INTRODUCTION. 7 



vention of their introduction into animals. It is also highly 

 necessary that the strength of the affected animals should also 

 be supported in order that they may thereby rid themselves of 

 the virus of the disease. 



Again, it is to be remembered that diseases like rabies, an- 

 thrax, cholera, and also snake-poisoning — if we may classify 

 this dreadful mode of death among diseases, and there certainly 

 seems to be some possibiHty that snake-poisons exercise their 

 astonishingly virulent effects by means of germs — are so swiftly 

 and dreadfully fatal that only those who have seen human beings 

 dying from the results of their ravages can form any adequate 

 conception of their character. So far from attempting to dis- 

 parage scientific work, all humanitarians ought to join hands in 

 the great cause of science, and encourage one another to advance 

 to more complete knowledge with the greatest enthusiasm and to 

 the utmost of their power. There can be no doubt that the 

 recent outbreak of rabies, which at one time seemed to be likely 

 to extend to a very great extent throughout the country, was 

 put a stop to — although certainly none too soon — by the 

 vigorous action taken by all concerned. The Rabies' Order of 

 1887 soon arrested the progress of that dread disease. The 

 muzzling of dogs during an outbreak of this scourge, and the 

 summary slaughter of all animals affected or supposed to be 

 afflicted with rabies, are indispensable precautions. It would be 

 a matter of great difficulty to stamp out anthrax, owing to the 

 iiict that it may arise from badly-drained malarial land in which 

 the bacilli of anthrax probably exist. M. Pasteur has had con- 

 siderable success with his methods of protective inoculation 

 against this scourge. With these and the new method of Dr. 

 Klein we shall have to deal in due course. 



In the fifteenth annual report of the Local Government Board 

 there is much valuable material for consideration. Dr. Buchanan 

 sums up the results of present scientific research with the most 

 important observation that among agencies antagonistic to the 

 bacteria of disease possibly none will be found to equal in 

 potency the agency of other bacteria ; that probably the '* self- 

 purifying" power of our rivers, for example, is the power of 

 some stronger septic bacterium to destroy the weaker and more 

 mischievous bacteria which are discharged by sewers into our 

 rivers. We recognise among bacteria differences of form, mode 



