In 1902 the investigations on hay-fever undertaken by me many years previously were brought to a temporary conclusion and their results published. I advanced the theory that hay-fever is a disease caused by vegetable poisons contained in the pollen of certain plants. These substances were connected with the proteid of the pollen grain and of a highly specific character. It was thus possible to decide by means of the isolated poisonous pollen proteid, whether a given disease is identical with hay-fever or not. In 1903 I asserted more forcibly that it was possible to obtain a specific antidote by inoculating pollen proteid into animals, e.g., rabbits or horses. With such an antidote it would be possible (1) to neutralise the pollen poison in vitro so that it would no more produce morbid symptoms in hay-fever patients. Further it would be possible (2) by this specific antidote to cure symptoms of the disease already developed. By the timely application of the antidote it would (3) be possible to prevent the onset of hay-fever symptoms.

Almost from the time when pellagra was first described, a connection between the disease and maize as an article of diet has been noted, and a wordy and voluminous literature has arisen in the countries afflicted concerning the nature of this suggested relationship between maize and pellagra. Most of what has hitherto been written about pellagra is based upon observations on clinical material and epidemics. Probably the most neglected side of the disease is its morbid anatomy and histology; and the effects of feeding animals on preparations of maize are but scantily described.

1. It has been shown that certain nitrite-destroying organisms when grown along with V. Cholerae prevent the appearance of the cholera-red reaction. This is not due to the non-formation of nitrite, but to its rapid destruction by the enitrite-destroying organisms.

2. Certain nitrite-destroying organisms fail to prevent the cholera-red reaction.

3.It has been shown in the case of the B. dysenteriae (Flexner) that the failur to prevent the cholera-red reaction is due to an inhibition of the growth of both organisms when grown together.

The use of glycerine, oil and similar substances finds a constantly increasing application in modern surgery and medicine. Accordingly the adequate sterilisation of these fluids becomes a matter of considerable importance.

Circumstances in connection with the recent census have again directed my attention to the laws which govern human life. I have long been of the opinion that the old ideas that birth rates and death rates had no biological relationship beyond the obvious ones, that many infants mean more deaths, etc., usually found stated in public health text books, were based on a very imperfect induction. On one aspect of this I published a paper a number of years ago in the Transactions of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow (1), and last summer Sir Shirley Murphy(2) read a paper on another aspect of the same subject before the Sanitary Congress held at York. But I have hitherto refrained from publishing theories because I believe that until quantitative measures are applied no scientific results worthy of discussion can be obtained. Now that such seem to be possible, I propose to discuss in a series of papers the different relationships which I have investigated. No mathematics will be introduced in the earlier papers, but the results of all will be summarised and dealt with in their mathematical and physico-chemical relationships in a concluding communication. The first paper relates to the connection between the “corrected” death rates and the “true” death rates as found by constructing a life table.

Among the properties of the red blood corpuscles, that have from time to time been investigated, the resistance of this type of cell to the destructive action of various lytic agents occupies a place of some importance. Very many substances have been studied from this point of view, and no useful purpose would be served by enumerating them here; but it should be noted in passing that, as regards the great majority of them, we have no evidence that they play any part in blood destruction as it occurs “in vivo” under either physiological or pathological conditions.