159REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Reviews and Notices of Books.The Life of Riohafrd Owen. By his Grandson, the Rev.

RICHARD OWN, M.A. Two Vols. London: John

Murray. 1894.

THESE entertaining volumes depict the life of our great.paleontologist mainly from its social and domestic side.

Notwithstanding the engrossing nature of his scientific

labours, he went much into society, played chess and thevioloncello with some kill, ardently admired the drama, andwas altogether a man who had many friends and someopponents as well. Prime Ministers, Church dignitaries, andpeers figure largely in these pages, and there are more than- occasional glimpses of exalted personages such as members ofour own Royal Family, the Emperor of Brazil, the Queen ofHolland, and some others. A very large number of the letterswritten and received by Owen have been preserved, and bothhe and his wife were indefatigable diarists. The wealth of.material thus provided has been skilfully manipulatedby the biographer so as to produce a smooth and almostcontinuous narrative, consisting in no small degree ofthe actual phraseology employed by the Owens and their

.correspondents. The interest of the story is maintained fromfirst to last. There are no abstruse technical disquisitionslikely to be tedious or unintelligible to the general reader,nor is there any trace of the learned polemics in whichOwen was involved; but the scientific references and detailswith which the books abound are introduced incidentally, asit were, in the order of their occurrence and in the parts ofthe biography with which they are naturally connected.Owen’s home life seems to have been singularly untroubledand happy. Deprived in infancy of his father, who was aWest India merchant, he and his sisters were brought up inLancaster by their mother, a woman evidently well fittedin every way for her charge, and constantly regardedwith the warmest affection by her son. As soon as he

presented himself at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in 1825,after quitting Edinburgh University, he had the good fortuneto secure the patronage of Abernethy and to be madehis prcsector. In the following year he became a Memberof the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and, throughAbernethy’s instrumentality, was appointed assistant to theconservator of the somewhat neglected museum which hadbeen purchased by the Government from John Hunter’s

representatives and handed over to the Royal College of8argeons. The connexion with the Hunterian Museum thus

begun was continued for thirty years, being terminated onlyin 1856, on his appointment to be superintendent of theNatural History Departments of the British Museum. In 1830he became a life member of the Zoological Society, and in thefollowing year contributed to their proceedings eight paperson the anatomy of var:ous animals. In 1830 he made the

acquaintance of Baron Cuvier, in whose department ofresearch he was destined to labour so successfully. Cuvierdied in 1832; Owen was occupied solely with the HunterianMuseum Catalogue and with zootomy until 1837, when heproduced his first ralgecntological paper, a Description ofthe Cranium of the Tcxodon Platensis, but he had alreadyattracted the attention of scientific men by his Memoir onthe Pearly Nautilus, published in 1832. In 1834 he waselected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1835 he marriedCaroline Clift, daughter of the Conservator of the HunterianMuseum; they had one son, who died in 1886, leaving awidow and family. In 1837 Owen was appointed to thenewly-created office of Hunterian Professor to the RoyalCollege of Surgeons. An incident which illustrated his

sagacity, and moreover took an unusually firm hold of thepublic mind, occurred in 1839. A seafaring man had

brought from New Zealand a solitary fragment of a long

bone, and wishing to fird a purchaser he submitted it to0 wen, who published a description of it, with the announce-ment that it had belonged to a gigantic bird allied to theostrich family, but hitherto unknown to ornithologists.This surprising inference was at first received with some

incredulity, but was amply verified in 1843 and subsequentyears by the arrival in this country of complete skeletons ofthe extinct bird called ’’ moa" by the natives of New Zealandand named Dinornis by Owen. In after years many strangeanatomical queries were in all seriousness addressed to him,of which whimsical instances are recorded in the biography,perhaps the most remarkable being a personal inquiry madeby the Chief Spoon and Ladle-maker to the Commander ofthe Faithful. This official brought from the Sultan’s jewel-house to the Museum a most beautiful ladle, the bowl ofwhich was of a fine horny material supposed to be the beak ofthe phcenix, and he explained that the object of his missionwas to obtain accurate scientific information regarding thisbird. Owen, however, after some research discovered thatthe bowl of the ladle was made from the beak of Buceros

galeatus, a rare bird found in Ceylon.Owen’s great triumph in his later years was the creation of

the magnificent Museum of Natural History at South

Kensington. The space available for zoological specimens inthe British Museum being altogether inadequate, he in 1859"submitted a strong report to the trustees setting forth hisviews as to a National Museum of Natural History, accom-panied with a plan. " The scheme was considered bya committee of the House of Commons and was ulti-

mately rejected, its foremost opponent being an Irish

member, the representative of county Galway. In 1862the scheme was again brought before Parliament, beingintroduced by Mr. Gladstone, as Chancellor of the Ex-

chequer, but it was defeated. In 1863 Mr. Glad-stone obtained leave from the House of Commons to

purchase land for the building, and eventually eightacres of ground were acquired at South Kensington. The

removal of the specimens from Bloomsbury to the new

building at South Kensington was commenced about 1880and occupied some years. In the end of 1883, being ad-vanced in his eightieth year, and in the possession of almostall the honorary scientific distinctions which could be con-ferred on him, the enumeration of which occupies more thanthree pages of the second volume, Owen retired from hisofficial duties in relation to the national collections of natural

history. He had witnessed the complete success of his effortsin their behalf, and, as he himself wrote, felt that he couldnow depart in peace. Professor Flower was appointed tothe vacancy, and Owen withdrew into private life with thedignity of K.C.B. and a pension, which was augmented atthe instance of Mr. Gladstone. His declining years thereafterglided serenely away, until the peaceful arrival of the closingscene in December, 1892.Three photogravure portraits of Owen at different periods

of life are a material addition to the value of the narrative,two of them forming frontispieces to each of the volumes.The author has naturally found his theme congenial, andthere need be no hesitation in predicting for his work apermanent place in the literature of biography and personalanecdote.

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Pulse. Gauging: a Clinical Study of Radial Measurementand Pulse Pressure. By GEORGE OLIVER, M.D. Lond ,F.R.C.P. London : H. K. Lewis. 1895.

ANY means of increasing our reliable information con-

cerning the indications for diagnosis and treatment affordedby the pulse ought to be, and no doubt will be, welcomed bythe profession. In pulse gauging by the arteriometer andthe pulse pressure gauge Dr. Oliver has at present a practicalmonopoly, for, although we believe instruments for graduallycompressing the pulse to obliteration have been in use before,

160 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

the more elaborate and accurate instruments to which we havereferred are of his own invention. Unlike the sphygmograph, i

which affords us information of a kind difficult to obtain bytactile methods, the instruments with which we are at

present concerned are intended to afford more precise infermation concerning conditions which are often very fairly esti-mated by the time-honoured means of "feeling the pulse."Into feeling the pulse the personal equation no doubt entersvery largely ; the sensitiveness and intelligence of the indi-vidual are variable quantities. Mechanical instruments, on theother hand, (ught to be more alike ; but all such should, wethink, before being sold to the profession, be tested, likethermometers, by comparison with a reliable standard.Otherwise the variation of man is introduced into the auto-matic machine. In the use of instruments, moreover, as inobservation generally, there are sources of fallacy-many, nodoubt, avoidable-which require to be well known to beeliminated. A knowledge of these only comes by experienceand usually by the discovery of error. How not to do any-thing frequently precedes a knowledge of how to do it. The

only justification for the multiplication of our means of

observation, and for the substitution for our naked senses ofmechanical aids, is the inadequacy of our present means andof our unaided senses to investigate the conditions for whichsuch increased aid is introduced. In estimating the practicalvalue of the work before us these appear to us to be considera-tions which must be borne in mind. They are not ignored bythe author. While by the finger we can form a general ideaof the size of the radial pulse, it must be admitted thatits calibre can be more exactly measured by means ofsuch an instrument as Dr. Oliver’s arteriometer, and,this once exactly noted, an increase or diminution

may be ascertained more certainly than if we trust to thememory of our impressions. This is important, as it hasbeen found that the same vessel may under different circum-stances vary in this respect, and evince peculiarities indisease which distinguish conditions of health from those Iaccompanying a morbid state. Such peculiarities may be, and have been, determined without instrumental aid, butprecision may be imparted to our conclusions by employingthe arteriometer and pulse gauge. Whether such precisionis of sufficiently great importance for practical purposes tobring this instrument into even such general use as the

sphygmograph may be questioned ; but that it may be of

great value in scientific investigation and education is, wethink, highly probable. Not only, however, as an instrumentof precision in scientific investigation, but also as an instru-ment of practical utility in " selecting and adjusting remedialmeasures," has Dr. Oliver found his instruments service-able. "The pulse instruments have specially demonstratedthe great restorative value of such physiological agencies asrecumbent rest, exercise, diet, massage, baths, and mineralwaters." Such data could no doubt be attained by the experi-enced physician by tactile methods sufficiently well, but it isalso probable that the less experienced observer could byinstrumental aid gain truer criteria than by the use ofthe unaided finger. Just as the pleximeter and hammer ofthe student usually give place to the more convenient fingerswhen the examiner has learned to trust them, so, also,will the latter from their very convenience tend to sup-

plant the ingenious and accurate instruments Dr. Oliver

describes. As an aid to the education of the hand webelieve they may be of great value, and as such the authoracknowledges their utility. For fuller particulars as to theconstruction of these instruments and the general results ofpulse gauging obtained by their aid we must refer our

readers to the very handy little volume before us. The

labour which has been bestowed in collecting data, the caretaken in checking known sources of fallacy, and the intelli-gence and caution evinced by the author in stating his con-clusions cannot be too warmly acknowledged. Dr. Oliver’s

work, carried out largely, we understand, in the midst ofthe duties of active professional life, also demonstrates an oft-proved truth-namely, that the harvest to be garnered by mem-bers of our profession in every sphere is truly great, and thatwell-equipped labourers cannot be too numerous to contributeeach a fruitful sheaf towards the common store of usefulmaterial. Dr. Oliver’s excellent work is such a sheaf, andwe cordially commend it to our readers.

Lehniann’s Medicin. Hand-Atlanten, Band vii. Atlas undGrundriss der Ophthalmoscopie und OphthalmoscopischenDiagnostik. Mit 5 Text- und 102 farbigen Abbildungenauf64 Tafeln. Von Dr. 0. HAAB, Professor an der Universiti1tund Direktor der Augenklinik in Ziirich. (Lehmann’sMedicine. Hand Atlases, vol. vii. Atlas and Outline ofOphthalmoscopy and Ophthalmoscopic Diagnosis. With5 Illustrations in the Text and 64 Coloured Plates contain-ing 102 Illustrations. By Dr. 0. Haab, Professor at theUniversity of, and Director of the Ophthalmic Clinic at,Zurich.) Munchen: Lehmann. 1895.

THIS manual, which fully deserves its name, presents, in acheap and compact form, a series of plates in which thecharacteristic features of the principal diseases of the fundusof the eye are very well given. Though perhaps not quiteequal in finish to the plates illustrating the larger works onophthalmoscopy, they are still so satisfactorily printed thatthe student may feel sure, if he is well acquainted with theaspects of disease as here presented, there will be very fewforms of retinal lesion that will give him any difficulty’to diagnose. Some of the plates, as those of opticneuiitis with retinal hæmorrhage consequent on the growthof an orbital tumour and those of the changes of thefundus in pernicious anæmia, in albuminuria, diabetes,and pregnancy are very good. Every figure is preceded bya short descriptive account, and we append a translation ofone of these that their length and character may be under- stood by our readers : "Fig. 39 : Retinal trouble from a blowon the eye ; Bertin’s cloud ; commotio retinas ; erect image,somewhat diminished. This disturbance of the retina, fre-quently observed after blows inflicted on the eyes with bluntinstruments, was first studied and described by Bertin. Thelesion is transitory, so that it is more distinctly visible the-earlier the eye is examined after the accident. It is most

frequently occasioned by blows with the fist or stick, or-

from stones or snowballs. In many instances, two quitedistinct, milk-white spots may be seen on the retina, oneof which is at the point where the eye was struck whilst theother is at the region of the macula lutea. The former is

usually the larger, more pronounced, and more persistent ofthe two. The macula and the vision may be unaffected.The peripheric opacity does not, as a rule, conceal the-

retinal vessels. The appearances presented were formerlyoften mistaken for detachment of the retina from the choroid.The nature of the opacity has not as yet been satisfactorilymade out. Our illustration was taken from an eye whicha few hours previously had been injured by a blow with a,snowball." ’vVe may add that eight of these hand-atlaseshave been published and that nine more are to follow.

Traité Pratique des Maladies du Système Nerveux. ParJ. GRASSET et G. BAUZIER. 4me Edition. Montpellier :Camille Coulet. Paris : G. Masson. 1894.THE two immense volumes, each containing over 1000

pages, which compose the latest form in which Grasset’sclassical work has appeared, really constitute a fresh

work, and they are characterised by the great care in

research, the graphic presentation of facts, and the firm

grasp of clinical characteristics and details which have-been a feature of all the previous editions. The work hasbeen subjected to the most thorough revision, and much

fresh material has been added so as to make it, as we,.

161NEW INVENTIONS.

have indicated above, almost a new book. The scheme isa very comprehensive one. There are six parts in all, thefirst being devoted to Diseases of the Brain, the second toDiseases of the Spinal Cord, the third to Diseases of theMedulla Oblongata, the fourth to Diseases of the Mem-

branes, the fifth to Diseases of the Nerves and Neuroses, andthe sixth to an account of the Nervous Manifestations ofGeneral Diseases. Each part is divided into a series of

articles, and each article is subdivided into chapters. Thus,in the third part, dealing with diseases of the bulb, thefirst article or division is devoted to an account oflocalised lesions, and of its two chapters, the first dealswith hemorrhage and the second with softening. Thesecond article or division is concerned with inflammation ofthe bulb, and its two chapters have as their respectiveheadings Labio-glosso-Iaryngeal Paralysis - the ordinarybulbar palsy-and Acute Bulbar Paralysis.

It is almost needless, and indeed it would be impossiblein such an article as this, to do more than merely indicatethe aim and scope of such a work as that under review.

Anything like a detailed examination of its varied excellence

would be out of place and unnecessary. It is sufficient to

say that it more than maintains the high standard arrivedat in its predecessors ; that every chapter is a perfectmine full of the richest ore, and can be regarded notonly as itself furnishing the views and experiencesof the two eminent neurologists who are responsiblefor the book, but as also indicating to the readerthe various other sources from which knowledge of the

particular condition has been derived. The only subject towhich we should have expected more space to be devoted isthat of epilepsy, and it is, we venture to think, a pity that afuller account of epilepsy and Jacksonian epilepsy should nothave been furnished, and that the two diseases should havebeen separated, apparently through the exigencies of the

classification adopted, and not placed together in the book.The pleasant and clear, if somewhat discursive, style in

which it is written, the varied and striking figures anddiagrams with which the text is illustrated, and the excellenttables and indices which are added to it, all combine withthe matter itself to form a book which is at once a monu.

ment of industry and ability, and a valuable and reliableguide to all whose work leads them to the study of nervouscases and neurological problems.

New Inventions.AN APPARATUS TO ASSIST IN THE ADMINISTRATION

OF THE BATH.IN the report of a clinical lecture on the method of using the

cold bath in typhoid fever, by Dr. William Osler,1 he drawsattention to the difficulties of lifting the patient out of thebath. In the case he describes the patient was given thirty-six baths. I recently had under my care a strong, heavilybuilt man suffering from typhoid fever, and even with theaid of two nurses I experienced the greatest difficulty inlifting him into and out of his bath. I therefore had fittedto the bed an apparatus which answered my purpose. The

legs of the sheers were tied to the foot of the bed, wherethey remained firmly in position. I attached a "1 nff tacklepurchase" " to either end of the crossbeam, and from thelower block of each purchase hooked the end of a commonIndian hammock. By placing a sheet over the hammock andspreading both out flat on the bed the patient was able toroll on to them without inconvenience. Now, by the multi-plication of power effected by the combination of pulleysthe patient is raised off the bed with the greatest ease to theposition shown in the illustration, and when suspended isreadily pulled over the edge of the bed and lowered gently intothe bath. In taking the patient out of the bath the pulleys areof great use. The hammock containing the sheet and patient

1 The Medical News, Dec. 3rd, 1893.

are raised clear of the surface of the water and retainedin this position for a few seconds, to allow the sheet andhammock to drip into the bath until fairly dry. The patientis then raised to the level of the bed and gently pushed overthe edge on to a rubber sheet, whence, after drying, he rollsto his original place at the further side of the bed, and themackintosh, wet hammock, and sheet are removed. As thebath may have to be given frequently-i,e., in typhoidfever perhaps whenever the temperature is above 103’5°F. -it is very important to have some such means in private

practice by which two nurses, or even one, can give thebaths without much trouble. I therefore trust that in

bringing this apparatus before the members of the professiona valuable therapeutic measure may be rendered easyin those details of its application which so often mean thedifference between success and failure. Any carpenter canfix together the beams necessary for the two pairs ofsheers, and the whole can be placed in position within acouple of hours. G. CALDWELL STEPHEN, M,D.’

Evelyn-gardens, South Kensington.G. CALDWELL STEPHEN, M.D.

"THE SENSITIVE FINGER COVER."

WE have received from the Manchester Novelty Mar.u-facturing Company a little appliance which we can conceivemay be of considerable practical value to surgeons anddentists. It consists of an indiarubber membrane fashionedinto a finger cover, and so thin that for all practical purposesthe sensitiveness of touch is retained. Many circumstancesarise in practical surgery where examination by the finger isan absolute necessity, and in some of these circumstances,if the finger can be covered and yet no loss of "eruditetouch" follow on the protection, considerable gain in

personal comfort will accrue to the medical attendant, afact which holds good to a marked extent in the practice ofdentists. As a rule, and within certain limits, the fewer ofsuch adventitious aids introduced into surgical practice thebetter, for their multiplication must always mean the multi-plication of the sources of infection against which asepticmeasures have to be taken ; but the exploring finger is sofrequently required in places where protection against theills that might follow upon a tiny wound of or a crack in theskin would be very necessary that we have no hesitation inrecommending these little finger-caps to the medical pro-fession. We may add that we have tested them practically,and can report that the sense of touch is not perceptiblyimpaired by their use.