April 29, 1909"' 



NATURE 



-4; 



A COMPREHEh'SIVE WORK OX DIPHTHERIA. 



The Bacteriology of Diphtheria. Edited by Dr. 

 G. H. F. Nuttall, F.R.S., and Dr. G. S. Graham- 

 Smith. Pp. xx + 7i8. (Cambridge: University 

 Press, 1908.) Price 25X. net. 



THIS important work aims at a much more com- 

 prehensive account of the essential facts under- 

 lying the pathology of diphtheria than its title 

 suggests. It is by far the most complete record of 

 our present knowledge of this disease hitherto written 

 in the English language. Not only is the bacteriology 

 of diphtheria dealt with very fully, but chapters are 

 included which cover the history of the disease, its 

 epidemiology, its mortality, and an account of its 

 toxins and antitoxins. Seeing that we have come to 

 regard the antitoxin treatment as the only rational 

 method of therapeusis in this disease, the reader has 

 here before him practically all he may need to know 

 about diphtheria, except certain clinical facts which 

 he can easily find in any text-book of medicine. The 

 inclusion of a short chapter embodying these facts, 

 indeed, would have completed the whole subject from 

 beginning to end. 



Of all the infective diseases which trouble mankind, 

 diphtheria stands foremost as the one concerning 

 which our knowledge seems most complete. It may 

 be mere vanity to say so, but this knowledge appears 

 to contain few, if any, gaps of vital consequence to the 

 human race. The nature of the causal micro- 

 organism is known, the methods of detecting this 

 in afflicted persons are matters of everyday practice, 

 and, most important of all, the specific remedy is in 

 universal use. It is quite doubtful if all this can be 

 said of any other infective disease. Were there room 

 for boasting in the sphere of medical science, this 

 arrav of brilliant discoveries connected with diphtheria 

 might be quoted with pride as conquests for 

 humanity, won by much toil in the face of great 

 difficulties. These discoveries, of the utmost practical 

 value in the treatment of the disease, constitute one 

 of the greatest arguments against the statement oft- 

 times made, that the results of animal experimentation 

 prove this method of research to be devoid of useful 

 results. Not only the discovery of the cause of the 

 disease, but the very manufacture of the only remedy 

 known to cure it, has depended almost solely upon 

 animal experiments. 



The book opens with a short series of biographical 

 sketches of the men whose names figure most pro- 

 minently in connection with these discoveries : 

 Bretonneau, who first recognised the clinical picture 

 presented by the disease ; Loeffler, who discovered the 

 specific microbe ; Behring, who first enunciated the 

 principles of toxin and antitoxin; and Roux, to whose, 

 studies we owe the preparation of anti-diphtherial 

 serum. Excellent photographs accompany these 

 sketches. 



The subject-matter proper of the book is contributed 

 by well-chosen authors. To Prof. Loeffler is given the 

 task of writing the history of the disease, resulting in 

 fifty pages of most fascinating reading. Dr. News- 

 holme treats of the epidemiology and Prof. Mallory 

 .\0. 2061, VOL. 80] 



of the pathology of diphtheria. The causal bacillus 

 and its various congeners, with the modes of infection 

 and methods of diagnosis, are dealt with by Dr. 

 Graham-Smith. Matters of immunity, including the 

 difficult subject of toxin and antitoxin, are discussed 

 by Dr. Dean, and a most carefully written chapter on 

 mortality comes from the pens of Drs. Park and 

 Bolduan. The last-named writers also contribute a 

 section upon serum sickness. A very full biblio- 

 graphy, including all the papers extant upon the 

 subject, and a useful index, complete the worR. 

 Sixteen plates are inserted, and the photomicrographs 

 in these are excellently reproduced. 



Despite a most thorough acquaintance with the 

 work, we have failed to find anything at which to 

 carp. There is nothing to say except praise for the 

 editors, who have produced a magnificent exposition 

 of modern knowledge on this important disease — an 

 exposition which must certainly take its place as the 

 classical authority upon the subject. T. J. H. 



ALLOYS. 

 Alloys and their Industrial Applications. By E. F. 

 Law. Pp. xvi + 269; with numerous illustrations 

 and plates. (London : C. Griffin and Co., Ltd., 

 1909.) Price J2S. 6d. net. 



IT is not easy to realise the unimportance or even 

 insignificance of metals, as such, in the workaday 

 world. Generally speaking, it is only when they are 

 mixed together that they are converted from chemical 

 curiosities into useful materials. The improvements 

 in the properties of metals usually brought about by 

 alloying them are a reduction in melting point so that 

 they can be more easily melted and cast, and an 

 increase in hardness, which confers greater 

 strength and durability. The only general de- 

 terioration caused by alloying is a reduction in 

 malleability and ductility, which can be put up 

 with if it is not allowed to get out of hand. 

 It is typical of the extent to v.-hich the essential and 

 fundamental may be lost sight of amid the wealth of 

 detail in modern study that the comparative lowness 

 of the melting points of alloys is never once alluded 

 to in the volume under review. 



It must not be concluded, however, that Mr. Law's 

 book is lacking in clearness of thought or in balance. 

 It is the most important summary of the state of 

 knowledge on the subject that has appeared for many 

 years. More than this, it is a well-considered attempt 

 to make the results of the recent scientific investiga- 

 tions on alloys available to manufacturers and 

 engineers. How far the attempt will be successful 

 cannot yet be said. It is not the author's fault that 

 English manufacturers are wary birds, and that it is 

 difficult to put the salt of research on their tails. It is 

 not even his fault that much recent research has been 

 somewhat beside the mark. 



Besides, efforts have not been spared to apply inves- 

 tigations to the problems that most need solution. As 

 soon as trustworthy pyrometers made their appearance, 

 there was a rush to determine the melting points of 

 allovs and then to ascertain the nature and extent of 



