356 Notices of Books. [July, | 
b 
sphere of theory to that of practice, let them complete their 
magnetic machine and demonstrate its superiority to the steam- 
engine. Let them thus strike a death-blow at the rampant 
‘‘ coal interests,’ and the only danger will be that the public will 
accept their hypotheses without asking for verification. 
A Manual of Hygiene, Public and Private, and Compendium of 
Sanitary Laws. By C. A. Cameron, Ph.D., M.D., &c. 
Dublin: Hodges, Foster, and Co. London: Bailliere, 
Tindall, and Cox. 
Turis work is certainly a valuable addition to our sanitary litera- 
ture. It is addressed not merely to medical men, chemists, 
officials, and others who may have a special or professional inte- 
rest in matters relative to public health, but to the community 
in general. As such we trust that it will powerfully aid in cre- 
ating a sound public opinion on matters which, hitherto, in spite 
of much talk, have been practically neglected. Without wishing 
to play the part of alarmists, we must assert that this neglect is 
imprudent in the extreme. We are too much in the habit of 
assuming that those fearful outbreaks of pestilence which ravaged 
Europe in the Middle Ages are now out of the question. The 
Author, after giving a brief account of the dreadful plague of the 
fourteenth century, remarks :—‘‘I wish to direct attention to 
these almost forgotten calamities, because they are calculated to 
teach us important lessons. Are we sure that we are safe from 
another visitation of the black death? ‘There are epidemiolo- 
gists who believe that the germs of this disease still linger 
amongst the deep valleys of the Himalayas, and that they may 
yet be wafted to Europe. If such an event should ever unfortu- 
nately take place, I fear that in some of our towns the virus of 
the disease would find a congenial soil.” He states that the 
Legislature is taking active measure to improve the sanitary 
condition of towns. We fear that in this respect he forms a too 
favourable view, both of the present and the future. The recent 
Act, by which a new lease of life was granted to the London 
slaughter-houses, was certainly a step in the wrong direction. 
On the water-supply of towns we meet with much valuable in- 
formation. Dr. Cameron very judiciously doubts the safety, as 
well as the economy, of Mr. Bailey Denton’s plan of furnishing 
villages and small towns with good water by a system of shallow 
wells and pools. The Author considers that ‘‘in seasons of 
drought and heat the water of such shallow ponds as those pro- 
posed by Mr. Denton would become greatly deteriorated in 
quality.” 
Like all chemists who have given the matter a really fair and 
unprejudiced examination, Dr. Cameron considers that the pro- 
