ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 219 



Nomenclature, &c. (2) Methods and Apparatus. (3) General Bacterio- 

 logy with the subdivisions Morphology, Classification, and Physiology. 

 (4) Special Bacteriology with subdivisions Bacteria, &c. in relation to 

 non-living surroundings, and Bacteria in relation to higher organisms. 

 The latter are considered as (a) Bacteria not known to be pathogenic, 

 (b) Pathogenic Bacteria ; the second heading comprises the sections 

 Immunity ; Infectious diseases : General ; Infectious diseases : Local ; 

 Diseases in different classes of animals ; Diseases in plants due to micro- 

 organisms. 



At the end of the volume is a key to the abbreviated titles of 

 the journals, and at the beginning the schedules and indexes are given 

 in English, French, German, and Italian. 



Bacteria in Daily Life.* — Mrs. Percy Frankland's book puts in a 

 handy and readable form an account of the part played by bacteria in 

 the economy of daily life. The treatment is popular but scientific, 

 technical terms are avoided, and it is a book which should help much 

 towards the removal of that indifference to and ignorance of the im- 

 portance of " germs " which is so characteristic of the ordinary person. 

 The first chapter, ' Bacteriology in the Victorian Era,' gives an excellent 

 resume of the birth and subsequent progress of this branch of biology. 

 Starting with the announcement by Caignard La tour in 1<S;>7, that the 

 spherules of beer-yeast were a living, not a dead chemical substance, the 

 author indicates the chief directions in which advance has since been 

 made, and mentions a few of the many names — Pasteur, Robert Koch, 

 Lister, and others, who have been associated with the progress of the 

 science. ' What we breathe,' the title of the second chapter, emphasises 

 the importance of fresh air and ventilation, and describes how germs of 

 tuberculosis and other diseases are distributed with the dust. The next, 

 ' Sunshine and Life,' is an interesting resume of a great deal of work 

 which goes to show the efficacy of bright sunshine as a germ-destroyer, 

 and also as a modifying agent of the activity of the organism. The 

 text for ' Bacteriology and Water ' is found in the outbreak of cholera 

 at Hamburg and Altona in 1892, and shows very clearly the relation 

 which obtains between a pure water-supply and a low death-rate, and at 

 the same time, the value of the sand filter-bed. 'Milk Dangers and 

 Remedies ' gives a vivid account of the backwardness of our own folks 

 as compared with Americans and Continental nations. " So strong is 

 the prejudice amongst our neighbours across the Channel against using 

 unboiled milk, that in Leipzig and other cities in Germany endeavours 

 have been made by charitable and other societies to encourage the use 

 of sterile milk amongst the poorer classes, while it has been stated that 

 the introduction of Pasteurised milk among the poor of New York city 

 has done much to reduce the high rate of mortality amongst infants 

 during the hot summer months." The relation of bacteria to extreme 

 cold and the remarkable powers of resistance possessed by some of them 

 is described in the chapter, 'Bacteria and Ice.' The last chapter, 

 ' Poisons and their prevention,' deals with the interesting and important 

 subject of toxins and antitoxins. 



* ' Bacteria in Daily Life,' Longmans. 1903, Svo, 216 pp. 



