105 



THURSDAY, 2 p.m. 

 SECTION 11.— ECONOMICS AND PATHOLOGY. 



President : G. Hewitt. 

 Vice-President : V. Ferrant. 

 Secretary : H. Rowland-Brown. 



The President called on Prof. Forbes to give his paper 

 entitled : 



The Simulium-Pellagra Problem in Illinois. 



Investigation of pellagra in the insane asylums and other 

 institutions of Illinois. Dr. Sambon's theory of the transmission 

 of pellagra by Simnlium. Collecting, breeding, and observing 

 Simulium in Illinois ; results different from those of Sambon. 

 Relation between the waves of increase of the disease and the 

 appearance of the imagines of Simulium very doubtful ; the 

 observations in Illinois not plainly conclusive either for or 

 against the Simuliimi hypothesis (cf. Vol. II., p. 477). 



Hon. N. C. Rothschild asked Prof. Forbes if he had 

 observed in Illinois the fact — which had been noted in Hungary 

 — that pellagra was essentially a disease of the poor. He also 

 added some remarks as to the distribution of the disease in 

 Hungary, where it was very local. 



F. A. Lowe remarked that the bed-bug was a suitable insect 

 for experiment in the transmission of disease. It was easily 

 manipulated in the laboratory, very long-lived, and could be 

 secured in numbers the whole year round. 



R. Newstead regretted that no incriminating evidence had 

 been obtained. He suggested that entomologists should con- 

 tinue their researches on the admissible lines which had been 

 demonstrated by the lecturer. 



L. O. Howard congratulated Prof. Forbes on the interest- 

 ing and important results of his investigations. He had little 

 confidence in the truth of Sambon's theory, which was based 

 <intirely on a series of apparent coincidences. He stated that 



T4 



