142 



NA TURE 



[Dec. ii, 1884 



and inert for some hours, so that it may be concluded that the 

 micro-organism secretes a material to which must be attributed 

 the lesions which are observed in fowls suffering from fowl 

 cholera. 



Some idea may be obtained of the commercial value of the 

 work done by M. Pasteur in his laboratories from the following 

 facts and figures, which I have on good authority : — In three 

 departments of the centre of France, after the silkworm disease 

 had attacked the factories, the product yielded a value of less 

 than 1,500,000 francs. Since the regulations laid down by 

 Pasteur have been applied, the average value per annum, cal- 

 culated on five years, in those departments has risen to more 

 than 22,000,000 francs. 



As to wine, there was a known loss of wine to the extent of 

 1,700,000 francs in four departments. Since heating on Pasteur's 

 method has been applied, there has been saved of this loss at 

 least 1.500,000 francs; the difference of 200,000 francs being 

 alleged to be due to the carelessness or ignorance of small pro- 

 prietors, who are unwilling to heat their wine. As there are in 

 France about forty-five departments that make wine, the saving 

 may thus approximately be estimated. I should add that there 

 are twelve departments that make silk. 



In respect to anthrax, the following was the official statement 

 indicating the ravages made by this disease in France and foreign 

 countries, and the reduction of mortality effected by these 

 inoculations : — 



iSSl Sheep Oxen Horses 



France 62,050 ... 5977 ... 142 



Foreign countries... 12,500 ... 1254 ... 100 



Total 74,550 ... 7231 ... 242 



1S82 



France 270,040 ... 35,654 ... 1825 



Foreign countries... 36,830 ... 6,169 ... 200 



Total 306,870 ... 41,823 ... 2025 



1883 



France 268,205 ... 26,453 ■•• 37' 



Other countries ... 84,825 ... 5,777 . 975 



Total 353-33° ... 32,230 ... 1346 



The average mortality reduced by these inoculations in the proportion of 

 10 to 1 for sheep, and 15 to 1 for oxen, cows, and horses. 1 



Meteorological Laboratory. — The corresponding exhibit was 

 that of the meteorological laboratory by M. Miquel, correspond- 

 ing to which I hope to see a permanent meteorological station 

 established as a sequel to the Exhibition. The work of M. 

 Miquel has been summarised in the following words by Dr. Vivian 

 Poore : — The observatory for Montsouris was established, in 

 1S71, by the influence of M. Dumas, who was then President of 

 the Municipal Council of the city of Paris. In 1S73, M. Marie 

 I )avy was appointed director of the observatory by M. Thiers. 

 The work of the observatory is as follows : — 



(1) Meteorology proper, and its application to agriculture and 

 hygiene. This department is under the control of M. Leon 

 Descroix. 



(2) Chemical analysis of the air and rain, under the control of 

 M. Albert Levy. 



(3) The microscopic study of the organic matters held in 

 suspension in the air and rain. This is under the control of 

 M. P. Miquel. 



In 1876, the municipality decided to have the above meteoro- 

 logical observations, in their relation to hygiene, made in different 

 parts of the city. The chemical analyses and microscopical 

 examinations are made — 



(1) On drinking waters. 



(2) On the waters infiltrating the soil. 



(3) On the emanations from the soil and sewers. 



(4) On the air of different localities estimations are made. A. 

 (air), ozone, carbonic acid, ammonia, organic nitrogen ; and 

 similar analyses are made of the soil-water, &c. Every year the 

 Annuaire de Montsouris is published, a work full of information, 

 and which is now in its thirteenth volume. 



The laboratory of Mr. Cheyne at the International Health 



1 In the last thirty years there has been an increase of life-duration of from 

 39 'g to 41*9 years, an increase of 5 per cent, human duration of life. The 

 annual economy of life, on the least favourable calculation, during the last 

 five years, has been equal to a saving of 36,000 lives per annum. The money 

 saving on the last five years has been calculated, on good basis, by Capt. 

 Galton, to be in London alone nearly half a million of money per annum. 



Exhibition was largely fitted up by the aid of Dr. Koch, and of 

 Dr. Koch's laboratory at Berlin. Mr. Cheyne has furnished 

 me with the following outline : — 



Dr. Koch's laboratory is subsidised by the Government. It 

 consists of director, library, biological department under Dr. 

 Koch and several assistants, and a chemical department. All 

 expense:, of investigation are paid. Koch's salary is only 300/. 

 Other salaries I do not know. When appointed, Koch first set 

 to work to improve methods of cultivating and studying bacteria, 

 and to devise new methods, and the result has been a precision 

 and simplicity in this sort of work quite beyond all expectation. 

 His further researches have been devoted to the study of the 

 cause of disease in man and how to prevent it. Either by him- 

 self, or under his direction, the causes and means of prevention 

 of tuberculosis, consumption, erysipelas, osteomyelitis, and 

 glanders have been absolutely demonstrated, while a large 

 amount of work has been done in respect to the causation and 

 prevention of typhoid fever, cholera, diphtheria, and other 

 affections. His researches on disinfectants and the best mode of 

 disinfection are classical, and are still being carried on. This 

 work is being rapidly extended to other diseases, while important 

 researches are going on relating to water, air, and soil. 



The Anthropometric Laboratory at the Health Exhibition 

 was designed by Mr. Galton, to show the feasibility of perform- 

 ing, at a small cost, an extended series of measurements of the 

 human faculties, and of testing the demand that there might at 

 present be for having such measurements made. The ulterior 

 object he had in view was to familiarise the public with the 

 facility and need of periodically recording facts which test 

 the progress of individual growth and development, whether it 

 is proceeding normally or otherwise ; and if it should be abnor- 

 mal, to call attention to the existence of hurtful influences, and 

 to demand inquiry into their nature, and whether they may not 

 be removable. The experience of the laboratory showed em- 

 phatically, first, that about seventeen different measurements of 

 each person, including height, weight, strength, breathing 

 capacity, eyesight, judgment of eye, hearing powers, &c. , could 

 be accurately performed at a cost of less than 3/., by means of a 

 well-organised method of work ; secondly, it showed that the 

 public greatly valued the opportunity of having themselves 

 measured and appraised in so minute a manner, inasmuch as the 

 door of the laboratory was besieged all day long by a crowd of 

 applicants for admission, far more numerous than could be 

 accommodated in its small area, 36 feet long by 6 feet wide. As 

 it was, measurements were made of between nine and ten 

 thousand persons, yielding data that are now being discussed, 

 and which have considerable statistical value. The methods 

 and appliances used and suggested by the experience of this 

 laboratory have been very recently described by Mr. Galton at 

 the Anthropological Institute. It is therefore not necessary here 

 to go into details. It may be taken as established that there need 

 not be the slightest difficulty in periodically measuring with much 

 completeness and keeping a register of the development of every 

 boy and girl in large schools, at the cost of a very few pence per 

 head per annum, on the supposition that the process was methodi- 

 cally conducted by a paid expert, with the willing and gratuitous 

 assistance of the masters and attendants. The power of a 

 system of periodical measurements and tabulated returns upon 

 the well- or ill-being of the growing portion of our race is of 

 unquestionable value, and it would seem that common-sense 

 considerations must insure its being ultimately called into action. 

 Now that there are signs of much awakening to the imp irtance 

 of such records, a central institution becomes especially desirable, 

 where the best patterns of instruments should be kept, where 

 instruction in their use might be obtained, where the methods of 

 tabulation, and of quickly getting useful results out of the data, 

 might be learnt, and where the fullest information of all kinds 

 on anthropometry would be stored. It must not for a moment 

 be supposed that anthropometry is a simple and thoroughly 

 understood art. On the contrary, it continually grows, new 

 methods being discovered from time to time of measuring 

 faculties that had before escaped measurement. There can be 

 little doubt that the progress of the useful art of knowing one's self 

 all round, and of knowing others accurately, of reducing what 

 has hitherto been too much a matter of estimate to quantitative 

 measurement, would be very largely aided by the establishment 

 of an anthropometric laboratory in a national hygienic insti- 

 tution. 



Proposed Disposal of Surplus.— That which I look for- 

 ward to, then, as the best possible sequel to this Ex- 



