95REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Reviews and Notices of Books.Manual of Bacteriology. By RoBrRT MUIR, M.A., M.D.,

F.R.C.P. Edin. (Lecturer on Pathological Bacteriology,University of Edinburgh; Pathologist, Edinburgh RoyalInfirmary), and JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., M.D., B.Sc.,(Lecturer in Pathology, University of Oxford). Pp. 519.108 Illustrations. Edinburgh and London: Young J.Pentland. 1897.

BOOKS for students and practitioners on bacteriology nowabound, and it is difficult to recommend any particular text-book. Some are too large for the general use of studentsand others are too meagre, and, in order to publish the workat a low price, illustrations are omitted. Without suggesting.a slight to other similar works, we can strongly advise thosewho desire a text-book of convenient size, with lucid descriptions and good illustrations, to obtain the book now underconsideration. The authors state in their preface that theyhave made an endeavour to render the work of practical’utility for beginners, and have considered only those bacteriawhich are associated with disease in the human subject.This is, of course, all that is required by the student, andwe congratulate the authors on having so successfully carriedout their intentions.

To quote again from the preface: In the systematicdescription of the various bacteria an attempt has beenmade to bring into prominence the evidence of their havingan etiological relationship to the corresponding diseases, to.point out the general laws governing their action as pro-ducers of disease, and to consider the effects in particular’instances of various modifying circumstances." Aq regards-this, also, the authors have produced most satisfactory’results. The first chapter deals with General Morphology.and Biology of Bacteria, and an interesting account is givenof the structure of the bacterial cell, the modes of multiplica-vtion, and the chemical composition of micro-organisms.Then follow in succeeding chapters the modes of cultivationof bacteria, microscopic methods employed, the methodsof inoculating animals, and general considerations of

bacteriological diagnosis. The manner of preparing arti--ficial culture media are duly described, and the student,ought to fiad no difficulty in carrying out the instructions- given, although, of course, a written description can never.satisfactorily displace practical instruction.

The chapter on the Relations of Bacteria to Disease andthe Production of Toxins by Bacteria, will well repay,perusal, as will also the section on Immunity. The varioustheories of acquired, artificial, and natural immunity are-clearly set forth and discussed, and the authors concludethe subject by admitting that the whole question is still-an open one and cannot be fully explained. The descrip-tions of the individual bacteria are very clear and concise,.and will be found useful not only by students, but also by.practitioners as a means of acquiring practical knowledgewhich was not taught at the schools when they werestudents, but which, as given in this work, they will haveno difficulty in adapting to their every-day work, so far assimple appliances will enable them to do.

Separate chapters are devoted to Acute Pneumonia, Tuber-culosis, Glanders, Leprosy, Actinomycosis, Anthrax, TyphoidFever, Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Cholera, whilst other

pathogenic bacteria such as those of influenza, relapsingfever, plague, measles, &c., do not require such a longdescription. A good account is given of the micro-organismsassociated with gonorrhoea and syphilis. Suppuration andallied conditions also receive due attention.

The authors " are convinced that to any one engaged inpractical study photographs and photomicrographs supplythe most useful and exact information" ; they have con-sequently used these almost exclusively in illustration of the

systematic description. We quite agree with the authors inthe above statements. The photomicrographs are beautifullyreproduced and greatly add to the general value of the work.

A Guide to the Clinieal Examination of the Blood. ByRICHARD C. CABOT, M. D. With coloured plates andengravings. London, New York, and Bombay : Longmans,Green, and Co. 1897. Pp. 405. Price 16s.

ANYONE who had been told twenty. years ago what

important diagnoses or aids to diagnosis can be derived

to-day from the minute study of a single drop of blood

might well have stood excused for incredulity. Anew branchof pathological science has grown up, and its literature isso large and so rapidly increasing that practical workers willbe grateful to Dr. Cabot for a book of moderate size in whichmay be found a good description of the methods which arein use, the main facts which have been ascertained, andtheir clinical significance. The plan of the book is strictlyclinical, and the statistics given are largely from Americansources. The author’s extensive practical experience of thesubject is everywhere apparent, and has been gathered,we read, chiefly at the Massachusetts Hospital. The

clinical study of the blood is, indeed, much more

extensively practised in America and on the Continentthan is the case in this country, and it may be hopedthat the appearance of so thoroughly practical a manualas the present work-the first of its kind, so far as we

know, in the English language-may give an impetus to astudy not merely interesting in itself but of profound valueand importance to the physician or surgeon. Part I. dealswith the technique of clinical examination of the blood, andthe details given are clear and adequate. The author givesgood reasons for preferring the lobe of the ear to the fingeras the source of the drop of blood. The examination of thefresh blood, the use of the hæmocytometer, and of Fleischl’shæmometer are described in full, together with the bestmethods of preparing and staining blood-films. Part II. isdevoted to an account of normal blood and its variations-a

very necessary prelude to the study of pathological con-ditions. The description is in most respects admirable, butwe cannot follow the author in his assumption that thevarieties of leucocyte present in normal blood representmerely phases in the life-history of individual corpuscles.It is, of course, possible that such may be to some extentthe case, but the relative infrequency of intermediate formsis an argument in the other direction. To describe the

eosinophile cells as leucocytes in a state of senile decay isin our opinion unwarrantable, and is opposed to what weknow alike of their physiological properties and of their

history in animal phylogeny. In Part III. the authortreats of the general pathology of the blood, anasmia,leucocytosis, and so forth.The second and larger part of the book is occupied by the

special pathology of the blood. The primary anaemias andleukasmia receive very full and thorough attention. These

chapters are followed by an account of the blood in acuteand chronic infectious diseases and in diseases of the different

organs of the body. Here, though absolute diagnosis canrarely be made by the examination of the blood, yet veryimportant indications are not seldom afforded by it, andthe book is a useful work of reference in this connexion.The parasites of the blood are dealt with in a succeedingchapter aud the book concludes with a section on the bloodin infancy. Throughout the work very extensive referencesare given to the statistics and observations of Europeanworkers in the field, whereby the mass of information ismuch increased. It is to us a matter for regret thatEnglishmen have contributed so little, but we think thatperhaps more attention might have been paid to some veryvaluable work which has emanated from this country. The

96 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

book is illustrated by a number of excellent coloured platesand is well got up. It supplies a distinct want in our

literature and the author deserves hearty congratulationupon the success with which he has accomplished his task.

Practical Points in Nursing, for Nurses in Private Practice.With an Appendix Containing Rules for Feeding the Sick,Receipts for Invalid Foods and Beverages, Weights andReceipts for Invalid Foods and Beverages, Weights andMeasures, Dose List, and a Full Glossary of MedicaTerms and Nursing Treatment. By EMILY A. M. STONE?Superintendent of Training School for Nurses, CarneyHospital, South Boston, Massachusetts. London: TheScientific Press, Limited. Pp. 456. Price 7s. 6d.

"IN preparing the subject-matter of this volume, whosetitle-page clearly indicates its design, the author has

attempted to explaio, in p:)pular language and in theshortest possible form, the entire range of private nursingas distinguished frèm hospital nursing, and to instruct thenurse how best to meet the various emergencies of medicaland surgical cases when distant from medical or surgical aid,or when thrown on her own resources, studiously refraining,however, from advising the nurse to act upon her own

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responsibility or to assume personal treatment of the patientexcept under circumstances of great urgency."This extract from the preface sufficiently indicates the

scope and aim of the volume. The preface proceedsin a curiously complacent way to point out various excel-lencies in the work, with a self-confidence on the author’s’part which, we admit, is not entirely misplaced, for the bookis the best of several good books on nursing which haverecently reached us from America. It is brightly written,;the subject being presented from the nurse’s standpoint, and’by one who takes a consistently high view of the positionand duties of her calling. Though avowedly limited in itsscope the book contains a very complete exposition of

practical nursing in its various branches, including obstetricand gynecological nursing. The instructions given are fullof usefal detail; indeed, we have not met with many bookson the subject in which so few omissions can be pointed’out; especially do we note the sensible way in which

plain physiological reasons are given for the various modes oftreatment enjoined, reasons so often withheld, and withouta knowledge of which it is impossible for a nurse to workintelligently. The chapters on the Administration of Baths,Packs, and Douches, and those dealing with enemata andinjections in general are particularly good in this respect.Throughout the book an admirably high standard of asep.ticism is advocated, the details given of the various antisepticmethods being most accurate and up-to date. Errors, ofcourse, there are, but they are not numerous. It is probablyby a slip that the air is described on page 289 as being com-posed " mainly of oxygen and nitrogen, there being moreoxygen than nitrogen." On page 45 it is stated that.. the

Cheyne-Stokes respiration ...... is a fatal symptom "-a muchtoo sweeping statement when thus unqualified. The composi-tion of a nutrient enema is given on page 64 with ingredientsamounting to from four ounces to six ounces. This is too largeas a general rule, and no mention is made of the use of pep-tonising agents in this method of feeding. Fall directions aregiven on page 271 for administering an enema to a youngbaby for ordinary constipation ; but it is not pointed out thatat this age the actual injection of fluid is seldom necessary,the insertion of the enema nozzle, a twist of soft paper,or the lubricated finger being generally all that is required.On page 276 the nurse is told to

" snip" the frsenum in atongue-tied baby, no directions being given except the placingof a little sugar on the lower lip to cause the baby to put ouiits tongue. It is added that no anxsthetic is required,neither is there any loss of blood." If nurses are to dividEthe frænum linguæ—an operation, in our opinion, better left tc

the surgeon-they should at least be taught the importanceof keeping the scissors’ point directed close to the jaw-bonerather than towards the base of the tongue, or they will findthat haemorrhage is by no means impossible, even in so

simple an operation as this, if performed without due skill.And this is one of several instances in which, in spite of thedisclaimer in the preface, the nurse is led beyond her

province, and it is the only real fault we have to find withthe book. The nurse is instructed, for example (p. 152),how to administer anæsthetics, and advised to use bypo-dermic injections of one-sixth of a grain of morphia, without,medical direction, under a great variety of circumstances,including commencing appendicitis and acute scarlatinal

nephritis. The author discusses the morphia question as anopen one, and decides that the nurse is justified in initiatingthe treatment on her own responsibility. This is a doctrinewhich may perhaps have some justification in America,where it is possible that a nurse may have to work

occasionally at a very great distance from medical advice,but it is one which we consider altogether untenable

in England. A nurse should under no circumstances what-ever administer morphia hypodermically except underorders. To allow her to do so is unfair both to herself, thepatient, and the medical man ; it invests her with a respon-sibility which she should in no wise be called upon to

assume, and it is a defini e infringement of that line whichshould distinctly divide the provinces of the physician andthe nurse. The same remarks apply to the administration oianaesthetics by nurses.More than twenty pages of the book are occupied by an,

exhaustive dose list, which, as it suggests prescribing, seems.somewhat out of place, and there is a full and usefulglossary of medical and nursing terms in which the onlyerror we find is the definition of "papil" as "the iris, orcentre of the eye." The recipes for sick room cookery of ankinds are admirable and trustworthy. The book is hand-

somely got up, the type is excellent, and the illustrations are-good. With due regard to the modification indicated aboveit will be a reliable text-book for nurses.

The Vertebrate Skeleton. By SIDNEY H. REYNOLDS,M.A. Cantab. Cambridge University Press. 1897aPp. 527. Price 12s. 6d.

THIS work, which is one of the Cambridge Natural ScienceManuals, should prove valuable alike to the beginner and tothe more advanced student. It commences with an

introductory account of the skeleton in general, in which thestructure of the various exoskeletal tissues-such as claws,hair, teeth, horns and feathers—is described; then themethods -of ossification are discussed ; and afterwards thegeneral development of the cranium and the rest of theendo-skeleton is briefly and very clearly described. The

, second chapter contains the classification which theauthor decides to adopt in the succeeding pages. Probablyevery worker at zoology would or could criticise every. system of classification not his own; bat the present one

has at least the merit of showing the reader exactly. what the author means, while it has also the advantage

of indicating the relationship which various extinct animalsbear to those at present inhabiting the Earth. The rest oftthe work describes the skeletal structures in the different

, divisions of vertebrata, beginning with amphioxus and, balanoglossus, and ending with the primates, certain animals. being wisely selected as types and their bones described in

detail, it then only remains to point out how other animals in the class or order differ from them. A considerablet number of references to recent literature is given in the, form of footnotes ; these, though undoubtedly valuable,3 might have been more representative.

The book is illustrated by 110 clear, straightforward

97REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

figures, each of which has the points of interest indicatedby numerals which correspond to names under the illustra-tion. It would be quite possible to get a very fair know-ledge of comparative osteology from a study of the figuresalone in this book The printing and paper are all that canbe desired, while the author’s style, always clear, is perhapsas attractive as the condensation of a large mass of osteo-logical facts will allow. We feel sure that the book is wellworth the attention of all who are interested in the subject.

LIBRARY TABLE.

’ The Administration of Nitrous Oxide and Oxygen forDental Operations. By FREDERIC W. HEWITT, M.D. Cantab.London: Claudius Ash and Sons. Pp. 88. Illustrated.-After a brief ’l’ésumé of the history of the employment ofnitrous oxide gas, and of that body mixed with oxygen,the writer describes his apparatus and gives directions forthe effective use of this mixture of gases. Hillischer, ofVienna, was the first to introduce the method in his wellknown pamphlets on " Schlafgas " as he called nitrous oxideand oxygen, and’ his experience of over ten years confirmshis favourable opinion of this anaesthetic. Dr. Hewitt,however, found Hillischer’s apparatus unsatisfactory, andwith considerable ingenuity devised one of his own. He

claims that by its use a more prolonged anaesthesia (forty-fourseconds) can be obtained, all asphyxial symptoms can

be abolished, and a safe and reliable anæsthetic for use inminor surgery obtained. He justly remarks that the mixturerequires more experience for its use than does nitrous oxide,and the apparatus is more complicated and more liable tcget out of order. The descriptions are clear and thoroughl3practical, and should form a satisfactory guide to those wh(are interested in this branch of surgery.

Encyclopädisches Englise7t-Deutse7tes und -Deittsc7t-EnglischeWörterbuch. Zweiter Teil : Deutsch-Englisch. Bearbeitevon Professor Dr. DANIEL SANDERS. (Encyclopædi-Englis7t- German and German*English -Dictionalry. Part II.

German-English. By Professor Dr. DANIEL SANDERS.Berlin : Langenscheidtsche Verlagsbuchhandlung. LondonH. Grevel and Co. New York : The International New

Company. 1897.-This valuable and comprehensive die

tionary is being published in parts, of which there will babout twenty-four, and from four to six will appear annuallyEach part contains from 96 to 112 pages, and costs Is. 6dThe German-English portion will occupy about 2500 page,and will be completed in the year 1900. The EnglistGerman portion, by Professor Ed. Muret, has been brougbout in the same way, and is now on the point of completionthe first half-volume extends from A to K, the second halivolume (L-Z) is promised for July, 1897 ; and these twtogether will contain about 2500 pages. The first par(A-Anbannen) of the German-English portion is before usit shows that the work is carried out with conscientiou

thoroughness and is quite in accordance with the mosadvanced development of lexicography-Report relating to the Registration of Births, Marriage

and Deaths in the Province of Ontario for the year endin,Dec. 31st, 1895. Printed by order of the LegishtivAssembly of Ontario. Toronto: Warrick Brothers and

Rutter. 1897. Pp. 36 and ccxviii.-In the year 1895 thprovince of Ontaria contained 2,211,101 inhabitants ; foeach 1000 of this population the birth-rate during the samperiod was 18’8, the marriage-rate 6’3, and the death-rat10 1. A copious and detailed summary of the registrationreturns is now published in a conveniently arranged volumwhich comprises upwards of 234 pages of tabular matteand will commend itself to those who are interested in th

study of vital statistics. A new Registration Act whichcame into operation in May, 1896, is here printed in full.

La Nature et la Vie: : Régénération de l’Homme par le

Wg6tal. Par GABRIEL VIAUD. Paris : Charles Mendel.1897. Pp. 255.-The author of this well-written book is aveterinary surgeon in a French artillery regiment, who hasmuch to say on the physical advantages of a vegetarian dietas well as on the elevating influence of a fondness forflowers. The work consists of two essays, 11 Th6rapeutiqueVegetarienne" " and I I Litt6rature Vegetarienne," the first ofwhich is of some medical interest, being an account of theauthor’s experiments with a view to the medicinal adminis-tration of mineral tonics, such as iron, in the form of salads.For this purpose young plants of lettuce and endive werewatered with a weak solution of tartrate of iron and potash,containing at first five grammes of the salt in four or fivelitres of water (= from seventy to ninety grains per gallon),but after a certain period about two or three times as much.Also when the fully-grown plants were taken up for usethe cut ends of the stalks were immersed in the same

ferruginous solution for twenty-four hours. M. Viaud statesthat plants treated in this way contain a large amount ofiron which is not in the form of a definite chemical saltabsorbed by capillarity, but is in actual organic combinationwith the vegetable tissues, and is therefore much more

readily assimilated when the salad is eaten than any

pharmaceutical preparation could be. With the same objecthe grew cress on a coarse cloth kept in contact with water

contained in a large tub in which pieces of rusty iron wereplaced, some of the tartrate of potassium and iron beingsubsequently added. At a farm in Vienne in the east ofFrance he found that cows and horses were greatly benefited

by lucerne and clover which had been treated with asolution of sulphate of iron, phosphate of soda, and nitrateof lime.0

Climbing in the British Isles: : Wales and Ireland. ByW. P. HASKETT SMITH, M.A., and H. C. HART. London

Is and New York: Longmans, Green, and Co. Pp. 197.

: Price 3s. 6d.-Holiday-makers with mountaineering tasteswill find this little volume an excellent companion on an

) excursion to Wales or Ireland. The authors, both of whomare members of the Alpine Club, have brought together ina compact narrative an extensive collection of practical

information relative to mountain climbing in each of thesecountries. The ascent of steep rocks and dangerous

e enterprises upon cliffs have an especial charm for them ;

. so it happens that the grassy hills of South Wales are

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dismissed with a brief notice, while, on the other

hand, the Carnarvonshire mountains are described in

much detail, forty pages being given to Snowdon

alone. The section on Ireland is the work of Mr. Hart, who

f’ gives a survey of the whole country from the mountain-

ro climber and cragsman’s point of view. The highest summits

rt in Ireland are found in Macgillicuddy’s Reeks in County

i . Kerry; Beenkeragh having an elevation of 3314 ft. Manyviews, both in Wales and Ireland, are given in the

st . illustrations.

Black’s- Guide to Bournemouth and the New Forest Edited

Is by A. R. HOPE MONCRIEFF. London : Adam and Charles

Black. Pp. 72.-The descriptions of this picturesque and,e popular portion of the south coast are copious and well-dselected. They include several places of interest at a

te distance of some miles from Bournemouth, and are amply>r illustrated with maps and plans.ie The Fernley Observatory, Southport, Report for the year5e 1896. By JOSEPH BAXENDELL, F.R.Met.S. Printed forn the Southport Corporation by Wm. Milne, Nevill-street.-

The increased attention which is being paid to climatologyr gives special interest to this report, and the example of theIe borough of Southport in appointing a borough meteorologisth might be followed with advantage. A like series of reports

issued annually from all our watering places and balneological