VETEKINARY SCIENCE AND PRACTICE. 1119 



purpose of this volume is to discuss the results of an extensive series of experiments 

 conducted by the author in determining: the relationship of animals to one another 

 by means of blood tests. 



A general account is given regarding the nature of toxins, ferments, agglutinins, 

 and precipitins of various sorts with especial reference to the action of these bodies 

 in the jiroduction of imnnmity. The volume also contains an account of quanti- 

 tative tests with precipitins for the blood of mammals and birds and a discussion of 

 the blood relationship between the lower vertebrates and arthropods, as shown by 

 2,500 tests with precipitating antisera. In carrying out these last-named experi- 

 ments, the author was assisted by T. S. P. Strangeways and G. S. Graham-Smith. 

 The literature relating to serum constituents and immunity is critically discussed in 

 connection with an extensive bibliography. 



As a result of the author's experiments, it appears that there are many points of 

 resemblance between different antibodies. It is suggested that much improvement 

 may be made in the methods of obtaining antisera for use in precipitin tests. The 

 precii^itins and precipitable substances combine in a quantitative manner. Tlae rate 

 of interaction between these two substances is greatly influenced by the temperature 

 being retarded by cold and hastened by heat. Apparently the precipitin content of 

 serum in the body undergoes considerable fluctuation during the process of immuni- 

 zation. As a rule, precipitins and antisera are strictly specific in action when used 

 in high dilutions. The more powerful the antisera is, hoM-ever, the greater is its 

 action upon blood of different species of animals. 



Atlas and outlines of bacteriology, a text-book of special bacteriolog'ical 

 diagnosis, K. B. Lehmann and R. 0. Neumann {Atlas unci Grundriss der Bakteriolugie 

 und Lehrhuch der Speziellen Bakteriologischen Diagnostik. Munich: J. F. Lehmann, 1904, 

 3. ed., vol. 1, pp. 94, }>ls. 76; vol. 2, pp. XVI+623, figs. 38) .—In this volume the 

 authors present a general account of bacteriology including the classification, biology, 

 and morphology of bacterial organisms and pathogenic microVjes. The functions and 

 physiological action of bacteria are considered in detail and special accounts are 

 presented on the biological relations and pathological effects of various bacteria 

 which cause diseases of animals and plants. 



Bacteriological diagnosis for veterinarians and students of veterinary 

 science, J. Bongekt { Bakteriologlsche Diagnostik fur Tierdrzte und Studierende. ]Veis- 

 haden: Otto Nemnich, 1904, PP- VI-^376, pis. 20, figs. 7). — This volume contains an 

 account of the use of the microscope in the diagnosis of animal diseases, methods of 

 microscopic and bacteriological examination, the morphology and Inology of bacteria, 

 and a detailed account of biological and morphological characters of the various 

 bacterial organisms Avhich are pathogenic for animals. 



Staining certain bacteria (glanders bacillus, typhoid bacillus, etc. ) in 

 sections of the skin and other organs, K. Zieler ( Centbl. Allg. Path. u. Path. 

 Anat., 14 {1903), No. 14, pp- 561-565). — The author's method consists in the use of 

 any desired fixing and hardening solution and in embe<lding in paraffin. Sections 

 are then stained for 8 to 24 hours in a solution of orcein, after which they are washed 

 in alcohol and water, stained in polychromic methylene blue, and differentiation of 

 internal structures is brought about by treatment with a mixture of glycerin and ether. 



A simple method of demonstrating the presence of bacteria in the mesen- 

 tery of normal animals, A. G. Nicholls {Jour. Med. Research, 11 {1904), No. 3, 

 pyp. 455-468, pi. 1). — During the author's experiments on the lower animals it was 

 found that bacteria could be demonstrated in the mesenteries and in various internal 

 organs of normal animals. It is concluded, therefore, that the old doctrine of the 

 sterility of normal organs is a false conception. The author believes that normal 

 organs are not actually sterile but only potentially so. Bacteria may be readily car- 

 ried into them and, in liealth, undergo quite rapid destruction. 



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