112 Beporf of the Bilharzia Mission in Egypt, 1915 



Acknowledgments. 



The present section completes the account of the investigations 

 in the field. These extended from February until July of 1915, and 

 were continued, under the auspices of the Wandsworth Trust, from 

 November until February of the present year. Throughout the 

 whole period of my mission I enjoyed the full use of the laboratories 

 of the Department of Biology and Parasitology in the Government 

 School of Medicine, Cairo. I now desire to put on record my deep 

 sense of gratitude to the school authorities, and particularly to the 

 director, Dr. H. P. Keatinge, who took a keen personal interest in 

 the progress of the inquiry. I was also indebted in the earlier stages 

 to Dr. A. li. Ferguson, Professor of Pathology, and later to Dr. W. H. 

 Wilson, Professor of Physiology, for their kind and helpful advice. 



At various times I had to seek official information and expert 

 opinion, which was always most cordially given, from a number of 

 other Government departments in Egypt. Dr. Charles Todd, chief 

 of the Bacteriological Institute ; Mr. E. Hurst, of the Physical 

 Science Department ; Messrs. Lucas and Pollard, of the Chemical 

 Laboratory ; Mr. J. I. Craig, of the Statistical Department ; Major 

 Flower and Messrs. Nicoll and Bonhote, of the Zoological Service ; 

 Mr. Branch, Secretary of the Sultanioh Society of Agriculture ; 

 Mr. Adamson, chief of the First Irrigation Circle ; and Mr. W. A. 

 Maule, of the Egyptian Govern tnent Survey, are amongst those to 

 whom I am especially indebted for help on particular aspects of the 

 Bilharzia problem, as it presented itself in Egypt. 



I take also the opportunity which presents itself here to 

 acknowledge my obligations for the valuable help received from 

 Drs. Cockin and Thomson. Dr. Cockin unfortunately met with an 

 accident early in March, and was invalided home. Dr. J. Gordon 

 Thomson devoted himself with single-minded energy to the laborious 

 work of collecting and prosecting, and although he personally 

 wished to join for general service in the Eoyal Army Medical Corps 

 in May, he was good enough to remain with me until the beginning 

 of July. A considerable number of the molluscs, figured in the 

 present section, and of the cercaria3 listed, were accumulated through 

 his labours. It was in one of his dissections that the cercaria of 

 the Bilharzia mansoni was first recognized. 



I have pleasure, too, in bringing under notice the valuable 

 services given by W. McDonald throughout the whole year's work 

 both in the field and in the laboratory. I have no hesitation in 

 saying that it was mainly due to his sustained application and per- 

 sistent loyalty in following out my instructions that the cercaria of 

 Bilharzia hoimatohium was discovered. The sections showing the 

 cercarioB entering the skin and some of the illustrations in this 

 report testify to his technical skill. 



