74
for an academic audience to understand, though they may be pleasing in certain hours when one yearns to hear about things ineffable. But the student wishes the solid facts of the discussion might be bound by themselves without the interruption of the "lit- erary rests" which really fatigue. The definition of "love" given by Felix Adler in his remarkable little volume on Marriage and Divorce is more satisfactory; although Mr. Hagar's earnest treat- ment commands respect. We should like to have him develop more fully his argument in chaps. 13, 14, and 21, where court prac- tice would yield valuable illustrations. The volume illustrates the fact that men with legal training can render a valuable service to sociology by calling attention to the obstacles to progress which the law itself presents when it is no longer fitted to contemporary con- ditions.
C. R. HENDERSON.
Benevolent Institutions, 1904: Special Report of Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce and Labor. Washington : Government Printing Office.
This report treats of the operation of benevolent institutions, including the movement of institutional population during 1904 and financial statistics for 1903. The investigation was directed by Mr. John Koven, expert special agent, with valuable labor in collecting and arranging materials by Mr. W. A. King and Mr. J. H. Garber. This statement guarantees the highest possible accuracy in method of inquiry and arrangement of results.
The data were collected from the institutions themselves, and no effort was made to take personal schedules of inmates. Five classes of institutions were presented: (i) orphanages, children's homes, and nurseries ; (2) hospitals and dispensaries ; (3) permanent homes for adults, or adults and children ; (4) temporary homes for adults and children; (5) schools and homes for the deaf and blind. Almshouses, public and private hospitals for the insane, and schools for the feeble-minded are not included, but will be discussed in special reports. No attempt was made to collect statistics of out- door relief.
The quality of this work is so excellent that all students and administrators are uniting to urge Congress to extend the scope
