Vlll MICROBES AND HEALTH. 



or smallpox, and with health, boards sounding the notes 

 of alarm, many become excited, and are willing to 

 believe any foolish thing. 



When disease enters a community, if people would 

 pay less attention to the hypothetical germ theorist, 

 and the promulgates of fads, deal less with the im- 

 aginative and speculative, and depend more upon the 

 real and the natural, disease would be less serious, for 

 excitement only lowers the powers of resistance and 

 renders disease more fatal. 



From the teachings of bacteriology certain conclu- 

 sions have been drawn regarding disease and its cause, 

 and the purpose of this volume is to meet those con- 

 clusions with what the writer believes to be the true 

 explanation, and one wholly independent of the germ. 

 Therefore, whatever is said in the following pages is 

 aimed at the principle and not at the bacteriologists. 



While the author has endeavored to give a full and 

 clear description of the various subjects mentioned, 

 consumption, typhoid fever, disease, the various germ 

 theories, etc., he has also aimed to eliminate all super- 

 fluous verbiage, and present each subject in the fewest 

 words consistent with a correct understanding of each. 



This gives the greatest amount of knowledge with 

 a minimum amount of reading. 



Each chapter is written in a plain conversational 

 manner, which can be readily understood by all. 



