The Poison of YeHoiv Fever. 315 



and in zoophytes, and leads us directly to a better knowledge of 

 the well-known gastraea theory. 



In the face of such facts as may be brought forward in support 

 of this theory of development, it is hard, indeed, to resist the logi- 

 cal conclusions which have been drawn from them regarding the 

 origin of life, and the gradual evolution of man from lower forms. 



The concluding sentence of the pamphlet before us reads : 

 " Either the dualistic conception of teleological design, /. i^'., mira- 

 cle, must be admitted, or else there is no alternative from [but] 



this explanation." 



-♦•♦- 



THE POISON OF YELLOW FEVER.* 



For the past few months medical journals have teemed with 

 articles treating of yellow fever, but we venture to assert that our 

 knowledge of the disease and the proper modes of treating it, has 

 not been greatly enlarged by them. 



Although the disease is one that has long been known to the 

 medical profession, the methods of combating it today are not 

 greatly different from those employed ten years ago. The reason 

 for this slow progress is doubtless to be found in our limited 

 knowledge of the causes which produce the disease, and the 

 manner in which the specific poison acts upon the system. 



The microscopical study of disease-germs has not been very 

 prolific in practical results, and the question as to the existence of 

 specific germs of this character is yet an open one. Investigations 

 of the causes which produce disease are probably among the most 

 difficult and unpromising of any which the microscopist or 

 physician can undertake. .\s an instance of the difficulty to be 

 encountered, we may call to mind the almost universal prevalence, 

 especially in low countries, of what is commonly called malaria. 

 As to the cause of this disorder, we know absolutely nothing. The 

 air is charged with poison of some kind, but no analysis has yet 

 revealed either its presence or its mode of action. 



Regarding the cause of yellow fever, we are quite as much in 

 the dark. Even the most able physicians who have studied the 

 subject, are still divided as contagionists and non-contagionists. 

 While many believe it to be purely an infectious disease, others, 

 of equal ability, oppose this view : some consider it endemic in 



* On the Nature of the Poison of Yellow Fever and its Prevention. By Dr. 

 H. D. Schmidt. Neiv York Medical Journal, May, 1879. 



