PEEFACE 



BACTERIOLOGY is an essential branch of Pathology, of such 

 importance that it is gradually becoming a necessary, if 

 not a compulsory, element in the study of Medicine. As 

 a matter of fact, most Faculties and Universities granting 

 a Diploma or Degree in Public Health demand three 

 months' practical instruction in Bacteriology. It is only 

 by patient laboratory work that Bacteriology can be 

 taught in such a manner as to serve any useful purpose. 



One of the chief difficulties in the practical instruction 

 which has presented itself to us has been the want of a 

 suitable handbook for the laboratory. The student has 

 felt this want as much as his teachers. He cannot be 

 expected to dig the necessary information out of large 

 and voluminous text-books, which, moreover, are often 

 deficient in all practical details. At St. Bartholomew's 

 Hospital we have been in the habit of giving out slips with 

 full directions about the work to be done from day to day. 

 This method entails a certain amount of disagreeable 



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