Be careful to keep the eyes clean. Do not rub the eyes with the fingers. Aside from considerations of etiquette, there is danger of introducing foreign matter that may be harmful. It is very desirable that each person have his individual face towel. By not observing this rule, certain contagious diseases of the eye often spread rapidly. If there is any continuous trouble with the eyes, consult a reliable oculist. Many persons injure the eyes by not wearing suitable glasses. On the other hand, do not buy glasses of peddlers or of any but reliable specialists. One may ruin the eyes by wearing glasses when they are not needed. Sight is priceless. THE PROGRESS OF MEDICINE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY JOHN SHAW BILLINGS, M.D. [Dr. Billings is a surgeon and administrator of the first rank. He is now a director of the New York Public Library. Among his many published works are "Principles of Ventilation and Heating," issued by the _Engineering Record_, New York. The essay which follows appeared in the _Evening Post_, New York. January 12, 1901, copyrighted. It is reprinted in a volume entitled "The Nineteenth Century: a Review of Progress During the Past One Hundred Years," published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1901, copyrighted. It is presented here by the kind permission of Dr. Billings, the publisher of the _Evening Post_, and G. P. Putnam's Sons.] The word "medicine," as used in the title of this paper, includes all branches of the art of prevention and treatment of disease and injuries; all discoveries of methods of diminishing physical pain and of prolonging life, and also that part of modern science which is concerned with accurate knowledge of the structure and functions, normal and abnormal, of the human body, and of the causes of diseases. In other words, it includes not only therapeutics, medical and surgical, but also physiology, pathology, and hygiene. In all these branches of medicine greater progress has been made during the last century than had been made during the previous two thousand years. This progress has been largely due to improvements in methods of investigation and diagnosis, resulting from increase of knowledge in chemistry and physics; to better microscopes and new instruments of precision; to experimental work in laboratories and to the application of scientific method and system in the observation and recording of cases of disease and of the results of different modes of treatment. The introduction of statistical methods in the study of cases of disease and of causes of death; the discovery of general anæsthetics; the adoption of antiseptic [excluding microbes] and aseptic [uninfective] methods in surgery, and the development of modern bacteriology--each marks a point in the history of medicine in the nineteenth century.