Editorial  Notes  and  Comments. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t      March,  1902. 
to  those  (as  those  afflicted  with  senile  dementia)  who  do  not  seem 
to  have  been  considered  as  proper  cases  for  "  homes  "  and  hospitals. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Frederick  Fraley,  one  of  Philadelphia's 
best  known  public-spirited  men,  presided  at  the  150th  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  contributors.  Since  that  time  he  has  departed  this  life, 
having  contributed  for  years  his  support,  presence,  and  influence  to 
the  perpetuation  of  scientific  educational  and  organized  beneficent 
work  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 
HUMAN   AND    BOVINE  TUBERCULOSIS. 
In  Pediatrics,  August  15,  1901,  appears  the  following  resume  of 
this  subject: 
"  Koch's  views  in  regard  to  the  non-transmissibility  of  bovine 
tuberculosis  to  man,  as  set  forth  in  his  address  delivered  before  a 
General  Meeting  ot  the  British  Congress  on  Tuberculosis,  have  by 
this  time  become  pretty  generally  familiar  throughout  the  lay  and 
medical  worlds.  He  has  stated  fairly  positively  what  cannot  be 
demonstrated  except  indirectly.  The  indirect  demonstration,  how- 
ever, he  regards  as  fairly  conclusive,  as  he  says:  "It  is  well  known 
that  the  milk  and  butter  consumed  in  great  cities  very  often  contain 
large  quantities  of  the  bacilli  of  bovine  tuberculosis  in  a  living  con- 
dition, as  the  numerous  infection  experiments  with  such  dairy  pro- 
ducts on  animals  have  proved.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  of  such 
cities  daily  consume  such  living  and  perfectly  healthy  virulent  bacilli 
of  bovine  tuberculosis,  and  unintentionally  carry  out  the  experiment 
which  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  make.  If  the  bacilli  of  bovine  tuber- 
culosis were  able  to  infect  human  beings  many  cases  of  tuberculosis 
caused  by  the  consumption  of  alimenta  containing  tubercle  bacilli 
could  occur  among  the  inhabitants  of  great  cities,  especially  the 
children."  He  holds  that  tuberculosis  can  only  be  assumed  with 
certainty  to  be  caused  by  alimenta  when  the  intestine  suffers  first. 
Only  twice  does  he  remember  having  seen  primary  tuberculosis  of 
the  intestine.  He  cites  statistics  to  prove  how  exceedingly  rare  this 
affection  is,  and  does  not  think  it  at  all  necessary  to  have  to  assume 
infection  by  the  bacillus  of  bovine  tuberculosis  to  explain  the  few 
cases  of  primary  intestinal  tuberculosis  that  do  occur.  He  also 
considers  that  he  has  conclusively  proved  by  experiment  that  human 
tuberculosis  cannot  be  transmitted  to  animals.    These  propositions 
