Dr. George B. Fowler has succeeded Dr. Cyrus Edson as Health Commissioner of New York City.

Dr. C. H. Jones has removed to 812 West North Avenue, between Linden Avenue and Bolton Street.

The Southern Medical Record has passed under the control of Dr. Bernard Wolff of Atlanta, who will hereafter edit it.

At the York Medical Society an annual prize is offered for the best impromptu speech before that society.

The twenty-sixth annual session of the Medical Society of Virginia will be held at Wytheville, beginning September 3.

There are now 1,620 boards of health in Ohio. This gives an army of about ten thousand men actively engaged in fighting disease.

During July the milk inspectors of Baltimore spilled 554 gallons of condemned milk and three arrests for the sale of impure milk, were made. Five thousand nine hundred and forty pounds of meat were condemned.

A dental department of the Baltimore Medical College has been established in the large three story building known as the Friend's school house, near the corner of Eutaw and Monument Streets. A dental infirmary will be conducted in connection with the department.

F. W. R. Waring, of Yonkers, New York, was recently sentenced to six months' imprisonment and required to pay a fine of fifty dollars for practicing medicine illegally. This individual has been warring on legitimate medicine for some time, and had been fined $100 in 1887, and served a term in Sing Sing in 1889, for a like offense.

Dr. James W. Eichelberger, the oldest citizen of Emmitsburg, Md., died suddenly last week in his ninety-second year. He had been in feeble health for some time, owing to his advanced age, yet his death was unexpected. In 1827 he graduated in medicine at. the University of Maryland, and continued in active practice until his health would no longer permit.

When cholera prevailed in France two summers ago, says the Medical Record, the health authorities sent word to the mayor of a village in the threatened district to prepare for the disease. After a while he reported that he was ready, and upon inquiry being made as to what precautions had been taken, it was learned that a sufficient number of graves had been dug in the cemetery to bury every man, woman and child in the village.

The eighteenth annual meeting of the Pennsylvania and Maryland Medical Union Association will take place August 29, at Columbia, Pa. Dr. George H. Rohé of Spring Grove Asylum, Catonsville, Md., is President of the Association, and Dr. John K. Lineweaver of Columbia, Pa., is Secretary. The executive committee is as follows: Dr. Alexandria Craig, Columbia; Dr. A. C. Wentz, Hanover; Dr. J. H. Jamar, Elkton, Md.; Dr. I. Reiley Bucher, Lebanon; Dr. W. M. Weidman, Reading; Dr. Edward Jackson, Philadelphia; Dr. F. Gillespie, Oxford, Pa.

The prevalence of scarlet fever at Seattle, Washington, recently caused the Board of Health to order the closing of the schools. The principal refused to obey the mandate, and requested the pupils to enter, despite the presence of the heath officers. The children took possession of the school, gaining entrance at the doors and windows, and maintaining their position by hurling missiles at the officers and subjecting them to a stream of water from the hose with which the school is provided. Order was not restored until noon, when the principal was arrested and the building evacuated.

PUBLIC SERVICE.

OFFICIAL LIST OF CHANGES IN THE STATIONS AND DUTIES OF MEDICAL OFFICERS.

UNITED STATES ARMY.

Week ending August 19, 1895.

The leave of absence granted Captain Junius L. Powell, Assistant Surgeon, United States Army, is extended one month.

UNITED STATES MARINE SERVICE.
Fifteen days ending August 15, 1895.

Eugene Wasdin, Passed Assistant Surgeon, granted leave of absence for ten days, August I, 1895.

L. L. Williams, Passed Assistant Surgeon, to proceed to South Atlantic Quarantine Station for temporary duty on being relieved by Assistant Surgeon E. Prochazka, August 6, 1895.

W. P. McIntosh, Passed Assistant Surgeon, granted leave of absence for thirty days from September 1, 1895. August 5, 1895.

G. M. Magruder, Passed Assistant Surgeon, to assume command of smallpox camp, Eagle Pass, Texas, August 10, 1895.

H. D. Giddings, Passed Assistant Surgeon, granted leave of absence for thirty days on being relieved by Passed Assistant Surgeon L. L. Williams.

B. W. Brown, Passed Assistant Surgeon, to proceed to New London, Conn., as Inspector, August 15, 1895.

M. J. Rosenau, Passed Assistant Surgeon, to proceed to Eagle Pass, Texas, for temporary duty, August 4, 1895.

Jos. A. Nydegger, Assistant Surgeon, to assume charge of Detention Camp, Waynesville, Ga., in addition to other duties, August 14, 1895.

E. Prochazka, Assistant Surgeon, to proceed to Charleston, S. C., for temporary duty, August 6, 1895.

BOOK REVIEWS.

THE EYE IN ITS RELATION TO HEALTH. Pp. 207. By Chalmer Prentice, M. D. A. C. McClurg & Company, Chicago, Publish

ers.

Next to the title is a page devoted to this observation: "New theories that are true meet all their opposition from those who misunderstand them." On page 40, printed in small capitals, is this: "Health is normal or hygienic physiological function.

"Disease is localized abnormal innervation and always central in the nervous system, being a lack or excess of motive force." Again,

cess of assimilative nerve force." Farther down on the same page : "A lesion is always a result and not a cause. It may be the source of a still further reflex disturbance but back of all of these conditions is abnormal innervation." On the following page: "The intent of this work is to treat of nerve impulse, its equilibrium or balance in health, and its lack of balance or irregularity in disease. In speaking of eye strain, I always mean lack of balance in the nerve impulses of the eyes and this often exists to a high degree when the muscle balance is apparently perfect." Applying these principles, the author presents the oft-urged prominence of the eye as a source of nerve irritation, and eye strain as a prolific cause of reflexes. Abnormalities of the ciliary and extrinsic muscles are the basic conditions of these reflexes. But such things as headache and commonly acknowledged results of eye strain are hardly mentioned. On page 44, this position is taken: "Any disease of the eye, other than zymotic or traumatic, and a continuance of even these, may depend on eye strain." On this and preceding page the opinion is advanced that when glaucoma is relieved by iridectomy it is only because the disease is dependent on latent hyperopia and section of the iris and ciliary muscle (if cyclotomy be done) suspends tonic spasm and equalizes the distribution of nerve force to various parts of the eye. In another part of the book are clinical records of cases of diabetes mellitus cured by attention to eye strain. The prominent symptoms of phthisis yielded to same methods of treatment: i. e., "repression" of the abnormal muscular action by convex lenses and prisms, or by tenotomy.

These quotations are made from this little book because it is only fair to an author who takes grounds radically opposed to general belief, and defends his position by a manifestly honest array of experience, to let him speak for himself. But just now few, we fear, will accept all the book teaches. The author's advice about "latent errors" and the ease with which one can deceive himself in "diffusion" tests is worthy of high commendation and careful study.

CURRENT EDITORIAL COMMENT.

MEDICAL LEGISLATION.

Cincinnati Lancet-Clinic.

IN no country in the world is the medical profession more learned and enlightened than in the United States, and yet it is here that medicine is legislated to a back seat. Every other profession has its boundaries limited and entry governed by law except to the field of medicine.

THE INDEX MEDICUS.

New York Medical Journal.

As we said last week, the Index Medicus must be re-established. It is a great pity that there has had to be any break in the continuity of its issue, but the break is not yet irremediable. It should be borne in mind, however, that every month's delay in resuming its publication adds to the difficulty that its editors will find in rendering their work continuous in the future with what they have done. SURGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF DUST.

New York State Medical Reporter. THE perfection of our antiseptic technique and the excellent results of the aseptic method have served to relegate the doctrine of air infection to the background, as is evidenced by the almost universal abolition of the spray during surgical operations. Thanks to the advance made in bacteriology, it is now recognized that the sources of wound infection are far more often to be sought for in neglect of cleanliness, unclean hands and instruments, or improperly prepared dressing than in an impure condition of the atmosphere.

BOLDNESS WITH CAUTION.
Gaillard's Medical Journal.

WE would not be misunderstood as advocating active medication by the physician in every case he meets. Many diseases are strictly self-limiting, or tend strongly in that direction. This is especially true of the infectious diseases. One of the chief sources of error in estimating the effect of treatment and the value of drugs lies in the fact that the natural history of disease is ignored. The doctor gives a certain medicine, the patient recovers, and the treatment receives the credit, when as a matter of fact the disease pursued its natural course, but little modified by the treatment. These diseases pass through their natural stages. The doctor cannot shorten them nor cure them, but he may often rescue his patient from death.

PUBLISHERS' DEPARTMENT.

All letters containing business communications, or referring to the publication, subscription, or advertising department of this Journal, should be addressed as undersigned.

The safest mode of remittance is by bank check or postal money order, drawn to the order of the Maryland Medical Journal; or by Registered letter. The receipt of all money is immediately acknowledged.

Advertisements from reputable firms are respectfully solicited. Advertisements also received from all the leading advertising agents. Copy, to ensure insertion the same week, should be received at this office not later than Monday.

Physicians when communicating with advertisers concerning their articles will confer a favor by mentioning this Journal.

Address:

MARYLAND MEDICAL JOURNAL, 209 Park Avenue, Baltimore, Md.

NOTES.

IODOL is successfully used in eczema of the external meatus.

CREOLIN is recommended as a superior antiseptic for obstetric use.

*

EARLY applications of strong solutions of nitrate of silver are recommended for bed

sores.

THE monobromate of camphor is said to be a specific in the reflex nervous irritation due to dentition.

GLYCERIN of alum in the syrup of mulberries is a useful and grateful application in pharyngitis of children.

*

FOR hemoptysis, if the heart be sound, give from one and a half to two and a half grains of chloral per rectum.

*

NOCTURNAL attacks of asthma may be prevented by giving small hypodermic doses of strychnia and atropia combined.

A NEW salt of antipyrin, mandelate of, has been discovered, which has all the properties of antipyrin without being poisonous.

*

IT is said that one-tenth of a grain of apomorphia, hypodermically, will break up and thereafter prevent an attack of hysteria.

*

DR. T. A. REAMY of Cincinnati says that nothing can be more striking than the promptness with which puerperal convulsions are arrested as soon as veratrum viride has had time to act upon the heart and vaso-motor system.

duration) the respiration fell to 45 and temperature was reduced two degrees. The oxygen and nitrous monoxide were used very successfully in this case and in a few days the patient was convalescent. In acute bronchitis of a child three and a half years of age, the writer has usually used oxygen in his own family (a grandchild) when the relief was very marked and convalescence more rapid than when the same child had been treated by the usual remedial agents in other attacks of the same disease in previous years.

In chronic bronchitis it is a very valuable remedy for it acts directly upon the bronchi, relieving the irritation, lessening the accumulation of mucus, and thus allaying the cough.

"In phthisis, it was proven, some years since, by a distinguished French physician, that in several cases treated by this agent, some 24 in all, of which 10 were in an advanced and 14 in the incipient stage of the disease, that among the former the night sweats were checked, the insomnia was relieved, and its palliative action was fully demonstrated. In the incipient cases, the treatment had a favorable influence upon the bodily weight, the physical signs, cough and expectoration, so that the patient could be regarded as restored to his usual health."

"The tubercle bacilli, which were present in four cases, disappeared from the sputa. The action of the oxygen in these cases no doubt consisted in the increase of the number of red globules, and the increased expansion of the lungs, especially at the apices."

A few years since, a prominent physician of Boston read a paper before this association (American Medical) in which he stated that he had for many years maintained by theory, and shown by actual results, that pulmonary tuberculosis may be cured, even after extensive degeneration of lung tissue has taken place, provided the constitution has not become vitiated by disease or other causes, or its recuperative powers destroyed by old age. In treating over 3000 cases of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, exclusive of those which he

treated in the United States Army, every case proved the folly of attempting to adopt a routine practice which shall be applicable to all tuberculous patients. The treatment of every patient must be a problem unto itself."

"Build up the general health of the consumptive, so that his chemico-vitalizing function will be sufficient to destroy the bacilli."

"That oxygen is a destroyer of bacilli, especially of a tuberculous character, has been known for a long time to the medical profession, and it is a well proven fact that oxygen is the most perfect antiseptic, for in an atmosphere of oxygen it is impossible for disease germs to exist."

In asthma in which oxygen and nitrous monoxide were used in 30 cases, 12 of which suffered from true bronchial asthma, 10 from neurasthenic asthma, 7 from pulmonary asthma, complicated with bronchitis, and 3 from asthmatic attacks of unknown origin, it was fully demonstrated to be of great therapeutic value. The majority of the patients. suffering from bronchial asthma were immediately relieved, and the improvement continued for a long time after the inhalations were discontinued. In emphysema the dyspnea was very much relieved by a few inhalations and in two cases the catarrhal symptoms were entirely dissipated.

Professor Maraq of Paris advises the use of oxygen in "essential asthma, emphysema, whooping cough, for the dyspnea and vomiting of phthisis and for the relief of asphyxia from any cause; chloroses and sympathetic anemias are very happily influenced by inhalations. It checks very quickly the vomiting of chlorotics, dyspeptics, consumptives and the pregnant.

"It is also a valuable agent in the treatment of senile, spontaneous or diabetic gangrene of the extremities. In these cases, by a local application, it relieves the pain, checks the gangrene, restores to menaced tissues their healthy color, favors the elimination of sloughs, and the granulation and healing of wounds.'

During the past few years, agencies