fever, neuralgia, delirium tremens, wakefulness, hydrophobia, and various nervous disorders. The strong commendations of the plant lead us to fear that it has been neglected. Prof. Jos. McFarland, M.D., a recognized teacher and authority on bacteriology, has engaged himself with Messrs. Paike, Davis & Co., of Detroit, Mich., for purely scientific research in connection with their biological laboratories. Can Two Germ Diseases Exist in the Same Patient at the Same Time? Dr. Lambert Ott, in a very interesting paper read before the Philadelphia County Medical Society, on "Clinical Laws of Immunity of Disease," says: "Diseases have a distinct individuality apart from their bacteriological relations. The expression of disease is varied, but what hidden forces lie concealed to modify and mold the variations is a momentous question. Those who have suffered from pneumonia or erysipelas are apt to be again attackt. Vaccination will not take while a child suffers from even the incubation period of measles. Measles are the stronger, and hold the weaker in abeyance. Vaccination in children born of a mother who has had small pox is generally mild in type Children who have had whooping cough and scarlet fever are not so apt to suffer from diphtheria; follicular tonsillitis also seems to yield a certain protection from diphtheria. Measles and whooping cough travel in pairs, but one invariably precedes the other. This combination does not produce immunity from scarlet fever, but such children are not so apt to have diphtheria. Follicular tonsillitis occurring in those exposed to scarlet fever, was called 'scarlet fever without eruption' by the older writers; and it is a fact that many such children, even in the same room, apparently escape the scarlet fever, since there is neither renal nor other complication." He believes no disease will produce immunity unless skin involvement be a part of its expression. If there be such a thing as inherited dyscrasia and diathesis, why may not there be a certain degree of inherited immunity? No two infectious diseases can coexist in the same individual; tho if syphilis be a germ infection, we have the exception of gonorrhea and syphilis in the same individual. In the discussion which followed. Dr. Coplin said that the immunity found in animals seemed to be transmitted only from the mother, and he thought that the immunizing body passed thru the placenta to the fetus. Dr. Eshner reported cases of simul taneous attacks of more than one germ dis ease. Dr. Ott, in closing, said that he had not been able to diagnose the coexistence of, two germ diseases, altho he was aware that bacteriologists claimed to have done so. [What have been the observations of our readers ?-ED. M. W.] Diphtheria Antitoxin. Dr. Edwin Rosenthal, of Philadelphia, Chairman of the Section on Diseases of Children, of the American Medical Association, presented some figures in his address before that Section at the Atlantic City meeting, last June, that tend to strengthen the claims of diphtheria antitoxin. The object of Dr. Rosenthal's investigations was to determin the clinical value and ethical standing of antitoxin. In order to do this he placed himself in communication both with the users and manufacturers of serum. He directed the following to 4,000 teachers and leaders in medicin in this and other countries. Dear Doctor: Will you kindly report at the earliest possible moment, on the experience you have had in the treatment of diphtheria, with and without diphtheria antitoxin? If you can give me the number of cases of diphtheria treated by you without antitoxin, and the number of cases treated with antitoxin, with the results, it will be of especial value. Should you have no record of your cases, will you kindly advise what is your feeling toward the treatment of diphtheria with antitoxin? If you have any items of particular interest in your experience in the treatment of diphtheria (with or without antitoxin), I shall consider it a personal favor if you will report to me in full. It is my purpose to read a paper at the meeting of the American Medical Association, and I am asking the information from you since it will be of material assistance in securing data for my paper. Have you any preference as to what make of antitoxin to employ? Very truly yours, EDWIN ROSENTHAL. The full data from the replies is not given, but a summary shows a unanimity of evidence in favor of antitoxin. The consensus of opinion as to antitoxin as an immunizing agent is that "antitoxin prevents diphtheria; if given early enuf and in sufficient dosage, it prevents the appearance of the disease. If the serum be given as an immunizing agent, and in doses insufficient, it will modify, that is, prevent a graver manifestation of the malady. As to the results in general practise the replies were of three kinds-consultants, teachers or writers on the subjects; active family doctors; those connected with hospitals or other institutions in which diphtheria was treated. The replies from activ practitioners show: "Total number of physicians reporting. . 673 26 5 The total number of cases reported as having been treated with antitoxin were 12,375, of which number 11,727 recovered, showing a mortality record of 5.23 per cent. Dr. Rosenthal also wrote letters to city bureaus of health, hospitals for contagious diseases and pest houses, both in this and foreign countries. One hundred and fiftyseven cities replied, showing "number of cases previous to the serum period, 183,256, with a mortality of 38.4 per cent. Number of cases since the antitoxin period, 132,548, with a mortality of 14.6 per cent. The latter were not all treated with serum; in computing those cases treated with the serum alone the mortality was 9.8 per cent. It was shown by the letters received that diphtheria antitoxin was of unquestioned "ethical" standing. If we can attach any importance to statistics, it does appear that the position of diphtheria antitoxin as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent is settled. Treatment for Diphtheria. In Merck's Archives for December, 1900, Dr. Weichselbaum, of Savannah, Georgia, makes the statement that he has not lost a case of diphtheria in the last fifteen years. His treatment is a mercurial purge at the start of the disease, and repeated as often as necessary, and the use of a 25 per cent. solution of peroxid of hydrogen in water as a spray or gargle every half hour, There is much sound sense in the warning Tirard gives (Medical Treatment of Diseases and Symptoms, Lea Bros.) regarding the use of ergot in hemoptysis. He says: "In cases of unusual severity there can be no doubt but that a branch of a large vessel, one perhaps crossing a phthisical cavity, has become involved; and under such circumstances the administration of a drug which will cause contraction of the terminal twigs of the arteries will raise the blood pressure in the larger vessels, and thus will favor further hemorrhage, instead of acting as a remedial agent. I would therefore, recommend that ergot should be used only in those cases where the amount of the hemorrhage, or the physical signs, render it probable that the lesion affects vessels of small size, and that it should not be employed when there are signs of a large phthisical cavity, and when the amount of hemorrhage affords an indication that a large vessel has given way." [Tannic or gallic acid, in thirty grain doses has been used. In such quantity they derange digestion, and interfere with nutrition for a time. Lead acetate in three grain doses, combined with one-half grain opium, has been used with success. Dilute sulfuric acid favors coagulation, and has been extensively employed. Small doses of alum give good results. The old domestic remedy of swallowing pinches of ordinary salt must not be forgotten. Sulfate, acetate, and chlorid of iron in dilute solutions, and in small, rapidly repeated doses, will often check the hemorrhage. Hamamelis is reliable, but slow. Small doses of turpentine frequently repeated, will often be found efficient; and it has the added advantage of being a stimulant and favoring the expulsion of the viscid contents of the bronchial tubes and air vesicles. Amyl nitrite is useful when the hemorrhage comes from a small vessel. Strong emetics or brisk purgativs often bring pronounced results, but the ex haustion following their use is objectionable.-ED.] Hoff's Consumption Cure. This much lauded formula is as follows: "Take of arsenic acid 1 part, carbonate of potash 2 parts, cinnamyllic acid 3 parts, and distilled water 5 parts; heat until a perfect solution is obtained, then add 25 parts of Cognac and 3 parts of watery extract of opium which has been dissolved in 25 parts of water and filtered." Dr. Hoff's statements and specifications regarding the remedy and his treatment are as follows: "At first take six drops after dinner and supper, gradually increasing to twenty-two drops." "Hestates that he has tried the remedy on 200 patients from the lowest classes, who had been long under observation. Mild cases were quickly cured, and partial cures were soon brought about in severer cases. The appetite and weight were increased steadily, the fever lowered, night sweats, insomnia and asthmatic symptoms lessened, cough decreased, and rattle stopped. The patients are asked only to keep the kidneys in order. The duration of the treatment depends entirely upon the condition of the patient. Mild cases are cured in two months, but the more severe require a year or two. Dr. Hoff says he does not claim for the solution the power of a magic wand, which cures at touch; but he can state this-that one of his patients had cavities in the lungs big enuf to put one's fist into, yet he was cured in about two years. It is absolutely necessary that the solution should be taken after eating, when the stomach is full. The treatment must not be forced by increasing doses. As long as the patient shows signs of improvement the dose should not be increast. It is sometimes bene ficial to reduce the dose." There has been much discussion pro and con. of this announcement in medical journals and the lay press. At present we have nothing to say. The Medical Council. Proper Dress While Disinfecting. Dr. John S. Fulton, of Baltimore, Md., has a worthy article on A Suitable Dress for Defence Against Infectious Disease" in the Phila. Med. Journal of December 29, 1900. The Doctor uses a baker's cap, white pajamas, tennis shoes and four gum bands. This is the entire suit. The suit costs $2.15. It may be worn on any street without exciting comment. It is very cheap, not alarming to the patient, readily carried, easily sterilized, thoroly efficient and wears well. Better get one for your satchel. Patients quickly learn to appreciate it, and the doctor's reputation for careful attention is enhanced. The Medical Society of the Missouri Valley will hold its semi-annual meeting at Omaha, Neb., March 21st. New Books. Tropical Diseases, a manual of the Diseases of Warm Climates. By Patrick Manson, C. M.G., M.D., LL.D. (Aberd.), Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London; Fellow of the Royal Society; Foreign Associate of the Academy of Medicin, Paris; Physician to the Seaman's Hospital Society; Lecturer on Tropical Diseases at St. George's Hospital; Charing Cross Hospital Medical Schools; Lecturer in The London School of Tropical Medicin; Medical Adviser to the Colonial Office and Crown Agents for the Colonies, With 114 illustrations and two colored plates. Revised and enlarged edition. Cassell & Company, London, Paris, New York and Melbourne. Sold by Leary, Stuart & Co., New York, N. Y. Price $3.50 net. Contains 658 pages, with a superb and quickworking index. Nearly all the illustrations are new to American readers. The major part of the space is taken up with malaria (and due attention is given the malaria bearing mosquitoes), yellow fever, beri-beri, plague, cholera and dysentery; about one half the book being so occupied. The two colored plates are illustrativ of malarial parasites. Every disease has full space accorded it on etiology, pathology and treatment; the latter especially is full, yet plain and concise, and leaves no doubt as to what the author considers the best remedial agents, Leprosy in its various forms is well handled. The author has had no results in the boils of the tropics from calcium sulfid, tarwater, or yeast. Many of the diseases and names sound weird to the denizen of the west: Guinea worm, loa, craw-craw, Dhobie itch, chigger, goundou, etc. This work has now past thru what we would call five editions, tho only publisht in 1898. In its new and enlarged form, it will prove more valuable than ever. It is revised up to the very time of publication, and is a reliable guide to the physician unaccustomed to such diseases. The constant interchange of traffic and passengers from foreign climes must transport many of these tropical diseases to our shores, and no part of the country may be called immune. It is the duty, therefore, of every physician to learn something of such affections, and he can learn it nowhere better than here. We commend the book, and believe it will meet with a large and well merited sale.-A. L. R. International Clinics, Vol. III, 10th series. A Quarterly of clinical lectures and specially prepared articles on Medicin, Surgery, Neurology, Therapeutics, Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Pathology, Dermatology, Diseases of the Eye and Nose, and other topics of interest to students and practitioners. By leading members of the medical profession thruout the world. Edited by Henry W. Cattell A.M., M. D., with the collaboration of H. C. Wood, M.D., John B. Murphy, M.D., Alexander D. Blackader, M.D., T. M. Rotch. M.D., E Landolt. M.D., Thomas G. Morton, M.D., and Charles H. Reed, M.D., with regular correspondents in Montreal, London, Vienna, Leipsic and Paris. Publisht by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pa., 1900. Cloth. Price $2.00 net. The old familiar book has a new corp of editors, every one of them with a brilliant reputation, not one of them who is not a "star" in his own line. Valentine has a nice little twelvepage article on Aseptic Urethral Instrumentation. Bulkley calls syphilis "the great disease," in his article on Extra-genital Chancres. He condemns the hypodermic use of mercury, and believes potassium iodide is often pusht too rapidly. Lewis, Fisher, Peabody and Gottheil have articles on various phases of syphilis. DaCosta has an interesting article on diphtheritic paralysis, myxedema, syphilitic liver, etc. There are 298 pages, and it is all good, tho we cannot review each article on account of the wide range of subjects treated and the numerous authors. Its very variety makes it a very interesting and profitable clinic. This volume will earn new friends, and will not alienate any old ones.-A. L. R. Disinfection and Disinfectants. By H. M. Bracken, M.D., Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in the University of Minnesota; Secretary and Executiv officer Minnesota Board of Health. Publisht by The Trade Periodical Company, 241 Wabash avenue, Chicago, Ill. Price not given us. This little volume contains 85 pages and an index. Every undertaker in the land should buy it. Not many doctors but might profit from its perusal. All the disinfectants of efficiency are treated sufficiently, but to formaldehyde is given the place of honor. All the modern generators are illustrated with full page cuts, and the spraying method of using formaldehyde is illustrated and explained. An illus trated article on garments for disinfectors and physicians is timely and instructiv. The author might well amplify his book; yet it is now indispensable to every undertaker, and very valuable to every physician.-A. L. R. King's American Dispensatory. New edition. Entirely rewritten and enlarged, by Harvey W. Felter, M.D, Adjunct Professor of Chemistry in the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati. O.; Co-editor Locke's Materia Medica and Therapeutics; Ex-President Ohio State Eclectic Medical Association, etc., etc., and John Uri Lloyd, Ph. M., Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacy in the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, O.; formerly Professor of Pharmacy in the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy; Ex-President of the American Pharmaceutical Association: Author of the Chemistry of Medicins; Drugs and Medicins of North America; Etidorhpa, etc., etc. Two volume edition, royal octavo, containing together 2,284 pages, including complete indices. Cloth, $4.50 per volume, postpaid. Sheep, $5.00 per volume, postpaid. The Ohio Valley Company, Publishers, Cincinnati, O. No eclectic practitioner can afford to do without this book; it brings his information up to date, and is valuable as a reference work in every day practise. It has much matter not found in other dispensatories, and may be consulted with benefit by any practitioner, be he regular, eclectic or homeopathic. The index takes up 87 pages, and is complete and a perfect aid to rapid work. This issue is entirely rewritten, and has the authority of the eclectic school. This is the eighteenth edition of the work, and it stands for Eclecticism as the National and U. S. Dispensatories do for Regular Medicin. We appreciate the original matter contained in it; the record of investigations nowhere else recorded are a valuable contribution to general medical literature. It is a valuable work which will grace any library, and will prove of daily use.-A. L. R. A Treasure for Families: A Plea for Posterity, and the Development of Marriage upon the Human Race. By James W. Price, M. D. Price, 25 cents. A rather eccentric, but interesting little pamphlet. Neither address of author or publisher is given. It has many lengthy quotations from recent authors along such lines, and many gems of original thought. Biblical quotations are prominent. Paper bound, 32 pages.-A. L. R. A Manual of Hygiene and Sanitation. By Seneca Egbert. A.M., M.D., Professor of Hygiene and Dean of The MedicoChirurgical College of Philadelphia: Member of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; Member of The American Medical Association, etc., etc. Second edition, enlarged and thoroly revised. Illustrated with 77 engravings. Publisht by Lea Brothers & Co, Philadelphia and New York. 1900. Cloth, net $2 25. This edition has 424 pages, and a good index. It has been brought fully up to all advances in sanitation and hygiene. The author has establisht his reputation as an authority, and this edition embellishes the medals already won. He covers bacteriology, air, ventilation and heating, water, food, personal and school hygiene, disinmilitary hygiene, and vital statistics, in a creditfection and quarantine, disposal of sewage, able manner. He has some pronounced ideas on the fruits of marriage, and does not scruple to pronounce them. He has a good book, which we can thoroly commend as being a perfect manual upon the subjects toucht. It will progress thru more than this edition, because of its intrinsic merit, careful editing, and perfect topography.-A. L. R. String-town on the Pike. By John Uri Lloyd, of Cincinnati Publisht by Dodd, Mead & Co., N. Y. Price, $1.50. Contains 414 pages of interesting and fascinating reading. The author, like Dickens, has the faculty of depicting his character so vividly that you would know them if you met them. His negro and back woods Kentucky dialect is good, tho the faithful old negro Cupe would be as interesting if his "cuss words" were left out. Prof. Drew's ambition should be a lesson to young scientists and professional men not to let ambition overbalance a distinct occult resistance. Mr. Lloyd's "String-town on the Pike" should have a place on the upper shelf of fiction. -A. M. T. Handbook of Medical Gymnastics. By Anders Wide, M D., Lecturer in Medical Gymnastics and Orthopedy in the Royal Carolean Medico-Surgical Institute and Director of the Gymnastic Orthopedic Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. With a frontispiece and 92 illustrations in the text. Publisht by Funk & Wagnalls Co., New York, N. Y., 1899. Write them for price. Most general practitioners believe "Swedish but a perusal of this book will alter their trend Movements" to be but a species of quackery ; of thought. This system is founded on a thoro knowledge of anatomy, physiology and hygiene, and demands of operators both skill and knowledge. The system doubtless has, and will in future be, taken up by those who know nothing of either it or medicin; but this very reason is a powerful incentiv to the progressiv physician to take up the study of the matter till he is compe. tent to judge of its merits. This book will enable any doctor to do this; and he may then meet the ludricous and distorted claims of the quack smilingly. The work is attractvly bound, and well printed, the typographical errors are all too numerous. It has 372 pages. Its illustrations are all clear, distinct and instructiv; each to a degree enabling the reader to understand and repeat the movement. The author has reported a number of cases treated by medical gymnastics, and also touches, at times, upon Massage and Orthopedics; as distinguisht from true medical gymnastics. Gymnastic terminology, apparatus, education, movements, positions, and general governing rules, are given in detail; then follow their special adaptation to all the diseases to which man is subject. The language and phraseology as taken from the Swedish tongue seem awkward and ponderous to us, but the meaning is always clear. Such terms as "Stomach pit-shaking," "Abdominal side-shaking," "Sawing," "Sphincter stroking," etc., are new and novel; yet the author makes you understand just what he means and just how to do it. "Telephone Neurosis" is a new one, as are innumerable others, yet the germ of truth is here. While we commend the book heartily as one of the best silent instructors along such lines, we suggest to the author and publishers that in their next edition they employ an editor who will transpose typography and phraseology so as to correspond more closely with the American style. Both truth and instruction are here, tho a little hard to grasp readily; yet every physician who may ever lose a patient to a quack, had best buy the book, and by knowing all about it himself, forestall the loss. The book is commendable, tho it author has stumbled somewhat in his English. Every well-maintained library needs the work. The profess on will soon request a second edition.-A. L. R. Refraction and How to Refract. Including sections on Optics, Retinoscopy, the fitting of spectacles and eye. glasses, etc. By James Thorington, A. M., M. D., Professor of Diseases of the Eye in the Philadelphia Polyclinic and College for Graduates in Medicin; Associate Member of the American Opthalmological Society; Fellow of the College of Paysicians of Philadelphia, etc. Second edition. Two hundred illustrations, thirteen of which are colored. Publisht by P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 1012 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Penna., 1900. Price $1.50 net. We take this occasion to repeat the commendation we gave this work when it first appeared less than one year ago. Any book exhausting the first edition in less than a year has mide a striking success. This book deserves it. It is a plain and perfect guide to what it claims to teach, and any intelligent medical reader may from it learn all the principles and theories which go to make up this branch of medicin. Little change has been made in the subject matter beyond a slight change in phraseology, which makes the meaning more easily graspt. The cost is very moderate, and the book can not fail to please the most critical beginner. We say it is one of the best of such works now extant, and this edition is perhaps a slight improvement over the first. Binding, type and illustrations are the same as in the first edition.-A. L. R. The Treatment of Fractures. By W. L. Estes, A.M., M.D., Director and Physician and Surgeon-in-Chief of St. Luke's Hospital, South Bethlehem, Pa. With numerous original illustrations. New York International Journal of Surgery Company. 1900. Price, $2.00. Among the surgical conditions which the general practitioner meets in his daily routine, fractures occnpy a prominent place. This is especially true of the practitioner in the smaller cities and in the country, who cannot depend upon the specialist to help him out of the difficulty, but is compelled to rely upon his own therapeutic resources. A thoro kuowledge of the treatment of fractures is one of the prerequisites to success in general practise. Dr. Estes has viewed his subject in an eminently practical light. While his book enters the field a little later than more pretentious works on the same subject, he will hold his own well if price be considered. He is thoroly original. His cuts are fully explanatory, tho they might be improved upon in the artistic sense, and in mechanical execution. His long experience with acute injuries has fitted him to write authoritativly on emergencies. We find his book well up to date, complete, and a valuable guide to both city and country surgeon. His book is well worth its price for the original hints not found elsewhere. The topography is perfect, and the book has been well edited. It will have a deservedly large sale. It contains 221 pages.-A. L. R. Progressiv Medicin, Vol. IV, 1900. A Quarterly Digest of Advances, Discoveries and Improvements in the Medical and Surgical Sciences. Edited by Hobart Amory Hare, M.D., Professor of Therapeutics and Materia Medica in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. Octavo, handsomely bound in cloth, 428 pages, 69 illustrations. Per annum, in four cloth volumes, $10.00. Lea Brothers & Co., Philadelphia and New York. Vol. IV, for 1900, keeps up the record for this series as being one of the most valuable publisht. Einhorn's article on Diseases of the Stomach and allied organs is worth the price of the entire issue. Bloodgood has an entertaining and instructiv article on elbow joint fractures, tuberculosis of bones, coxa-vara and gonorrheal arthritis. The unique feature labelled as "The Therapeutic Referendum," takes up 100 pages; herein is recorded the successes of the newer drugs and the decadence of some older ones. Belfield has an article on genito-urinary diseases, and Bradford treats on Diseases of the Kidney. Brubaker's article on Physiology will interest every practitioner who seeks to keep up with the medical advance. Baker, on Hygiene, deals with diseases due to toxins, their methods of control, and their modes of communication. This series has the gist of the year's grist. We read each book with increasing interest. We commend it highly to our readers, and suggest the continuous purchasing of the series until one will have obtained a modern medical cyclopedia. Size, binding, type and mechanical execution are up to the high Lea standard, and uniform with former issues. The issue for 1901 will be at least the equal of those gone before, and no one could ask more.-A. L. R. Student's Edition, a Practical Treatise of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, with special reference to the Clinical Application of Drugs. By John V. Shoemaker, M.D, LL.D., Professor of Materia Medica, Pharmacology, Therapeutics, and Clinical Medicin and Clinical Professor of Diseases of the Skin in the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia; Physician to the Medico-Chirurgical Hospital; Member of the American Medical Association, of the Pennsylvania and Minnesota State Medical Societies, the American Academy of Medicin, the British Medical Association; Fellow of the Medical Society of London, etc., etc. Fifth Edition. Thoroly revised, 6% x 91⁄2 inches. Pages vii-770. Extra Cloth, $4.00 net; sheep, $4.75 net. F. A. Davis Company, Publishers, 1914-16 Cherry street, Philadelphia. Five editions prove success. The plan and scope of the work has been altered. Since the material is now too voluminous for one con |