ings brought together so clearly and so compactly as in this little book. It should be in the hands of every student of psychology, and most of it will appeal even to readers who are without special philosophical training. Of the translation we can speak cordially, but not enthusiastically. It is clear and accurate enough for all practical purposes, though more attention to literary form would have improved it. The unpardonable lack of any index to such a book as this should be remedied without fail, if a second edition is ever called for.

Dr. McCosh's new book1 would undoubtedly ineur M. Ribot's condemnation; for while recognizing the work of the new school in investigating the relations of mind and brain, in measuring the duration of psychic acts, etc., it views psychology from the old-school stand-point. It is refreshing to read a book so clear, so candid, and so selfconfident; and, even when disagreeing with the positions of the author most completely, we cannot withhold our admiration from his vigor of thought and expression. This book is the final expression of President McCosh's well-known psychological views. It is based on his academic lectures, and is a direct, simple, and dogmatic presentation of his system. Dr. McCosh does not beat around the bush. He defines the soul as "that self of which every one is conscious" (p. 1); self-consciousness, as "the power by which we take cognizance of self as acting; say, as thinking or feeling, as remembering the past or anticipating the future, as loving, fearing, and resolving " (p. 2). We have intuitive evidence of the existence of the soul (p. 7). "It is not the exact or full truth to say that I feel an external object, or that I have an idea of it (which I may have when ît is not present), or that I apprehend it, or have a notion of it, or believe in it: the correct expression is, that I have knowledge of it, or that I cognize it" (p. 20). These are Dr. McCosh's postulates, and on them his system is built up. We believe that it is coherent, but that it is not scientific. Its fundamentals are assumed, not proven. It is a system that will not allow the question, How is knowledge possible?' to be raised. It follows Reid and Hamilton in assuming the famous distinction of primary and secondary qualities without meeting the arguments of Berkeley, Kant, and Spencer. Yet we fully admit that it is far easier to find fault with Dr. McCosh's system as a whole than to replace it. Perhaps the time has not yet come for building a complete system of psychology on the new basis.

In this book Dr. McCosh deals only with the

1 Psychology: the cognitive powers. By JAMES MCCоSH, D.D., LL.D., Litt.D., New York, Scribner, 1886. -12°.

cognitive powers, reserving his treatment of the motive powers for another volume.. This we hope will be issued before long, and enable us to view entire the venerable author's psychological teaching. When the history of philosophy in America comes to be written, it will be found, that, right or wrong himself, no one has contributed so much, or given such an impulse, to the study of philosophy and psychology in this country, as the distinguished president of Princeton.

Of Mr. Jones's Human psychology' we need not say much. It is principally a compend of other persons' views in other persons' words. It is not unskilfully put together, but cannot expect recognition as an original or independent treatise. It is of no use to the trained philosophical teacher, and a poor manual to recommend to an untrained student.

MR. GRABER has recently described, in the Transactions of the Vienna academy, the results of observations indicating that eyeless animals are sensible to light. In a box divided into compartments, and each furnished with two openings, he distributed equally a number of earth-worms. One of the openings in each compartment he obscured or concealed, and exposed the box to the light, examining the worms from time to time, and adding new ones every four hours. By repeated observations he found that they showed a decided tendency to withdraw to the darker parts of the compartments, only forty out of a total of two hundred and fifty remaining in the light. He also studied the influence of different rays upon them, and found them susceptible to the different colors. When the openings were covered with blue and red glass, they manifested a marked preference for the red light.

Mr. A.. Sanson, in an article in a recent number of the Revue scientifique, states, that, from a comparison of animal and steam power, in France at least, the former is the cheaper motor. In the conversion of chemical to mechanical energy, ninety per cent is lost in the machine, against sixty-eight in the animal. He finds that the steam horse-power, contrary to what is generally believed, is often materially exceeded by the horse. The cost of traction on the MontparnasseBastille line of railway he found to be for each car, daily, fifty-seven francs, while the same work done by the horse cost only forty-seven francs ; and he believes, that, for moderate powers, the conversion of chemical into mechanical energy is more economically effected through animals than through steam-engines.

1 Human psychology: an introduction to philosophy. By E. JONES, A. M. New York, Baker & Taylor.

FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1886.

COMMENT AND CRITICISM.

THE ANNUAL REPORT for 1885, of Prof. J. P. Lesley, state geologist of Pennsylvania, contains a review of the conditions of the survey since its re-establishment in 1874 that does not show a highly enlightened policy on the part of the Pennsylvania legislature. The total appropriations for the thirteen years from 1874 to 1886 were $545,000, averaging $42.000 a year; but for 1885 a total expenditure of under $24,000 was allowed, and at the beginning of this year there was a balance of less than $36,000 on hand for the expenses of all of 1886 and the first part of 1887. So small a sum is entirely insufficient to insure proper official care of the enormous mineral interests of the state. The reduction of the appropriation for last year and this is the more embarrassing on account of the requirement that the work done shall include a greater variety of investigation than had been planned by the survey. The more important subjects reported upon for 1885 are the oil and rock gas about Pittsburgh, by Carll; the structure of the Pittsburgh coal-region, by d'Invilliers; the origin of coal-beds, by Lesquereux; and the anthracite survey and the kaolin deposits of Delaware county, by Ashburner. The anthracite survey, of the greatest technical and practical value, has been seriously hampered for want of funds. The same report gives an account of the method of distribution of the survey publications followed until lately, which, to put it mildly, does not reflect credit on the legislators at Harrisburg. The original regulation in 1874 ordered, that, after supplying a very moderate number of persons and institutions at the cost of the state, all others should obtain the desired volumes only by purchase at cost. But there was little or no sale, because citizens of the state were well accustomed to obtaining state documents free of cost from their representatives: consequently, when the first volumes appeared in 1875, and a demand for them was made on the members of the legislature, an act was at once passed providing for a special edition of 5,000 copies of every report, for the use of the senate and house. In No. 182-1996.

this way, 425,931 copies have been distributed by the legislators; and it is safe to say that a good part of this distribution has been made indiscriminately, while the survey has had practically no copies to dispose of; and of the editions published for sale, counting up to 110,569 copies, there remained unsold 43,118 copies in 1885. In view of this, an act was passed last year disposing of reports as follows: 500 copies to the senate, 2,000 to the house, 150 to the state geologist, 600 to the board of commissioners, for local institutions and general exchanges, 250 to certain state officials. This will greatly reduce the careless distribution by the legislature, and will allow the board of commissioners an authority that should have been theirs from the first. The attempt to establish a topographical survey of the state has been unfortunately a failure. The coast survey is proceeding with the triangulation of the state, and has covered about one-third of its area; but the legislature would not accept the offer of the U. S. geological survey to assist in carrying on the topographic work, even though the survey agreed to expend $30,000 a year while the state should expend only $10,000. The proper mapping of the state will cost, it is estimated, half a million dollars, and, if supported only by state appropriations of ten thousand dollars a year, would require half a century for its completion. That is too long for an intelligent state to wait.

COMPOSITE PORTRAITURE.

THE Composite portraits which are published to-day were made from groups of undergraduates of Smith college. Figs. 1 and 2 each contains forty-nine members of the last senior class; fig. 4 is a composite of a selected group of the same class, containing twenty individuals; while fig. 3 was made from ten members of the class of '85, The who formed an elective division in physics. average age of all the groups is about twenty-two years.

These portraits may serve as text and illustration for a few remarks on some points of interest in this method of obtaining pictorial averages.'

The great difference between figs. 1 and 2 strikes one at once, and yet they were both made from exactly the same negatives and under the same conditions, except that in fig. 2 the nega