nge of position or situation bringing some fresh part of the surface of the animal into contact with the table or other objects and renewing the application of stimulants。
〃At length the animal became again quiescent； and being carefully protected from all external impressions it moved no more； but died in the precise position and form which it had last assumed。
〃It requires a little manoeuvre to perform this experiment successfully： the motions of the animal must be watched and slowly and cautiously arrested by opposing some soft substance； as a glove or cotton wool； they are by this means gradually lulled into quiescence。 The slightest touch with a hard substance； the slightest stimulus； will； on the other hand； renew the movements on the animal in an active form。 But that this phenomenon does not depend upon sensation is further fully proved by the facts that the position last assumed； and the stimuli； may be such as would be attended by extreme or continued pain； if the sensibility were undestroyed： in one case the animal remained partially suspended over the acute edge of the table； in others the infliction of punctures and the application of a lighted taper did not prevent the animal； still possessed of active powers of motion； from passing into a state of complete and permanent quiescence。〃
In summing up this long paper Hall concludes with this sentence： 〃The reflex function appears in a word to be the COMPLEMENT of the functions of the nervous system hitherto known。〃＇2＇
All these considerations as to nerve currents and nerve tracts becoming stock knowledge of science； it was natural that interest should become stimulated as to the exact character of these nerve tracts in themselves； and all the more natural in that the perfected microscope was just now claiming all fields for its own。 A troop of observers soon entered upon the study of the nerves； and the leader here； as in so many other lines of microscopical research； was no other than Theodor Schwann。 Through his efforts； and with the invaluable aid of such other workers as Remak； Purkinje； Henle； Muller； and the rest； all the mystery as to the general characteristics of nerve tracts was cleared away。 It came to be known that in its essentials a nerve tract is a tenuous fibre or thread of protoplasm stretching between two terminal points in the organism； one of such termini being usually a cell of the brain or spinal cord； the other a distribution…point at or near the peripheryfor example； in a muscle or in the skin。 Such a fibril may have about it a protective covering； which is known as the sheath of Schwann； but the fibril itself is the essential nerve tract； and in many cases； as Remak presently discovered； the sheath is dispensed with； particularly in case of the nerves of the so…called sympathetic system。
This sympathetic system of ganglia and nerves； by…the…bye； had long been a puzzle to the physiologists。 Its ganglia； the seeming centre of the system； usually minute in size and never very large； are found everywhere through the organism； but in particular are gathered into a long double chain which lies within the body cavity； outside the spinal column； and represents the sole nervous system of the non…vertebrated organisms。 Fibrils from these ganglia were seen to join the cranial and spinal nerve fibrils and to accompany them everywhere； but what special function they subserved was long a mere matter of conjecture and led to many absurd speculations。 Fact was not substituted for conjecture until about the year 1851； when the great Frenchman Claude Bernard conclusively proved that at least one chief function of the sympathetic fibrils is to cause contraction of the walls of the arterioles of the system； thus regulating the blood…supply of any given part。 Ten years earlier Henle had demonstrated the existence of annular bands of muscle fibres in the arterioles； hitherto a much…mooted question； and several tentative explanations of the action of these fibres had been made； particularly by the brothers Weber； by Stilling； who； as early as 1840； had ventured to speak of 〃vaso…motor〃 nerves； and by Schiff； who was hard upon the same track at the time of Bernard's discovery。 But a clear light was not thrown on the subject until Bernard's experiments were made in 1851。 The experiments were soon after confirmed and extended by Brown…Sequard； Waller； Budge； and numerous others； and henceforth physiologists felt that they understood how the blood…supply of any given part is regulated by the nervous system。
In reality； however； they had learned only half the story； as Bernard himself proved only a few years later by opening up a new and quite unsuspected chapter。 While experimenting in 1858 he discovered that there are certain nerves supplying the heart which； if stimulated； cause that organ to relax and cease beating。 As the heart is essentially nothing more than an aggregation of muscles； this phenomenon was utterly puzzling and without precedent in the experience of physiologists。 An impulse travelling along a motor nerve had been supposed to be able to cause a muscular contraction and to do nothing else； yet here such an impulse had exactly the opposite effect。 The only tenable explanation seemed to be that this particular impulse must arrest or inhibit the action of the impulses that ordinarily cause the heart muscles to contract。 But the idea of such inhibition of one impulse by another was utterly novel and at first difficult to comprehend。 Gradually； however； the idea took its place in the current knowledge of nerve physiology； and in time it came to be understood that what happens in the case of the heart nerve…supply is only a particular case under a very general； indeed universal； form of nervous action。 Growing out of Bernard's initial discovery came the final understanding that the entire nervous system is a mechanism of centres subordinate and centres superior； the action of the one of which may be counteracted and annulled in effect by the action of the other。 This applies not merely to such physical processes as heart…beats and arterial contraction and relaxing； but to the most intricate functionings which have their counterpart in psychical processes as well。 Thus the observation of the inhibition of the heart's action by a nervous impulse furnished the point of departure for studies that led to a better understanding of the modus operandi of the mind's activities than had ever previously been attained by the most subtle of psychologists。
PSYCHO…PHYSICS
The work of the nerve physiologists had thus an important bearing on questions of the mind。 But there was another company of workers of this period who made an even more direct assault upon the 〃citadel of thought。〃 A remarkable school of workers had been developed in Germany； the leaders being men who； having more or less of innate metaphysical bias as a national birthright； had also the instincts of the empirical scientist； and whose educational equipment included a profound knowledge not alone of physiology and psychology； but of physics and mathematics as well。 These men undertook the novel task of interrogating the relations of body and mind from the standpoint of physics。 They sought to apply the vernier and the balance； as far as might be； to the intangible processes of mind。
The movement had its precursory stages in the early part of the century； notably in the mathematical psychology of Herbart； but its first definite output to attract general attention came from the master…hand of Hermann Helmholtz in 1851。 It consisted of the accurate measurement of the speed of transit of a nervous impulse along a nerve tract。 To make such measurement had been regarded as impossible； it being supposed that the flight of the nervous impulse was practically instantaneous。 But Helmholtz readily demonstrated the contrary； showing that the nerve cord is a relatively sluggish message…bearer。 According to his experiments； first performed upon the frog； the nervous 〃current〃 travels less than one hundred feet per second。 Other experiments performed soon afterwards by Helmholtz himself； and by various followers； chief among whom was Du Bois…Reymond； modified somewhat the exact figures at first obtained； but did not change the general bearings of the early results。 Thus the nervous impulse was shown to be something far different； as regards speed of transit； at any rate； from the electric current to which it had been so often likened。 An electric current would flash halfway round the globe while a nervous impulse could travel the length of the human bodyfrom a man's foot to his brain。
The tendency to bridge the gulf that hitherto had separated the physical from the psychical world was further evidenced in the following decade by Helmholtz's remarkable but highly technical study of the sensations of sound and of color in connection with their physical causes； in the course of which he revived the doctrine of color vision which that other great physiologist and physicist； Thomas Young； had advanced half a century before。 The same tendency was further evidenced by the appearance； in 1852； of Dr。 Hermann Lotze's famous Medizinische Psychologie； oder Physiologie der Seele； with its challenge of the old myth of a 〃vital force。〃 But the most definite expression of the new movement was signalized in 1860； when Gustav Fechner published his classical work called Psychophysik。 That title introduced a new word into the vocabulary of science。 Fechner explained it by saying； 〃I mean by psychophysics an exact theory of the relation between spirit and body； and； in a general way； between the physical and the psychic worlds。〃 The title became famous and the brunt of many a controversy。 So also did another phrase which Fechner introduced in the course of his bookthe phrase 〃physiological psychology。〃 In making that happy collocation of words Fechner virtually christened a new science。
FECHNER EXPOUNDS WEBER'S LAW
The chief purport of this classical book of the German psycho…physiologist was the elaboration and explication of experiments based on a method introduced more than twenty years earlier by his countryman E。 H。 Weber； but which hitherto had failed to attract the attention it deserved。 The