were professors of
medicine and other physicians, University fellows, students of
both sexes, hospital nurses, school-teachers, waiters, and other
men and women belonging to the working-classes."

The rest of the lecture as given here is an abstract made by Professor
Laitinen:--

"My studies have been directed to an investigation of the
following points:

"1. I sought to ascertain whether the resistance of human red
blood-corpuscles against a heterogeneous normal serum, or an
immune serum, can be diminished by the use of alcohol.

"2. I have studied the action of alcohol in drinking and
abstaining persons on the haemolytic power of blood-serum over
heterogeneous red blood-corpuscles (rabbits). I have studied not
only the haemolytic power of the human blood-serum, but also its
power of precipitation in the presence of rabbit-serum, with a
view to ascertain if the reaction between a known dilution of
rabbit-serum and a certain dilution of serum of alcohol-users
and non-drinking persons is different or not, and if the
reaction is more apparent with the former or with the latter.

"3. The resisting power of serum obtained both from
alcohol-drinking and from non-drinking persons was further
tested by human blood, with the object of discovering whether
any difference in reaction existed between the same immune serum
and the two kinds of human sera above mentioned.

"4. I have studied the problem as to whether the haemolytic
complement in the blood-serum of alcohol-drinking and
non-drinking persons is altered in any way by alcohol.

"5. The bactericidal power of blood-serum from both
alcohol-drinking and non-drinking persons was determined by some
experiments.

"The above experiments have given the following results:

"1. The normal resistance of human red blood-corpuscles appears
to be somewhat diminished against a heterogeneous normal serum
or an immune serum by the consumption of alcohol, provided that
tolerably large equal, or nearly equal, numbers of drinkers and
abstainers of both sexes be examined, and the average of
resistance be taken on both sides: this last-named precaution
being necessary because the resistance of red blood-corpuscles
from different human beings varies largely. The difference is
often greater when using weaker solutions than when using