In South Africa one finds quite a number of ailments occurring in the domesticated animals, and while the onset, symptoms, and morbid anatomy of those affected show the ailments to be peculiar to Africa, the names given to the maladies are unknown in any other country.

During the past four years it has been part of our routine work to examine samples of ground waters from wells and springs in various portions of Ohio, and, in so doing, organisms have been obtained from time to time conforming to the tests usually given as differentiating faecal bacteria.

The prominence given to the intravascular use of antiseptics has hardly been in accord with the results achieved by this method.

The injection of formalin in various amounts and strengths has been given an extended trial in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, and is claimed to have produced beneficial results. Similarly Baccelli has injected corrosive sublimate intravenously in the treatment of syphilis, cerebro-spinal meningitis, and acute rheumatism in man. In animals he has used intravenous injections of corrosive sublimate in the treatment of aphtha epizootica. In this disease he claims that the intravenous injections of corrosive sublimate are of undoubted use in terminating an attack of the disease.

The alimentary canal of Anopheles consists of the following parts:— 1. Mouth, 2. Buccal cavity, 3. Pharynx or Pumping-Organ, 4. Oesophagus, with which are connected, 5. Three food reservoirs (two situated dorsally and one ventrally), 6. Oesophageal Valve, 7. Mid-gut, 8. Ileum, 9. Colon, 10. Rectum, 11. Anus. (See Plate VI, Fig. 1.)

1. Diphtheria bacilli have been found in a considerable proportion of persons who have come into contact with cases of diphtheria or with other infected persons.

2. Such persons have been shown to be a grave danger to public health, especially when frequenting schools or institutions, and to constitute the usual channel by which the disease is spread.

3. Very satisfactory results have followed on the isolation of convalescents from the disease and of infected “contacts,” where two or more consecutive negative examinations have been required before release.

4. Carefully conducted investigations amongst healthy persons, who have not at a recent date been in contact with diphtheria cases or infected “contacts,” have shown that virulent diphtheria bacilli are very seldom (3 examples amongst 1511 persons) present in the mouths of the normal population. This fact renders the discovery and isolation of infected persons a practicable possibility and offers a fair prospect of discovering and isolating the majority of them in any outbreak.

5. Diphtheria bacilli are usually distinguishable on morphological and cultural grounds, but whenever possible it is desirable that their virulence should be tested.

6. The bacillus of Hofmann is innocuous to man, and is a very common organism in the mouths of the poorer classes. The distribution of this bacillus points to the conclusion that it is carried from mouth to mouth in the same way as the diphtheria bacillus, and therefore its widespread prevalence in schools attended by poorer children is significant, as showing how widely spread and uncontrollable an outbreak of diphtheria may become unless measures are early taken to deal with infected contacts.

A Point of great importance in medico-legal practice is the differentiation of human from other bloods. In dealing with fresh stains no difficulty has been found in distinguishing mammalian from avian and reptilian bloods. The more difficult operation of differentiating between mammalian bloods, for example between human and pig's blood, had up till the introduction of the biological, or preferably precipitin, test, except with the freshest material, baffied the ingenuity of the expert in legal medicine. In 1901 Nuttall (1. VI. '01) was amongst the first to draw attention to the possible value of this test for blood and serum in forensic practice.