Page:Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, volume 1.djvu/35

Rh Had such a Society as ours existed thirty-three years ago, I would not have had to go to the British Museum for my tropical pathology; I would have been put in touch at once with those who could have taught me, or been put in the way of being taught. Notwithstanding the greatly-increased facilities of recent times, there is still, in my opinion, room in London in the way I indicate, and especially in our particular branch of practice. The stranger might still have to search, perhaps in vain, for the hand that would welcome and assist him. I trust that our Society will supply this welcome and this assistance.

Again reverting to my personal experience, I once more came to London on furlough in the year 1882-3 with the same object in view—to learn the latest in medicine and surgery, especially in their application to tropical medicine. I heard plenty about the tubercle bacillus, but although I visited the Societies and became acquainted with many medical men of standing, I did not once hear of Laveran's important discovery of the malaria parasite. Indeed, it was not until I returned to China that I heard about it. I read Laveran's first book with great interest, and as I had abundant material at my command, I set to work to find the organism he described. Although repeated and prolonged attempts were made, I completely failed in my search, and almost became a sceptic about the existence of the Plasmodium, and it was not until I returned to England in 1889, and not until I had renewed opportunities of working on the subject at the Seamen's Hospital, that I saw for the first time the malaria parasite. But by that time my chances of fruitful work had gone. I had no longer abundance of material at my command. My failure to find the parasite when in China was entirely attributable to faulty technique, not from want of opportunity. Had there been a Tropical Society in 1883, doubtless Laveran's discovery would have been a prominent