1913] General 125 



plained that salvarsan has not only a direct parasiticidal action, but 

 that immunity of parasites to such action could be accounted for 

 only by a purely chemical diminution of their affinity; and a com- 

 plete exhaustive knowledge of the various chemical peculiarities of 

 a parasite, which he called the "therapeutic physiology of the para- 

 sitic cell," is essential for its successful chemotherapeutic treatment. 

 Certain chemical peculiarities are found in many different kinds of 

 parasites. In proportion as more of these chemical afünities are 

 discovered, the greater is the possibility of successful chemotherapy. 

 He still keeps in view the idea of freeing the body of micro- 

 organisms by one or at most two injections of the proposed remedy, 

 and in his animal experiments this principle is still being pursued. 

 He looks forward to the extension of the principle of chemotherapy 

 as a means of bridging the gaps which still exist in our knowledge 

 of the treatment of some diseases. In the diseases involving pro- 

 tozoa and spirilla, good results have already been gained. In a 

 series of other diseases, such as small-pox, scarlatina, typhus, and 

 perhaps also yellow fever, but above all the infectious diseases 

 caused by invisible germs, there is a bright prospect of success. In 

 the common bacterial diseases due to Streptococcus, staphylococcus, 

 and the micro-organisms of typhoid, dysentery and tuberculosis, he 

 feels that the struggle is a hard one, but that success in these dis- 

 eases will also be attained on the principle of chemothtrapy. (Lon- 

 don LETTER: Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 1913, Ixi, p. 610.) 



On the " art of conciseness." The program was generally over- 

 crowded and Speakers often raced the clock to get in what they 

 wanted to say in the allotted time, and were brought to a premature 

 end by the chairman's bell. As in all medical gatherings, the in- 

 capacity of even those who were eminent and had something to say, 

 to say it properly and concisely, was painfully evident. The fifteen 

 minutes allotted to a Speaker, if properly used, was in most cases 

 amply sufficient for the presentation of his conclusions and his 

 reasons for them, but want of conciseness of expression as well as 

 want of judgment in suppressing unnecessary details prevented this. 

 Instead of brief but sufficient general description, worse than useless 

 details which only wearied the audience were presented. It is 

 curious that no one seems to trouble about the reform of this uni- 



