This is by no means a "universal truss"; in fact, its field of usefulness is probably quite limited; but in small, recent umbilical hernia of adults it satisfies every requirement, and commends itself both by its simplicity and its cheapness.

TREATMENT OF SPRAINS BY COLLODION.

DR. A. W. BLODGETT, in the Boston Medical and Surgical Fournal, p. 294, 1881, relates that, in the winter of 1878, he sprained his own ankle, and, having tried the usual methods of treatment with very indifferent success, was resigning himself to let the sprain take care of itself, when it occurred to him that the application of collodion, so prepared that it would contract in drying, might be of some service. He made the trial, and was surprised and pleased at the result. For a few minutes no appreciable effect seemed to follow; but, after several coatings, there commenced a contraction of the whole layer of collodion from all directions at once, to a much greater degree and in a much more efficient manner than any bandage could possibly effect. As the collodion fibres cracked and divided into scales, these were picked off, and fresh coatings applied in succession, until, in the short space of three days, the ankle was restored to its original size, and there was a total absence of pain and tenderness in the joint. In a week he found himself quite well, and has never had a relapse. Dr. Blodgett cites eight cases successfully treated by collodion. Among the advantages of this mode of treatment are, briefly, prolonged elastic compression in parts notoriously difficult to bandage properly; waterproof protection to the skin from external irritants or applications; hermetical sealing up of wounds in the region of the strain or sprain; constant access to the part without the removal of dressings; an uninterrupted view of every part of the injured limb; reduction of heat in the tissues; great acceleration of the process of healing with perfect restoration of function; a great degree of immunity from relapse, and absolute simplicity in application. So far as my limited experience warrants an opinion of collodion in the treatment of strains and sprains, I am inclined to consider it by far the best, simplest, and most satisfactory method I have ever known. The degree of contraction depends much upon the quality of collodion employed. The so-called contractile collodion must be used for this purpose. To obtain the contractile effect of collodion, it is necessary to apply several coats successively, one upon the other. I think I have never applied less than six layers, which is easily accomplished, as the collodion dries very quickly; and a second coat can be applied almost as soon as the first is finished.

COCA IN THE OPIUM AND ALCOHOL HABITS.

DR. H. F. STIMMELL, Chattanooga, Tenn., in Therapeutic Gazette, says: "Having put the fluid extract of coca (Erythroxylon coca) to a very severe test, I am prepared to give you the result of my experience. To say that I am surprised or astonished at the wonderful and almost incredible effects of that new remedy as a nervous stimulant would not adequately express my appreciation of it. I will report a case: Mr. Y had been addicted to the habit of taking Morph. sulph. for about five years, commencing with one eighth grain for lumbago, changing it from internal to external application (hypodermically over lumbar region), and gradually increasing the quantity until he reached the enormous dose of twenty-five grains, as a maximum, three to four times a day. His nervous depression became so great that he could not hold his pen, or button his shirt, or handle knife and fork at breakfast, without taking his usual dose directly after rising. He suffered from all the consequences of the drug. His mind became deranged, and he even attempted the life of his wife and children, after which, believing he had succeeded, he swallowed one drachm of morphine, followed by a five-ounce dose of paregoric, with suicidal intent. I was called some time after, but found him suffering scarcely any from the effects of the drug; and the only treatment consisted in keeping him in motion. After his complete recovery, I talked freely with him regarding his infirmity, and promised to cure him if he would pledge himself to buy all of his morphine from me, thus enabling me to control his doses. I started him with the allowance of three twentygrain doses of morphine to be taken with a drachm of coca. In a week his morphine allowance had decreased to ten grains a day, and his dose of coca increased to one half ounce. And now, three weeks after commencing this treatment, the morphine has been entirely suspended. Yesterday, his wife came to my store handing me a package of powders of Morph. sulph., labelled and dated for me by her husband, in which I had confirmatory evidence of his assertion of abstinence."

TREATMENT OF DIPHTHERIA WITH ICE.

M. DE BLEYNIE affirms that the results he has obtained from this treatment during the past sixteen years permit him to affirm that diphtheria treated with ice is constantly cured.

The following mode of administration is recommended: 1. Introduce into the mouth of the little patient a small fragment of ice every ten minutes, without any interruption, whether the child

is waking or sleeping. Young sleeping children absorb the ice without awakening. The fragment of ice should be swallowed when it is almost melted. 2. Do not cease giving ice until the false membranes have entirely disappeared; this happens from the second to the eighth day. 3. Keep good watch over the throat, and, if the membranes reappear, recommence the treatment; and in fact for some days it will be better to continue giving ice every half-hour, lengthening the intervals each day. 4. From the beginning give wine and good nourishing food.

REVIEWS

AND

NOTICES

OF BOOKS.

SUPERSALINITY OF THE BLOOD. An Accelerator of Senility, and a Cause of Cataract. By J. Compton Burnett, M. D. Boericke & Tafel 1882.

A very ingenious monograph on the effects of salt on the system. The author is well known to the profession through his former publications of "Natrum Muriaticum," "Gold as a Remedy in Disease," etc., and anything from his able pen is worthy of profound consideration. He does not intend this as conclusive of his views, because, as he himself says in his Preface, "No single observer can settle any question"; but he invites " any evidence on the subject, for or against," and advances this as the result of his individual observation in cases of salt eaters, and the result, also, of experiment on animals. "The habitual use of too much salt," he says, "has a drying-up, senescert effect upon the organism," and thus also the same "drying-up" effect upon the crystalline lens. In proof of this, he cites his own experiments, and also those of Kunde and others, upon the lower animals. Kunde says: "If you take a frog weighing thirty grammes, and give it a 0.2-0.4 dose of salt, either under the skin or in the rectum, you will in a short time observe a bulging out of the cornea, with an increase of the aqueous humor, and, sooner or later, an opacity of the lens"; also convulsive symptoms will develop, followed by paralysis; and if the experiment be insisted upon, it will result in death. This can be prevented by slowly restoring water to the organism, by which the incipient paralysis and the opacity of the lens will disappear. These effects he attributes to the lack of water in the system, produced by its absorption by salt. Many other interesting experiments are cited, all conclusive of this inference. The effects of sea-bathing are such as to demonstrate the fact that salt may be absorbed through the pores

of the skin, producing results as above. Now, if this is the fact, how can be explained the phenomenon (?) of the salt miners of Poland, who are said to live longer than the usual span of years?

We read in J. Ross Brown's description of his visit to the salt mines of Wieliczka: "It is natural to suppose that the air in these vast subterranean passages must be impure, and consequently deleterious to health. Such, however, does not appear to be the case. It is both dry and pure, and, so far as I could judge by breathing it, not in the least oppressive. The miners are said to be remarkable for longevity. Several of them, according to the guide, have worked in the mines for forty years, and have never been sick a day." This, certainly, is not an evidence of senility. the last edition of "Diseases of the Eye, by Soelberg Wells," on page 170, we read: "Dr. Rothmund, of Munich, has strongly recommended the sub-conjunctival injection of tepid salt and water in cases of dense non-vascular opacities, such as often remain after diffuse corneitis." Here salt seems to be the curative agent. Is not its homoeopathicity thereby illustrated?

In

In any event, this little work has opened a large field for experiment and observation, and perhaps may be resultant of a therapeutic basis as well.

OBITUARY.

[]

PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS adopted by the Homeopathic Physicians of St. Paul, upon the decease of Dr. C. D. WILLIAMS.

Brothers, An ancient landmark has been removed, a veteran has fallen. One who, for forty-nine years, has been in the very front of the battle, doing valiant service for homœopathy, has passed on to that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveller returns. Dr. C. D. Williams is no more.

Therefore, be it Resolved, That in the decease of our brother, the homoeopathic fraternity of the city and State have lost a valuable member and wise counsellor. Resolved, That we sympathize deeply with the afflicted family and friends in this our common bereavement.

Resolved, That these resolutions, together with the preamble, be spread upon the minutes of this meeting in the form of a memorial page.

Resolved, That a copy thereof be forwarded to the family of the deceased; also a copy to each of the daily papers of the city, the New York Medical Times, the NEW ENGLAND MEDICAL GAZETTE, the Hahnemannian, the Clinique, and the United States Medical Investigator. Respectfully submitted,

CHAS. GRISWOLD. H. HUTCHINSON. C. A. HUGHES.

TEN little cigarettes in a wrapper fine;

A small boy samples them and then there are nine.

Nine little cigarettes quickly, one by one,

Get their work in on the youth, then there are none.

Four bearded doctors sitting round the bed,
Each with a different shake to his head.

Three big diseases waiting to destroy,
All bearing Latin names as long as the boy.
Two undertakers, gratitude in eye,

The Homeopathic Word.

Bend low to the doctors as they pass 'em by. One little funeral in the graveyard score; One little smoker less, one angel more. MALE WET NURSES. The Journal de Sages Femmes has a notice of a German physician in Pomerania who makes a specialty of supplying wet nurses.

He excites

the secretion of milk not only independently of pregnancy, but in men as well as in women. An applicant for a wet nurse is always asked whether a male or a female is desired. The former is preferred by some families, under the belief that greater vigor is thus imparted to the infants.

Times.

DIED FROM DOSING. - Two great men have died in this country during the last month, Longfellow and Emerson. Taking the account of the death of each from the newspapers, we find that Longfellow was suffering from a diarrhoea, a not very terrible disease, generally, and that his physician gave him "something to check the diarrhoea," and inflammation of the bowels set in, from which he died.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was suffering from acute pneumonia, and, as the pain was very severe, his physicians gave him an opiate to relieve the pain. He was never conscious afterwards. Comment is unnecessary. — United States Medical Investigator. A GENTLEMAN in a village in New York State has a family of three or four little girls. Not long since the children were talking about a pair of twins. One of them, an elder one, turned to her father and said, “Papa, what do they call it when three babies come at once?" A little one, who was much interested in the conversation, and who had heard talk about the small-pox, at once interrupted and said with much animation, "I know, papa.” "Well, what do they call it?" said the father. "An epidemic," said the little one, proudly displaying her knowledge. — Boston Journal.

DR. WILLIAM P. MASON, of the Troy Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, writes: "The following experiment may not be without interest, in view of the considerable prejudice existing against corked' ether cans. Fresh cans of Squibbs's ether (half and quarter pounds) were opened, and the amount of absolute ether immediately determined. They were then carefully corked with soft corks, and set aside. The ether was redetermined at the end of three, and again at the end of seven weeks, with results identical with those of the first determination. Cans where the corks had been merely dropped' in place showed marked deterioration in quality of contents at the end of the first week. It thus appears that where proper care is taken in corking, the strength of the ether may be relied upon." - Medical Record.

THE "Lancet" of Jan. 21 speaks in terms of warm commendation of the new requirements in the examination of candidates for the diploma of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. One admirable feature of these new requirements is that the candidate must undergo successfully, in addition to his written examination, a viva voce examination of ten minutes on clinical medicine (during which he is called upon to diagnose cases submitted to him); and another, of the same length, on obstetrics and diseases of women, in which he is required to show proficiency in the use of the various instruments.