100 YEARS AGO

An interesting instance of that adaptability to changing tastes and conditions which is the mainspring of progress in industry as well as in science is afforded by a note in the Journal of the Society of Arts (July 18). For some years the demand for claret has greatly diminished in favour of the wines of Champagne, and has seriously affected the wine industry in the Bordeaux region. Several proprietors in the Médoc have, however, now commenced the production of sparkling wines by the same process as champagne is made, and their action has been the means of developing practically a new industry. It may at first seem strange that white wine should be able to be made in the Médoc, where only black grapes are grown, but as a matter of fact champagne is almost entirely made from black grapes, and the most celebrated vineyards in the Champagne district are all planted with them... It is stated that to the ordinary taster there is nothing but the label to distinguish the sparkling médoc from the best brands of champagne.

From Nature 31 July 1902.

50 YEARS AGO

The Psychology of the Occult. This stimulating and highly provocative book is an attempt to describe and analyse the part “played by various types of psychological anomaly in the creation and perpetuation of occult beliefs and practices”... Mr. Rawcliffe is completely unmoved by the flood of modern propaganda in favour of the reality of so-called psychic phenomena... As for the physical phenomena of the séance room, Mr. Rawcliffe finds the evidence scarcely worth considering. To him the whole of the studies of the psychical research worker are mere examples of magic and superstition dressed up in modern garb and often presented behind a façade of statistical jargon which is intended to disguise the faulty character of the original data. In support of his position he has skilfully put together a mass of material in which the incompetence and credulity of not a few workers in this field are cruelly displayed. Yet he has omitted much that would have strengthened his case and, it must be added, a good deal that would have weakened it... however, this book remains a useful handbook for those who suspect that much of what passes for psychical research and which is often unfortunately supported by leading parapsychologists is scarcely worth the paper on which it is recorded.

From Nature 2 August 1952.