256 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [July 



Germs in Mother's Milk. — Cohen and Neumann found 

 germs in healthy breast-milk, even after taking- every 

 antiseptic precaution in relation to the nipples. Honig-- 

 mann, Knochenstein, and Palleske have observed pus-pro- 

 ducing" g-erms in the milk of a larg-e proportion of nursing- 

 women. — Modern Medicine. 



IIEDICAL MICROSCOPY. 



Heredity of Acquired Immunity. — Vaillard concludes 

 from his work on immunity that the mother only is in a 

 position to communicate immunity to her prog-eny ; the 

 father never transmits immunity to his prog-eny ; the im- 

 munity received from the parent is always of brief dura- 

 tion ; it is retained only during- the first months of life. 

 — Ann. Institute Pasteur. 



A New Serum For The Treatment of Infectious Dis- 

 eases. — Rekowski (quoted by the Journal of Cutaneous and 

 Genito- Urinary Diseases, March, 1896) states that antitoxin 

 contained in the blood-serum of an animal into which bac- 

 terial toxins of diphtheria or tetanus have been injected is 

 the product of a special irritation of the cell molecules by 

 the toxins. But this special irritation can be broug-ht 

 about, not only by toxins, but also by some chemical sub- 

 stances, and in that supposition lies the explanation of the 

 well known clinical properties of mercury, salicylate of 

 sodium, and quinine, in syphilis, acute rheumatism, and 

 malaria. Acting- upon this theory, the author injected into 

 a horse once a week and afterward twice a week thirty 

 centig-rammes of the following^ emulsion of mercury : 



Hydrarg. salicyl., 1 Gm.; 

 Vaselin. liquidi, 10 Cc. 

 M. et ft. emulsio. 



In the blood-serum of the animal very slig-ht traces of 

 mercury could be found. 



He injected ten cubic centimeters of the blood-serum 

 every three days in the g-lutei of patients affected with 

 secondary and tertiary symptoms. The gummata disap- 

 peared and open sores healed after three or four injections. 



