7 



certain fermentative products which may pos- 

 sess a utilitarian value, has no weight except 

 as an expression of more or less highly special- 

 ized physiological activity. If we consider the 

 phenomena of parasitism broadly, it gives a 

 breadth of perspective that is of greatest ser- 

 vice to the student, even if later he should take 

 up a more detailed study of pathogenic forms. 

 So far as I have been able to learn, such pre- 

 paratory work is especially valuable as a basis 

 on which to raise a more technical or special- 

 ized superstructure. It is the general experi- 

 ence of teachers in medical schools that stu- 

 dents who have had their elementary bacteri- 

 ological training in such courses as these are 

 able to make the most progress in their medical 

 work, and obtain a, much broader grasp of the 

 subject than the student who yields to the no- 

 tion that it is much more profitable for him to 

 spend his time wholly on the distinctively 'dis- 

 ease-producing species. 



The importance of this aspect of the sub- 

 ject in America is evident from a consid- 

 eration of the higher degrees granted in 

 bacteriology by American universities. Al- 

 though the number of those who are specializ- 

 ing in university work in .bacteriology is not 

 large in comparison with those who have made 

 this a subordinate line in their medical course, 

 still it is worthy of note that the number has 

 increased within recent years. Seven doctors 



