est themselves in the prisoner in the same way as in any
law-abiding individual in freedom. They are not essentially influenced
by changes of environment and there exists no intimate relation between
the coloring of the symptomatology and the influence of the
imprisonment. The degenerative psychoses, on the other hand, develop
upon the well-characterized degenerative soil of the habitual criminal,
and are products of predisposition plus environmental influence. They
stand in the most intimate relation to the deleteriousness of prison
life, and are therefore influenced to the greatest extent by change of
environment."

On studying critically Siefert's work one gains the conviction that the
author not only undertakes to solve certain clinical questions, but
endeavors to investigate the problem of the relation between crime and
mental disorder. Although he paid the strictest attention to the
individual symptoms and described in an excellent manner the manifold
and varying symptomatology of these psychoses, he did not succeed in
isolating a symptom-complex which might be considered as typical of the
degenerative psychoses, and thus deserve the independence of a distinct
clinical entity. Above all he occupied himself with the investigation
and delineation of the various anomalous individualities, the
degenerative constitutions upon which these psychotic manifestations
engraft themselves. Thus he divided his prison psychoses into groups
like the "simple degenerative", "hysterical degenerative", "phantastic
degenerative", etc. Siefert undoubtedly overshot the mark in his
clear-cut differentiation between the various types, but he
unquestionably contributed a most important work on this subject.

Let us now endeavor to illustrate what he means by this degenerative
soil giving rise to these psychoses. As we have stated, the great
majority of them are full-fledged habitual criminals and can be easily
recognized by their "degenerative habitus." They are that indolent,
obstinate, querulent, unapproachable, and irritable class of prisoners
who form the bane of prison officials. Constantly in trouble of some
sort, they are subject to frequent disciplinary measures, which,
however, serve not in the least to improve their conduct. Their
extremely fluctuating mood and emotional instability calls forth a quite
unfounded wild rebellion against the prison regime. They are constantly
after the physician with numerous hypochondriacal compla