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The second chapter contains observations on the investigation and registration of surgical cases, and these are amplified in the two subsequent chapters. In Chapter V. the author refers briefly to the instruments and agents used for obtaining surgical information, such as the microscope, stethoscope, speculum, bougies, probes, &c. The remaining one hundred pages of the book are occupied with the details of the symptoms and phenomena of surgical diseases and injuries, derived from modern works on the subject, and carefully arranged. We notice one or two typographical errors which ought to have been corrected, as at p. 53 we read ancylobletharon and symbletharon, for anchyloblepharon and symblepharon. The medical student must be guarded against every chance of misspelling.

ART. XI.—1. Handbook of Chemistry, Theoretical, Practical, and Technical. By F. A. ABEL, Director of the Chemical Establishment of the War Department, and C. L. BLOXAM, Professor of Practical Chemistry in King's College, London; Lecturer on Chemistry to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Second Edition.-London, 1858. pp. 785.

2. A Manual of Elementary Chemistry, Theoretical and Practical.

By GEORGE FOWNES, F.R.S., late Professor of Practical Chemistry in University College, London. Seventh Edition.-London, 1858. pp. 726.

THE authors of the 'Handbook' inform us, that without material alteration in the general scheme of the work, they have contributed the results of four years' additional experience in the different departments of the science. The introduction is occupied with the definitions of chemical terms, chemical combinations, decomposition, nomenclature, notation, and the phenomena relating to the physical condition of bodies. All these subjects are clearly discussed. In the next division of the work, extending over some eighty pages, chemical manipulation is amply treated, the instructions supplied under this head being plain and explicit. The remainder of the volume is devoted to inorganic chemistry, and to analysis, both qualitative and quantitative. Non-metallic bodies come first in order. Under the head of oxygen, we find an excellent account of that remarkable body first discovered by Schönbein, called ozone, and which has been supposed to have some connexion with unhealthy states of the atmosphere. The authors describe its preparation as follows:

"Upon passing dry atmospheric air or oxygen over a pair of platinum wires between which a succession of electric sparks is allowed to pass, a small quantity of the oxygen will become converted into ozone, which may be recognised by its peculiar odour. Ozone is best obtained by placing a piece of recently-scraped phosphorus, about half an inch in length, into a clean bottle (of about two quarts' capacity), in the bottom of which is as much water as will half cover the phosphorus; the mouth should then be closed slightly (to prevent any mischief ensuing if inflammation of the phosphorus should take place), and the bottle set aside. Ozone is almost instantly produced, its formation being indicated by the ascent of a column of vapour from the piece of phosphorus, and the luminosity of the latter in the dark. Ozone may be detected in the bottle within a minute after the introduction of the phosphorus; if allowed to stand for six or eight hours, the air in the bottle will be abundantly charged with it. The phosphorus should then be removed, and the air freed from phosphorus acid by agitating some water in the bottle. If the phosphorus be allowed to remain for a longer period in contact with the ozone, the latter combines with it, being after a time completely abstracted from the atmosphere in the bottle." (p. 109.)

Air, they say, powerfully charged with ozone, can be inspired with difficulty; it acts powerfully on the mucous membranes, producing very disagreeable sensations; small animals immersed in it soon cease to exist. The most delicate test for its presence is prepared in the following manner :—

"One part of pure iodide of potassium and ten parts of starch are boiled together for a few moments, with two hundred parts of water, and white filtering paper is saturated with the

liquid thus obtained. Such paper is immediately turned blue when introduced moist into ozonized air. If introduced dry, it will remain colourless, but becomes blue immediately upon being moistened.

'Paper prepared with a solution of sulphate of manganese is also a good test for ozone, becoming rapidly brown from formation of binoxide when introduced into ozonized air." (p. 110.)

The authors have been at pains to consult the highly interesting and important researches of Deville and Wöhler, upon the preparation and properties of boron, silicon, and aluminum, in the revision of the sections relating to those elements. In treating of the metals, they have appended much useful information respecting metallurgy. The instructions given under the head of analysis are well arranged; and in quantitative analysis some space has been devoted to the volumetric system of examination. In the remarks on coal we expected to have found some notice of Mr. Lewis Thompson's ingenious apparatus for ascertaining its heating power.

We have no hesitation in recommending this work as a useful practical compendium of chemistry.

The manual of Professor Fownes has been before the public for eleven years, and has had an extensive circulation as a text-book for students. The later editions have been brought under the supervision of Dr. Bence Jones and Dr. Hoffmann. In reference to the present edition, we learn from the advertisement that the progress of organic chemistry has rendered many changes requisite; accordingly, throughout all this department, improvements have been made, and many subjects re-arranged. The most important addition will be found in the theory of the polyacid alcohols.*

In our opinion the work will still be found a useful text-book.

We may observe, that both these books are illustrated with numerous appropriate well-executed engravings on wood.

ART. XII.-Lehrbuch der Physiologie. Von Dr. SCHIFF, Professor in Berr. Heft 1 & 2.-Lahr, 1858.

Compendium of Physiology. By Dr. SCHIFF.

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DR. SCHIFF'S' Compendium of Physiology' forms part of the extensive series of treatises on medical sciences, edited by Dr. Schauenburg. According to this plan, which seems to become more and more the fashion amongst continental authors, Dr. Schiff's work does not appear as a whole, but in single numbers, two of which only have reached us hitherto. We cannot refrain on this occasion from expressing our disapproval of this system of publishing. An inducement is held out to purchase works which our sad experience tells us are frequently not completed, or if finished, the concluding portions appear after so long a lapse of time that the beginning and end of the work do not match. Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne. These remarks will at once serve as an apology to our readers for our not always bestowing that attention upon the initiatory numbers of new productions sent to us which they might otherwise appear to deserve. Having premised this much, we have much pleasure in stating that the commencement of Dr. Schiff's Compendium promises well; the two first numbers are in a high degree instructive, and tend to increase the author's reputation as an original thinker and observer.

After a short introduction, in which he promises to abstain from hypothetical abstractions, and to base his researches on observation and experiment, following in the steps of Valentin and the Webers, the author discusses the various phenomena of motion. In

At p. 98, under the head of Electricity, a statement occurs which is erroneous, and which has been overlooked in the previous editions as well, and to which we draw attention, because it is particularly puzzling to the student: "When two'solid conducting bodies are plunged into a liquid which acts upon them unequally, the electric equilibrium is also disturbed, the one acquiring the positive condition and the other the negative. Thus pieces of zinc and platinum put into dilute sulphuric acid, constitute an arrangement capable of generating electrical force: the zinc, being the metal attacked, becomes negative, and the platinum remaining unaltered, assumes the positive condition." Now, the metal most attacked is positive with respect to the other; in other words, the zinc is positive and the platinum negative.

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order to give an idea of the manner in which he treats his subjects, we will mention the heads under which he considers the phenomena of "ciliary movement." He commences by naming the situations in which it is met with; he then describes the different forms of ciliary motion (the modus uncinatus of Purkinje and Valentin, and modus undulatus of Valentin); then the direction of the movement, viz., from the orifice to the interior; then the mechanical effect produced by it, viz., the movement of particles in a direction opposite to that of the movement of the cilia; then the use, viz., the propulsion of the excretion of the mucous membrane. The author dwells on the independence of ciliary motion from nervous action, and on the manner in which it is influenced by chemical agents. The chapter on muscular motion is more elaborate than the one just adverted to. Dr. Schiff maintains the existence of muscular irritability independent of the nervous system; and the chapter comprising the physiology of the nervous system, which is the author's favourite subject, also presents features of much interest. If the other sections of the work are treated in the same manner as those now before us, Dr. Schiff's Compendium will prove a useful addition to our stock of works on Physiology.

ART. XIII.—On some of the more Obscure forms of Nervous affections, their Pathology and Treatment; with an Introduction on the Physiology of Digestion and Assimilation, and the Generation and Distribution of Nerve Force: based upon Original Microscopical Observations. By HENRY WILLIAM LOBB, L.S.A., M.R.C.S.E. Illustrated with Original Engravings, drawn on Wood by the Author.-London, 1858. pp. 312.

THE first hundred and twenty-two pages of Mr. Lobb's work are devoted to the description of his microscopical examinations of the blood, with reference to the waste and repair of the tissues, to an investigation of the physiology of digestion, of se- and excretion, of the functions of the nervous system. We find here the proof that the author has read much of the classical medical literature of the day; that he is fond of the microscope, and that he knows how to apply this valuable instrument both to physiological and clinical research. In this part of the work, however, as well as in the second division, which is devoted to the more immediate consideration of obscure affections of the nervous system, we meet with an amount of dogmatism which is particularly dangerous in the field of inquiry selected by the author. The affections themselves upon which he brings his microscopical examinations and his hypotheses to bear, are, in the first instance, various forms of dyspepsia, hypochondriasis, albuminuria, diabetes, spermatorrhea, and the like, which are classed together as certain affections of the nervous system, the "symptoms of which are obscure, and which, if not alleviated, would develop themselves into organic degeneration, fatal diseases, or insanity." Stammering, hysteria, epilepsy, chorea, also receive their share of the author's attention. Of the whole, we would say that we regard this production as an indication that Mr. Lobb is capable of accomplishing something that may advance science, and establish his own reputation as a medical author. In the work before us he has grasped at too much. Let him confine his inquiries to one or a few of the many points touched upon in his work, and, with the talents which he evidently possesses, we believe that perseverance in the path of strict inductive science, and the avoidance of vague theorizing, will lead him to more definite and tangible results than he has yet attained, or than our readers would, on perusing his volume, be ready to accord to his researches.

ART. XIV.-Transactions of the Pathological Society of London. Vol. IX. Including the Report of the Proceedings of the Session 1857-8.-London, 1858. pp. 483. THE present volume of Transactions of the Pathological Society,' while it presents us with a larger amount of matter than any of its predecessors, does not yield to any of

them in the value of the information which it imparts. The arrangement continues the same, and the Society still pursues the excellent system of submitting specimens of special interest to the scrutiny of members, who are required to report thereon. We have so lately devoted much labour and considerable space to the Reports of the Pathological Society, that we are now unable to do more than to advert in terms of praise to the present volume, and to state that the profession manifest no lack of zeal in the prosecution of Pathological Science, if we may take the doings of this Society as a test.

ART. XV.-Summary of New Publications.

AMONG the works which we reserve for a fuller consideration, we would first mention the 'Hora Subseciva' of Dr. Brown, the librarian of the College of Physicians of Edinburgh; it is a volume that we have already perused with much gratification, and which we recommend without hesitation. Dr. M'Cormac, of Belfast, reiterates his views regarding Consumption in a letter to the Imperial Academy of Medicine; views with which we have on a former occasion expressed our general concurrence. Hysterical Affections find an exponent in Mr. Tate, whose main treatment of these disorders consists in rubbing tartar emetic ointment over the spine. The Urinary Organs, and the Derangements of the Urine, are respectively treated by Dr. Morland, of the United States, and by Dr. Hassall, of London; to both we shall probably shortly revert. From North America, we have also received an essay by Dr. Dunglison, on the ‘Deaf and Dumb,' and 'Illustrations of Typhus Fever in Great Britain,' by Dr. Upham. Both these treatises contain proof of independent research, and deserve attention. Dr. Graily Hewitt presents us with a paper on the Nature and Causes of Vesicular Emphysema in Early Childhood.' The description of a new chalybeate comes to us from Wales, where, it appears from Dr. A. Wynn Williams' account, that King Arthur's Well, near Carnarvon, is rivalling the German Spas.

In Surgery, we would first mention the continuation of Mr. Maclise's important work on 'Dislocations.' A much enlarged second edition has appeared of Mr. Henry Thompson's 'Pathology and Treatment of Stricture of the Urethra,' and a second edition has also been published of Mr. Skey's 'Principles and Practice of Operative Surgery.' The 'Radical Ĉure of Inguinal Hernia, by the Modern Operations of Wutzer' (not Wützer) and Wood, is strongly urged by Mr. Holthouse, in a well written pamphlet, in which the whole subject receives full attention, and which well merits perusal. The 'Lettsomian Lectures on Syphilis,' which were delivered before the Medical Society of London during the year that has just elapsed, by Mr. De Méric, and which at the time were published in the Lancet,' have been reprinted separately. We reserve their consideration until the appearance of Mr. De Méric's larger work on Venereal Diseases, which he tells us he is now completing. Three numbers of a German Odontological Journal, Der Zahnarzt,' may be mentioned; together with a continuation of Dr. Schauenburg's Series of Medical Manuals, in the shape of a work by himself on 'Eye Surgery. Ophthalmic Surgery also receives a large contribution from Mr. Nunneley. It is also our duty to advert to the continuance of the 'Ophthalmic Hospital Reports,' of which the fourth number is before us, and which does not yield in interest to its predecessors. Doctors Sinclair and Johnston present us with a work entitled 'Practical Midwifery, comprising an Account of 13,748 Deliveries which occurred in the Dublin. Lying-in Hospital, during a period of Seven Years, commencing November, 1847.'

Passing from the Medico-Chirurgical Departments to Physiology, we introduce to our readers the Outlines of that science by Dr. John Hughes Bennett, of Edinburgh, embracing the 'Functions of the Ultimate Tissues and Organs of the Body in Health and Disease.' Mr. Rainey has published a little illustrated work on the 'Formation of the Shells and Bone of Animals,' the greater part of which has appeared in this Review, and in the Microscopical Journal.' We may refer our readers to the October number for 1857, for the leading features of Mr. Rainey's observations and arguments. From

France we have received Dr. Lucien Corvisart's essay on the 'Digestion of Nitrogenized Food by the Pancreatic Fluid, based upon original Experiments.'

In Chemical Science, a new well-got up manual has reached us, the authorship of which is shared by Messrs. Northcote and Church, and which aims to be a complete and systematic 'Guide to Qualitative Analysis.' A volume by Dr. Watson, on the 'Food Grains of India,' which promises to be of great interest and value, is heralded by the appearance of an introductory Chapter on the Development of the Resources of India, which we hope soon to see followed by the body of the work.

A Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Army, by a non-Commissioner, examines into the Report of the late Royal Commission on the same subject, and professes to point out various errors into which the Commissioners have fallen. We have to advert to a

laborious Report on the Health and Mortality of the Navy, in the year 1856,' by Dr. Alexander Bryson. It is drawn up from the Returns lodged with the Director-General of the Medical Department of the Navy, and forms a Blue-book, printed by order of the House of Commons. Finally, we wish to draw special attention to the appearance of the sixth number of Dr. Mayne's valuable 'Expository Dictionary of Terms belonging to Medicine and General Science,' which brings us to the beginning of letter R.

PART THIRD.

Original Communications.

ART. I.

The Laws of Organic Form. By HERBERT SPENCER.

THE last number of the Medico-Chirurgical Review' adds another to the frequent illustrations of community of thought independently arising in different observers. Those who read both, must have perceived between Mr. Hinton's interesting paper on Physical Morphology,' and the last two pages of the critique on Owen's "Homologies of the Vertebrate Skeleton," a manifest kinship; not only in the rejection of the hypothesis of ideal types, but in the ascription of organic forms to the action of incident forces. This kinship would have been yet clearer had not the limits confined me to the most general statement. The theory of vertebral modification briefly indicated in the above mentioned critique, forms part of a much wider theory of animal and vegetable structure which I have for some years been developing-partly stated in already published writings, partly only remotely implied in them. In two essays on "Transcendental Physiology," and "Progress: its Law and Cause," I have aimed to show that the changes. undergone in the evolution of a homogeneous germ into a heterogeneous organism, are interpretable as consequences of two universal dynamic laws:-1. That every homogeneous aggregation is in unstable equilibrium, because its different parts are differently exposed to incident forces; and 2. That every force produces

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* Essays: Scientific, Political, and Speculative. By Herbert Spencer. London, 1858.