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Intructions for the prevention of malarial fevers
768
Reviews
mubnc ~,~ta
can be paid to it is that it is undoubtedly fit to rank with its illustrious predecessors as a record of some of :England's great contributions to the science of hygiene. LECTURES ON SOME OF THE PI1YSICAL PROPERTIES
OF THE
SOIL.
:By Robert \Varington, M.A., F.S.A. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1899. Pp. 231. Price 6s. This most excellent little book, on a much-neglected subject, formed thesubstance of a course of lectures delivered by its author when Sibthorpian Professor of R u r a l Economy at Oxford. Although primarily written for the scientific agriculturist, it will be of great assistance to every medical officer of health desiring to make himself familiar with certain of thoso physical properties of the soil which have powerful influences on the public health. It is a reproach to our best text-books on "Public Health " that such as deal with soils and their examination do so i n an unsatisfactory manner. In none of them is given an accurate description of the physical properties of soil, without which it is impossible for the student t o appreciate its importance; and none contain descriptions of metllods of examination which are in any way sufficient to enable an adequate examination to be made. Those who desire to know what has already been done in the examination of the soil must consult scattered papers in German and American journals dealing mainly with a~'iculture or meteorol%--,y. There are many questions which arise in dealing with such subjects as water supplies, sites for dwellings, sewage disposal, seasonal diseases, and a host of others, which requiro for their proper understanding a good knowledge of the physical properties of soils. This book deals with many of the most important of these properties in a lucid, concise, and altogether most fascinating manner. The fact that the whole work has been conceived and written for the agricultural student does not in any way detract fiom its value to the student of sanitary sci'ence. Its only fault is that it does not go far enough; but this may soon be remedied, for the author promises in the preface that if the present volume meets with a favourable reception it is his intention to publish a continuation, dealing with the chemistry of soil. There is probably nobody more competent to deal with the chemistry of the soil than Professor Warington, and we hope that the present volume will be so well received that the second part may not be long delayed. To complete this work it will be necessary to deal with the biology of the soil, and there again the task could not be p u t in more able hands. The present volume is strictly confined to certain of the physical properties of the soil, such as the physical constitution of the soil, the relations of soil to water, the relations of soil to heat, and the movements of salts in the Soil. The book is one which every student of public health should possess, and the study of it will stimulate many to further investigations along similar lines. Liverpool School of Tropical 1~Iedicine. These instructions form a pamphlet of fourteen pages, and although written for the use of residents in malarious places, they may ba perused by others with advantage, especially medical men interested in preventive medicine. The work deals with malaria and its prevention wholly from the point of view of the mosquito being the causal agent. INSTRUCTIONS ]~'OR TtIE PREVENTION OF ]I[ALKRIAZf FEVERS.
j~ay, a~3
Reviews
769
A clear and concise description is first given of the nature of malaria, the dependence of the disease on the growth and reproduction of the hmmamccbidm, and the destructive action of quinine on these parasites. A paragraph is then devoted to the explanation of the life-history of parasites in general, and the manner in which they are transferred from an infected to a healthy host. In the ease of malaria, the parasite in the blood of the infected person is sucked into the stomach of the anopheles mosquito, whence, burrowing into the body-tissue, it develops and grows into maturity, and finally produces a swarm of young, which enter the poison or salivary gland of the insect. Prom the gland the young rtre injected into the blood of a healthy person through the wound made by the proboscis of the mosquito when the insect bites. The fact is thus emphasized that malaria is a disease communicable from the sick to the healthy by the agency of the mosquito of the anopheles species. The life-history of the mosquito is described, and th~ differential characters of the anopheles which, when infected, carry the malarial parasite, and those of the culex, which does not carry the parasite, are given. The larvm of culex are to be found in artificial collections of water, such as tubs, pots, broken bottles, cisterns, and drains; while those of anopheles prefer ~tatural collections of water--puddles which do not dry up quickly, contain no fish, and are not liable to be scoured out by heavy ram. In fact, their favourite breeding-places are stagnant puddles of water in low-lying fiat localities, especially where the ground tends to bB marshy, and in places where the ground has been excavated, embanked, or trenched. The draining away of the breeding-pools of anopheles removes the malaria. The anopheles can easily be distinghished from the culex. " Anopheles have a slim, ~legant body, shaped like that of a hummingbird moth, a small head, and a long, thick proboscis. When seated on a wall, the axis of the body is almost at right angles to the wall, and they generally have spotted wings. Culcx have a coarser body, with a thick thorax or chest, and a thin proboscis. When seated on a wall, the tail hangs downwards, or even a little towards the wall, and the wings are generally quite plain." To prevent infection with malaria, it is requisite to take measures to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, and to kill mosquitoes or their larvm, especially anopheles, or prevent them from breeding round the house. To avoid being bitten, mosquito-nets are used during the night, and punkahs during the day. Mosquitoes can be destroyed by emptying out all pots and vessels containing stagnant water, and brushing out with a broom all puddles containing larvm. Larger collections of water require to be filled up or drained. If this cannot be done, then recourse must be had to the habitual.use of culleides, of which the chief is oil, applied to the surface of the water. The pamphlet is written in simple language, is devoid of technical terms, which pertmits of it being easily understood by laymen, and is full of practical measures calculated ~o render a house in the tropics free of malaria. BUBONIC PLAGUE: ITS COURSE AND SYMPTOMS, AND IA,rEANS OF "PREVENTION AND TnEAT.~mNT. By Dr. Jos6 Yerdes Montenegro, Pro-
fessor at the Municipal Mierographical Laboratory, Madrid. Translated by W. Munro, M.D., lateDistrict l%Iedieal Officer of St. Kitts, W.I. London: Bailli&re, Tindall, and Cox. Crown 8vo., 84 pp. Price 3s. 6 d . Professor Montenegro has succeeded in giving an excellent and interestin~ r6-~um6 of the important work that has been done during recent
Reviews
mubnc ~,~ta
can be paid to it is that it is undoubtedly fit to rank with its illustrious predecessors as a record of some of :England's great contributions to the science of hygiene. LECTURES ON SOME OF THE PI1YSICAL PROPERTIES
OF THE
SOIL.
:By Robert \Varington, M.A., F.S.A. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1899. Pp. 231. Price 6s. This most excellent little book, on a much-neglected subject, formed thesubstance of a course of lectures delivered by its author when Sibthorpian Professor of R u r a l Economy at Oxford. Although primarily written for the scientific agriculturist, it will be of great assistance to every medical officer of health desiring to make himself familiar with certain of thoso physical properties of the soil which have powerful influences on the public health. It is a reproach to our best text-books on "Public Health " that such as deal with soils and their examination do so i n an unsatisfactory manner. In none of them is given an accurate description of the physical properties of soil, without which it is impossible for the student t o appreciate its importance; and none contain descriptions of metllods of examination which are in any way sufficient to enable an adequate examination to be made. Those who desire to know what has already been done in the examination of the soil must consult scattered papers in German and American journals dealing mainly with a~'iculture or meteorol%--,y. There are many questions which arise in dealing with such subjects as water supplies, sites for dwellings, sewage disposal, seasonal diseases, and a host of others, which requiro for their proper understanding a good knowledge of the physical properties of soils. This book deals with many of the most important of these properties in a lucid, concise, and altogether most fascinating manner. The fact that the whole work has been conceived and written for the agricultural student does not in any way detract fiom its value to the student of sanitary sci'ence. Its only fault is that it does not go far enough; but this may soon be remedied, for the author promises in the preface that if the present volume meets with a favourable reception it is his intention to publish a continuation, dealing with the chemistry of soil. There is probably nobody more competent to deal with the chemistry of the soil than Professor Warington, and we hope that the present volume will be so well received that the second part may not be long delayed. To complete this work it will be necessary to deal with the biology of the soil, and there again the task could not be p u t in more able hands. The present volume is strictly confined to certain of the physical properties of the soil, such as the physical constitution of the soil, the relations of soil to water, the relations of soil to heat, and the movements of salts in the Soil. The book is one which every student of public health should possess, and the study of it will stimulate many to further investigations along similar lines. Liverpool School of Tropical 1~Iedicine. These instructions form a pamphlet of fourteen pages, and although written for the use of residents in malarious places, they may ba perused by others with advantage, especially medical men interested in preventive medicine. The work deals with malaria and its prevention wholly from the point of view of the mosquito being the causal agent. INSTRUCTIONS ]~'OR TtIE PREVENTION OF ]I[ALKRIAZf FEVERS.
j~ay, a~3
Reviews
769
A clear and concise description is first given of the nature of malaria, the dependence of the disease on the growth and reproduction of the hmmamccbidm, and the destructive action of quinine on these parasites. A paragraph is then devoted to the explanation of the life-history of parasites in general, and the manner in which they are transferred from an infected to a healthy host. In the ease of malaria, the parasite in the blood of the infected person is sucked into the stomach of the anopheles mosquito, whence, burrowing into the body-tissue, it develops and grows into maturity, and finally produces a swarm of young, which enter the poison or salivary gland of the insect. Prom the gland the young rtre injected into the blood of a healthy person through the wound made by the proboscis of the mosquito when the insect bites. The fact is thus emphasized that malaria is a disease communicable from the sick to the healthy by the agency of the mosquito of the anopheles species. The life-history of the mosquito is described, and th~ differential characters of the anopheles which, when infected, carry the malarial parasite, and those of the culex, which does not carry the parasite, are given. The larvm of culex are to be found in artificial collections of water, such as tubs, pots, broken bottles, cisterns, and drains; while those of anopheles prefer ~tatural collections of water--puddles which do not dry up quickly, contain no fish, and are not liable to be scoured out by heavy ram. In fact, their favourite breeding-places are stagnant puddles of water in low-lying fiat localities, especially where the ground tends to bB marshy, and in places where the ground has been excavated, embanked, or trenched. The draining away of the breeding-pools of anopheles removes the malaria. The anopheles can easily be distinghished from the culex. " Anopheles have a slim, ~legant body, shaped like that of a hummingbird moth, a small head, and a long, thick proboscis. When seated on a wall, the axis of the body is almost at right angles to the wall, and they generally have spotted wings. Culcx have a coarser body, with a thick thorax or chest, and a thin proboscis. When seated on a wall, the tail hangs downwards, or even a little towards the wall, and the wings are generally quite plain." To prevent infection with malaria, it is requisite to take measures to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, and to kill mosquitoes or their larvm, especially anopheles, or prevent them from breeding round the house. To avoid being bitten, mosquito-nets are used during the night, and punkahs during the day. Mosquitoes can be destroyed by emptying out all pots and vessels containing stagnant water, and brushing out with a broom all puddles containing larvm. Larger collections of water require to be filled up or drained. If this cannot be done, then recourse must be had to the habitual.use of culleides, of which the chief is oil, applied to the surface of the water. The pamphlet is written in simple language, is devoid of technical terms, which pertmits of it being easily understood by laymen, and is full of practical measures calculated ~o render a house in the tropics free of malaria. BUBONIC PLAGUE: ITS COURSE AND SYMPTOMS, AND IA,rEANS OF "PREVENTION AND TnEAT.~mNT. By Dr. Jos6 Yerdes Montenegro, Pro-
fessor at the Municipal Mierographical Laboratory, Madrid. Translated by W. Munro, M.D., lateDistrict l%Iedieal Officer of St. Kitts, W.I. London: Bailli&re, Tindall, and Cox. Crown 8vo., 84 pp. Price 3s. 6 d . Professor Montenegro has succeeded in giving an excellent and interestin~ r6-~um6 of the important work that has been done during recent