Mental Deficiency: In Relation to Problems of Genesis, Social and Occupation Consequences, Utilisation, Control and Prevention

tional matters on which he is a recognised specialist, having dealt Vv'ith these in his other publications. Dr. Wallin has been working in the field for more than half a century and he has accumulated a very vast knowledge of the literature. He excels in destructive argument and exposes many of the fallacies arising from oversimplification of the facts of mental deficiency. In spite of this it is perhaps not surprising that the book has a somewhat old-fashioned atmosphere, and it is regrettable that the author should end with the general conclusion that the sovereign remedies for mental deficiency are colonisation and sterilisation. These conclusions do Hot seem to follow logically from the evidence which the author himself has presented, and are contrary to the current trend in mental deficiency practice, particularly in this country. Whilst most ?f Dr. Wallin's comment is cautious and careful, it appears that in the section dealing with eugenics, he has allowed himself to be carried away by the strength of his conviction. He seems here to tack that humility, the need for which is becoming more widely fecognised in those who approach the difficult subjects of social