May 25, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



829 



SCIENCE CLUB OP THE UNIVERSITY OF 

 WISCONSIN. 



At the last meeting of the Science Club of 

 the University of Wisconsin, Mr. H. L. Rus- 

 sell favored the club with an exceedingly valu- 

 able and timely address on ' Some Recent 

 Investigations relative to Communicable Dis- 

 eases.' Mr. Russell can speak with authority 

 upon this subject and his expression of opinion 

 regarding the efficiency of methods for prevent- 

 ing the spread of diseases and for eradicating 

 them has an especial interest at this time. 



Beginning with a brief synopsis of the state 

 of knowledge concerning the nature and life 

 history of the malarial parasite, Mr. Russell 

 discussed the recent researches as to the rela- 

 tion that mosquitoes hold in the propagation of 

 malaria. The establishment of a definite host 

 in which the sexual propagation of the organ- 

 ism of malaria occurs, and a thorough proof of 

 the role that this suctorial insect plays in the 

 dissemination of this disease is one of the most 

 brilliant discoveries in biology in recent years. 



The discoveries relating to the bubonic plague 

 were then taken up. After discussion of the 

 etiology of the disease and the method bj' 

 which it is disseminated, the recent methods of 

 treatment including the preventive and curative 

 treatment were presented. It was pointed out 

 that the United States should with a rigorous 

 quarantine escape the bubonic plague since the 

 period required for the organism of the plague 

 to develop in a patient is less than the time 

 required for vessels to reach our shores from 

 infected oriental ports. 



Following this a general discussion of the 

 principles underlying the action of therapeutic 

 and prophylactic treatments of different com- 

 municable diseases was given embracing the 

 methods of vaccination that result in the pro- 

 duction of active and passive immunity in the 

 body of animals as well as of human beings. 

 Wm. H. Hobbs. 



DISCUSSION AND COBEESPONDENGE. 



A NATIONAL LIBBAEY AND MUSEUM OP THE 



HISTORY OP CHEMISTRY AND COGNATE 



ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



It is a matter for rejoicing that not only the 

 principal American universities and various in- 



stitutes, but also a number of professional col- 

 leges, among them those of medicine and phar- 

 macy, have accumulated and are in the posses- 

 sion of more or less comprehensive libraries and 

 museums and that they are aiming at their con- 

 stant enlargement and completion. Such li- 

 braries and museums cannot fail to become 

 more and more potent auxiliaries in the educa- 

 tional and literary objects of these institutions 

 as well as an efficient factor for the advance- 

 ment of American scholarship and culture. 



Most of these libraries are of comparatively 

 recent origin and generally embrace the per- 

 tinent scientific and professional literature of 

 modern times but rarely contain any consider- 

 able amount of works of past centuries. Such 

 older books are scarcely any longer in the book 

 mai'ket and are rarely available except by 

 chance as is particularly the case with works 

 that specially relate to the remoter eras of 

 the history of alchemy, of pharmacy, materia 

 medica, spices, etc. Whoever has had experi- 

 ence in the fascinating study in these domains 

 of historical research will be familiar with the 

 difficulty of finding in any one of the great 

 European libraries an approximately complete 

 collection of the extant literature of all ages. 

 There is quite a difference in this respect among 

 the foremost libraries ; they are mostly well 

 provided with the general literature of the past, 

 but are more or less deficient in this special do- 

 main of historical records. But in the multi- 

 plicity of the great book collections, particularly 

 in Germany, libraries specially rich in ancient 

 works relating to the history of materia medica, 

 alchemy and pharmacy are sometimes located in 

 close proximity and even in one city, like the 

 comprehensive historical libraries of the Ger- 

 man National Museum and that of the muni- 

 cipality at Nuremburg, the University and the 

 city libraries at Leipsic and the various great 

 libraries in Berlin, London and Paris. Short- 

 comings of this kind in the various European 

 libraries are of less consequence to the student 

 as the distances in Central Europe are not con- 

 siderable and as books are distributed on loan 

 by mail by most libraries. 



It is, however, different in a younger civiliza- 

 tion, and in a country of so vast an extent as 

 the United States, where the prevailing multi- 



