July 24, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



77 



BACTERIA. 



Any work with the name of Cornil and 

 Babes upon the titlepage demands attention, 

 and this beautiful and complete presentation 

 of the subject of bacteria as related to disease, 

 particularly. In the preface the authors grant 

 that the subject is in so transitory a state that 

 no work of permanent value can be written 

 upon it. Their book, however, approaches as 

 near as may be to such a standard, and is a 

 complete presentation of the condition of bac- 

 teriology to-day. They say, with perfect truth, 

 that bacteriology is now a natural science of 

 sufficient importance and completeness to take ^ 

 its proper place in hj'giene, etiology, and 

 pathological anatomy, both in the theoretical 

 discussions and practical applications of these 

 branches of medicine. 



With the object in view of presenting all the 

 researches upon the bacteria in their proper 

 light, the authors have produced a profusely 

 illustrated book, containing all that is known 

 in regard to these minute organisms at the 

 present time. The contributions to the litera- 

 ture of the subject are so numerous, and of 

 such varying degrees of worth, that a careful 

 selection had to be made. This' selection has 

 been unsparing, and, in the main, judicious ; 

 so that the whole field of what has been done 

 which is of interest to medical practitioners 

 and hygienists is well placed before us. The 

 work begins with an introduction to the study 

 of the pathogenic bacteria ; and a rapid sum- 

 mary of the beginning and progress of dis- 

 cover}' in this direction is given. This is of 

 especial value to the student because of the 

 copious references to original monographs that 

 are made. 



The development of the microscope for work 

 of this kind, the discussions as to the specific 

 nature of infectious diseases, and the criti- 

 cisms which bacteriology has undergone, are 

 reviewed, and this is followed by the first part 

 of the book proper. This part is devoted to 

 a consideration of the Schizom3'cetes in gen- 

 eral. The various forms of the organisms are 

 given and illustrated, and their methods of 

 growth are treated at length. Fermentations 

 are defined as they should be, — as " chemical 

 processes undergone b}^ substances broken up 

 under the influence of organisms without chlo- 

 rophyl, which develop and live in the liquid 

 which ferments." 



A full account of all the instruments and 



Les batteries, et leur role dans Vanatomie et Vhiatologie 

 j,athologiqueH des maladies ivfectieuses. Par A.-V. Cornil et 

 V. Babes. Paris, ^^^ran, 1885. 84 696 p., illustr., 27 pi. 8°. 



materials necessary for work in the observa- 

 tion of bacteria, with the methods of employ- 

 ment, renders this part of the subject plain, 

 while the discussion of the aniline colors con- 

 veys information not eas}" for the student to 

 obtain elsewhere. The methods of culture are 

 given in full ; and Koch receives credit for the 

 very great advances he has made in these 

 methods. 



The classifications of Cohn, Van Tieghem, 

 and Rabenhorst are spoken of as the latest 

 and best ; and a complete list of all the patho- 

 genic bacteria, with their main characteristics, 

 follows. 



That bone of contention, ' the attenuation 

 of virus,' finds a place, and the various organ- 

 isms with which experiments approaching suc- 

 cess have been made are allowed to tell their 

 story. 



Then the lesions occurring with the presence 

 of pathogenic bacteria occupy the authors' at- 

 tention ; and the modes of entrance, and dis- 

 turbances of circulation and nutrition produced 

 by them, are all placed before the reader in the 

 plainest way. 



A discussion of the ' experimental maladies ^ 

 of Koch and others closes the first part of the 

 work, which is followed by a complete bibliog- 

 raph}^ of the important works upon bacteria in 

 general. 



The second portion of the book is devoted 

 to the special infectious diseases ; and a glance 

 at the way in which the work has been done 

 compels the highest praise. Beginning with 

 chicken-cholera (cholera des poules) , and end- 

 ing with leprosy, the results of all the investi- 

 gations upon any disease suspected to be due 

 to a micro-organism are passed upon in the 

 most impartial manner. This includes not 

 only the diseases of man, but also those of 

 animals concerning which any evidence of their 

 bacterial origin has been ofiered. Space is 

 wanting in which to give in full all the admira- 

 ble characteristics of this book. The one 

 criticism that might be made is, that it should 

 be divided into two volumes, which would 

 make it easier to handle. There is an atlas 

 of twenty-seven plates, illustrating the various 

 forms of bacteria, which is a valuable work 

 by itself. Armed with the contents of the 

 volume, any one would be competent to discuss 

 the subject of bacteria in any presence ; and 

 a glance at the literature referred to in its 

 pages will convince the most sceptical that 

 there must be ' something in it.' We regret 

 that we cannot discuss the contents more at 

 length, but we can assure our readers who are 

 interested in the subject of bacteriology that 



