1893.] Bacteriology in its General Relations. 849 
organic life. To-day we consider them in the light of science 
rather than the gloom of superstition, and the terror of devast- 
ating pestilence is largely diminished when its cause is 
unmasked. 
Perhaps on the whole the greatest benefit that bacteriology 
has conferred upon the “healing art " lies in the fulfilment of 
the old adage “that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound 
of cure.” It has shown its value mainly in preventing rather 
than in curing disease, so that prophylaxis has gained far 
more than therapeutics. A more intimate knowledge of the 
conditions aiding or retarding the development of bacteria has 
resulted in improved methods of sanitation, by which the phy- 
sician is able to circumscribe and control an outbreak of con- 
tagious disease. 
Our knowledge of all the conditions of bacterial development 
is as yet comparatively limited, but the application of the prin- 
. ciples that have already been established, has aided materially 
in checking the progress of these types of disease. Among 
these, the cholera epidemic of last year is a notable example. 
Starting from its native home on the Ganges, where it is ende- 
mic, it travelled step by step, following the lines of commerce. 
Entering Europe by way of Russia, where amid its squalid 
and famished millions, existed the most favorable conditions 
for its propagation, it was further spread by exiled Jews, who 
. carried the contagion to many of the commercial marts of 
western Europe. The history of past epidemics demonstrates 
that its march westward has been almost always unobstructed, 
and had we been living in the light of two decades ago, it 
would probably have ravaged the denser portions of the west, 
asit has done in the past, and as it does in the east to-day. 
We may not be able to stamp out the scourge at once, but it 
cannot be denied that the restrictive methods of the German 
Government last season, checked the spread of the epidemic 
in that country, and our efficient quarantine regulations pre- 
. vented its gaining a foothold in our metropolis. We may not 
know all there is to be known concerning the character of the 
contagion, but what we have already learned, points to a more 
