He view* 611 
“ Now, having entered a mild protest against style, let us 
hasten to summarise the contents of the work. 
“ Commencing with a general introduction which is un¬ 
commonly well done, Dr. Cobbold treats first of the para¬ 
sites incidental to human beings, and then of those which 
are found in animals. In both sections his details are, whilst 
full and exhaustive, given with a delicacy and dexterity that 
make a repulsive subject attractive, if not absolutely fasci¬ 
nating reading. 
“ The secret of this is not far to seek—-the writer is pas¬ 
sionately enamoured of his subject, and his enthusiasm is 
catching. He brushes aside with serene contempt f the 
puerile horror which even some scientific persons affect to 
display in regard to these much-abused worms.’ To the 
writer the entozoa are simply a peculiar fauna, destined and 
designed to occupy an equally peculiar territory. What 
our native country is to us the bodies of animals are to 
them. And the study, definition, and knowledge of these 
creatures is just as important and interesting, when taken 
up seriously, as the more attractive branches of zoology in 
its higher forms. 
“ When we consider its bearing on health it is scarcely 
possible to overrate its importance, but we are very pleased 
to see Dr. Cobbold take the pains he does to dispel the 
absurd superstitions which exist so extensively with regard 
to parasites and their presence in the human form. He 
says, f Most people, not excluding even the votaries of the 
healing art, following tradition, regard the internal parasites 
or entozoa as creatures either directly resulting from certain 
diseased conditions of their hosts, or as organisms which 
could not have existed if their hearers had been perfectly 
healthy. Nothing can be more absurd. Such a conclusion 
is utterly at variance with all logical deduction from known 
facts/ 
“ Starting from such a sensible and scientific basis, it is 
to be expected that the work before us is throughout a 
practical rather than theoretical one. Its author declines to 
flatter the prejudices of his readers, or to pander to their 
predilections. He speaks from actual experience largely 
his own, and, where not personal, culled only from reliable 
authorities. # . 
“ At the same time—-and from a literary point of view 
this is most interesting—the bibliography of every known 
species is most carefully given. We do not suppose this por¬ 
tion of the work has ever been equalled, or even attempted, 
on any such scale before. To the students of all time Dr. 
