256 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [July 



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

 g-erms 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 germs in the milk of a large proportion of nursing 

 women. — Modern Medicine. 



ttEDICAL 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 progeny ; the 

 father never transmits immunity to his progeny ; 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. — Rkkowski (quoted by the Jonrfia/ of Cutatieous 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 brought 

 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 

 centigrammes of the following emulsion of mercury : 



Hydrarg. salicyl., 1 Gin.; 



Vaselin. liquidi, 10 Cc. 

 M. et ft. emulsio. 



In the blood-serum of the animal very slight traces of 

 mercury could be found. 



He injected ten cubic centimeters of the blood-serum 

 every three days in the glutei of patients affected with 

 secondary and tertiary symptoms. The gummata disap- 

 peared and open sores healed after three or four injections. 



