CXVl PROCEEDINGS. 



Taken suddenly ill on the morning of ]\Iay 21st, 1913, he 

 had time to call his son and died almost immediately after- 

 wards. We deeply feel his loss, for to many of us he was a 

 true friend. A man of unselfsh character and lovable, he 

 devoted himself entirely to those around him, to his students, 

 his fellow scientists and his family. Cognizant of our own loss, 

 we can extend our sympathies to those bound by family ties> 

 whose loss is not only that of the man but of husband and 



father. 



Biological Chemistry. 



The chief event, this session, in our society, has been the 

 passing of the fiftieth milestone, and although a review would 

 naturally suggest itself, yet any fair summary of our work 

 would exceed the usual limit of the annual address. I have 

 chosen rather to speak of a branch of chemistry that is now' 

 beginning, or rather has well begun, and that bids fair to be 

 foremost in the field during the next half century. 



Fifty years ago in 1863 Duvaine first established a connec- 

 tion between bacteria and disease, identifying a bacillus as 

 the cause of anthrax. Down through the years intervening 

 has research continued; bacteriology has grown to be one 

 of the most important of the biological sciences, and one 

 whose applications have immenselj^ benefited humanity. 

 One by one the bacteria, pathogenic and nonpathogenic, were 

 isolated, and there followed methods of groT^-ing, staining and 

 identification. From inoculations of filtrates from culture 

 growths of pathogenic bacteria, physiological disturbances 

 identical with those in the disease were observed. Immunity 

 in varying degree had been known as a result of disease, and it 

 was found that immunity could be obtained by inoculation 

 of the artificial growth filtrate. Thus arrived the ideas of 

 toxins and antitoxins which form the basis of the modern 

 immunity theory. 



Other bodies formed by bacterial infection were noted, 

 such as lysins and agglutinins, the formation of the latter 



