May 12, 1910] 



NATURE 



J07 



Ivsis, agglutinins, precipitins, phagocytosis, and 

 immunity to bacteria — and though perhaps somewhat 

 more fuil of detail than the needs of the medical 

 practitioner require, will be of great value to the 

 pathologist and bacteriologist. The subject is dealt 

 with critically and judicially, the various hypotheses 

 are presented to the reader, and divergent views are 

 stated fairly. 



The opening chapter of the book gives a good 

 general account of the essentials of immunity. One 

 point we are glad to see the author brings out, viz. 

 the ill effects to the pf\tient of prolonged anaesthesia 

 in surgical operations. It does not seem always to 

 be appreciated that the power of recover}- of a patient 

 is, to say the least, jeopardised when anaesthesia is 

 prolonged beyond a certain time. 



The account of the interactions between toxin and 

 antitoxin (chapter iv.) contains a clear statement of 

 the hypotheses of Ehrlich, .\rrhenius and Madsen, 

 and Bordet, and is concluded with the judicial sum- 

 mary that 



*' No theory is absolutely sufficient to explain all 

 the phenomena, and soon after each new one is 

 adduced the supporters of the older ones bring for- 

 ward evidence which renders it untenable. The 

 probability is, at the time of writing, that Ehrlich 's 

 views are generally held, and are open to the fewest 

 objections. They are complicated, it is true, and have 

 had to undergo constant modifications as new facts 

 have arisen ; but the facts themselves are compli- 

 cated. Yet it must be confessed that there are some 

 grave objections to its acceptance in its present form, 

 and it may become yet more involved before it can 

 be fully accepted as a complete e.xplanation " (p. 91). 



The summary- of Ehrlich 's "side-chain" hypo- 

 thesis of the formation of antitoxin (chapter v.) is 

 excellent. Incidentally the definition of a ' proteid " 

 is dealt with, and it is suggested as a logical out- 

 come of Ehrlich 's hypothesis that proteids might be 

 defined as substances which, when injected into suit- 

 able animals, give rise to the production of anti- 

 bodies ; this would then include the toxins, enzymes, 

 &-c., substances which do not give the proteid re- 

 actions as usually accepted by chemists. At the time 

 of writing. Ford's work on the production of anti- 

 body by what is apparently a carbohydrate derived 

 from poisonous fungi had probably not appeared, but, 

 nevertheless, with this possible exception it does 

 appear to be true that all anti-bodies are the result 

 of the action of proteid or proteid-like substances. In 

 the chapter on phagocytosis, opsonins, opsonic deter- 

 minations, and vaccine treatment are naturally con- 

 sidered at some length. The divergent views on the 

 nature of opsonin are well summarised ; the author 

 considers that there appears to be no sufficient 

 evidence for the existence of thermostable opsonin 

 apart from amboceptor, and that if therniolabile 

 opsonin is not complement, complements may play 

 the part of opsonins. The vaccine treatment of in- 

 fective diseases is dealt with somewhat fully, and the 

 opinion is expressed that " of the practical success of 

 this treatment in certain diseases there can be no 

 doubt," particularly in diseases due to acute infections 

 with staphylococci, pneumococci, B. colt, and some 

 other organisms, but as regards tuberculosis only a 

 NO. 21 15, VOL. 83 J 



moderate degree of success has been obtained by the 

 author. 



Dr. Emery evidently holds the opinion that deter- 

 minations of the opsonic index are not essential for 

 the control of dosage in vaccine treatment. He points 

 out that a patient with a low opsonic inde.x may 

 improve under treatment, fresh lesions may appear 

 when the index is high, and the index may rise 

 greatly just before death, and says : — 



"The more carefully the opsonic index is con- 

 sidered, the more certain will it appear that a high 

 index is not an indication of immunity ; it neither 

 proves that the lesion is undergoing cure, nor that a 

 fresh infection will not occur. . . . Nor is a low 

 index any proof of lack of immunity', since patients 

 may improve remarkably during a prolonged negative 

 phase " (p. 280). 



A chapter is devoted to the colloidal theory of anti- 

 bodies and its bearing on such phenomena as agglu- 

 tination and the interactions between toxin and 

 antito.xin, and gives a good account of this difficult 

 subject. 



A final chapter deals briefly with the practical 

 applications of immunity research in the treatment 

 of infective diseases. 



The book contains a glossan,- of terms, a useful 

 bibliography, and is well and sufficiently illustrated. 

 A number of small verbal errors somewhat mar the 

 text, but a sheet of " errata " correcting most of them 

 has recently been issued. We can recommend the 

 book as an excellent summary of the voluminous litera- 

 ture on a difficult subject. R. T. Hewlett. 



THE CARBONISATION OF COAL. 

 Modern Coking Practice, including the Analysis of 

 Materials and Products. By T. H. Byrom and 

 J. E. Christopher. Pp. xi+156. (London: Crosby 

 Lockwood and Son, 1910.) Price Ss. 6d. net. 



IN the preface to this handbook the authors point 

 out that 

 "The subject of coke manufacture is of rapidly 

 increasing interest and significance, embracing as it 

 does the recovery of valuable bye-products in which 

 scientific control is of the first importance." 

 This declaration, taken in conjunction with the fact 

 that one of the authors is a Fellow of the Institute 

 of Chemistry-, awakens the hope in the reader's mind 

 that at length the technical library has been enriched 

 by a work which might rank with Simmersbach's 

 "Grundlagen der Koks-Chemie," and afford sub- 

 stantial aid to those studying the economic principles 

 of coal distillation, which is one of the most important 

 questions of the present century. 



This expectation, however, is doomed tc disap- 

 pointment, as the reader soon finds that the title of 

 the book should have been " Modern Coke-oven Con- 

 struction and Practice," that all discussion as to 

 the effect of temperature and mass on the distilla- 

 tion of coal and the products yielded is avoided, and 

 that whilst the change in structure from the beehive 

 coke-oven to the modern recovery plant is well dealt 

 with, and the manufacture of sulphate of ammonia 

 receives full attention, yet the subject of tar is dis- 

 missed in one page. 



