris anddo the distance in thirty days. Soon afterwards Madame Ara

proceeds to ride from Koursk to St. Petersburg, a distance ofmore than 600 miles. Miss Bly, an American lady not out ofher teens, undertakes a voyage round the world in seventy-seven days, with the knowledge only of her mother tcngue.

In the very same month a correspondent of an::Americandaily paper started at two hours’ notice to beat Miss Blyand did so by an hour ; and on the same day the corre-spondent of another paper started for the same journey atfifteen minutes’ notice. Miss Bly went round the world inseventy-two days, but a Mr. Train accomplished the feat insixty days. In July, 1890, Mr. Marcus Meyer won a bet withease that he would reach Paris from San Francisco in fifteen

days. In 1891 Zoe Gayton walked from San Francisco toNew York, a distance of 3395 miles, in 213 days. MissAckerman was still more energetic, and with the view ofspreading total abstinence principles went on horseback, onmules, on camel, elephant, and bufEalo, in diligence, palanquin,and wheelbarrow, 160,000 kilometres, visited 500 large towns,presided over 1417 meetings, received 4000 and despatched6000 letters, wrote 700 articles for journals, and fulfilledother engagements. To think, says Dr. Moreau de Tours,that women have time to marry and bear children.

My Water Cure. By SEBASTIAN KNEIPP, Parish Priest ofWorishofen, Bavaria. Translated by A. DE F. London :William Blackwood and Sons. 1893.

WE can hardly be expected to criticise a work of this kindseriously. The worthy parish priest, who has acquired quitea fame in Bavaria, admits us into his arcana and presents uswith the system which he regards as so much superior toauthorised medical science. The free use of water internallyand externally, the simplest clothing and diet, ample physicalexercise in the fresh air, and the use of various herbal

remedies, seem to be his chief points. That by such meansconsiderable results may be attained we are quite prepared toadmit, but we fail to detect any real originality in views thatwhere true are not new, and where new are not true. Simplehabits and strict attention to food, clothing, and exercise arethe commonplaces of hygiene, but the difficulty of the

regular medical practitioner is the impossibility of per-suading most patients to practise at home methods andrules which they will adopt readily enough in a remoteBavarian village where the glamour of novelty andromance invests them. Omne ignotum pro magnifico stillholds good. Simple rules (all-important though theymay be to many patients) are too readily slighted whenthey come in the way of ordinary medical advice, but theyacquire a mysterious solemnity when announced by a much-advertised priest who attributes his knowledge to occult

powers. Pfarrer Kneipp’s knowledge of pathology may beconjectured from a passage like the following : ’° Headacheswhich proceed from watery matter or conglutination in thehead, or from ascending gases, stomach pressure, slightconglutination of chest and lungs, may all be speedilycured by hypercon (hypericum) tea." Such a passage seemsto transport us into the pre-scientific era. The author

regards his dietetic and hydropathic system not only as asovereign remedy for a host of minor ills, but as efficaciousfor typhus fever, scarlet fever, and for the early stagesof phthisis and cancer. Comment is superfluous. While

setting our faces against quackery and the indiscriminaterecommendation of remedies without regard to states of

disease, we must not ignore the great results which diet,excercise, and baths may often achieve. Regular medicinemust not leave the most thorough regulation of these in thehands of conscious or unconscious charlatans.

LIBRARY TABLE.

Handbook for Norway ;with 8ofte Account of the Route viithe Gotha Canal to Stockholm and the Roicte viâ Sweden toSt. Petersburg. By E. J. GOODMAN. With Fifty-seven Illus-trations and Route Map. Hall: Thomas Wilson, Sons, andCo. 1894.-The author of "The Best Tour in Norway "-

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