May 29, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



787 



to suggest a leaning in favor of a positive con- 

 clusion. It is certainly to be regretted that a 

 problem of this nature should receive even so 

 partial endorsement as is implied by the 

 French Academy of Science. Since the con- 

 ditions of the prize do not require specific in- 

 vestigations, but make it available for an argu- 

 ment indicating the position of psychology on 

 such an hypothesis, I trust that for 1915 some 

 candidate will present a statement that will 

 more adequately express the views of a con- 

 siderable proportion of modern psychologists 

 upon this subject. Psychology receives so 

 slight a recognition in scientific competitions 

 that it seems unfortunate that its interests 

 should be prejudiced by a recognition of a 

 subject somewhat tangential tO' its main prob- 

 lems, and yet one upon which it has been 

 forced to express itself in view of the wide- 

 spread public concern. 



Joseph Jastrow 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 

 Flies in Relation to Disease: Non-hloodsuch- 



ing Flies. By G. S. Geaham-Smith, M.D. 



Cambridge, University Press, 1913. 



A first reading of Dr. Graham-Smith's 

 admirable book is apt in a way to somewhat 

 dampen the enthusiasm of the ardent fly cru- 

 sader. This is especially apt to be the case 

 with one who, like the present writer, has re- 

 cently been told by Stiles, after his experiences 

 in the Carolinas, that the haK has not yet been 

 told of the danger of the house-fly, and who 

 only the other day heard Levy of Richmond, 

 in an address before the State Health Associa- 

 tion, emphatically state that even the most 

 exaggerated newspaper statements of the 

 dangers have underestimated them. Perhaps 

 if Dr. Graham-Smith lived in the Caro- 

 linas or in Virginia he might share to a cer- 

 tain degree the views of Stiles and Levy, but, 

 living in England, and being a most careful, 

 conscientious, and thoroughly scientific labo- 

 ratory worker, he has in this book held him- 

 self down to absolutely demonstrated state- 

 ments and has viewed the problem almost 

 strictly from the medical side. He has thus 

 produced a work which will be highly pleas- 



ing to conservative people who have diagnosed 

 current newspaper statements about the house- 

 fly as yellow journalism. 



A second and more careful reading of the 

 book, however, will show that there is an 

 abundance of demonstrated facts upon which 

 to base mose vigorous anti-fly crusades. He 

 states that it is certain that the house-fly is a 

 potential disease carrier and a constant fre- 

 quenter and disseminator of filth, " but," he 

 says, " much remains to be done before 

 Howard's name, ' the typhoid fly,' or Hewitt's 

 generalization can be completely justified." 

 Hewitt's generalization, by the way, is " It has 

 been proved that the house-fiy plays an impor- 

 tant part in the dissemination of certain of 

 our most prevalent infectious diseases when 

 the necessary conditions are present." Both 

 Hewitt and myself (quoting from Graham- 

 Smith) " approaching the subject from the 

 entomological standpoint, have based their 

 conclusions in regard to disease mainly on 

 evidence of an epidemiological character and 

 have apparently accepted the bacteriological 

 evidence almost without criticism. Prom the 

 bacteriological point of view, however, while 

 the evidence relating to the carriage of 

 pathogenic bacilli by experimentally infected 

 flies is fairly conclusive, that relating to the 

 presence of these microorganisms in 'wild 

 flies ' is far from complete." 



The book is a very thorough and a very 

 cautious one, and covers a consideration of 

 the species of non-bloodsucking flies found 

 in houses, the life history of the house fly, its 

 internal and external anatomy in much detail, 

 its habits, the ways in which it carries and 

 distributes bacteria, the bacteriology of city 

 flies, the fate of organisms eaten by larva, and 

 a lengthy consideration of typhoid fever, 

 summer diarrhea, anthrax, other bacterial 

 diseases, the carriage of the eggs of parasitie 

 worms, myiasis, the diseases and parasites and 

 other enemies of flies, and questions of control. 

 It is an admirable compendium, containing 

 many facts not hitherto presented, and bring- 

 ing together the latest information in a way 

 in which it can be easily and intelligently 

 consulted. 



