ccx Proceedings of the Asiatic Soc. of Bengal. [N.S., XVII, 
of manufacture but also conditions of storage of the rice may 
be factors of importance. 
Diabetes is another disease of great importance in India, 
and a great deal of valuable and highly skilled laboratory work 
has been done in connection with it, especially in Calcutta by 
Lt.-Col. McCay and his assistants. There is plenty of prima 
jacie evidence that the common form of the disease is very fre- 
quent among those who eat too much carbohydrate and. who 
take too little exercise, while on the other hand those who eat 
sparingly of carbohydrate and who take plenty of exercise rarely 
suffer. This indication should be closely followed up, and it is 
quite likely that a detailed enquiry into the habits of those 
classes that are most affected and of those that are least affect- 
ed may not only solve the problem of diabetes in India but 
also convince the people most interested that the solution has 
been reached. At present the position is that most doctors 
preach the doctrine of sparing diet and plenty of exercise, but 
they do so to unwilling ears. 
It would almost seem as if the solution of the diabetes 
problem that is suggested is too simple to be acceptable, or 
perhaps it is that its practical application entails a considerable 
change in the habits of persons most affected. In any case 
there can be no difference of opinion as to the gravity of the 
disease and as to the desirability of finding out the exact con- 
ditions under which it occurs. 
There is another disease which is of the greatest impor- 
tance to the well-to-do people of India, infantile cirrhosis of 
the liver, it is quite likely that the secret of this disease also 
may. be discovered by an accurate observation of the habits 
of the classes of people among whom the malady is com- 
what is known of the disease as it actually occurs in man. This 
is the case specially in connection with its geographical distri- 
bution and it seems quite possible that careful observation of 
the disease in the human subject may throw light on its true 
_ it is not suggested that we should pay less attention to 
animal experiments, we cannot dispense with these, but still it 
