556 
NATURE 
[APRIL 14, 1904 
of the white-tailed guereza, of a Peking stag, of Pere 
David’s Mi-Lou deer, and of the giant tortoise of 
South Aldabra Island. We hope that this book, which 
is as stimulating as it is informative, and is far and 
away above most “ popular ’’ natural history essays in 
its thoroughness, accuracy, and suggestiveness, will 
have the wide circulation it deserves, and that the 
author will continue to enrich our scientific literature 
with many more “zoological essays.” 
Ieee Atel 
INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 
Infection and Immunity, with Special Reference to the 
Prevention of Infectious Diseases. By George M. 
Sternberg, M.D., LL.D., Surgeon-General U.S. 
Army (Retired). | Progressive Science Series. Pp. 
ix+293. (London: John Murray, 1903.) Price 6s. 
net. 
N the preface to this volume we find the general 
statement that ‘‘ all infectious diseases are prevent- 
able diseases,’? and with this proposition, at least ina 
general sense, we heartily concur. It follows that 
there can be no more important factor in the extermin- 
ation of infectious diseases than the education of the 
public in their essential nature and modes of spread. 
For with such knowledge comes not only increased 
personal precaution against infection, but what is even 
more important, an enlightened tolerance of sanitary 
legislation. A volume on “‘ infection and immunity ” is 
thus most suitable for such an undertaking as the Pro- 
gressive Science Series, and the editor has been fortu- 
nate in securing the services of Dr. George M. Stern- 
berg as an expositor of the subject. Dr. Sternberg is 
well known as one of the pioneers of American bacteri- 
ology; he has taken a prominent part in the advance- 
ment of public health, and, in particular, of military 
hygiene in that country; disinfection is, moreover, one 
‘of the subjects with which his name is especially 
associated. 
As befits the series to which it belongs, the book is 
written for the non-medical public, and the writer ex- 
presses the hope that it may serve as a text-book for 
those responsible for the sanitary welfare of public 
institutions, and even for high schools and colleges. 
It is divided into two parts, the first of which deals 
with the general principles of the subject, while the 
second is devoted to the chief infectious diseases in 
detail. 
The general part contains thirteen short chapters. 
After a definition and explanation of what is meant by 
infectious disease, the nature of ‘‘ disease germs ”’ re- 
ceives somewhat short treatment. The chapter on 
“channels of infection ’’ is excellent, and gives a clear 
idea of the ways in which different diseases spread. 
Equally good is the chapter on susceptibility to infec- 
tion, and this is followed by a series of chapters on 
disinfection and the different agents by which this can 
be brought about, such as heat, chemicals, and the like. 
The action of these agents is clearly explained. This 
part of the book is brought to a close by three short 
NO. 1798, VOL. 69] 
chapters on immunity and antitoxins. The author is 
probably wise in having omitted, in a popular work, 
all discussion of Ehrlich’s fascinating theory of the 
origin of ‘‘ anti-bodies.”’ 
It appears to us that Dr. Sternberg has done this 
part of his work well, and has furnished a very 
adequate and readabie account of the subject, but it 
is permissible to doubt whether, in his effort to be 
concise, he has always made sufficient allowance for 
the extraordinary ignorance which undoubtedly exists 
in the mind of the average man as to the essential 
nature of bacteria and other disease germs. He deals 
with this matter, which it must be remembered lies at 
the very root of his whole subject, in five short pages, 
in which we fail to find any reference whatever to the 
size of the objects he is describing. Yet it is this very 
matter of size which is so great a stumbling-block to 
the average mind in forming a conception of the nature 
of infection. It would, in our opinion, have been well, 
in a book which is intended as a text-book for students 
in high schools and colleges, to have devoted a much 
larger space to elementary information as to the 
essential nature of disease germs. In spite of the 
great accuracy which marks the majority of the 
writer’s statements, there are one or two to which it 
is possible to take exception. On p. 12 we read that 
““tetanus is the only disease of man in which spores 
have been demonstrated ’’; there are other anaérobic 
sporeformers which produce disease in man, e.g. 
Bacillus oedematis maligni and B. aérogenes capsu- 
latus, while anthrax is unfortunately far from un- 
known as a human affection. Again, on p. 41, it 
is stated that alcohol has scarcely any germicidal 
power; it is true that alcohol cannot kill bacterial 
spores, but it is almost instantaneously fatal to non- 
sporing bacteria, at least when these are in the moist 
condition. These, however, are small blemishes upon 
what is, on the whole, a very excellent account of a 
difficult and complex subject. 
When we turn from the general to the special part of 
the book, which occupies another twenty chapters, it 
is difficult to find anything which is not worthy of 
unstinted praise. The different infections are taken 
seriatim, and under each disease we find an admirable 
and lucid account of its epidemiology and history, of 
what is known as to the germ which causes it, of the 
channels by which it spreads, and of the precautions 
to be taken in combating it. The only important 
human infectious disease which is omitted is anthrax, 
if we except syphilis and gonorrhcea, which, from 
motives of, we think, mistaken delicacy, have been 
altogether excluded from the book. The author 
naturally draws much of his statistical information 
from American sources, and some of it will probably 
be novel to English readers; for instance, the striking 
connection between toy pistols and tetanus which has 
been observed in the United States. The typhoid 
statistics of American cities will also be viewed with 
a chastened satisfaction in view of our own more 
favourable figures, save only for Belfast. It may be 
regretted that, in treating of diphtheria, Dr. Stern- 
berg has not laid more stress on the importance of 
