1901] BOOK REVIEWS 347

The chapter on the treatment of epilepsy is somewhat depressing

from the author’s concession of the practical failure of medicinal, dietetic
and surgical procedures. Among drugs the bromides, in his opinion,
still hold the first place. We are interested to perceive that he has found
no special choice between the bromide of potassium and the bromides
of sodium, ammonium or strontium. He believes that in the adminr
istration of the bromides an effort should be made to find the dose which
will be borne persistently and continuously by the patient. He recom-
mends of course the continuous administration of the drug as affording
the only hope (often a faint one) of ultimate cure. We can hardly sub-
scribe to his opinion that the persistent administration of the bromides
does no permanent harm to the nervous system. Those officers of
institutions for the insane who have seen patients brought to them at the
point of death in consequence of heavy drugging with these remedies,
will certainly share our doubts of the harmlessness of the preparations
in question. The book is a store-house of accurate and careful obser-
vation, and for the use of the alienist has no e4ual in the English
language.

Mental Diseases and their Modern Treatment. By SELDEN HARRIS

TALCOTT, A. M., M. D., Ph. D., Medical Superintendent of the
Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital, etc. (New York: Boer-
icke and Runyon Company, ipon).
Books privately printed for the eyes of indulgent friends have very
properly never been considered legitimate objects of literary criticism.
Clinical lectures delivered ore rotundo to medical students might be
similarly classed for the reason that the lecturer surrounded by en-
thusiastic and sympathetic pupils is frequently betrayed into an extrava-
gance of statement and fervor of expression hardly compatible with
a purely scientific presentation of the topic. It seems in a way harsh
to judge the present book by the ordinary canons of criticism because
it was originally prepared for the instruction of students in a homeo-
pathic medical school in the homeopathic treatment of mental diseases.
The audience being thoroughly in sympathy with the lecturer and
already convinced of the truth of his message it is but natural that
the lecturer should speak as one might in the privacy of his own home.
This little volume of three hundred and fifty pages we are told is
designed to be “not an exhaustive treatise upon insanity. It con-
sists simply of a few blaze-marks guiding the way through the wilder-
ness of mental disorder into the sunny fields of health.” The style as
has been intimated, is that of the public lecturer or platform speaker
rather than of the quiet author or medical writer. The descriptions
of diseases are, however, interesting and graphic, albeit often character-
ized by an exuberance of diction and freedom of expression, somewhat
startling. The following from page i8 may serve as an example: “The
action of the brain in its relation to the body may be illustrated by
comparing it to the action of the spider in relation to its web. This
348 BOOK REVIEWS [Oct.

famous animal is usually found at home in the most central portion of

its self-constructed domicile. It may be apparently asleep, but if you
touch ever so lightly one of the filaments of the spider’s web he instantly
takes notice of the fact and seeks to repair the injuries which have been
wrought. So the brain stands like a sleepless Cerberus in the centre
of the much-diverging nerve fabric and if you prick a nerve extremity
the shock is vibrated with lightning-like rapidity to the brain and from
it goes forth the order to the muscular guardians of the injured part
to hold the fort or to beat a retreat as may seem best. A good illustra-
tion of nerve action is when a boy sits down upon a bent pin and then
gets up again.”
A further example from page 125 on the pathological states of mel-
ancholia also merits repetition: “In studying the pathology of melan-
cholia you will often find diseased conditions of the abdominal viscera
and to such conditions may often be attributed much of the mental dis-
eases which have invaded the life of the individual thus afflicted. In
the brain itself we often find but slight evidences of disease even when
the patient has died in his unfortunate and depressed state. But even
slight pathological developments in the brain will sometimes reveal the
fact that its mental occupant was overborne in a most destructive way
by forbidden and abhorrent forces, until it finally gave up the contest
against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
“The track of a vessel as it disturbs the surface of the ocean is speedily
washed away. The casual observer sees upon the sunlit billows nothing
to proclaim the fact that a steamship has ploughed through these oblit-
erating waves. But the keen-eyed and long-experienced mariner dis-
covers upon the tell-tale waters, oil from the machinery and ashes from
the pit and a bit of sable ribbon torn by the winds from a black flag,
and he knows from these that a stranger and a pirate has passed that
way. So the phantom bark of melancholia may sweep along the sin-
uses and glide up and down the arterial courses, vexing the shores
of the cerebral convolutions, yet leaving but little track or trace by
which its ravages may be noted or measured. Yet skilled investigators
profiting by repeated observations are fast discovering and marking
out with faithful hands and by unmistakable signs, the course and the
character of this unseen but deadly enemy of mental health.” This
verily seems like the method ol Zadig applied to cerebral pathology
and is picturesque even if not altogether scientific or convincing.
The chapter on the general treatment of insanity contains much prac-
tical good sense and is to be commended heartily. Rest in bed with
enforced protection, exercise, amusement and occupation, artificial
feeding, general dietetics and hygiene are all very sensibly and satisfac-
torily dwelt upon in a manner to impress the student and practitioner.
The medical treatment of insanity on the other hand can hardly be
considered seriously and in reading one finds difficulty in maintaining
the gravity which such a topic would seem to demand. Take for ex-
ample the following from page 234 and following pages: “For acute
 1901] BOOK REVIEWS 349

melancholia where the victim is prostrated by shock, where the grief

is intensely profound, where the power of weeping and thus securing
relief has been abolished, there we find Ignatia Amara the relieving
remedy. Probably no drug has produced more comforting results in
the realms of sorrow and loss than the St. Ignatius bean. The Ignatia
patient wants to be let alone, and is yet sensitive about what she con-
ceives to be the neglect of her friends. For brooding sorrow following
hard luck or bad news, give Ignatia. For the over-mastering effect
of good news which impels some women into the hysteric state give
coffee. While the Ignatia patient generally broods, she sometimes
becomes hysterical and indulges in temporary fits of laughter. The
natrum Muriaticum patients instead of brooding over their troubles
or crying inwardly (Ignatia), bubble and boil and shed tears copiously
like the old prince and king over their alleged dead brother as de-
scribed in Huckleberry Finn.
“Among the cry-baby remedies we have Pulsatilla, Nux Moschata and
Cactus. The Pulsatilla patient weeps easily, but smiles through her
tears and is very changeable. The mental state of Pulsatilla is like the
weather in April, now you see the brilliant radiance of the summer’s
sun as it glints down from cerulean-lined heavens; and again you see
gray skies or feel the trickling tears of the clouds. . . . Tarantula is a
remedy for crafty, cunning maniacs-patients who are full of mischief
and prone to sudden fits of destructiveness, such as knocking down
pictures, or sweeping bric-a-brac from a mantel-piece or pounding a
piano or a helpless child. . . . Calcarea Phosphoricum, if there seems to
be a tendency to cerebral chilblain, and phosphoric acid when the
patients are dull and drowsy, with occasional periods of excitement and
profuse discharge of urine.” We are later informed that “Alcohol pro-
duces artificial and temporary paresis and is therefore homeopathic to
the genuine article” and that it may be administered in small doses
sometimes with benefit. Good whiskey, therefore, in one-half ounce
doses may be given once in three or four hours when necessary. We
are, however, warned that this and other remedies mentioned (nitric
acid, iodide of potash, Veratrum Viride, Cuprum Metallicum, etc.),
have thus far not proved curative but have sometimes afforded relief
and have seemed to effect a prolongation of life and an increased com-
fort to the sick one. These are fair specimens of the therapeutic sug-
gestions contained in about a dozen similar pages of the book.
A compendium of the remedies used homeopathically for the treat-
ment of mental disorders concludes the volume. This, whatever may
be thought by the individual of the value of the therapeutics thus sug-
gested, is alphabetically and systematically presented. The general
action of the drug is first mentioned and, subsequently in order, its
action upon the brain and spinal cord and upon the mind; its relation
to sleep and finally its special sphere of action.
To those who desire to familiarize themselves with the methods of
homeopathy in the treatment of insanity and the claims of its advocates
350 BOOK REVIEWS [Oct.

the book may be commended. It is the work of one who believes in

the system and who has had much experience in the treatment of mental
disorders. To the general student of psychiatry the book has no great
value.

Laboratory Work in Histology. By G. CARL HUBER, M. D., Junior Pro-

fessor of Anatomy and Director of the Histological Laboratory,
University of Michigan. Third edition, revised and enlarged.
(Ann Arbor, Michigan: George Wahr, Publisher, 1900.)

This book is intended as a guide to the student in his laboratory work.

It is not supposed to replace the text-books but merely to supplement
them.
Part I of about sixty pages is devoted to “microscopic technic.” The
most valuable methods of technic commonly employed are clearly
described.
Part II of about one hundred and twenty pages contains the “Outlines
for laboratory work” and numerous blank pages, a few at the end of
each section for the student’s drawings of his preparations.
The laboratory work begins with a study of simple cells, plant and
animal, and of cell division. The study of the tissue elements, epithe-
hum, connective tissue, muscles, nerve, blood and lymph then follows
and precedes the study of the more complex organs which are taken
up in the following order: circulatory and lymphatic systems, alimentary
tract, respiratory organs, urinary, and reproductive systems, skin, central
nervous system, and special senses. The space devoted to the central
nervous system is very brief. No study is made of the medulla. It is
evident that more work on the central nervous system is given in
another course. The course thus outlined and given by the author at
the University of Michigan is a very excellent one. The plan is logical
and for the most part in good proportion. The order in which the work
is given is somewhat similar to that in other outlines, as Benda and
Guenther’s, Barker and Bardeen’s, Stirling’s, and Waldeyer’s. In Benda
and Guenther’s illustration and space for drawing are emphasized. In
Stirling’s outlines the various methods for tissue study are especially
valuable. Barker and Bardeen’s, and Waldeyer’s outlines give but little
more than a list of the objects studied in their respective courses.
Teachers of histology will find Huber’s outlines of considerable value
in starting new courses and in rearranging old ones, especially where
short courses are to be lengthened. The difficulty in outlining a well
balanced course is not inconsiderable.
Such books, giving as they do a clear insight into courses given in
other institutions, are especially’ welcome in this formative period of
medical teaching. We should be interested in looking over outlines
of courses given elsewhere. The adoption by other teachers for their
classes of this outline will probably be infrequent, as ideas of teaching
differ so much among teachers and even from year to year with the