15 
Samuel Wilks published his first paper in which reference was 
made to cancer, and since that day he had played a most distin- 
guished part in the study of the subject. The disease was one 
for which, as yet, there had been found no certainly reliable treat- 
ment and no cure. Its importance was shown by the fact that, 
of those who reached the age of thirty-five, one of every eight 
women and one of every twelve men died of it. The lecturer 
was not prepared to say that the number of deaths was increasing. 
The disease showed no symptom except the presence and growth 
of a lump and caused no pain until the end was nearing, or some 
sensitive part became involved. It was thought till a few years 
ago that its incidence was confined to civilized man ; but the in- 
vestigations of the Imperial Cancer Research had shown that no 
race of the British Empire was exempt. The mode of life had 
been blamed ; but this was hardly borne out by these investiga- 
tions. The disease was found among all vertebrate animals, 
including birds, amphibians, and fishes. Much work in the study 
of the subject has been done in other countries ; but progress had 
been coming to a standstill from want of a new method of attack. 
As experiment could not be performed on man, it became necessary 
to experiment on animals. Mice and rats were found to be the 
most convenient for the purpose. They were subjected to the 
pricks of the subcutaneous needle, and where the disease was 
successfully conveyed no disturbance of general health or pain or 
apparent inconvenience was caused until the last stage was reached. 
The animals were killed before this full development took place, 
or in case they appeared to be out of health, as they were then no 
longer of service. The investigations had shown that cancer could 
be conveyed by transplantation from one individual to another of 
the same species, but in no case of another or even an allied species. 
Many wild and vague statements were made from time to time 
of modes of treatment, and of cures that were thereby effected. 
As many as 350 so-called certain cures had been investigated. In 
all cases the truth of these had been disproved, and the charlatans 
who advertised them had been exposed. Certain forms of irritation 
of the tissue had been shown to be associated in some as yet un- 
known way with the incidence of cancer, the lecturer instancing 
the smoking of clay pipes, and the wearing of a particular form of 
basket by the natives of Cashmere. 
Dr. Bashford then gave an account in some detail of the investi- 
gations that were being made on skin cancer. He showed by 
photomicrographs on the screen that the minute anatomy was 
Similar in different animals—man, mouse, newt, frog, and fish—and 
