420 



NATURE 



[July 20, 19 16 



the statement of the authors may be noted that in 

 their 39 cases a rash was present in 22. 



The symptoms due to the inflammation of the 

 meninges, viz., severe headache, vomiting, retrac- 

 tion of the head and neck, stiffness of the neck, 

 and the presence of Kernig's sign, are common to 

 all forms of meningitis. But the presence of the 

 rash, and the discovery of the Meningococcus 

 (diplococcus) intracellularis in the cerebro-spinal 

 fluid after withdrawal by lumbar puncture, consti- 

 tute the essential differential diagnostic signs. 

 Excellent photographs are given illustrating cases 

 exhibiting the head retraction and Kernig's sign; 

 also remarkably well-executed coloured plates 

 illustrating the macroscopic appearances presented 

 by the brain and spinal cord, and the micro- 

 scopic appearances of the meninges and the cere- 

 bro-spinal fluid containing the diplococcus intra- 

 cellularis. 



Various statistics are quoted which appear 

 to prove that the authors are right in asserting 

 that frequent lumbar puncture is the most valu- 

 able therapeutic measure, and that it is not 

 enhanced by subsequent intrathecal injection of 

 Flexner's serum. In fact, they state : " In our 

 somewhat limited experience the introduction of 

 serum caused, for the most part, a decided aggra- 

 vation of cerebral symptoms." An excellent 

 chapter on the pathology of the disease follows, 

 in which the authors discuss the channels by 

 which the diplococcus passes from the naso- 

 pharynx to the subarachnoid space. This is fol- 

 lowed by a chapter on changes in the cerebro- 

 spinal fluid and the cultivation of the meningo- 

 coccus from it, from the blood, and from the urine. 

 The last fifty pages are devoted to an exhaustive 

 account of the epidemiology and bacteriology, in 

 which are discussed the contagion direct from 

 throat to throat, the mode of examination of 

 carriers, and their treatment by isolation and l(x;al 

 applications to the throat and nose. In conclusion, 

 there is an appendix containing a remarkable ex- 

 ample of the spread of the meningococcus from 

 carrier to carrier. 



A MONOGRAPH ON TICKS. 



Ticks. A Monograph of the Ixodoidea. Part iii. 

 The Genus Haemaphysalis. By Prof. G. H. F. 

 Nuttall and C. Warburton. October, 1915- 

 . Pp. xiii + 349—550 + plates viii-xiii. (Cam- 

 bridge : At the University Press.) Price 125. 

 net. 



Bibliography of the Ixodoidea. Part ii. May, 

 1915. By Prof. G. H. F. Nuttall and L. E. 

 Robinson. Pp. 32. (Cambridge : At the 

 University Press.) Price 45. 6d. net. 



THE present part of this useful monograph 

 deals with the fifty species and varieties of 

 Haemaphysalis recognised as valid by the authors. 

 The distinguishing features of the genus are 

 stated and discussed, and the diflficulty is noted 

 of finding, among the many negative characters 



NO. 2438, VOL. 97] 



in this genus, points which can be employed for 

 differentiating the species. Nevertheless, the 

 authors have succeeded in drawing up a helpful 

 dichotomic key for the determination of the 

 species. The species are then considered in turn, 

 and, as in the two previous parts of the mono- 

 graph, careful drawings are given of those parts 

 which are of systematic importance. Interesting 

 conclusions are reached from a study of the geo- 

 graphical distribution of the different species ; 

 e.g., that H. bispinosa has almost certainly been 

 imported into East Africa, and possibly into New 

 South Wales, with Indian cattle. Only one 

 species of Haemaphysalis appears to be re.stricted 

 to birds, whereas several species of Ixodes are 

 found only on birds. The authors give a list of 

 hosts on which the various species of Haema- 

 physalis have been found, and discuss the con- 

 demned and doubtful species. An account is 

 given of all that is known regarding the biology 

 of six species, two of which have been proved 

 to be the carriers of pathogenic protozoa, 

 one especially — H. leachi — ^being known in 

 many parts of Africa as the carrier of a fatal 

 disease — canine piroplasrrosis or malignant 

 jaundice. 



The bibliography (462 titles) contains references 

 to, and in many cases short notes on the nature 

 and contents of, papers which for the most part 

 have appeared since the publication of the 

 previous bibliography in 191 1. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 



Newsholme's School Hygiene. The Laws of 

 Health in relation to School Life. New edi- 

 tion, rewritten for all School Workers, by Dr. 

 J. Kerr. Pp. 352. (London : G. Allen and 

 Unwin, Ltd., n.d.) Price 4s. 6d. net. 



Newsholme's text-book on school hygiene first 

 appeared in 1887, and in 1912 it reached its 

 thirteenth edition. That fact is sufficient evidence 

 of the appreciation it has met with ; but circum- 

 stances have not made it possible for Dr. News- 

 holme to continue to develop the work so as to 

 keep it abreast of the rapid advance of the science 

 of school hygiene and the extension of its practice 

 which recent years have witnessed. Hence it 

 became desirable that the text-book should be re- 

 written by one who, like Dr. James Kerr, has 

 played a more prominent part in these develop- 

 ments. The result is a text-book possessing much 

 merit, and embodying facts and opinions based 

 upon a large amount of experience and research. 

 It seems from a perusal of the first paragraph 

 that the book is more particularly designed for 

 school-teachers, but to ?uch it will be more satis- 

 factory when Dr. Kerr is able in the next edition 

 to bring his exceptional knowledge and experience 

 to bear upon a fuller treatment of some matters 

 of importance; for while the book is (generally 

 speaking) well balanced in its treatment of the 

 subject-matter, it is in places much too brief. To 



I 



