EDITORIAL ITEMS.

A Slow Pulse.-Bradycardia is often the first warning sign of arteriosclerosis.

Suprarenal Extract for Deafness.-This product is claimed to be the most efficacious internal remedy in ordinary cases of defective hearing.

Preperitoneal Lipomata.-Boas states that apparently insignificant preperitoneal lipomata may give rise to severe gastralgia or enteralgia.

Periodic Colic.-Boas calls attention to the fact that periodically recurrent paroxysms of pain are sometimes caused by chronic intestinal stenosis.

Orexin Tannate. As an appetizer, this pleasant remedy is gaining in favor. The dose for children is .5 gm., one and one-half hours before dinner.

Hardened Rubber.-The Medical Summary asserts that rubber goods hardened by age may be softened and nicely restored by soaking in dilute ammonia water.

Passiflora for Babies. With sleepless babes (Medical Summary) passiflora is the soothing remedy par excellence. It is safe and reliable, especially in anticipated convulsions.

Scarlatinal Nephritis. Charles G. Kereley (Medical News) claims that the optimum remedy is flushing of the colon with saline solution at 110°F., 1 to 11⁄2 pints every six to eight hours.

Atropine in Gastric Disorders.-According to Riegel, the use of atropine before meals reduces the quantity of gastric juice by twothirds, and the hydrochloric acid to one-eighth its former secretion.

Infantile Colic. A towel dipped in boiling water, says M. E. Douglass (Medical Record), wrung out rapidly, folded to proper size, and applied to the abdomen, with a dry flannel over the hot towel, acts like magic in infantile colic.

For Spasmodic Croup.-The Clinical Review recommends 1-10 grain each of apomorphine and potassium bichromate dissolved in 2 ounces of hot water. A teaspoonful of the hot solution is administered every fifteen minutes till benefit ensues.

Editorial Items continued on Page 101.

BOOKS.

Essentials of Refraction and of Diseases of the Eye.-By Edward Jackson, A. M., M.D., Emeritus Professor of Diseases of the Eye, in the Philadelphia Polyclinic. Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged; Twelvemo; 261 Pages; 82 Illustrations. Cloth, $1 net. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders & Co. 1901.

The favor accorded to preceding editions has led the author to revise the book thoroughly and to make numerous important. additions to the text. Traumatic lesions, the ocular signs and symptoms of general diseases, and the tests of vision required in the army, navy, public schools and railway service constitute the major portion of this extension. The arrangement of the text is natural and progressive, and most attention is given to every-day subjects. The author's intimate knowledge of his specialty enables him to make difficult points easy and the obscure lucid. The text is illustrated with 82 figures. The student and the general prac titioner could possess no more serviceable book on the eye unless it should be Dr. Jackson's manual.

Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Meeting of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.-Held at New York City, May 31, June 1 and 2, 1900. Chicago: R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co.

1901.

The number and character of the papers in this large volume attest the capable work and scientific zeal of the members of this young and flourishing association.

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The Hygiene of Transmissible Diseases; Their Causation, Modes of Dissemination and Methods of Prevention. By A. C. Abbott, M.D., Professor of Hygiene and Bacteriology, University of Pennsylvania. Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged; Octavo; 351 Pages, with Numerous Illustrations. Cloth, $2.50 net. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders & Co.

Though it is a comparatively short time since the first edition of this book appeared, recent investigations along these lines have been so wide-reaching and important that the present edition is considerably enlarged. The role of mosquitoes and rodents in disseminating malaria, yellow fever and plague is especially elaborated. The section on prophylaxis in general against infectious diseases is

particularly full and satisfactory. The numerous statistical charts and other figures are very convenient and instructive.

Diseases of the Intestines.-By Dr. I. Boas, Specialist for GastroIntestinal Diseases, in Berlin. Authorized Translation from First German Edition, with Special Additions, by Seymour Basch, M. D., New York City. Octavo: 562 Pages; with 47 Illustrations. New York: D. Appleton and Co. 1901.

Dr. Boas' book has the distinction of being the first detailed and exhaustive treatise on intestinal pathology in the English language. The work is most thorough and practical. General considerations of anatomy, physiology, chemistry and diagnostic technic are described with care and clearness. Special prominence is given to intestinal catarrhs and ulcers, chronic constipation, intestinal neurosis and other affections most frequently encountered by the general practitioner. The American translator has added. to the value of the work by numerous interpolations. We recommend this volume as the best to our knowledge upon the subject.

Twenty-Fourth Annual Report of the Board of Health of the State of New Jersey, and Report of Bureau of Vital Statistics-1900.

Home Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis.-Babcock (New York Medical Journal, July 13) relies almost wholly upon forced feeding, continuous sojourn in the open air, hydrotherapy, and absolute rest when fever is present. He has the patient take a glass of heated milk the first thing on waking and every two hours thereafter until sleep, regardless of meals. A raw egg must also be swallowed after each meal, increasing by one daily until as many as possible are consumed. In most instances, instead of the appetite being destroyed, it improves with the gain in nutrition.

SELECTIONS.

New Orleans Polyclinic.-Fifteenth annual session opens Nov. 4, 1901. Physicians will find the Polyclinic an excellent means for posting themselves upon modern progress in all branches of medicine and surgery. The specialties are fully taught, including laboratory work. For further information, address Dr. Isadore Dyer, Secretary, New Orleans Polyclinic, P. O. Box 797, New Orleans, La.

Cholera Infantum.-Physicians coincide in their views regarding the treatment of the summer diarrhoea of infants and children to a degree that enables it to be thus briefly summarized: Diet, emptying the alimentary tract, antisepsis. For the antiseptic treatment, Listerine alone, or Listerine, aqua cinnamon and glycerine, or, Listerine, bismuth and mistura cretae, will meet many requirements of the practitioner during the summer months. The following well tested formulae are submitted:

R-Listerine,

Simple Syrup,

3j-ij;

3vij-vi.

M. Sig. Teaspoonful every two or three hours.

Mist. Cretae,

3j.

M. Sig. Teaspoonful as often as necessary, but not more frequently than every three or four hours. This for children about 10 or 12 months. Thirty-two pages devoted to the management of summer complaints of infants and children may be had upon application to the manufacturers of Listerine-Lambert Pharmacal Co., St. Louis.

Paraldehyd possesses many of the good without the evil qualities of chloral. Used in insomnia resulting from various causes. The objectionable taste of the chemical is, to a great extent, disguised in Robinson's Elixir Paraldehyd (see page 30), which is an elegant preparation.

Kalagua as a Reconstructive.-At a meeting of the New York Academy of Medicine, December 26, 1901, Dr. Gleitsmann presented a case of epithlioma of the larynx. The patient had been first seen in July, and his tuberculous infiltrations were curetted three times during the summer. In the latter part of September the pain had returned and his general condition had deteriorated. He had then begun treatment with parachlorphenol and had kept it up, two or three times a week, using it after thorough cocainization. This remedy had proved a failure in more than one case, but he thought the present one would have succumbed long ago for lack of proper nourishment had this treatment not been carried out. The patient had taken Kalagua for the past three months (to be exclusive of all other remedies) and had gained over twenty pounds.-Laryngoscope.

The Anodyne Treatment of Acute Peritonitis.-McCaffrey ("The Eiology, Pathology and Treatment of Acute Peritonitis ") observes that the most pronounced indication for treatment in peritonitis is that for the relief of pain. Blisters and counter-irritation, the older resorts, are practically useless. Hot-water bags and poultices are far superior, but the relief they afford is only temporary. In some cases the ice bag is more grateful than hot applications. whether hot or cold is employed, it should be relied upon only until other lines of treatment can be instituted. Papine should be given in teaspoonful doses every hour, and the doses repeated frequently enough to afford the desired results. Relief from pain, short of narcosis, should be sought, and this is generally easily obtained by proper dosage. Papine does not produce nausea, but rather prevents this symptom. In the event of the development of more or less prostration, a proper stimulant, such as strychnine or nitroglycerine, should be judiciously employed.-Medical News.

The Hot Vaginal Douche.-An editorial in the Lancet-Clinic for May states that "in female pelvic troubles there is no one remedial measure that is so much used and gives such good results as hot water vaginal injections." Special stress is laid upon the quantity and temperature of the water and it is stated that from two to three gallons should be used and at a degree of about 112. However, to check abnormal secretions some astringent antiseptic preparation should be used, and for this purpose Micajah's Medicated Uterine Wafers are particularly indicated. These wafers exert a tonic effect upon the mucous membrane and prevent reaction after douching. A thorough hot douche, followed by the insertion of a Micajah's Wafer, presents an ideal treatment for diseases of the female genital tract.