Old Age.

Why shouldst thou die before thy time?—Eccles., viii, 17.

In this time of haste and struggle the question comes very aptly. The study of geriatrics in medicine must ultimately become a field as distinct and significant as the well-established department of pediatrics. Preventive medicine by its rapid wide-spreading growth is creating a condition whereby the individual, once reaching successfully the age of puberty, passes on with but few medical intermissions to beginning old age. The steps from adult life to normal old age are inclined to come insidiously. As the breaking up of the individual begins the physician should be able to recognize the advances distinctly normal from those characterized by symptoms of disease. In this book the author points out what may be considered as normal old age. He describes the diseases to which the aged are especially liable, considering especially etiology and prophylaxis. The contributions made recently to