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sitic fungi and of the infinitesimally minute 

 microbes, which work far greater havoc among 

 plants and animals, has been brought to light. 

 The " particulate " or " germ " theory of disease, 

 as it is called, long since suggested, has obtained a 

 firm foundation, in so far as it has been proved 

 to be true in respect of sundry epidemic disorders. 

 Moreover, it has theoretically justified prophy- 

 lactic measures, such as vaccination, which formerly 

 rested on a merely empirical basis ; and it has 

 been extended to other diseases with excellent 

 results. Further, just as the discovery of the 

 cause of scabies proved "the absurdity of many of 

 the old prescriptions for the prevention and treat- 

 ment of that disease ; so the discovery of the cause 

 of splenic fever, and other such maladies, has given 

 a new direction to prophylactic and curative 

 measures against the worst scourges of humanity. 

 Unless the fanaticism of philozoic sentiment over- 

 powers the voice of philanthropy, and the love 

 of dogs and cats supersedes that of one's neigh- 

 bour, the progress of experimental physiology and 

 pathology will, indubitably, in course of time, 

 place medicine and hygiene upon a rational basis. 

 Two centuries ago England was devastated by 

 the plague ; cleanliness and common sense were 

 enough to free us from its ravages. One century 

 since, small-pox was almost as great a scourge ; 

 science, though working empirically, and almost 

 in the dark, has reduced that evil to relative in- 



