are put forth immediately with no delay in warming up, e. g., with the fifth series in the left hand running 27-27-27-2625-25, f .96, with no actual reversal at all.. These records illustrate especially a point in which the writer has quoted certain interpretations of Hutt. The most profound conditions of retardation may present no response at all to the warming-up influences of the activities of the test, and a gradual overcoming of retardation is first seen in the ability to respond to these warming-up influences (as shown in the reversed curves), while, finally, the retardation being still further overcome, the fatigue-curve again more approximates the normal in form. CASE III. Retired manufacturer, 71, some heredity. An industrious and hard-working man all his life, of best habits, retiring from business a few years ago, after he had made a moderate fortune. Although always having given a certain amount of his time to church work, at about this period he began to show excessive interest in religious activities that indicates the possibility of a hypomanic condition. Then matters went along about normally for a year, when three or four months before admission he was noticed to be sleepy, apt to lie down, slow to understand, lacking the power to start things. He also began to worry about financial matters, but no real mental cause of this or any other nature is known. For a brief period before admission he spoke openly of suicide. At the time of the experiments he was perfectly clear and oriented, and formed a striking example of those cases who, with a first attack at the involution period, yet show none of the characteristic involution symptoms, but form a typical picture of manic-depressive depression. With this subject the regular experiment was performed 10 times, first on July 6, 1908, three days after admission; again on July 15, and daily for the eight days following. The averages of the six intervals are given in the curves subjoined, the experiments in which the right hand precedes being sketched in a continuous line, those in which the left hand precedes being sketched in a dotted line (Fig. 9). The absolute rate is somewhat below the normal, and there "Hutt: Rechenversuche bei Manisch-Depressive, Ps. Arb., V. 3 (1908), pp. 338-370. Wells: Studies in Retardation, Am. J. Ps., XX, pp. 49-50. is considerably less fatigue loss than the normal, as is usually the case. On the other hand, except for those with the right hand preceding, the curves show no real reversal, but each individual curve runs along about on a level with no marked fluctuation. The subject co-operated with active willingness, and seemed always anxious to do his best; so that although there is no actual reversal, the curves probably present a real over-balancing of fatigue loss in the constant maintenance of a low but maximum rate. The transference phenomena, which are the most striking experimental features of retardation in this case, are superficially shown in the above quoted curves, the dotted lines being farther apart than the continuous ones, showing here that the following hand is the more favored. They are presented in greater detail in the accompanying curves (Fig. 10). Bearing now in mind that on the odd days the right hand precedes the left, while on the even days the left hand precedes the right, the more favorable position of the following hand is evident. This is very seldom seen in normal individuals, except in a late stage of practice. In the curve for the index of righthandedness the index is invariably low (i. e., the left hand relatively poorer) when the left hand precedes, and high when it follows; on the fifth day the right and left hands were exactly equal. With the sole exception of the last day, the index rises. on the odd, and falls on the even days. This result corresponds closely to that obtained by Hoch in a similar case with the ergograph (Psychol. Bull., I, 255). With respect to f the left hand is RIGHT HAND 160 DAY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 subject to a certain constant influence that may be in the nature of practice effect, but the alternation of the right hand f's is perfectly clear cut. They are high on the even days when the right hand follows, and low on the odd days when it precedes. Such warming-up effect, then, as is transferred from the pre ceding left to the following right hand, shows itself in a greater immunity to fatigue in the right hand; when it has not this warming-up influence behind it, it is distinctly more susceptible to fatigue losses. In the curves of the total efficiency from day to day, one can trace the same relationship of the right and left hands that the index of right-handedness shows with more fidelity; but it is necessarily obscured by the intercurrent changes in the patient's condition. The writer made a brief daily note of the patient's apparent condition (before evaluating the experiment, of course), the main points of which are as follows: 1. July 9. Patient clear, did not seem much depressed, but expressed spontaneously a feeling of apprehensiveness as distinguished from depression. 2. July 15. Did not seem to take as much interest as previously. Seemed rather more depressed. Spoke spontaneously twice. 3. July 16. Mentioned spontaneously feeling a little more cheerful, as he had been doing some things in which he was interested. Made an adjustment in the apparatus of his own accord. Walked about the laboratory afterwards, examining apparatus. 4. July 17. Said he felt worse than day before, and, in general, seemed more depressed. 5. July 20. Subject about the same. Cannot lie down to rest on account of the depressive ideas that come on him at such times. 6. July 21. Subject felt a little better than usual, according to his own statement. Did not talk so much. 7. July 22. Talked a good deal more freely. Subjective condition better than previously. Spoke of a certain series (wrongly) as the best yet. 8. July 23. Felt worse than day before, did not talk so much. 9. July 24. Subject mentioned feeling "alert" in contrast to usual "numbness"; more alert to-day than at any previous time. Thought was doing better. Talked depressively, but a good deal. 10. July 25. Not nearly so "alert" as day before. About as usual. The nurse's notes, covering this period, contain nothing contradictory to the above observations. It should be mentioned that these memoranda are derived mainly from immediate observation of the subject, only secondarily from the subject's introspective account of his condition. It is rare, indeed, that a depressed patient will admit feeling better until recovery is far advanced; they often struggle against such an admission, long after improvement is clinically evident. As we should expect, there is indicated a tendency for the gross rate to be higher on good days, and lower on poor ones. The two extremes of condition, the second and ninth days, are marked by, respectively, the worst and the best performances in the test. For the other days there is nothing special to note, except that on the seventh and tenth days the apparent change in condition was sufficient to affect both hands in the same direction; the curves usually run in opposite directions owing to the transference of "warming up." While the series made on a single day vary less, the day-today variability in this subject is a good deal more than the normal, and there may also be noted the absence of practice effect. It seems to be a frequent observation with pathological subjects that susceptibility to practice (Uebungsfähigkeit) is decreased, but this is probably secondary to inferior co-operation, the normal practice improvement demanding a degree of doing one's best that is probably never attained in this class of subjects, even under the conditions of greatest apparent willingness. The following figures give the averages and m. v.'s of the quantities expressed in the foregoing curves, classified according to the preceding hand: Index of right- Av. m. v. .018 .966 .001 159.5 2.9 Right hand preceding .960 153.3 The differences in favor of the following hand are small, but save in one case well beyond the limits of probable error. CASE IV. Machinist, 59, heredity unknown, grammar-school education. The case is one of rapidly recurring and rather short depressions recurring at intervals of about two years, since their |