818 Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [sess. 
work next day lie finds them dry, warm, and comfortable. The 
result of this washing at the pit-mouth and change of clothing is 
that you never, as in this country, meet a begrimed collier on the 
road. He is so clean and properly dressed that you cannot tell 
whether he is going to or returning from work. 
As ankylostomiasis is known to have existed for many years in 
Hungary, I proceeded to Sopron-Brennberg, one of the worst of 
the infected mines of that country. Here I was the guest of Dr 
Goldman, medical officer to the mines, and who is a recognised 
authority on ankylostomiasis. The coal obtained at Sopron is of 
a pitch-like character and is extremely fiery. The temperature 
of the mine is high. In some places it runs up to 106° F., and 
at other places, where the ventilation is not good and where 
water-spraying is not carried on, it may rise to 170° F. Here, as in 
Britain, the miners work in couples, but so high is the temperature 
and so exhausting the work, that although the number of hours 
spent in the mine is nominally eight, the men can only work four 
hours. Half of the time is spent by the workmen resting and 
in trying to cool themselves. One man works while his mate is 
cooling himself. Fires are constantly breaking out in the pit. 
Owing to the high temperature the men are bathed in perspiration, 
and as a consequence they drink enormous quantities of cold water 
containing a small quantity of citric acid. Boys with water-barrels 
fixed upon their shoulders walk in couples up and down the 
main ways in the pit. The provision of the drinking-water costs 
the owners £100 a year. 
Eight years ago, fully 90 per cent, of the miners at this colliery 
were suffering from ankylostomiasis ; to-day only about 30 per 
cent. When the disease first showed itself many years ago the 
miners suffered very severely. So pronounced was the anaemia, 
and so much did the men suffer from dyspnoea, swollen feet, and 
muscular debility, that they could scarcely crawl. There is this 
to be said of ankylostomiasis : When it affects for the first time a 
district, the symptoms, as a rule, are generally very severe, but as 
time goes on the miners seem to suffer less, owing to a diminution 
of the virulence of the parasite, or to an increased resistance on 
the part of the miners to it. It is with ankylostomiasis as with 
ordinary infectious diseases. There is an individual idiosyncrasy 
