814 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL. ITo. 1040 



pointment of Mr. Frederick Soddy, formerly 

 lecturer in physical chemistry and radio- 

 activity, in the University of Glasgow; Pro- 

 fessor Theodore Shennan, pathologist to the 

 Eoyal Infirmary of Edinburgh and lecturer in 

 the university will succeed Professor George 

 Dean in the chair of pathology. 



DISCUSSION AND COSBESPONDENCE 



MINUTE ANIMAL PARASITES 



To THE Editor of Science: We have to 

 thank you for inserting a review of our book, 

 " Some Minute Animal Parasites " in your 

 issue of July 17, pp. 105-107, and now ask 

 the favor of your columns for the purpose of 

 correcting certain inaccuracies contained 

 therein. Unfortunately, the reviewer has made 

 rather numerous inferences not to be found or 

 suggested in the original, and seems to have 

 mistaken an account of life-histories of cer- 

 tain parasitic Protozoa for a test-book of the 

 type dear to the systematist. Both space and 

 time prevent us doing more than indicate a 

 few of the lapses <from accuracy in the review, 

 but mention of certain of these is essential. 



The review states : 



1. The fourth chapter deals with the spiroehastes 

 in a manner "which shall be as non-controversial 

 as possible, and which will consist of facts and not 

 the speculations so fashionable nowadays." The 

 authors adhere so consistently to this promise that 

 the reader would never know from the text that 

 thousands of others have worked with these organ- 

 isms. 



Excluding the hyperbole regarding the thou- 

 sands 'of workers on the subject, we quote in 

 that chapter the works of Balfour, Blaizot, 

 Blanc, Breinl, Certes, Conseil, Doflein, Button, 

 Ehrenberg, Hindle, Leishman, Markham, 

 Carter, Moebius, NicoUe, Perrin, Prowazek, 

 Schaudinn, Todd, Zuelzer and ourselves, and 

 give the opinions of other investigators also. 



2. He would also look in vain for a description 

 of the spirochsete of syphilis. 



A reference to p. 86 not only gives the cor- 

 rect name of the organism {Treponema pal- 

 lidum), but at least ten lines of special state- 

 ment regarding it. There is 'also an entry in 

 the index on p. 318. 



3. The sixth chapter, dealing with coccidiosis 

 . . . omits even a reference to coccidiosis in man. 



It is regrettable that p. 117 was not noticed, 

 for it is there stated that 



The human parasite is possibly the same as that 

 which infests rabbits, and there is the likelihood 

 that the eating of the livers of rabbits sufEering 

 from coccidiosis has resulted in its transference 

 with fatal results to the human host. 



There is further reference to Eimeria stiedce 

 on pp. 139-140 of the book. 



4. Regarding classification, the book was 

 never intended to be a text-book for syste- 

 matists and we state definitely on p. 18 that 

 we " select material presenting as much varia- 

 tion as possible . . . without reference to strict 

 schemes of classification." There is no need, 

 then, for adherence to taxonomy. The sug- 

 gested arrangement by systematic treatment 

 according to mode of infection is impractica- 

 ble because of lack of detailed knowledge in 

 many cases. However, the principal known 

 modes of infection among the Protozoa, with 

 examples, are given in the first chapter of the 

 book, -on pp. 4r-10. 



The ungenerous concluding remark in the 

 review, is, we feel, best ignored. We have al- 

 ready mentioned in this letter the numerous 

 authors to whose work reference is made in 

 Chapter IV., and a similar condition obtains 

 elsewhere. We can only say that we have 

 endeavored to do justice to all so far as the 

 limits of a book of this kind would allow. This 

 fact has received outside recognition gener- 

 ally, and we mayquote the opinion expressed 

 in the well-known English journal The Lancet, 

 June 27, 1914, p. 1819, where it is stated that 



We may note that everywhere the authors of the 

 book under review are careful to give honor where 

 honor is due. 



In conclusion, we may add that 'we endeav- 

 ored to appeal not only to students of science, 

 but also to the class of educated persons whom 

 the technicalities and terminology of the syste- 

 matist have hitherto repelled. 



H. B. Fantham, 

 A. Porter 

 Cambridge, England 



