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The Examination of Waters and Water Supplies
1933.
PUBLIC HEALTH.
The Literature of Preventive The Examination of Waters and Water Supplies. By JOHN CLOI~CH THRESH, D.SC. (LOND.), M.D. (VICT.), D.P.H. (CAMB.) ; JOHN FOSTER BEALE, M.A. (CANTAB), M.R.C.S., (ENG.), L.R.C.P. (LOND.), D.P.H. (OXON.), Bacteriologist, Essex County Council ; Consuiting Analyst to the Port of London Authority, etc. ; and ERNEST VICTOR SUCK-
HN , B.S. (LOND.), (ENC.), L.R.C.P. (LOND.), D.P.H. (LOND.), Consulting Analyst to various water authorities. Fourth edition, revised and enlarged. With 61 illustrations. London : J. and A. Churchill, 1933. Price 42s. net. This book is the fourth edition of the work originally written by Dr. Thresh. In the first edition the author broke entirely new ground by giving to analysts a handbook which not only dealt with the analysis of water, but also with so many of its associated problems that it at once won the approval of those for whom it was intended, and proved to be the foundation of a literary edifice which has now reached its fourth storey. This fourth edition contains 824 pages, and may be accepted as being the most authoritative and unique publication on its subject published in any language. In such a volume, perfection cannot, of course, be obtained, but the points of criticism are so few, and relatively so unimportant, that a public which has exhausted three editions and demands a fourth, will be as appreciative of this as it was of the earlier editions in their day. In such a case a review can only be an endorsement of an approval that the work has already won. With regard to the question of illness arising from the use of cooking vessels made of aluminium, the book accepts as final the conclusions contained in Research Report, External Series No. 162, " Aluminium and Food," issued by the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association in 1932. In science, nothing is final, and if the conclusions of to-day in a controversy so modern as this are not disputed to-morrow, then medical science must have reached a state of self-satisfaction which may become self-deception. So far as is recorded, no criticism of aluminium vessels went farther than stating that in
113
Medicine.
several instances the vessels consisted of such impure aluminium that they parted all too freely of their aluminium to the ingredients heated in them. On the other hand, certain vessels yielded practically no aluminium to the milk or other constituents heated in them, tile purity of the metal composing the vessels being the deciding factor. Not enough emphasis has been laid upon this point, in view of the fact that poor quality aluminium may contain several different elements. As to whether the aluminium or other elements so separated, cause in the digestive tract any hurt or injury to the recipient is one for the medical faculty to decide. That a decision has already been preached, if not reached, is probably all the more reason why a re-consideration of the evidence will be necessary later, as it is a serious matter for nurses and infants particulaHy, should the conclusions already reached be found to be erroneous. There is a large amount of evidence on the other side, the conclusions from which are dismissed in the report quoted in this book as being " the effect of mind over body and of the power of the witch doctor since civilisation began." Again quoting from " Aluminium and Food," " The final conclusion is in no doubt that aluminium cooking vessels offer no danger to health." Is this perfectly correct in the case of young infants who have been given milk heated in aluminium vessels of poor quality ? Part V I I I on " The Purification and Treatment of Water," is one of the best in a work in which all the parts are excellent. There is an index of considerable size which, unfortunately, fails to yield readily all the information a good index should. The authors are to be congratulated heartily on this new edition which, by its thoroughness and its accuracy, will establish itself still more firmly in the confidence of all those who are interested in any way in water and all its works.
The Chemistry and Physics of Contraceptives. By CECIL I. B. VOGE, B.SC., PH.D., F.R.S.(ED.). London .- Jonathan Cape, 1933. pp. 288. Price 12s. 6d. net. This monograph presents the results of a three-year investigation of spermicides carried out at the University of Edinburgh under the
PUBLIC HEALTH.
The Literature of Preventive The Examination of Waters and Water Supplies. By JOHN CLOI~CH THRESH, D.SC. (LOND.), M.D. (VICT.), D.P.H. (CAMB.) ; JOHN FOSTER BEALE, M.A. (CANTAB), M.R.C.S., (ENG.), L.R.C.P. (LOND.), D.P.H. (OXON.), Bacteriologist, Essex County Council ; Consuiting Analyst to the Port of London Authority, etc. ; and ERNEST VICTOR SUCK-
HN , B.S. (LOND.), (ENC.), L.R.C.P. (LOND.), D.P.H. (LOND.), Consulting Analyst to various water authorities. Fourth edition, revised and enlarged. With 61 illustrations. London : J. and A. Churchill, 1933. Price 42s. net. This book is the fourth edition of the work originally written by Dr. Thresh. In the first edition the author broke entirely new ground by giving to analysts a handbook which not only dealt with the analysis of water, but also with so many of its associated problems that it at once won the approval of those for whom it was intended, and proved to be the foundation of a literary edifice which has now reached its fourth storey. This fourth edition contains 824 pages, and may be accepted as being the most authoritative and unique publication on its subject published in any language. In such a volume, perfection cannot, of course, be obtained, but the points of criticism are so few, and relatively so unimportant, that a public which has exhausted three editions and demands a fourth, will be as appreciative of this as it was of the earlier editions in their day. In such a case a review can only be an endorsement of an approval that the work has already won. With regard to the question of illness arising from the use of cooking vessels made of aluminium, the book accepts as final the conclusions contained in Research Report, External Series No. 162, " Aluminium and Food," issued by the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association in 1932. In science, nothing is final, and if the conclusions of to-day in a controversy so modern as this are not disputed to-morrow, then medical science must have reached a state of self-satisfaction which may become self-deception. So far as is recorded, no criticism of aluminium vessels went farther than stating that in
113
Medicine.
several instances the vessels consisted of such impure aluminium that they parted all too freely of their aluminium to the ingredients heated in them. On the other hand, certain vessels yielded practically no aluminium to the milk or other constituents heated in them, tile purity of the metal composing the vessels being the deciding factor. Not enough emphasis has been laid upon this point, in view of the fact that poor quality aluminium may contain several different elements. As to whether the aluminium or other elements so separated, cause in the digestive tract any hurt or injury to the recipient is one for the medical faculty to decide. That a decision has already been preached, if not reached, is probably all the more reason why a re-consideration of the evidence will be necessary later, as it is a serious matter for nurses and infants particulaHy, should the conclusions already reached be found to be erroneous. There is a large amount of evidence on the other side, the conclusions from which are dismissed in the report quoted in this book as being " the effect of mind over body and of the power of the witch doctor since civilisation began." Again quoting from " Aluminium and Food," " The final conclusion is in no doubt that aluminium cooking vessels offer no danger to health." Is this perfectly correct in the case of young infants who have been given milk heated in aluminium vessels of poor quality ? Part V I I I on " The Purification and Treatment of Water," is one of the best in a work in which all the parts are excellent. There is an index of considerable size which, unfortunately, fails to yield readily all the information a good index should. The authors are to be congratulated heartily on this new edition which, by its thoroughness and its accuracy, will establish itself still more firmly in the confidence of all those who are interested in any way in water and all its works.
The Chemistry and Physics of Contraceptives. By CECIL I. B. VOGE, B.SC., PH.D., F.R.S.(ED.). London .- Jonathan Cape, 1933. pp. 288. Price 12s. 6d. net. This monograph presents the results of a three-year investigation of spermicides carried out at the University of Edinburgh under the