free, but the mobility was not very great owing to the presence of the fibula. The shortening of the limb had been the result of the former accident.

Mr. LEGG showed a specimen of Aortic Aneurism, occurring in a man, aged 78, who was under the care of Mr. Erichsen. He had suffered from sinuses, as the result of necrosed radius,

for seven years. Later he fell and injured himself much. Five years ago he experienced pain in his right shoulder, which gradually increased, and latterly gave rise to much pain. A tumour formed in the right axilla, and the arteries became rigid and tortuous. A systolic bruit might be heard near the heart. He suffered two syncopal attacks, and at last died in autumn. On cutting down on the tumour it was found that the aneurism was wedged in between the first three ribs. It had been ruptured in two places before death. The right subclavian was dilated, and the aorta was quite calcareous near the heart. The aneurism was situated above this. A second was situated in the descending aorta.

Dr. COOPER ROSE exhibited a child with an Enormous Vascular Tumour in its Face, nearly the whole of which was included. It even involved the eyelids.

After some remarks on the introduction of therapeutics into the debates, which passed between Mr. HEATH and the PRESIDENT, the former proceeded to show a specimen of Subclavian Aneurism on both sides of the body. On the left side it had been cured spontaneously; on the right side it was very large, involving chiefly the second portion of the vessel. The first portion of the artery was enlarged, and the third was partly involved in the tumour. The vertebral artery was pervious on this side, not on the other. In the aorta there were aneurisms both before and behind, and a third sprang from the back of the descending aorta. The patient died suddenly, having been pretty well in the afternoon. The ruptured vessel opened into the trachea. As the left vertebral artery was plugged, any attempt at tying the innominate must have proved fatal, or been very dangerous, there being only the left carotid to supply the brain with blood.

Mr. HEATH, on behalf of Mr. SWAINE, exhibited the results of Pirogoff's operation in an old man who died some little time ago. The os calcis was quite united to the tibia.

Mr. MAUNDER thought this specimen of interest, as showing what nature will do. Only three-fourths of the os calcis were in adaptation to the tibia. Too much had been preserved, and the union was not so perfect as it might have been had the bone been cut differently.

Mr. BRUCE exhibited two patients presenting specimens of Keloid disease of two kinds. One occurred in a young man who had been scalded by steam. The burn healed pretty well, but in three months' time the patient returned with keloid. One portion had ulcerated and been healed again. The keloid affected various parts. The other patient was a man, aged 25, who suffered from acne all over his chest and back. At several spots there were scars both thickened and puckered. There were both acne and ecthyma present.

Mr. DE MORGAN asked what evidence there was as to the presence or absence of syphilis.

Mr. BRUCE replied that there had been no specific eruption, no sore throat, and that the patient's children were healthy.

Mr. DE MORGAN thought it questionable if syphilis was not mixed up with some of these cases, especially in those which relapsed.

Mr. BRUCE said that one case related by Addison also arose apparently from acne.

Mr. WAGSTAFF exhibited a specimen illustrating the union of bones after excision of the knee-joint. In the operation, which was performed by Mr. Simon, no complication was encountered except a small sinus in the tibia. There was complete union of the cancellous tissue of the two bones, but there was still the mark of the line of union.

Mr. MAUNDER exhibited a patient who had been operated on for an injury to the elbow. Primary excision of the elbowjoint had been performed. This operation had long been common at the London Hospital; he himself had performed it seven times. In this case the parts were removed two years ago. The patient had a wonderfully good joint.

VACCINATION.-BIRMINGHAM.

Dr. Robinson, late Surgeon to the Birmingham Workhouse, has this day (December 30) been appointed Public Vaccinator for the parish of Birmingham.

OBITUARY.

ROBERT COLLINS, M.D., LATE OF DUBLIN. ONE of the most valuable contributions to Medical science ever added to the storehouse of facts upon which true knowledge in Medicine must be based, was introduced in the year 1835 in the following words:

"My object in the publication of the present volume is to give a minute and faithful detail of what actually passed under my observation in the Hospital during the seven years it was entrusted to my care, so as to enable the reader to form his own conclusions, and thus avoid the error, into which so many have been drawn, of remaining satisfied with assertions made by men no wiser than themselves, and whose opinions often rest on the same foundation."

The writer of these simple and truthful words was the subject of our brief memoir, Dr. Robert Collins, Master of the Dublin Lying-in Hospital; the occasion was the publication of his standard repertory of facts, containing the results of the 16,664 births occurring in the Hospital during his mastership. If Medicine be a science of observation par excellence, then its professors can in no way so much serve its progress and earn the gratitude of their fellows and of mankind as by furnishing an honest detail of what they have observed. Such information pours a steady flood of light upon a science from its nature so involved in obscurity, and contrasts palpably with the transient flicker emitted by speculative writers that so frequently vanishes and leaves us steeped in greater darkness and uncertainty than before.

Collins was born near Cookstown in the County Tyrone, in the first year of this century. His father was a most respectable bleach-green_proprietor, and his mother a sister of the distinguished Dr. Joseph Clarke. He was educated for the Medical Profession under his uncle's directions, and after the usual studies carried out at the schools of Edinburgh, Dublin, and Paris, took his degree in Medicine in Glasgow in the year 1822, and in June, 1824, underwent the examination of the King and Queen's College of Physicians in Ireland, and became a licentiate of that body. He subsequently, in the year 1839, had the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine conferred upon him by the Dublin University, and was elected a Fellow of the College of Physicians in the same year.

In the year 1822 he had been appointed to the office of assistant to Dr. Pentland, the then Master of the Lying-in Hospital, and on the death of Pentland he was, in November, 1826, elected to the Mastership of that great institution. He consequently resided within its walls, as he himself states, " for a period of ten years, during which time 24,119 deliveries occurred, the result of which I almost in every instance witnessed."

Taught in a good school, with such sound guides and mentors as Joseph Clarke and Thomas Evory, Collins threw thus the force of his practical mind into availing himself of the magnificent opportunities placed at his hand. He instituted a system of tabulated records applicable to every variety of incident occurring, or likely to occur, in the seventeen thousand cases entrusted to him. He recorded the most minute facts-every variety of symptoms, every result of treatment-collated, compared, and digested, for the benefit of our common Profession, this mass of invaluable material, and at the expiration of his Mastership devoted still two years of uninterrupted study before arriving at the conclusions which accompany each section of his subjects. And after all this, he says, with his proverbial simplicity" To arrange the cases, even in the hasty manner I have done, so as to enable me to state the general results in so great a number of deliveries, required much perseverance; yet it was trifling when compared with the time expended in abstracting the tables subjoined to each article." And he continues" No tables in any way similar, so far as I know, have ever been published. I therefore hope the present attempt may have the effect of directing the attention of Physicians connected with extensive lying-in Hospitals to this subject than which, in my opinion, there is no method better calculated to afford practical men satisfactory information."

And so it has, for Collins's plan and advice have been steadily acted upon by successive Hospital Physicians since his time, and with unspeakable advantage to our art.

We can well understand that the result of Collins's analytical system of investigation was calculated at once to correct many of the errors and influence the practice prevailing before his exact tests were applied to their elucidation; and such was markedly the case. Out of the many instances adducible we

shall give two examples, as a more enlarged discussion upon them would be out of place in this brief notice.

"Dr. Ramsbotham (vol. ii. p. 254) states that women with large families are equally or perhaps more liable to be assailed. I am much surprised to find so experienced a Practitioner make this statement. Of 19 cases recorded by Dr. Joseph Clarke 16 were first children; of 36 by Dr. Merriman 28 were first children; of 30 by myself 29 were first children. Thus, of the 85 cases 73 were first pregnancies."-Collins, "Midwifery," p. 199.

Again: :-"It is stated by several writers on the subject of puerperal fever, that females who have suffered from tedious and fatiguing labours are particularly liable to this disease. This does not accord with my experience, as may be seen by the following table." And after giving the table he adds:"Thus, of the 88 cases 71 were delivered within 12 hours; 8 were delivered within 24 hours; 1 was an arm presentation; the length of the labour in 3 cases was not noted."

Space would not permit our enlarging upon the examples of this kind with which his report teems; we must therefore pass to his highly important observations upon that opprobium to our art-puerperal fever, the prevention of which is such a desideratum in our large Hospitals.

Collins, like his predecessors and successors in the Mastership, suffered from the ravages of this scourge for the first three years, but for the last four not at all. He minutely details all the steps taken by him to purify and ventilate completely the wards (op. cit. p. 388), adding ::-"The consequences were extremely satisfactory. Of 10,785 patients delivered in the Hospital subsequent to this period only 58 died, which is merely in the proportion of one in every 186;' and he continues:"The facts here detailed are strongly calculated not only to lead us to suspect, but even to prove, that this fever derived its origin from some local cause, and not from anything noxious in the atmosphere. To this I should assent, had we not proof, equally well authenticated, of its prevalence and fatality in the houses of the affluent, as already stated."

Collins's difficulties as to the contagious and sporadic nature of this as well as of other zymotic diseases are reconcilable if investigation should confirm the following theory propounded by Dr. Evory Kennedy, whose experience upon puerperal fever is as great perhaps as that of any other living Physician. In an unpublished treatise on this subject placed at our disposal, Dr. Kennedy, in alluding to the passage last quoted from Dr. Collins, says: "The latter paragraph contains the gist of the puerperal fever difficulty in a nutshell. Its local cause approaches more nearly to a constant quantity in the wards of a crowded Lying-in Hospital, whereas it is only an occasional quantity in the houses of the affluent, and the only influence exercised in its production by the atmosphere is that, in certain states of the atmosphere, the constant and occasional quantities become more operative or active in generating and propagating this dreadful malady-a malady zymotic in its type and origin, produced by a poison emanating from parturient women, more active in proportion to the concentration of their excretions or exhalations, and consequently in proportion to their number cohabiting in a given number of feet of atmospheric space, but not requiring more than one parturient female to generate it when the poison she herself has generated may, as in the case of blood-poisoning, be reabsorbed into her own system, and self-contamination then as certainly strike her down as if a crowded ill-ventilated lying-in ward were the generating medium."

It would be inexcusable, in however brief a memoir, to omit mention of Collins's extraordinary success in diminishing the equally fatal disease of infants' trismus by the attention he devoted to an improved system of ventilation and purification during especially the latter years of his Mastership of the Lying-in Hospital. Dr. Joseph Clarke published most valuable suggestions on this subject in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy in 1782, which, on being carried into effect, reduced the infant mortality in trismus from 17 to 6 per cent.; but Collins, by his system, reduced this further to one death by trismus in 666. The numerical calculation of lives saved by these two improvers in our art in the Lying-in Hospital of Dublin alone up to the year 1835 amounted to upwards of 11,000.

Space would not allow of our more than alluding to the various papers published by Dr. Collins whilst he continued in practice in Dublin; but those on "Trismus," in Dub. Journ. vol. ix.; "Periodicity of Births," vol. x.; "Artificial Dilatation of Os Uteri," vol. xi.; and his disquisition with Professor Hamilton, vols. xiii.-xv., as well as that with Professor Simpson, are in the recollection of many of our readers. At the highest eminence in his Profession, he was elected

President of the King and Queen's College of Physicians for the years 1847 and 1848, and after four years he relinquished a full practice and retired to Ardsallagh Castle, a charming residence on the banks of the Boyne, in the County of Meath. He there devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, for which he always evinced a strong passion. His mind was too active, however, to remain there unoccupied, and from this period he threw in his force with the Agricultural Section of the Royal Dublin Society, using all his practical judgment in efforts to extend the knowledge of improvements on this important subject amongst the poorer classes of the community. He presided as Chairman of the Agricultural Committee of the Society for upwards of twenty-five years. Dr. Collins died in Dublin on December 11, 1868, aged 68.

NEW INVENTIONS.

GUYOT'S CONCENTRATED LIQUOR OF TAR. (Guyot, 17, Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, Paris; Savory and Moore, London.)

TAR is a medicine largely employed by some Practitioners as an internal remedy for skin disease and catarrh of the pulmonary or urinary mucous membranes, as a lotion for phagedænic and other ill-conditioned ulcers and otorrhoea, as an injection for uterine and vesical discharges, and as an inhalation or fumigation. For each of these purposes we believe M. Guyot's concentrated solution to be a convenient and handy form. We have tried it in a case of ill-conditioned ulcer, and found it an agreeably smelling and efficacious application.

THE VENETIAN SPRING MATTRESS.

This

We have received a model of a highly ingenious and extremely simple mattress, one which possesses high elasticity, insures good ventilation, is capable of being readily taken to pieces, retains no dirt, and harbours no vermin, and withal is extremely cheap. These are high commendations, yet we think them fully justified. The mattress consists of a number of slips of wood, something like those constituting Venetian blinds whence the name which are suspended from a wooden framework at the top and bottom of the mattress, by means of india-rubber slings. These slings give the necessary elasticity. Each slip of wood is held in its place by a transverse band, so that movement in this direction, except to a very slight extent, is rendered impossible. constitutes the elastic portion, and when on it a thin hair mattress is placed, a highly luxurious and at the same time an extremely cheap and economical bed is prepared. Such beds promise to be widely employed for hospitals, lunatic asylums, and suchlike institutions, where, in fact, they have already been used with marked success. Dr. Sheppard, of Colneyhatch Asylum, and Dr. Monro, Physician to St. Luke's Hospital, both speak highly of them. Mr. Sagar, of Leeds, also speaks of them in terms of approbation. The makers are Messrs. Fox Brothers and Reffit, Silver-cross Works, Leeds, who are prepared to supply them in any quantity, the very largest sizes costing only 30s. The complete bedstead, with double mattress, Venetian and hair or wool, is also supplied by the same makers, who deserve, and doubtless will obtain, ample encouragement.

NEW BOOKS, WITH SHORT CRITIQUES.

A Treatise on the Diseases of the Eye. By J. Soelberg Wells, Professor of Ophthalmology in King's College, London, Ophthalmic Surgeon to King's College Hospital, etc. London: J. Churchill and Sons. Pp. 741. It was but the other day we noticed a large number of books which had just been published, and which had for their subjects one or more of the diseased conditions of the eye; and now we have to usher in probably the most elaborate work on the subject of ophthalmology we have yet mentioned, certainly the largest since the publication of Mackenzie's wellknown treatise. The only one which at all compares with it is Bader's work; but the utility of this otherwise excellent book is so greatly marred by its obscure and harsh diction that, were it on this ground alone, Mr. Soelberg Wells's treatise would be welcome. It is illustrated by copies of Liebreich's well-known ophthalmoscopic plates. Excellent as these are, we might have wished for something new in this yet unexhausted field. On Chronic Bronchitis, especially as connected with Gout, Emphysema, and Diseases of the Heart. By E. Headlam Greenhow, M.D., F.R.C.P., Senior Assistant-Physician to the Middlesex Hospital. London: Longmans and Co. Pp. 236.

*. Some of these lectures have already appeared in the columns of a to wish, for more. Dr. Greenhow has done well to republish and extend contemporary, and they were so good as to cause us, if not to ask, at least

these lectures.

24 Medical Times and Gazette.

Researches on the Nature and Treatment of Diabetes. By F. W. Pavy, M.D., F.R.S., F.R.C.P., Senior Assistant-Physician to, and Lecturer on Physiology at, Guy's Hospital. Second Edition. London: John Churchill and Sons. Pp. 297

Dr. Pavy's work, one which is highly esteemed both at home and abroad, has for some time been out of print, but now again makes its appearance, thoroughly revised in every way, more amply, if possible, deserving the favourable recognition it has received.

A System of Physical Education, Theoretical and Practical. By Archibald Maclaren, the Gymnasium, Oxford. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. Pp. 516.

. Many works have recently been issued which deal more or less directly with the subject of physical education; still there is room for one by a man as well known as Mr. Maclaren. When we noticed his former work on training, we expressed our satisfaction with the views of the author as sound, rational, and founded on a proper scientific basis. We can fully confirm our previous good opinion, and endorse the present volume as likely to do as much good as the last.

Irritative Dyspepsia and its Important Connection with Irritative Congestion of the Windpipe, and with the Origin and Progress of Consumption. By C. B. Garrett, M.D. London: J. Churchill and Sons; and at the Libraries, Hastings and St. Leonard's. Pp. 112.

. This work is apparently named on the lucus a non lucendo principle, for we have tried to find out some definition of this same irritative dyspepsia, and have failed-in fact, the book is mostly made up of disquisitions on food and the philosophy of digestion. As the book would seem from the title-page to be intended for the general public, we think ourselves all the more justified in pointing out some of the scientific beauties of this guide, philosopher, and friend, which would be at once apparent to any Medical man who took the trouble to read the book, if not to unscientific people. The author tells us that "starch now converted into grape sugar is chiefly "that "uncooked farina is perfectly absorbed in the mouth and gullet; indigestible by man;" that a large portion of the fat absorbed passes through the hepatic system. He leads us to believe that milky chyle gradually becomes nascent blood-corpuscles, apparently by an aggregation of its particles merely. He adopts the theory that the anorexia caused by mental anguish depends on the swallowing of tears and nasal mucus. He teaches that a pellet of mucus retained for any length of time in the air-passages is blackened by "the passing carbonaceous air emitted in expiration!!" In fact, he tells us that we exhale by the lungs nothing but carbonic acid and watery vapour, and we are called upon to admit the wonderful design displayed in the fact that "the carbonic acid gas crcates vocal sound, whilst the vapour moderates and softens it." This is scientific instruction for the people. Notwithstanding all this farrago, there are a few grains of knowledge sound and good to be picked up, and some practical hints not to be despised, if one could only take the trouble to winnow them out; task to most people would be too burdensome.

MEDICAL NEWS.

but the

BIRTHS.

MARRIAGES.

DEATHS.

ENGELMANN, Dr. CARL, at Kreuznach (Rhine, Prussia), in the early part of October, 1868, after a severe illness.

METCALFE, KATHERINE ADA, only child of Assistant-Surgeon Fenwick Metcalfe, Bengal Army, at Dera Ismail Khan, Punjaub, India, on November 25, aged 10 months.

MORRIS, T. H., M.R.C.S., eldest son of Edwin Morris, M.D., M.R.C.S., at Spalding, on December 28, in his 27th year.

PHIPPS, SARAH ANNE, wife of George Constantine Phipps, M.D., and youngest child of the late Captain Robert Phipps, late of H.M.'s 40th Regiment, at 196, Oxford-road, Manchester, on December 23. Also, on December 21, Sarah Mary, infant daughter of the above. VINCENT, CARRUTHERS, M.D., of 22, Tavistock-street, Bedford-square, after a lingering illness, on Thursday, December 24, aged 50.

VACANCIES.

In the following list the nature of the office vacant, the qualifications required in the Candidate, the person to whom application should be made, and the day of election (as far as known) are stated in succession. FARRINGDON GENERAL DISPENSARY AND LYING-IN CHARITY.-Accoucheur; must be M.R.C.P.L., F.R.C.P.L., or M.R.C.S.E. Send testimonials to Secretary, Mr. S. Green, St. Michael's-house, St. Michael's-alley, E.C., on or before January 4. The election at the Dispensary, Tuesday, January 12, at 4 o'clock.

KENT AND CANTERBURY HOSPITAL.-Assistant House-Surgeon and Dispenser (one office); must be M.R.C.S. or L.S.A. Applications to the Secretary at the Hospital. The election at the Hospital on January 29. KENT AND CANTERBURY HOSPITAL.-Physician; must have been practising as a Physician for two years, and be registered as a regular Graduate in Medicine of some University of Great Britain or Ireland or M.R.C.P.L. Application to the Secretary at the Hospital. The election at the Hospital on Friday, January 29.

NOTTINGHAM DISPENSARY-Resident Surgeon and Assistant Resident Surgeon; must be M.R.C.S. or L.R.C.P. Send testimonials to Committee at the Dispensary on or before Monday, January 25. Election, February 8.

Holsworthy Union.-Mr. Cory has resigned the Fourth District; area 17,283; population 1841; salary £26 8s. per annum.

Newton Abbot Union.-Mr. Andrew Macgill has resigned the First District; area 21,809; population 4323; salary £60 per annum.

St. Paneras Parish.-Mr. E. T. Evans, Medical Officer for Females at the Workhouse, has resigned; salary £100 per annum.

Toxteth Park Township.

APPOINTMENTS.

-John J. Bingham, M.R.C.S.E., L.S.A., L.R.C.P. Edin., as Assistant Medical Officer at the workhouse. Alton Union.-George W. Harrison, M.R.C.S.E., L.S.A., to the First District.

Bodmin Union.-Thomas Mudge, M.R.C.S.E., L.S.A., to the Third District and the Workhouse.

Fredbridge Lynn Union.--Edwin Woodward, L.R.C.P. Edin., M.R.C.S.E., to the North-Western District.

West Ward Union.-James D. Robertson, M.D. Edin., M.R.C.S. Edin.,. to the Eamont Bridge District and the Workhouse; John W. Martindale, M.R.C.S.E., L.S.A., to the Patterdale District.

THE office of Physician and Accoucheur to the Farringdon General Dispensary and Lying-in Charity is vacant by the resignation of Dr. Palfrey.

AUSTRALIAN MEAT.-A correspondent, who was present at the dinner given to prove the qualities of the meat furnished by the Australian Meat Agency, sends us the following report:-Boiled beef fair, salt; mutton pies very good; brawn very good; beef sausage very good; potted beef, at a shilling The curries, haricots, and one or two a pound, excellent. other dishes were not good. Mr. Morris, one of the speakers, said that he hoped before long to perfect a process for freezing meat by ammonia, which would enable the Australian meat importers to send it to England fresh.

A HARD CASE.-Mr. L. J. Summers was appointed by the Wolverhampton Board of Guardians to the office of Medical officer and public vaccinator of No. 3 district. He accepted the two posts in the belief that the guardians had the power of election. The vaccinatorship has now, however, been taken from him, by the Privy Council refusing to sanction the latter appointment. Mr. Summers is thus deprived of the only profitable part of the appointment, amounting to about £50 a year. He calculates that the average that he receives is 3d. per case per week, or one halfpenny per daily visit. For this he has also to supply medicines and surgical appliances and to attend midwifery cases. The appeal which the wretchedly paid officer makes to his Board for an increase of salary or some compensation ought to have its effect on even the most economically minded guardian. We never heard of a more wretched stipend.

POOR-LAW MEDICAL SERVICE. Clerkenwell. - Dr. Griffith respectfully declined the appointment of Inspector of Vaccination; Messrs. Brown and Goddard accepted the Vaccinatorship. St. Paneras.-Dr. Saul, one of the District Medical Officers, sent in his resignation. He had seen from a local paper that the guardians intended to summon him before them in order to censure him severely. He considered that, after so many years of faithful service, he did not merit such treatment on the first complaint made. He tendered his resignation rather than submit to the indignity. Some sympathy was expressed for him, but the Chairman, Mr. Wyatt, overruled it, and the resignation was accepted. Mr. Evans having resigned, Mr. Hill was appointed to take charge both of the male and female departments of the workhouse, his salary to be raised from £100 to £150 a year. If this arrangement works satisfactorily, the appointment is to be made permanent.

THE ST. PANCRAS GUARDIANS AND THEIR MEDICAL OFFICERS.-The stringency of the St. Pancras guardians with their Medical officers has deprived them of the services of Dr. Saul, who has worked both in and out of the house for a great many years. The poor speak highly of his kindness. One complaint out of the thousands of cases which have come under his treatment did not merit such a severity as that he should be harshly summoned to appear before the board to receive a severe censure. Rather than submit to treatment which he considered he did not deserve, Dr. Saul sent in his resignation. The guardians may perhaps get in his place a more compliant officer, but will the poor on that account be any better cared for? The Chairman considered the letter tendering his resignation as most disrespectful. Is such great respect usual on such occasions? and did the writer receive it at the hands of the board? It would seem that the present board of guardians are determined to get rid of all the old officers, good, bad, or indifferent. In the appointment of new officers they are not so particular, and the Poor-law Board has been obliged to restrain their excess of zeal in appointing officers to buildings before the buildings were in existence.-The Parochial Critic.

MR. W. DESPREZ, of North Alabama, U.S., reports what looks like a successful method of treating rattlesnake bite. The patient, a girl aged 14, was bitten in the evening about 7 o'clock, the snake seizing the end of the right ring-finger. Mr. Desprez saw her about 3 o'clock in the morning, when he found the hand, forearm, arm, and shoulder much swollen, and a dark ecchymosed line running from the root of the finger almost to the shoulder-joint. The inside of the bitten finger was covered with several blisters full of dark fluid blood as far up as the second joint. Whisky had been freely given; capsicum and ammonia were also exhibited, but the condition of the patient did not improve, rather the contrary, for the inside of the arm and belly of the biceps became very black. At 4 o'clock next day—that is, nearly twenty-four hours after the bite-Bibron's antidote was given. This consists of corrosive sublimate, iodide of potassium, and bromide of potassium, in the proportion of two grains of the first, four grains of the second, and five drachms of the third, apparently in saturated solution. Of this twenty minims were given for a dose every twenty minutes. By 7 o'clock the swelling was reduced, and the patient gradually improved, until in about ten days she was quite well. Professor Gross says he knows of ten cases where this remedy succeeded, and we have on a previous occasion mentioned that it was well spoken of by a high Medical authority in charge of one of the United States exploring expeditions to the Rocky Mountains. It does not seem to be infallible any more than any other remedy; but enough has been seen of it to justify its careful trial in any case of snakebite, especially as these are too often hopeless when treated otherwise.

AN AUTO-REVIEWER.-M. Lasègue, the editor-in-chief of the Archives Générales, in the November number of that journal, resorts to the unusual course of furnishing an account of his own work, the Traité des Angines just published. He justifies the procedure in saying that, in a journal under his own direction, no one of his collaborateurs could reasonably be expected to write a critical account with unreserved impartiality, and even in giving a mere account of the objects of the book an amiable complaisance might be suspected. To avoid this he determined to state himself the objects which he had in view in writing the book, which is an exhaustive treatise on primary and secondary angina, in nowise a compilation, but based entirely on its author's practical experience.

MEDICAL PUNCTUALITY.-M. Béclard, in his éloge on Velpeau, observes that "he possessed, in a very high degree, a quality rarer and more precious than it is usually supposed to be. His punctuality never failed him on any occasion. M. Husson, the Director of the Hospital Administration, says:-'I may affirm, without fear of contradiction, that no one among those who devote themselves to the solace of their kind ever brought to the task a more sustained devotion, a more rigid punctuality, or a more complete abnegation. During nearly forty years he might be seen daily going from his own house to the Hospital without ever deviating from his route, and he would never listen to any of the demands made upon his attention until after this duty was accomplished.' All M. Velpeau's occupations were regulated in the same manner. It was unexampled that he should ever fail being present at the meeting of a society or a committee, and almost always he was the first who arrived. We have known but one man who could be compared with him in this respect, however much he may have differed in others. I recollect one day meeting Orfila in the courtyard of the Ecole de Médecine as he was about to leave it; a young man rushed up, out of breath, hat in hand, when Orfila, stopping short, drew out his watch, and observed, "The appointment was for twelve, and it is now five minutes past; the time I had at my disposal has expired. I shall expect you to-morrow,' His carriage was at the door, and he at once drove off. The regularity of Velpeau's habits can alone explain how he could suffice to the daily demands of his Hospital service, clinical teaching, and a large practice, and yet find time to write extensive works, as well as a vast number of memoirs, notes, and discourses. All that he published, even at an advanced age, was prepared by himself, and written by his own hand. When any one spoke before him of a man being too much engaged in practice to write, an ironic smile would pass across his lips."

COMPOSITION AND QUALITY OF THE METROPOLITAN WATERS IN DECEMBER, 1868.-The following are the returns of the Metropolitan Association of Medical Officers of Health :

OIL OF TURPENTINE IN TRAUMATIC ERYSIPELAS. Professor Lücke, of Bern, relates several cases in proof of the great utility attending the local application of oil of turpentine in traumatic erysipelas, the redness disappearing in two or three days, and the temperature falling in a remarkable manner. This effect was more rapidly produced by rubbing in the turpentine than by merely pencilling with it. The diminution of temperature was observed even in cases in which the erysipelas for a while continued to spread. No local irritation results from the application of the turpentine, the patient only complaining of a temporary feeling of burning.-Berliner Klin. Wochenschr., November 9.

NOTES, QUERIES, AND REPLIES.

Se that questioneth much shall learn much.—Bacon.

W. W.-We are afraid the law of libel would be against any man who should presume to publish doubts of another's pecuniary responsibility. The name of Mr. Jones, of St. George's Hospital, was, in our last report of the debate at the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, by mistake printed as Mr. Jolly.

Libel on the Profession.-It is stated in a Somersetshire newspaper, in allusion to the approaching execution of a man for the Wells murder, "that, in past times, Mr. Oakley, the governor of the gaol, has actually had applications from members of the Surgical Profession to act as executioners." We are sorry to add that a metropolitan paper is gullible enough to repeat this statement.

Non-combatant addresses us on the subject of our late article on "Married Soldiers." He approves of all that we therein said; and this is the more satisfactory to us, as he has evidently studied the subject. He argues from the fact of an extra ration being issued in times of epidemic cholera to men married with leave and living out of mess, that the authorities must be aware that instances occur of married soldiers being insufficiently nourished to enable them to withstand epidemic influences. If our correspondent's statement be correct that there are soldiers married with leave-that is, within the regulated proportion-who eat meat only once a week, we imagine that the physique of such men would be so much more obviously below that of their bachelor comrades as to have come more generally under notice. "Non-combatant's" idea that a soldier married with leave should, for the sake of the service, be insured enough to eat, would, if carried into practice, simply involve the issuing of rations to his wife and children, or giving him an increase of pay with each increase to his family. If this were done, the number of men married in anticipation of such favourable results would be much greater than it is even now, and the misery consequent upon imprudent marriages would be still more general. We, however, agree with "Non-combatant" that a soldier on the regulated strength of married men in his corps should be permitted, without restriction or disadvantage, to re-engage for a fresh term of service, provided he be in other respects eligible; but the justice of transferring him with similar privileges as a volunteer to another corps may well be questioned. The relation between the State and married soldiers is a question of extreme difficulty; its solution, under the present system of long-service enlistments, is impossible. When the army is reorganised on the short-service system, plus transfer to militia or reserve force, there ought to be no such thing as married soldiers; and that is really the only way that we see out of the difficulty. Anecdote of Dr. Hunter.-In a manuscript note-book which belonged to the late Mr. Clift, so long the Conservator of the Hunterian Museum, and in his own writing, appears the following anecdote of Dr. William Hunter and Patrick Russel, so well known by his work on Indian serpents :— "Dr. Russel, in speaking to me of hobby-horses, said it was surprising how some men let theirs run away with them, and instanced Dr. Hunter, who, when in Paris in the early part of his life, passing by an old bookstall, met with a small volume of a Greek author, which he purchased for 3 francs, merely because it was a pretty little book. After he returned to London a friend called on him, and, seeing the book, took a fancy to it and begged it of Dr. H., as it was not in his way of reading. Dr. H. told him he had no use for it, and he was welcome to it. This book afterwards fell into the hands of Dr. Askew, who was celebrated as a collector of different editions of Greek authors. At his death and sale of his books, Hunter, who by this time had become a collector himself, and went a great way in purchasing rare editions, again became the owner of it. 'What do you suppose I gave for my own book?' said the Doctor; 'only twelve guineas.' Some of the company present advised him to write the anecdote and place it in the book as a singular circumstance. 'No,' said Dr. Russel; 'I would not advise you to do that; it will remain an everlasting monument of your own folly.' A neat edition of the same book might be purchased anywhere for five shillings." Bibliopole. The library of the College of Surgeons will be closed this day (Saturday).

Obstetrician.-Sir Richard Croft, Bart., M.D., was the accoucheur in attendance on the Princess Charlotte; he died in 1817, soon after his royal and much-lamented patient.

Dr. J. B.-The Hunterian Oration will be delivered on Monday, Feb. 15, by Mr. Quain, President of the Royal College of Surgeons. L. I. F.-You will find much interesting matter on the subject of your communication in a work just published by Mr. John Diprose, giving an account, past and present, of the parish of St. Clement Dane's. Lex, Norwich.-Mr. Dalrymple is a member of Parliament; there is an excellent bust of his late brother in the Hall of the College of Surgeons. Mr. Alfred Smee, F.R.S., unsuccessfully contested Rochester. Messrs. Brady and Clement were re-elected.

SPEAR v. DOIDGE.

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THE EDITORS OF THE "QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF MICROSCOPICAL SCIENCE" AND THE EDITOR OF "SCIENTIFIC OPINION." The Editors of the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science present their compliments to the Editor of the Medical Times and Gazette, and would feel obliged by his allowing them to refute in his pages a charge preferred by the editor of Scientific Opinion in No. 6 of that periodical. The latter gentleman declared the statement made by the editors of the Q. J. M. S., to the effect that their journal will retain its present form-excepting the nonadmission of papers read at the Microscopical Society of London, unless of real interest, when they are to be fully reported to be utterly without foundation, and adds that the Fellows of the Society have always been the best contributors to the journal. He has refused to insert the following facts in reply to his attack, calculated, as it is, to injure the position of the Q. J. M. S.-1. The last four volumes of the Q. J. M. S. contain 1676 pages and 75 plates, of which less than 250 pages and 20 plates have been contributed by the Microscopical Society itself, the rest having come through the editors and the late Dr. Greville. 2. Amongst these latter are papers by Professors Huxley, Rolleston, Gulliver, Wright, Cobbold, Messrs. Archer, Norman, Ransome, &c. The Transactions of the Society do not contain, in that period, five papers by men of equal eminence. That there will be no difficulty in the journal retaining its present form is obvious from the fact that the forthcoming number will contain papers by Professor Allman, F.R.S.; Professor Beale, F.R.S.; Mr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S.; Mr. G. S. Brady, C.M.Z.S.; and Professor Cobbold, F.R.S.

MEDICAL MEN ATTACHED TO EMBASSIES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MEDICAL TIMES AND GAZETTE. SIR,-Could you, or any of your correspondents, afford me information with regard to the appointment, pay, and duties of Medical men attached to H.M. Embassies, or to other foreign and colonial civil Medical appointments? I am, &c. M.D. THE SANITARY ACT OF 1866.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MEDICAL TIMES AND GAZETTE.

SIR, Can you inform me, or can any of your correspondents inform me, what boroughs or towns have taken advantage of the Sanitary Act of 1866 (29 and 30 Vict., cap. 90, clause 37), which gives power to the Town Council to erect and maintain a fever Hospital out of the borough rates? Any information on the subject will be esteemed a favour by Yours, &c. December 26. INQUIRER.

CORRIGENDUM.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MEDICAL TIMES AND GAZETTE. SIR, I find that I was in error in stating that Sir Charles Bell attributed the sense of taste to the glosso-pharyngeal nerve. The mistake arose from my having written hurriedly and from memory. This does not, however, affect the general argument that there is a disposition prevalent in this country among the members of the Medical Profession, either entirely to neglect the discoveries of Sir Charles Bell, or to attribute them to some other physiologist-as Magendie, Marshall Hall, etc. I am, &c. 53, Blenheim-crescent, W. J. JONES.

DENTAL HEMORRHAGE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MEDICAL TIMES AND GAZETTE. SIR,-In the Medical Times and Gazette for December 19 I observe a method of arresting hæmorrhage after the extraction of a tooth. This plan may be a good one for the dentist, but the Surgeon would often find the plaster of Paris wanting at the critical moment when it was required. The plan I have adopted for many years with invariable success is a ready and simple proceeding. I obtain a soft wine cork, and cut at one end an exact copy of the fang or fangs of the extracted tooth, leaving a projecting shoulder on each side. The thick portion of the cork is cut just long enough to allow the jaws to close when it is in situ, and across the end a groove to receive the teeth. Having placed a small piece of lint across the cavity, the point of the cork is pressed firmly down into it, taking care that the edges come well over the sides of the cavity. The mouth is then closed and firmly tied with a handkerchief or bandage, and kept so until there is no longer any danger of haemorrhage. There cannot well be any more certain and easy plan of operation than this, and the materials-a sharp knife and a soft cork-are always at hand. I am, &c. A SURGEON.

ON THE EFFECTS OF OPIUM SMOKING.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MEDICAL TIMES AND GAZETTE.

SIR,-In the last number of the Medical Times and Gazette a report is given of a paper by M. Armand, which had been read at a meeting of the Académie de Médecine, on the "Therapeutical Employment of Opium Smoking." He strongly recommends the practice, not merely in chronic affections of the air-passages, but also in some affections of the heart, stomach, intestines, and other parts. The pipe is peculiar in its form, and the mode of using it is required to be by as deep and prolonged an inspiration as possible. "The smoking," he says, "is an agreeable operation, even on the first attempt, and if the inspiration has not been too forcible no coughing is produced." The journal in which the account appears is so recent and so accessible that further quotation is unnecessary. Tobacco-smoking has unfortunately become so common that the pleasurable sensation in using opium and the relief of pain may possibly become attractive; and a few doses taken therapeutically may lead to its being resorted to as a luxury, and thus a most pernicious and inveterate habit be formed.

As a caution against this danger, I am anxious to place in the excellent journal in which M. Armand's statement appears a brief extract from the annual report for 1867 by Dr. Dudgeon, M.D., of the Peking Hospital. The Doctor says: "We have nothing new to add to what we have already written on opium-smoking. It still continues to be the barrier to all progress and happiness, spiritual as well as temporal. It is the greatest of all the difficulties to be overcome in the resurrection and renovation of China. If this stumbling-block were removed out of the way, it is impossible to predict what a glorious future lies before the country, to the missionary, the philanthropist, and the merchant; but until this is done