seldom join with the relatives in refusing to allow in a short time there will be few who have ocsuch an examination. casion to write much who have not adopted it. Recent improvements in the manufacture of the fastening of the needle and the ease with which it can be cleaned and repaired, have occasioned much comment. These improved and valuable pens may be obtained by addressing Louis E. Dunlap, Manager, Stylographic Pen Co., 290 Washington St. Boston, Mass. Price, plain, $2; gold-mount WINTER DIARRHOEA.-This affection appears to be more than usually prevalent this winter. In fact many physicians have met with it this winter for the first time in many years' practice. An un RAILWAY MEDICAL TARIFF.-The following items"Livermore" Stylographic Pen relating to the from the tariff of fees drawn up by the medical referee of the Grand Trunk Railway Company, have been sent to us for an expression of opinion: The fees for a day visit are $1; night visit, $2; office consultation 50 cents; dressing of wounds, first time, $1, in the night, $2; subsequent dressings, 50 cents. The following rates include subse-ed, $2.50 quent treatment. Amputations, finger, $5; forearm or arm, $20; foot, $20 ; leg, $25; thigh, $50. Setting fractures, forearm, $10; arm $15; clavicle, $8; leg, $25; thigh, $30. Reducing dislocations, elbow, $10; shoulder, $8; ankle, $8; knee, $10; thigh, $20. It is scarcely necessary for us to say that we consider these charges on the whole, very low, and in some cases, ridiculously low. We are very much surprised, that any surgeon would assume the responsibility of the treatment of serious surgical cases, for such paltry fees. But we are told that some of our confreres are eager to secure and retain the position, with this tariff before them. If such is the case, the blame rests with the pro. fession, and although it looks like robbery for a rich corporation to grind down the poor surgeons, yet it is perfectly natural and business-like for the company to secure the services as cheaply as they can. The surgeons have themselves entirely to blame, if the fees are less than they ought to be. SUMMER COURSES OF LECTURES.-We desire to call attention to the summer course of lectures which has been inaugurated in Trinity Medical College Toronto, commencing on the 1st of May. This, although the first summer course in this institution, promises to be a success, judging from the number of enquiries which have been received by the secretary, Dr. Sheard. The announcement of McGill College summer course will also be found in this issue. This, which is the 8th summer session of McGill College, will commence on the 12th of April and continue 12 weeks. THE STYLOGRAPHICPEN.-Few minor inventions have been so readily appreciated and come so quickly into general use as the stylographic pen. None who have used one will ever be contented with any less convenient apparatus for writing, and usually large number of cases have occurred in the United States, as is noted in the health bulletins. The Michigan State Board of Health report, states that "there are many cases of winter cholera which comes on suddenly and is severe." Our Provincial Board of Health also reports the prevalence of diarrhoea in District No. IV., in which it is not only one of the six most prevalent diseases, but amounts to 5 per cent. of all the diseases reported. ELECTRIC BRUSH BATTERY.-For some years past, parties in the United States have been advertising so-called electric brushes, but it remained for the Am. Electric Brush Co., of Cincinnati to manufacture a genuine electric brush, fitted up with a complete electric battery on the back. This little instrument, which we have examined and tested, is possessed of wonderful power. It may be used in a variety of cases where electricity is deemed advisable. The cell is composed of carbon and zinc and is charged with a solution of bisulphate of murcury. The coil is supplied with a spring armature, regulated by a platinum-pointed screw, and an adjuster to regulate the force of the current. The price of the instrument to physicians is $4. KINGSTON MEDICAL COLLEGE.-The following gentlemen have passed the final examination in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Kingston :-J. F. Kidd, gold medallist; W. G. Anglin, silver medallist ; J. Cryan, H. Freeland, T. Moore, and W. Young, with honors; C. C. Clancey, L. T. Davis, W. Hall, D. C. Hickey, G. McGhie, T. A. Page, R. Smith, and A. McMurchy. R. N. Fraser, and J. E. Sterling were recommended as House Surgeons to the Hospital, and J. Herald and E. Forrester as demonstrators. DR. GOODELL'S MIXTURE OF THE FOUR CHLO- Liq. arsen. chlor... Syr. Zingib. IRON IN DIPHTHERIA.-Dr. Tipton, of Selma, Ala., writing with regard to the treatment of this disease in the Virginia Medical Monthly (Febr'y) says, "long before a line was ever written on the use of the muriated tincture of iron in the treatment of diphtheria, Dr. Parke, an old and honored practitioner of Richmond, Va., was curing his patients with this agent with a steadiness and certainty that led him to regard it as a specific, so far as any remedy can be." His treatment is as follows: If the mildness of the disease permits, he clears the bowels out well with a purgative; he then gives, even to the youngest child, the follow-dilatation. ing mixture every hour night and day: SIG. From a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful according to age. Milk is to be given between the doses, not only to serve as nourishment but also to prevent the iron from upsetting the stomach and bowels. He uses no local treatment at all--in fact denounces it as hurtful where a child resists. The : gr. j-ij 3j zij Zij 3vj—M. SIG. Two teaspoonfuls three times daily in water, after meals. IODOFORM IN ANAL FISSURE.- Fissure and ulcer of the anus generally resist all medical treatment, and require for their removal incision or Dr. Boardman Reid, of Atlantic City, has had good success, however, in the treatment of these intractable affections by means of iodoform. He uses the following ointment :— Dr. Canniff desires very particularly to thank hist medical brethren who so kindly and voluntarily supported him in his application for the position of success, he claims, is largely due to the persis-Medical Health Officer for the City of Toronto. tent and unremitting administration of the remedy night and day. He also begs to ask for the cordial co-operation of OBITUARY.-The numerous friends of Dr. Henry Croft will regret to hear of his death which took place in Texas on the 21st of February, at the age of 64 years. Dr. Croft was professor of Chemistry in University College, Toronto, for upwards of a quarter of a century, and was for many years the chief chemical expert in this Province. He was THE LATE DR. KOLLMYER. The following superannuated about two years ago, and since then has been living with his son near San Diego, Texas. He died of an affection of the heart. MICHIGAN SANITARY CONVENTION.-A Sanitary Convention under the auspices of the State Board of Health, will be held in Reed City, Mich., on the 26th and 27th of April. Subjects of interest in connection with sanitary science, and methods relating to the prevention of sickness will be presented at the meeting. address of condolence was presented to Mrs. Bishop's College, Montreal. Dear Madam,-We, the students of medicine of the Medical College of Bishop's University, hereby beg to tender our most sincere condolence to you in your sad bereavement by the decease of your lamented husband, Alexander Kollmyer, M.D. We feel that the loss is not yours alone, but that the city of Montreal has lost a valuable citizen, the profession of medicine has lost one of Am. Medical Editors will take place at the same time and place. The Ontario Medical Association will hold its third annual meeting in Toronto, on the first Wednesday (6th) of June. ONTARIO MEDICAL COUNCIL ELECTION.-Dr. C. T. Campbell, of London, Ont., has been elected by the Homoeopathic representatives in the Council to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dr. Morden, in accordance with clause ii. section vii. of the Ontario Medical Act. QUEBEC ANATOMY ACT.-The Quebec Government has recently brought in important amendments to the anatomy act which will, it is hoped, ONTARIO MEDICAL COUNCIL EXAMINATIONS.put an end to the disgraceful body-snatching which In our last issue an error inadvertently crept into has obtained of late in this Province. Inspectors the announcement of the date of the primary exare to be appointed whose duty it will be to see amination. The primary will commence in Kingthat all unclaimed bodies in institutions receivingston on the 13th of April at 4 p.m., and not on the government aid are handed over to the schools, 4th as therein stated. who shall pay ten dollars for each body. The institutions are to notify the inspectors within twentyfour hours after the death of any friendless persons, and claimants must show relationship within the third degree. NEW SPLINT FOR COLLES' FRACTURE.-Dr. McNaughton, of Erin, Ont., has shown us a splint devised by himself for the treatment of Colles' fracture of the radius which meets the indication better than any splint we have ever seen. It is applied to the anterior surface of the forearm and hand, extending down as low as the palm, and is moulded to fit perfectly the inequalities of the surface. The Dr. has used it for many years with great success in the treatment of this form of fracture. EUROPEAN TRAVEL.-Persons contemplating a trip to Europe, or any other part of the Globe, either alone or with excursion parties, will find it to their advantage to investigate the numerous facilities offered by Thos Cook & Son, the renowned Excursion Managers, of 261 Broadway, New York. Full particulars of their arrangements will be mailed free, on application, to any one interested. DIPHTHERIA is again prevalent in the Maritime Provinces. Mr. Joseph F. Bent, of Springfield, Cumberland, N.S., lost three of his children within a few days from this terrible disease. ASSOCIATION MEETINGS.-The American Medical Association will meet in Cleveland, Ohio, commencing on the 5th of June. The Association of MEDICAL HEALTH OFFICERS.-Dr. W. Canniff has been appointed Medical Health Officer for the City of Toronto at a salary of $1500. Dr. Neilson has been appointed Medical Health Officer for Winnipeg, at a salary of $1,200. ERRATUM.-In our notice of Dr. Sanborn's medical charts in the February issue of the LANCET we inadvertently gave his address, Rockford. should have been Rockport, Mass. It The death of Dr. L. Ranney of New York, and and at the autopsy table. The work is embellished also of Dr. Benjamin Howard Rand, Prof. Chem- by some most excellent diagrams, giving percussion istry Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, is outlines of different organs. announced. Books and Lamphlets. THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE, by THE INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF Surgery. This work is one written by a practical man, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Surgery, by authors of various nations. Edited by with the object in view of bringing practical subJ. Ashhurst, jr., M.D., Prof. of Clinical Surgery jects before his readers. While not likely in any University of Pennsylvania; illustrated with way to interfere with the sale of any other modchromo-lithographs and wood-cuts, in six vols. Vol. II. New York: W. Wood & Co.; Tor-ern work on practice of medicine, it will no doubt onto: Willing & Williamson. be highly appreciated by the friends of the author, both amongst the profession and the students who have attended his lectures. It QUIG COMPENDS No. 1— QUESTIONS ON HUMAN ANATOMY; By Samuel O. L. Potter, M.A., M.D., with sixty-three illustrations. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co. Toronto: Ure & Co. This little work contains a series of questions part of the volume is begun injuries and diseases and answers, comprising the essential points of of the various tissues. We observe an excellent the various structures of the body. It is founded article in this volume on "The effects of cold," on Gray's Anatomy, and contains many useful We have already expressed our appreciation of the value of the above-named encyclopædia in our notice of the first volume. The second volume fully bears out the statements then made. opens with articles upon wounds, burns, abscesses and gangrene, followed by elaborate articles upon the various venereal diseases, and in the latter by our distinguished confrere Dr. J. A. Grant, of hints and aids to memory not found in ordinary Ottawa, upon which we congratulate him. The works. work bears evidence of the painstaking care and the thorough and exhaustive research of the various writers on the different subjects assigned them, and reflects no small degree of credit upon American surgery. The illustrations commend themselves both by their artistic excellence, and by their practical value in elucidating the text. The work is well printed, and handsomely bound. It is sold by subscription only. PERCUSSION OUTLINES.-By E. G. Cutter, M.D., and G. M. Garland, M.D, Assistants in Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Medicine, respectively, in Harvard Medical College. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Toronto: Willing & Williamson. Births, Marriages and Deaths, At Picton, on March 4th, the wife of H. A. Evans, M. D., of a daughter. At St. Thomas, in Nov. last, Dr. Frederick B. Going, aged 72 years. At Halifax, on the 27th of Feb., A. Moren, M. D., city medical officer, in the 47th year of his age. At Cape Sable Island, on the 21st Feb., Dr. J. J. Clark, of Barrington, N. S., aged 56 years. In Montreal, on the 13th ult., Henry Kollmyer, M.D., aged 51 years. In Pembina, on the 6th ult., W. D. Ross, M.D., formerly of Ottawa. At Black River, Jamaica, W.I., on Feb. 4, Di George E. Gascoigne, formerly of Brockville, Ont., aged 49 years. Marriages is Fifty Cents, which should be forwarded *** The charge for Notices of Births, Deaths, and in postage stamps with the communication. THE CANADA LANCET, A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF MEDICAL AND SURGICAL SCIENCE, VOL. XV. TORONTO, MAY, 1883. Original Communications. ON CREMATION. BY JOSEPH WORKMAN, M.D., TORONTO. All those entrusted with the care of their souls. this is very bad, and we, who dwell in a different land, free from the crushing tyranny of landlordism, and the unholy exactions of a pampered hierarchy, should thank the good Providence which has cast our lot where such evils are, and, it is to be hoped, ever will be, unknown. Yes, it is very bad, but not in our mother land, with all her faults No. 9. and imperfections, has the disregard of decent disposal of the dead reached that climax of outrage, which is to be observed in other parts of Europe. Many of us who have, perhaps, regarded with abhorrence or disgust, the introduction of the practice of cremation, might feel inclined to change our views, or mitigate our sentence of condemnation, did we know a little more of the causes which have led to the proposal of this system. At the conference of sanitarians held last year in Geneva, this subject was freely discussed, and although our Provincial representative did not feel called on, or even warranted, to take any part in the discussion, seeing that in America there is as yet abundance of available land for the enlargement of cemeteries, or for the establishment of new ones, his Italian confrères have not only not hesitated to rank him in their list of contents, but have also requested from him his annual subscription, which, of course, his Canadian habits of thought and conventional sentiment do not permit him to transmit. So much for innocence getting into foreign com There is too much truth in the old saying that one half the world know not how the other half live," and as death is the last scene in the drama of life, it is equally probable that quite as small a proportion are cognizant of the doleful surroundings of this event. It is, however, a gratifying reflection, that in this land, free from the inherited trammels of older nations and the exigencies of dense populations, we are permitted to award to the remains of the departed that right of decent sepulture, which the voice of weeping nature so urgently craves for. But it is not so in all countries. Even within the limits of our own mother land, interments have been witnessed, and must still be witnessed (for landlords have little interest | pany. in the disposal of the dead, but much in the permanent retention of their own broad acres), which are truly harrowing to the feelings of all who are constrained to witness them. What would our native born Canadians think, or say, on seeing, on the edges of a re-opened grave, four, six, or eight skulls cast out by the diggers, and some of these even yet not denuded of all the soft parts and the hair? Verily, the writer has seen coffins broken into, in which the grave clothes and binding rib-posanto Vecchio a Napoli," that is, the old holybons came forth almost fresh, the worms having kindly removed the edible textures. Many graveyards have, by indefinite interments in the same spot, been raised three, four, or more feet above the original level of the surface. This disgraceful disregard of the defunct bodies of the people has, for ages, prevailed in so-called civilized countries, wherein millions have been wrung from the tillers of the soil, in reward of This gentleman has placed in our hands several printed documents, received by him from his European sanitary colleagues, and we think, in justice. to the illustrious authors, as well as to the readers of the LANCET, we may venture on the reproduction of a few extracts, after careful perusal of which a considerable change of sentiment, in the minds of the latter, may be experienced. We select for our purpose, a short pamphlet entitled, "Il cam field at Naples, the equivalent of our old English title of "God's acre." The writer seems to have been a Florentine, who in 1878 was addressing a friend at home. Having made his way into this old place of sepulture (not in fact graveyard, for such, as we understand the word, it certainly was not), he entered into conversation with the caretaker, when the following information was obtained. "Pardon me, custodian, what are those large |