Nuttall was born in San Francisco, California, on 5 July 1862; the second son of Robert Kennedy Nuttall, M.D. (Aberdeen) and his wife, Magdalena, daughter of John Parrott of San Francisco. The Nuttalls were descended from an old Lancashire family, which settled in Ireland in 1707, many of its members serving as officers in the British Army. His father went to Australia, but migrated to San Francisco in 1850 and practised there till 1865. In that year the family came to Europe and remained there till 1876, the children being educated in England, France, Germany and Switzerland. Consequently, Nuttall spoke several languages, a fact which assisted him enormously in his future work and travels.

Studies on the phenol coefficient after the cover-slip method were made on some disinfectants with the addition of different amounts of various organic materials. The results show that the phenol coefficient varies with the nature and amount of the different organic substances added to the disinfectant in question.

The purpose of these papers was:

(i) To ascertain the standardized death-rates for tuberculosis among the urban Chinese of Hong Kong.

(ii) To review the more important articles dealing with tuberculosis among the chinese.

(iii) To compare the data obtained in (ii) with those found in this survey of urban Chinese in Hong Kong.

We know, since the time of Pasteur, that repeated passage of rabies street virus from rabbit to rabbit after intracerebral inoculation, leads to a modification of its effect and the appearance of mutative characters. This takes place at a variable period of time depending upon the strain employed. The irreversibility and the permanence of these characters has led to the name of “fixed virus” once the street virus has become adapted for the rabbit.

Chronic irritation is a recognized factor in the causation of malignant epithelial growths and it would not, a priori, be surprising if an association were found to exist between pneumokoniosis and pulmonary cancer. With the notable and somewhat questionable exceptions of the observations upon Schneeberg and Joachimstal miners there has, however, been little to support this view. Nevertheless certain observations of ours (Dible, 1934) have urged us to examine the relationship of silicosis to malignancy in a more specific and comprehensive fashion than has hitherto been achieved. This paper records the results of our investigations, which it is thought may bear upon the aetiology of the condition.

1. The bacteriological problems involved in the production of meat and fish pastes in sealed glass jars have been studied.

2. Data are presented showing the normal flora of the raw materials used. Particular attention is drawn to the anaerobic species present in seasoning materials.

3. Bacterial contamination due to manufacturing operations is discussed.

4. The requirements of a satisfactory heat treatment are outlined, together with experimental methods of study used to overcome possible causes of failure.

5. Bacteriological examinations of 14,365 samples of paste showed that 88% were sterile: the flora of the remainder was examined.

6. Experimental evidence is presented to show that certain anaerobic spore-forming bacilli are the main possible cause of spoilage, and the significance of aerobic spore-forming bacilli has been established. An extremely heat-resistant anaerobe was isolated.

7. Routine bacteriological control of the finished products is suggested.

8. A simple, inexpensive, and rapid method of detecting anaerobic species has been devised, which can also be applied to other foodstuffs. Data are presented from the examination of a further 6110 samples using this method.

1. 304 natives of North-west Greenland were examined with standardized Schick toxin, and 139 with direct smears stained by the methods of Gram and Bie.

2. Of these 98 gave positive, 143 negative, and 63 doubtful reactions to the Schick test. 51 showed a positive control reaction with heated toxin. The swabs from 11 persons showed rods resembling the diphtheria bacillus.

3. We incline to the belief, also held by Wells & Heinbecker, that the most natural explanation of the existence of this large number of Schick-negative reactors in Eskimos and Greenlanders, is that diphtheria bacilli not in frequently occur in their throats, occasionally causing “angina” epidemics. Owing to the difficulty of bacteriological investigation in those latitudes, especially in performing fermentation and virulence tests upon the isolated strains, it has mostly been impossible to trace the aetiology of these epidemics to diphtheria bacilli.

Various authors have stated that the plague problem in Uganda is intimately connected with the cotton industry. Thornton sums up their statements: “as at present conducted the industry is a peril to other countries and to the peasants of Uganda themselves on account of plague”. The evidence given in support of these statements is vague and unconvincing and Roberts has investigated the question and come to an entirely different conclusion.

1. Evidence is adduced to indicate that cross infection occurred in 36·6% of a series of 246 patients in diphtheria wards.

2. In patients who were in hospital longer than 2 months it occurred in 68%.

3. Persistence of diphtheria bacilli in the upper respiratory tract was responsible for prolongation of hospitalization in 76% of cases in a series examined.

4. In 80% of these cases this persistence was a result of cross infection.

5. The administrative importance of cross infection is discussed.

Mineral oil injected into the peritoneal cavity of mice tends gradually to disappear. The amount of oil recoverable after a given time depends upon its toxicity, as registered by the carcinogenicity for the skin, refractive index fall, refractivity etc. The 7th day after injection is apparently about the best time to collect the oil.

Loss of body weight of the animal is also a measure of the carcinogenicity for the skin, refractive index fall, refractivity etc. of the oil sample under test. The 3rd day after injection is apparently about the best time to record loss of body weight.

The best animal test for measuring the activity of mineral oils is the injection test, and subsequent determination of the refractive index fall.

The best physical test is to determine the refractive index and viscosity and to combine these in an empirical formula.

A combination of the two tests is the best of all.

The relative amounts of carcinogenic and dermatitic constituents responsible for the general activity can be gauged by a consideration of the viscosity.

1. The population as a whole is exposed to Brucella infection by the consumption of infected milk. This does not appear to be a very potent source of infection as relatively few clinical cases of brucellosis occur, nor are many latent infections discovered by the agglutination reaction.

2. Those exposed to contact with infected animals or meat, as are farm workers, slaughterers and butchers, run a greater risk of contracting infection. The risk is not, however, markedly increased when the contact is limited to the handling of carcasses or meat, milking or ordinary animal husbandry.

3. Members of the veterinary profession, who assist in calving and remove placentas from infected cows are exposed to the greatest risk of infection. They come in contact with the greatest natural concentration of Br. abortus through the most dangerous route, the skin. Clinical brucellosis is not common among them, but many contract latent infection. 58·3% of post-graduate and 10·8% of undergraduate veterinary students were found to have agglutinins for Br. abortus in their serum. This should be borne in mind when a diagnosis of undulant fever is considered in a member of the veterinary profession.