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tive traces of themselves in certain features of the blood corpuscles; and the occurrence of Blackwater Fever is coincident with high malarial endemicity, ie., with the large occurrence of the malarial parasite in the blood of native children.

Hence, and this is a matter of considerable importance, the prohylaxis of Black water Fever is in the main identical with that of malaria; that is, the prevention of malarial infection by mosquito bite or, if the infection has taken place, the adoption of remedial measures including the adequate and proper use of quinine; with respect to the latter, it should be added that an attack of the disease may be brought on by the injudicious use of quinine when the patient is in a condition of malarial cachexia. It may be hoped that with the adoption of general measures against malaria and care in the use of quinine this dreaded scourge tnay be largely done away with.

I venture to hope, Sir, that His Majesty's Government and the Colonies will feel able to share the opinion of the Royal Society that the money and labour which have been spent on this enquiry have been well repaid. The investigations of the Commission have undoubtedly contributed largely to that remarkable increase of our knowledge of the nature and causes of malaria which has been gained during the past few years-a knowledge which promises, if not to exterminate, at least so to diminish the occurrence of that disease as to permit the white man to live in health, strength, and comfort in regions which previously had been dreaded, and justly dreaded, as places of almost certain sickness and, of not improbable death.

I may add that malaria is not the only disease which offers obstacles to the pros. perity of the Empire in tropical countries. There are other diseases affecting men, and also diseases affecting animals such as cattle in these tropical and subtropical countries, the occurrence of which forms an obstacle, and at times brings disaster to colonial enterprise. May I suggest that the plan of operations which has been so fruitful in respect to malaria, might with advantage be repeated in view of other maladies of man and animals, and that a permanent organisation for the study of the nature and causes of these maladies, a knowledge of which can alone form a sound basis of operations for prevention, might fairly be expected to furnish an adequate return for money spent upon it.

Thanks to the institution of schools of tropical medicine in London and in Liverpool, and to the increased interest in these diseases which has developed throughout the country, it will not be difficult to find young men of talent adequately trained for the investigation of these diseases, and prepared by their love of science and enquiry, to undergo such hardships, or to face such dangers, as may accompany these investigations.

I have, &c.,

M. FOSTER,

Secretary, Royal Society.

Sub-Enclosure in Enclosure No. 2.

SUMMARY OF RESEARCHES ON NATIVE MALARIA AND MALARIAL PROPHYLAXIS; ON BLACKWATER FEVER ITS NATURE AND PROPHYLAXIS.

By J. W. W. STEPHENS, M.D. Cantab, D.P.H., Lecturer in Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, and S. R. CHRISTOPHERS, M.B., Vict., I.M.S.

I.

Of our researches on malaria those relating to native malaria seem to us of such great practical importance that in the present report we have almost entirely confined ourselves to a discussion of these, and their application to the prevention of malaria among Europeans in the tropics.

It is unccessary here to discuss the question of the mosquito transmission of malaria. We may, however, lay stress on some points which are as yet often overlooked:

We

1. It is practically certain that the mosquito cycle is the only one. caunot, in the space at our disposal, give all the reasons for this statement; suffice