276 INFECTION AND IMMUNITY 



times as potent as atropin and one hundred and fifty 

 times as potent as strychnin. 



It has long been known that persons who go bare- 

 foot are more liable to contract tetanus than those 

 who wear shoes. This is shown by the difference 

 in the mortality between native soldiers and English 

 troops in India. Statistics show that the mortality is 

 higher among males than among females. This, of 

 course, depends upon the fact that they are more out- 

 of-doors and are more likely to receive accidental 

 wounds. It is a rather remarkable fact that in the 

 United States more deaths occur from tetanus in 

 cities than in the rural districts. This is no doubt 

 largely due to the considerable number of fatal cases 

 of tetanus which occur among boys as a result of 

 lacerated wounds of the hand made by toy pistols, 

 which are so popular as a means of celebrating Inde- 

 pendence Day. 



The use of these pistols has now been prohibited 

 by several State Legislatures. Dr. Park of Buffalo, 

 who has given special attention to the subject, re- 

 ports that in Chicago during the month of July, 1881, 

 sixty cases of tetanus occurred as a result of injuries 

 inflicted by toy pistols. In New York City there 

 were, from the same cause, 38 cases in 1899, 33 cases 

 in 1900, and 27 cases in 1901. 



During our Civil War the total number of cases of 



