33i 



NA rURE 



[February 9, 1899 



that can be found with Mr. (ialloway's book is that he 

 has attempted to write the annals of the coal trade as 

 apart from its twin industry of iron-making. The com- 

 plexity, however, of the history of coal mining by itself 

 may fairly be held to excuse, to some extent, this 

 shortcoming. 



The close of the eighteenth and the early years of the 

 nineteenth century were prolific in great advances in the 

 technique of coal mining, the invention of the safety 

 lamp being, perhaps, one of those of most importance, 

 although its value had not yet been fully recognised in 

 1835, the date at which the author closes these interesting 

 annals. They stop short, therefore, at the dawn of the 

 true age of steam, at the era of the railway and the 

 steamship ; it is on this ground to be regretted that the 

 author has not extended his review yet another thirty 

 years or so further, when he would have fittingly rounded 

 oflf his picture. He has done his work so well, has 

 brought so much industry and research, coupled 

 evidently with a thorough knowledge of the subject, to 

 bear upon his task, that he has succeeded in repro- 

 ducing a most complete picture of the evolution of the 

 coal-mining industry. It can only be hoped that at 

 some future date he may continue these interesting 

 records down to the present day. H. Louis. 



AN ATLAS OF BACTERIOLOGY. 

 An Atlas of Bacteriology. Containing 1 1 1 Original 

 Photomicrographs with Explanatory Text. By Chas. 

 Slater, .M..'\., M.B., M.K.C.S. Eng., F.C.S., and 

 Edmund J. Spitta, L.K.C.P. Lond., M.K.C.S. Eng., 

 F.R.A.S. Pp. xiv + 120. (London: The Scientific 

 Press, Limited, 1898.) 



IT might be said that the illustrative side of the science 

 of bacteriology, whether by photographs, drawings, 

 or coloured pictures, is, to some extent, overdone, and 

 that the " Hand-Atlanten '' of Lehmann and Neumann and 

 the Atlas der Baktcrienkunde by Friinkel and Pfeifier al- 

 ready cover the whole field. Eurther, that the modern text- 

 books of bacteriology are filled with numerous and useful 

 illustrations, and have, of course, in addition the ad- 

 vantage of containing a complete and elaborate descrip- 

 tion of the morphological and biological characters of all 

 the most important bacteria, besides all other inform- 

 ation necessary to a correct knowledge of the science of 

 bacteriology. 



Yet, on careful study of. this work, it is impossible to 

 deny that it fills a blank in the life of the student of 

 bacteriology. In the first place, most of the photographs 

 are excellent, and the letterpress, linking together and 

 explaining the teaching of the illustrations, is clear, 

 concise and accurate. In the second place, the book is 

 compactly bound, is printed on excellent paper in good 

 type, and is of a very handy size. Thirdly, the authors 

 can claim to have succeeded in giving in a limited number 

 of illustrations a very complete series, so far as the wants 

 .ind requirements of the average student of bacteriology 

 are concerned. Lastly, its pric e is well within the limits 

 , of even a very slender purse. 



For the purpose of this notice the book may be divided 

 as follows : — 



NO. 1528, VOL. 59] 



(1) Photographic introduction (pp. 1 to 9). This in- 

 troduction, although doubtless of value from the view- 

 point of the mrcro-photographic expert, might reasonably 

 be clothed in simpler language for the sake of the average 

 reader. 



(2) Bacteriological introduction (pp. 10 to 23). Al 

 though this is well written, the purpose it serves in a 

 condensed atlas of bacteriology is not very clear. It 

 detracts a little from the scope of the work, which 

 presumably is to present to the student a condensed 

 photographic record of the chief morphological and 

 biological characters of those bacteria which he is most 

 likely to have to investigate in the course of his bacterio- 

 logical studies. 



(3) Photographic records of the more important 

 bacteria, with explanatory notes (pp. 24 to 108). Photo- 

 graphs are given of two micro-organisms recently dis- 

 covered, and these of great importance, namely, Bacillus 

 pcslis I'lihonicae and Micrococcus niclitensis. These 

 same microbes are generally believed to be non-motile, 

 and competent observers have failed to demonstrate the 

 presence of flagella. Dr. M. H. Gordon, however, has 

 succeeded in obtaining specimens in which the fiagella, 

 both of the bacillus of plague and the micrococcus of 

 Malta fever, are clearly visible. 



.'\11 the photographs are good and some are excellent. 

 To the latter class belong, among others, the following : 

 Fig. II. — B. typhi murium; Fig. 93. — Sp. Obermeierij 

 Fig. 1 1 1. — Plasmodium malariae (malignant Tertian) ; 

 Fig. 78.~Sp. cholera Asiatica; Fig. 56. — B. typhosus; 

 Fig. 49. — Aficrococcus gonorrhoea ; Figs. 25, 26, 27, 28. — 

 B. tuberculosis ; and Fig. 12. — B. inycoides. Much less 

 satisfactory photographs are Figs. 50, 51, and 52. — 

 B. typhosus. 



A very large number of the illustrations depict cover- 

 glass specimens. It is a pity that more photographs are 

 not given of cultures of the bacteria. No doubt these 

 are frequently unsatisfactory, but the general excellence 

 of Messrs. .Slater's and Spitta's present work suggests the 

 belief that their efforts in this direction would be crowned 

 with success. For example, gelatine plate cultures of 

 B. inycoides and />'. colt communis, and agar cultures of 

 Streptococcus pyoi^enes and Diplococcus pneumoniae under 

 a low power of the microscope. 



Of |)h()t()graphs of bacteria that might with advantage 

 be added the following may be mentioned :— Ana;robic 

 milk cultures of B. enteritidis sporoj;enes (Klein) ; im- 

 pression preparation of the " swarming islands " of 

 Proteus vuljiaiis ; microscopic preparation of B. coli 

 communis stained for flagella. This last is extremely 

 important, as all students of bacteriology ought to be 

 taught to regard the difference in the number of flagella 

 of B. coli and B. typhosus as a \aluable aid in the 

 differential diagnosis of the two organisms. B. typhosus 

 is multi-flagcUated. Some varieties of B. coli are like- 

 wise mulli tlagcUated, but the true />'. coli communis has 

 only 1-3 flagella. 



These criticisms are offered in no carping spirit, for 

 we are struck with the general excellence of this Atlas 

 of Bacteriology, and we can cordially recommend it not 

 only to students but to all those who make this science 

 their special study. A. C. HOUSTON. 



