April 7, 189SJ 



NATURE 



539 



onset of small-pox to have any influence on the disease (see 

 following table) : — 



Small-fox in the ^'lie-vaccinated.'^ 



190 persons who were stated to have been re-vaccinated were 

 attacked by small-pox. Of these : 



(a) 52 were " re-vaccinated " at various periods prior to 

 epidemic, in some cases several years. 



In 37 this re-vaccination was stated to have been successful, 



and 2 of these patients died. 

 In 15 this re- vaccination did " not take " — i died. 



(d) 30 were " re-vaccinated " between 3 months and 14 days of 

 the attack of small-pox. 



In 8 the vaccination " took." 

 In 22 ,, ,, " did not take." 



{c) 108 were " re-vaccinated " within 14 days of appearance of 

 small-pox eruption, some of them even in early days of attack. 

 In 83 vaccine vesicles appeared — 4 died. 

 In 25 the vaccination did " not take " — I died. 



Where A'e-vaccination believed to have been successful. 



(a) 37 cases — 2 deaths— fatality 5 "4 per cent. 



(b) 8 ,, o „ „ nil. 



W 83 „ 4 ,, „ 4*8 percent. 



Where He-vaccination known to have been unsuccessful, 

 {a) 15 cases — 2 deaths — fatality 13-3 per cent. 

 \b) 22 ,, o ,, ,, 7iil. 



{c) 25 „ I ,, „ 4-0 per cent. 



Or of whole number, 4-8 per cent. ; or if we take whole 

 number (190), irrespective of date or of success, a fatality of 47 

 per cent. 



Mr. Wheeler's statement that the accepted fatality before 

 Jenner's birth was 16 '6 has very little bearing on the question, 

 since the epidemic at Gloucester gave 21 -9, and this, including 

 the 42-2 per cent, unvaccinated fatality at all ages, which is less 

 than that between i and 10 years, the period of most fatal small- 

 pox, in the pre-vaccifiation days. The Gloucester outbreak was 

 undoubtedly unusually virulent ; but, surely, equally severe 

 epidemics are on record. 



The Writer of the Article. 



THE SOUTH KENSINGTON SCIENCE 

 BUILDINGS. 



VIT'E are glad to see that the various important matters 

 ^ * connected with the extraordinary proposal to spend 

 some eight hundred thousand pounds in interlacing the 

 Science with the Art .buildings — chemical laboratories 

 with picture galleries — are being considered by a Parlia- 

 mentary Committee. This is more especially desirable, 

 since, as we have previously pointed out, it is stated that 

 about half the money proposed to be spent is sufficient 

 for present needs. 



The Times gives the following account of the meeting 

 of the Select Committee on Friday last, Sir F. S. Powell 

 presiding. Sir John Donnelly, secretary to the depart- 

 ment, was further examined. Sir H. Howorth said it 

 would be of great assistance to the Committee if they 

 could get from the officials of the department an ex- 

 pression of their views as to the changes which were 

 desirable or were not desirable in regard to the housing 

 of the Science and Art collections. The witness said 

 that was rather an awkward question ; he really did not 

 think it would be proper for him to volunteer any state- 

 ment which might conflict with the present proposals of 

 the Treasury and the Board of Works. He had already 

 stated that, in his opinion, the Science collections 

 should be on the west side of Exhibition Road and 

 the Art collections on the east side. He believed that 

 that was the proper solution of the South Kensington 

 question, and he had seen no reason in what had 

 takien place since he gave expression to that view to 

 change his opinion. Sir H, Howorth : Mr. Akers 



NO. 1484. VOL. 57] 



Douglas has stated that, with the removal of the re- 

 sidences and of the secretarial offices to Whitehall, the 

 Government find that they will have at their disposal 

 a much larger space than had been previously contem- 

 plated, and that therefore they will be able to put the 

 Science and Art collections on the one side of Exhibition 

 Road. Do you think the space thus provided will be 

 sufficient for the whole of the collections being placed 

 together ? The witness : I do not think so, and that was 

 my reason for saying that I saw no ground for changing 

 the opinion I have already expressed on the subject. I 

 contetTiplate that the museums will increase, and I do 

 not think it would be wise to consolidate the collections 

 on one side of the road. In answer to further questions,. 

 Sir John Donnelly said he thought it was most desirable 

 that the Geological Museum in Jermyn Street should be 

 transferred to South Kensington. The library which 

 was now^ in Jermyn Street would be of great value at 

 South Kensington, and under the present system of 

 division they had to duplicate many of the books. He 

 would undertake to bring this view before the Lord 

 President and the Vice-President of the Council. As ta 

 the Art side, the theory that it was better to have a large 

 series of small rooms in which they could classify their 

 objects rather than a series of very large halls or rooms 

 was absolutely impracticable in their case. He was dis- 

 tinctly in favour of residences being provided for some 

 of the officers — say four — either in the same buildings 

 in which the collections were housed or very close to- 

 them. There was, he knew, a morbid fear of fire being 

 caused when the residences were in the actual building,, 

 but he did not himself believe that this was a very great 

 . source of danger. 



PHOTOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL.^ 



T^HE globe-trotter of to-day is almost as notorious 

 -*■ for his poor photographs as his ancestor of the 

 Mandeville era was for his traveller's tales. Without 

 instruction in the technical part of his work, and without 

 the geographical training required to teach him what to- 

 look for and how to view it, he habitually brings home 

 productions which may be of interest as studies for an 

 impressionist artist, but are of little or no value to the 

 student of nature. Hence it is with particular pleasure 

 that we welcome the republication in a generally acces- 

 sible form of a selection of Mr. Thomson's magnificent 

 photographs made in China. These were taken before 

 the days of dry plates and snap-shots, when it was 

 necessary to prepare and develop the plates on the spot,, 

 and to employ a camera of large dimensions not easy 

 to transport through regions where, to sayj the least,, 

 strangers are not received with overwhelming hospi- 

 tality. 



The photographs are selected so as to give a con- 

 nected idea of life in China proper in all its aspects, and 

 also to illustrate the natural scenery of many of the pro- 

 vinces and of Formosa. The pictures are so satisfactory 

 from every point of view, that it is no slight to say that 

 the letterpress takes a humbler place when one estimates 

 the value of the book. The text for the most part is 

 descriptive of travel, and illustrative of the photographs, 

 incidents and anecdotes being introduced for that pur- 

 pose. It would have been more useful if the exact order 

 of the journeys and their date had been mentioned ; and 

 a map might very well have been added to show the 

 situation of the regions visited. 



Three introductory chapters deal with the condition of 

 China now and in the past, and with the Chinaman 

 abroad and at home. Having regard to the somewhat 

 acute interest now being taken in China by the nations 



i " Through China with a Camerx" By John Thomson, F.R.G.S- 

 With nearly 100 illustrations. Pp. xiv -|- 284. Small 4to. (Westminster : 

 A. Constable and Co., 1898.) 



