1. A study of the freely chosen diets of sixty-three men of the English middle class has been made by the “individual” method. All food was weighed for the period of a week, and the amounts of protein, animal protein, fat, carbohydrate, calories, calcium, total and available phosphorus and total and available iron in the individual diets have been calculated. Detailed and averaged results for the diets are given.

2. The average calorie intake was 3067 per day, but a very wide variation was observed (1772–4955 calories), and it is suggested that the adoption of 3000 calories as the requirement of an individual man may be most misleading.

3. There was a definite, but mathematically insignificant, decrease in calorie intake with increasing age. The individual variation at each age was so great, however, that no rules for the guidance of individuals as to their dietary requirements at different ages can possibly be formulated.

4. No significant correlation existed between calorie intake and body weight.

5. The proportion of calories derived from fat was higher than any figures previously recorded in this country. The proportion of calories derived from carbohydrate was correspondingly lower.

6. The total calcium, phosphorus and iron intakes were 0·87 g., 1·61 g. and 16·8 mg. per day respectively. 98 per cent, of the total phosphorus eaten was in an “available” form, while only 66 per cent, of the iron could be considered to be physiologically available.

7. A similar study has been carried out on six unemployed men, and the chemical composition of these diets is compared with that of employed, middle-class individuals.

Acknowledgments. The author wishes to thank Dr R. A. McCance for his enthusiastic encouragement and help, Miss M. Verdon-Roe for her assistance with the calculations, and all the subjects of the investigation for their willing co-operation. Part of the expense of this investigation were defrayed by a personal grant from the Medical Research Council.

1. The food intakes of sixty-three women of the English middle class have been studied by the individual method and compared with those of men which were described in a previous paper.

2. The average calorie consumption was 2187 per day. Although it is not suggested that this is the optimum intake, it would appear from these results that the “man value” of a woman is 0·7, and not 0·8 as is usually supposed. The individual calorie consumptions varied from 1453 to 3110 per day.

3. The average daily protein intake was 67 g., and no subject was eating more than 90 g.

4. Fat and carbohydrate contributed almost equally to the calorie value of the diet. The proportion of total calories derived from fat (42·7 per cent.) is higher than any previously recorded figures in Europe or America.

5. The average amount of calcium in the diets was 0·63 g. per day. Fourteen individuals were having less than 0·5 g., and one only 0·23 g.

6. The mean intakes of total and available phosphorus were 1·32 and 1·09 g. respectively.

7. A study has been carried out on six women, whose husbands were unemployed. Their intake of all dietary constituents, except carbohydrate, were considerably lower than were found for the women of the middle class.

Acknowledgments. The authors wish to thank Miss E. E. Franklin for her help with the calculations, Miss A. Cameron for her co-operation with regard to the unemployed, and all the subjects, without whose support the investigation would never have been carried out. One of us (E. M. W.) is indebted to the Medical Eesearch Council for a part-time grant.

The following report describes the result of an effort to trace and investigate all the cases of cancer of the skin of the scrotum which have occurred in the inhabitants of the Blackburn Registration District during the period 1837–1929. Our enquiries have been directed in particular to the ascertainment of the various occupations followed by the patients affected, with a view to the consideration of carcinogenic agents operating in these occupations.

1. It has been shown that, in vitro, the final oxidation product of 1:4 dioxan is oxalic acid, with diglycollic acid either as an intermediate stage or as a by-product.

2. Renal changes have been produced in rabbits by the intravenous administration of sodium oxalate, and renal and hepatic changes in rabbits and guinea-pigs have followed the application of ethyl oxalate to the skin. These lesions were similar in type to those produced by 1:4 dioxan.

3. The rabbits, in which ethyl oxalate was applied to the skin, showed a well-marked rise in the blood-urea content.

4. Renal changes of a similar type have occurred in rabbits after the intravenous administration of sodium diglycollate. These changes were less constantly observed, and were less in degree than those following intravenous sodium oxalate. Weight for weight sodium diglycollate appeared to be less toxic than sodium oxalate, when given intravenously to rabbits.

5. A possible method by which 1:4 dioxan may produce its effects is suggested, namely that 1: 4 dioxan is oxidised in the tissues to diglycollic and oxalic acids, which are neutralized to diglycollates and oxalates as soon as formed by the alkaline tissue fluids. It is possible that the relative amounts in which these oxidation products occur in the tissues, after the administration of 1:4 dioxan, may vary, and that the severity of the resulting lesions may depend upon this variation.

Studies of several cultures of Salmonella typhi-murium var. binns revealed the fact that all contained specific components characteristic of S. typhi-murium. These cultures lacked the somatic factor V. It is proposed, therefore, to emend the antigenic formula of S. typhi-murium var. binns from IV, V: —: 1, 2, 3, to IV: i: 1, 2, 3. Under the emended variety would also be included the organisms described by Kauffmann as S. typhi-murium var. copenhagen and by Edwards as S. aertrycke var. storrs.

The writer acknowledges with grateful appreciation his indebtedness to Dr Harry Schiitze for his interest and helpful suggestions and to Dr W. M. Scott, Dr F. Kauffmann and Miss Georgia Cooper for forwarding cultures.

1. Normal human sera have no natural bactericidins active against strains of gonococci.

2. Normal sera from eleven other mammalian species showed a powerful bactericidal action against various strains of gonococci.

3. The serological heterogeneity of the gonococcus group revealed by agglutination and complement fixation is again demonstrated in the bactericidal test with immune antiserum.

4. There is a steady rise in the incidence of positive bactericidal action in the sera of patients following the progress of infection with the gonococcus.

5. The probable significance of these bactericidins, natural and immune, discussed.

Acknowledgments. I wish to express my gratitude to Dr Ledingham for the facilities for work granted me at the Lister Institute and to Dr Schiitze for his kind help and critical advice during the progress of this investigation.

In the autumn of 1934 I received from Dr A. R. D. Adams, Superintendent of the Bacteriological Laboratory at Mauritius, 163 cultures of organisms. These had been isolated by him from the faeces of the inmates of the Beau Bassin Prison and Reformatory in a research on the intestinal flora and fauna of the general population in that island. In the course of the bacteriological examination the specimens of faeces had been cultured on plates of Endo's medium and incubated for 24 hours, at the end of which time non-lactose-fermenting organisms were picked off. A number of these strains were identified by Dr Adams as belonging to the typhoid, paratyphoid, or dysentery groups. One hundred and sixty-three strains which did not fall into these groups were sent to me for investigation.

1. A peptone salt agar appears to be the medium of choice in the preparation of suspensions of V strains of B. typhosus for Vi agglutination. The presence of heart extract may have a definite inhibitory effect on Viagglutination but the effect is irregular.

2. A safe method for the preparation of anti-Vi serum with virulent cultures is described.

3. Repeated endeavours to produce an anti-Vi serum by the use of formolized vaccines were unsuccessful.

4. A suspension of a V strain killed at 55° C. can be used as a vaccine for producing Vi agglutination.

5. The thermostability of the Vi antigen is discussed.

6. An analysis is made of the presence of Vi antigen in a number of freshly isolated and stock strains of B. typhosus.

7. A series of typhoid cases has been examined for Vi agglutination, and it is concluded that the latter is unlikely to be of any clinical value either in diagnosis or prognosis.

Acknowledgements. The writer wishes to express his thanks to his colleagues, Dr R. M. Humphreys, Senior Physician, Khartoum and Dr J. S. Hovell, Omdurman, for their valuable co-operation; and to Dr Ali Bedri, Khartoum Hospital, he is much indebted for assistance in analysing the clinical data and records of the typhoid cases.

That the number of male births always exceeds that of females is well known to students of vital statistics, but the biological law responsible for the phenomenon has not yet been adequately determined though various theories have been offered in explanation. It has been suggested that it resulted from a high male conception rate which, although modified by an excess mortality of male embryos, nevertheless produced a masculinity of matured births. In more recent times the conclusions drawn by MacDowell & Lord (1925, 1925 a) from their experimental studies with mice have failed to support this view. They claimed that there was no correlation between the pre-natal mortality and the masculinity of live births, that the primary ratio at conception was almost identical with that at birth. These contentions were criticized by Parkes (1923, 1926), who, whilst maintaining the doctrine that the ante-natal mortality of mice “falls preponderatingly upon the males”, stated “that it is quite obvious that a great deal more information is required before any coherent story of the factors governing the sex ratio at birth in the mouse (and all other mammals) can be put together”.

1. Two hundred and ten blood samples were obtained from workers in the fish trade. Of these, fifty-one, or 24·2 per cent., gave positive sero-reactions in dilutions of the serum ranging from 1/30 to 1/1000.

2. There was no significant difference in the number of positive sero-reactions occurring in male or female workers.

3. In a control series of 406 blood specimens from individuals not engaged in the fish trade, no positive sero-reactions were obtained.

4. Evidence is adduced that leptospiral infections occur in three grades: (a) severe infections associated with jaundice; (b) mild infections with pyrexia and no jaundice; and (c) latent or inapparent infections with no clinical manifestations.

5. Preventive methods have been detailed which, if put into practice, would, it is believed, reduce the incidence of this disease.

6. Sufficient evidence has been produced to show that this disease is occupational in nature, and as such should be scheduled under the Workmen's Compensation Act.

Acknowledgements. We are indebted to Drs Hill, Goldie and Fullerton of the Department of Medicine for much help in the collection of specimens.

A fluid medium is described, containing in every 100 c.c. of peptone water 0·25 g. lactose, 0·5 g. boric acid and 1 g. sodium sulphite (anhydrous). It shows a marked selective action.

The test gives satisfactory readings within 24 hours of incubating at 37°C. I am of the opinion that all strains capable of growth in this medium may be regarded as of definite sanitary significance; they are most likely of faecal origin, while those which fail to grow are of minor sanitary importance.

I hope that the boric sulphite test may prove a useful adjunct to the bacteriological examination of samples of water.

There has appeared a considerable amount of literature attesting to the increasing frequency of primary intrathoracic neoplasm arising from the respiratory tract—lung and bronchi. This has emanated from various centres, both in Europe and in America. It had been thought that a similar increase was noticeable in Edinburgh, and some years ago Dr J. Davidson, then pathologist in the Royal Infirmary, did some work on the incidence of the disease as shown by the records of the institution. This was not recorded at the time, and it seemed desirable to extend that work and to publish yearly and quinquennial tables on the lines of Bonser's work, with very brief deductions, in order to ascertain so far as possible the actual state of affairs here and to give figures for comparison with those of other places. It is necessary to define the meaning of the term “intrathoracic tumours”. It has been chosen instead of “primary lung tumours” because in the earlier cases the “oat-celled” carcinomata were regarded as primary mediastinal gland sarcomata and have, therefore, had to be included, a point which recent microscopical examination of some of these earlier cases has shown to be justified. The records from 1904 to 1934 inclusive have been carefully searched, and only those cases have been included which were described as malignant and as arising from lung or mediastinal glands; cases of Hodgkin's disease, cancer of the oesophagus and thymic tumours were excluded.

1. Two groups of typhi-phages, one lysing typhoid bacilli only, the other Gaertner bacilli also, have been studied. Each phage stimulated, in Salmonella typhi, resistance to all phages of its own group but none to those of the opposing group.

2. It is probable from the range of their activity, that typhi-phages of the second group attack the receptor IX (of the Kauffmann-White system of Salmonella antigens).

3. There are strong grounds for believing that the phages of the first group, the specific typhi-plages, attack the Vi-antigen of Felix, for

(a) typhoid cultures which are readily agglutinated by Uaertner antiserum are relatively or entirely insensitive to these specific typhi-phages,

(b) the specific typhi-phages transform O-inagglutinable cultures into O-agglutinable forms, and

(c) the Vi-antigen is the only known element of the typhoid bacillus which is peculiar to that organism and so corresponds in specificity with the phage.

4. The fact that resistance acquired against a particular bacteriophage does not prevail against all other bacteriophages is not to be ascribed to the quantitatively differing potency of phages as suggested by d'Hérelle but to their qualitatively different activities. Each type of phage has its particular “point of attack” in the bacterium and the distinct “points of attack” of different phages develop their resistance independently. It seems that, as Marcuse has urged, the “points of attack” are located in the bacterial receptors.

1. The difficulty of isolating Br. abortus from samples of “dirty” milk by means of guinea-pig inoculation is noted. This has been shown to be due in certain instances to the presence of tubercle bacilli in the inoculum, though this is probably not the full explanation.

2. Following the simultaneous inoculation of virulent tubercle bacilli and Br. abortus into guinea-pigs, the latter infection generally failed to become established, whereas control animals inoculated under the same conditions with Brucella, but without tubercle bacilli, became infected.

Results of the inoculation of the two organisms into opposite sides of guinea-pigs indicate a generalized as well as a local increase of resistance to Br. abortus.

3. It is suggested that the mononuclear cell reaction stimulated by the tubercle bacilli destroyed Br. abortus.

I am indebted to the Directors of the United Dairies, Limited, for their interest and financial support. My thanks are due to Dr W. S. Gordon, Moredun, for sending a virulent strain of Br. abortus.