July 6, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



meningitis. It lias united with Harvard 

 University in sending a man to Manila to 

 study certain phases of smallpox. With 

 the same end in view, also, it has made 

 grants each year to assist important in- 

 vestigations which were being carried on 

 in various places. 



While it has been impossible to aid more 

 than a small proportion of the even suit- 

 able ones asking for assistance, still an 

 average of twenty grants has been made 

 each year, and much excellent work done 

 which otherwise could not have been under- 

 taken. 



With the opening of a central laboratory 

 for research in New York, these foreign 

 grants will necessarily become a less impor- 

 tant part of the work. It is not, however, 

 the intention of the institute to discontinue 

 them altogether. The board hopes always 

 to be ready, with a grant of money or by 

 sending a trained man, to assist in the solu- 

 tion of any important emergency problem 

 which may arise in connection with the 

 public health in any part of the country. 



The work done entirely or in part under 

 the auspices of the institute and published 

 in various scientific journals has been col- 

 lected in volumes of reprints; four such 

 volumes of about five hundred pages each 

 having already been issued, two in 1904 

 and two in 1905 ; a fifth volume is now in 

 press. The need of a special organ of pub- 

 lication was early felt by the board and in 

 1904 negotiations were opened with the 

 editor of the Journal of Experimental 

 Medicine with a view to- transferring its 

 control to the institute. This has been 

 accomplished. 



In February, 1905, the institute took 

 charge of the publication of this journal, 

 under whose auspices it has since been is- 

 sued. In it are published not only the 

 work of the institute, but also other scien- 

 tific contributions of a similar nature. 



In the five volumes of reprints appear 



137 original papers; they may be classified 

 under the following heads: There were 50 

 papers relating to etiology, or the causation 

 of disease; 28 relating to pathology; 12 to 

 bacteriology; 22 to physiology; 8 to chem- 

 istry; 9 to* toxicology ; 7 to experimental 

 therapeutics, and 1 to pathological anat- 

 omy. 



Among the most important researches 

 in point of the attention which has been 

 given to them may be mentioned : 21 papers 

 upon dysentery and diarrhoeal diseases; 

 5 papers upon milk; 4 papers upon small- 

 pox; 12 upon various pathological condi- 

 tions of the blood ; 3 upon diabetes ; 5 upon 

 trypanosomiasis, and 6 upon snake venom. 

 The other topics are widely distributed 

 over the field of scientific medicine. 



To many, five years may seem a long time 

 to be taken up with the work of prelimi- 

 nary organization. Many difficulties have 

 been encountered and many perplexing 

 questions have come up for decision. It 

 has been the policy of the board of direct- 

 ors to proceed deliberately, and no step 

 has been taken until a conviction regarding 

 the wisdom of it was practically unan- 

 imous. 



To outline the development of an insti- 

 tution which should secure the highest pos- 

 sible efficiency has been no easy task. 

 European models have aided greatly, but 

 it was believed that what was needed in 

 America was an institution different in 

 many important respects from those of 

 Europe. While many years will be re- 

 quired for the full development of the 

 institute, the board has felt that the general 

 policy should be reflected from the outset. 

 Throughout it has striven to keep con- 

 stantly in mind the intention of the 

 founder,- expressed in his letter of gift, 

 that the trust was to be administered in 

 such a way as 'to accomplish the most for 

 humanity and science.' 



