He must avoid drinking-Milk, except sparingly, sweet ales, mild and old, porter and stout, cider, all sweet wines, sparkling wines, port wine, unless sparingly, liqueurs. Dietetic Rules for reducing Weight ("Bantingism"). Although the general principles on which these rules are founded are not new, they have attained greater prominence, within a few years past, from the publication of the experience of one who had successfully subjected himself to their rigid exactions, under the advice of a medical practitioner of London.' The mainspring of the system is the avoidance of all starchy and saccharine matters, such as bread, butter, milk, sugar, potatoes, beer, etc., all of which have a tendency, from their chemical composition, to create fat. In elucidation of this dietary plan, the following general bill of fare is offered, similar to that under the use of which a weight of 200 pounds was, in the instance cited, reduced in a year to nearly 150. BILL OF FARE. For Breakfast.-Four or five ounces of beef, mutton, kidneys, broiled fish, bacon, or cold meat of any kind except pork and veal, which are not easily digested; a large cup of tea (without milk or sugar); a little biscuit, or one ounce of dry toast, brown bread, or ordinary bread. crust; an egg, if not hard boiled. For Dinner.-Five or six ounces of any fish except salmon, herring, and eels (owing to their oily nature), any meat except pork and veal; green vegetables, and any vegetable except potatoes, parsnips, turnips, beets, and carrots; one ounce of dry toast; fruit out of a pud Wm. Banting, Letter on Corpulence. 11th edition. Philadelphia, ding; any kind of poultry or game, and two or three glasses of good claret, sherry, or Madeira; Champagne, port, and beer being forbidden. For Tea.-Two or three ounces of fruit, a rusk or two, and a cup of tea without milk or sugar. A little coffee may be permitted. For Supper.-Three or four ounces of meat or fish, similar to dinner, with a glass or two of claret. For Nightcap, if required, a tumbler of grog (gin, whisky, or brandy, without sugar), or a glass or two of claret or sherry. The latter portion of the bill of fare will doubtless be omitted in the majority of instances. Indeed, the items here indicated should not be blindly followed without the exercise of a watchful care, lest, in individual cases, this systematic reduction should be followed with unfavorable results to the general health. The principles which underlie the construction of such an itemized list are, however, correct, and should govern the practitioner when consulted in cases of corpulency. It may be added that in the case alluded to a draught was also ordered to be taken, once or twice daily, on an empty stomach, containing a drachm of the aromatic spirits of ammonia with ten grains of carbonate of magne sium, to obviate the induction of the uric acid diathesis as a consequence of the restricted diet. RULES FOR TESTING AND DISINFECTING IMPURE DRINKING WATER. The purity of the water supply of towns and cities, and its effects on the health of individuals and of communities, are matters of vital import to all classes and all professions, but the medical man is supposed to be especially familiar with the tests for its impurities, and with the agents that are best calculated to disinfect it. Such knowledge on his part will generally place him in the foremost rank of sanitary reformers, and enable him at times to be of inestimable service in the hygienic improvement of the locality in which he resides. Tests for Impurities in Water. A full examination of the character of a potable water as to its organic constituents is, perhaps, one of the most difficult problems in the ordinary run of analytical chemistry. There is organic matter decomposed, decomposing, and ready to be decomposed, to be looked for; a discrimination to be made between organic matter of all grades, from the perfectly inert up to the pestilence-producing; and, more, these frequently can only be recog nized by the products of decomposition, usually the same from all classes mentioned. The tests described are all in use by experts in wateranalyses; they have been altered, in some cases, in the details, so that they can be applied by any physician with 1 Dr. Chas. McIntyre on the Detection of Organic Matter in Drinking Water, Phila. Med. Times, March 6, 1875, from which excellent paper most of these facts are obtained. an ordinary amount of apparatus. They aim at qualitative, not quantitative determination, and can, therefore, be used on ordinary occasions, while the latter would require the special apparatus of a chemical laboratory with the skill of a professed chemist. We may have organic material— I. As to its derivation: animal, or vegetable. II. As to its condition: not decomposed, or decomposed. a. If not decomposed, either (1) in the same form as it exists in the organism, or (2) changed into some complex organic substance. b. If decomposed, it may exhibit any of the products of decomposition down to the purely inorganic—e. g., carbon dioxide, nitric acid-and these may be present along with organic material, which may escape detection. III. As to its effect: deleterious, or harmless. If the organic material is of animal origin, the nitrogen compounds will ordinarily be more abundant. These are supposed to exert the greatest influence in causing the water to be unwholesome. The presence of ammonia, or even, perhaps, of albuminoid substances (not readily putrescible), does not, however, of necessity render the water unfit for domestic purposes, or even prove the presence of recent organic material. Unfortunately, most of the methods will not enable us to tell of the source of the organic material, and in doubtful cases it may be difficult to decide as to the condition of the water. TESTS. 1. For Organic Matter.-If a quantity (f3viij) of water is evaporated carefully to dryness in a clean porcelain or glass vessel, and then heated gently, the blackening of the residue will indicate the presence of the more stable organic compounds, which will all disappear by a further application of the heat with access of air. If during this latter operation there is any deflagration or rapid combustion, it indicates the presence of nitrates in the water. A very rough approximation of the amount of this organic matter can be made by weighing when dry, and again after it has been burned off. There are very few waters so free from organic matter as not to leave a blackened residue, while at the same time it would be possible to have a water rich in organic material which would leave little or no char. This test, then, is of use when the amount left is greatly in excess of the char from comparatively pure water. Allow another portion of the water to stand in a warm place, exposed to the light, for several days. Should it become putrid or show the presence of animal or vegetable growths, either to the naked eye or by the aid of the microscope, there should be grave doubts as to the fitness of the water for domestic purposes. It is asserted that at times organic matter is contained in water in such a condition as not to respond to the ordinary reagents until after it has undergone some decomposition. Consequently, in a suspected water, if no reactions can be obtained in the fresh water, it would be advisable to let a portion stand as above, and then test. The presence of ammonia, nitrous and nitric acids, any or all, indicates the presence of nitrogen in the water. It is possible, however, for this nitrogen to have its origin in inert organic material, or even to have an inorganic origin, and, hence, exercise no deleterious effect upon the water. Their presence is suspicious, and should always be looked for. In many cases the organic material is readily oxidized by means of potassium permanganate. Render the water slightly acid by means of sulphuric acid, and drop in a few drops of a solution of potassium permanganate; the |