The Story of Germ Life (Bacteria). By 11. W. Conn.
(George Newnes.)—This compact little book of two hundred and twelve pages forms a volume of the shilling "Library of Useful Stories," in which various authors are endeavouring to popularise some of the results of modern science in different directions. The author's object here is to correct the popular idea that bacteria are chiefly connected with disease, by pointing out "their even greater im- portance as agents in other natural phenomena." The six chapters relate to "Bacteria as Plants," "Miscellaneous Uses of Bacteria in the Arts," "Bacteria in the Dairy," "Bacteria in Natural Pro- cesses," "Parasitic Bacteria and their Relation to Disease," and "Methods of Combating Parasitic Bacteria." It will thus be seen that a considerable amount of interesting information has been brought into a very small compass, and the book is illustrated with thirty-four figures in the text. The sudden growth of the new science of bacteriology is as remarkable as that of other better-known branches of knowledge. Thus, d propos of the ripening of cream, Mr. Conn tells us "there are scores, and probably hundreds, of species of bacteria common in and around our barns and dairies, and the bacteria that are abundant and that grow in different lots of cream will not be always the same." Till within the last few years the germ theory of disease was usually denied, though it was foreshadowed by Linnams a century and a half ago, who, knowing that itch, and sometimes dysentery, were due to mites, suggested that other diseases, including plague, might be due to similar causes. In various epidemics an outcry used to be raised against the Jews or other unpopular persons for Poisoning the wells ; but we now know that in most epidemics the water really is poisoned, only nowadays we blame the water • authorities instead of the Jews. Tempora mutantur.
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