one of aldehyde and ænanthic acid. M. Girard gives also the composition of nine other chemical compounds for imitating the flavours of strawberry, pineapple, melon, apple, pear, cherry, peach, apricot, and plum. Unfortunately, too, in the coarser and commoner forms of adulteration quite as much activity is displayed. Flour is exposed to damp, so as to make it weigh heavier, the result being that the gluten is altered and rendered less fit for bread making and more liable to mould. Mineral products are often mixed with flour, such as lead, copper, zinc, sulphate of lime, and chalk. Of 31 specimens of flour examined at the laboratory only 13 were found to be pure, a sample which came from Rotterdam containing as much as 30 per cent. of plaster, while another held 30 per cent. of sulphate of barytes.

ELECTRICITY AND SHAM JEWELLERY. THE imitation precious stones for which Paris is famous are likely to come into more extended use by the aid of the recent device of M. Gaston Trouvé, the celebrated electrician. He makes up ornaments of imitation rubies, sapphires, etc., and illuminates them from the back by means of small electric lamps, the batteries for which can be carried in a small pocket, and the current turned on as desired by pressure on a switch. The imitation stones, which are technically known as doublets, are made of "strass" coloured to represent the natural stones, and are faced with a thin slip of hard crystal glass, and the light being applied at the back the general effect is good, some of the larger ornaments being absolutely dazzling.

AN OLD FRIEND.

FRENCH Scientists have been very busy lately in hunting an ignis fatuus in the shape of a coppercure for cholera. For a long time the fact that employés in copper works enjoy comparative immunity from the ravages of epidemic diseases has been known, and it was concluded that this immunity must be due to some property of copper. The mode of application of the remedy was the only difficulty, and a letter received from a medical man in Sweden at the last session of the Academy of Sciences in Paris recorded an attempt at application which was made in 1853 at Stockholm. Finding that the inhabitants of a neighbouring town, Fabun, the main industry of which is copper work, escaped a prevalent epidemic, the people of Stockholm bandaged plates of copper on their skins, with the natural result of sores from the verdigris. After this untoward result it occurred to the correspondent of the Academy that sulphur is largely evolved in the manufacture of copper, and that the new remedy of which so much has been said lately is, after all, an old friend.

COMPARATIVE DEATH-RATES OF ASSURED ABSTAINERS AND MODERATE DRINKERS.

Ar a recent meeting of the British Medical Temperance Association, Dr. Drysdale read a paper on this subject. Having collected statistics from various Assurance Societies, he laid figures before the meeting which went to prove that moderate indulgence in alcohol was most dangerous to health, and ought to have the effect of inducing all who studied medical science to discourage the use of wines and spirits among the masses. In his opinion, they ought to place alcohol as they did chloroform, opium, and ether, for sale only by druggists. That abstainers had longer lives than non-abstainers was an established fact, and even very abstemious people who were very regular in their habits did not live so long as total abstainers. Larger bonuses were offered by many of the Assurance Societies to teetotallers than to those who took intoxicants. The mortality among non-abstainers was not nearly so large as among the other section, so that they could afford to do it. Even the Accident Assurance Offices were offering better terms to teetotallers. In conclusion the author said the figures of the various Assurance Societies ought to be a death-blow not only to excessive drinking, but to moderate drinking also.

A CAUSE OF VESICAL CALCULUS. WE have been frequently struck by the length of time persons who have come to us for catheterism have suffered before they have applied for or required assistance. How long have you suffered from stricture? we ask. The answer generally is, five, ten, twelve, or fifteen years. For this length of time the sufferer has dragged on, micturating with difficulty, straining and forcing the water in driblets from him, experiencing at times considerable difficulty in expelling any, and, as a rule, spending a large amount of time in the act. The numerous vesical diseases which result from this delay in applying for relief are too well known to be here mentioned. The moral we draw is, that more attention should be paid by practitioners to the matter; the presence or absence of stricture should be noted; the practitioner should satisfy himself on this point, and not take the patient's word. Early treatment is of most avail in stricture. "One of the ultimate consequences of long-standing, unrelieved organic stricture," says Bucksen Brownto, "of the urethra is atony of the bladder, and atony of the bladder not unfrequently leads to the formation of phosphatic vesical calculus." The above extract is from a very excellent paper by Bucksen Brownto, reprinted from the Lancet, Nov. 1oth, on "Lithotrity at a Single Sitting." The paper is distinguished by one great feature, an absence of all "padding." It is short and practical.

THE UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM,

WE could never satisfactorily account for the number of English practitioners who go to Brussels for the examination for the degree of M.D. As the degree is not registrable in England, what is its value? As the degree is expensive, and can only be obtained by examination, it must be of some use to those who go in for it. The number of foreign graduates seems to be on the increase, but we are glad to see from the recent pass lists of Durham University there is ample evidence that its degrees are now being sought after, and that as a school of medicine it is now in a flourishing state. At the recent examinations there were over 32 candidates for the various degrees. At present there are over 170 students on the list, so that Durham evidently meets a great want, and is being appreciated in the North of England. When we remember that a few years back the Durham School was almost in a state of decadence, if not in danger of almost absolute extinction, too much credit cannot be given to those who have so earnestly thrown their hearts into the work of resuscitating the school. Without invidiousness, we might say that a large measure of this success has been due to the good work done by the Registrar, Dr. Luke Armstrong, whilst the appointment of Professor Mears to the chair of Anatomy, to which his sole attention is devoted, has also aided in the restoration of the school.

THE LATE MR. R. B. CARRUTHERS.

On the 11th of December, Mr. Carruthers, a surgeon residing at Moss Side, near Manchester, was called to attend a patient whose thigh had been broken by the fall of part of a house during a gale which then raged. Whilst attending to the patient, another part of the house fell, and Mr. Carruthers was buried in the débris. Extricated with difficulty, he was removed to the Infirmary, where it was found that his thigh was fractured, and that he had sustained other injuriesinjuries which in a short time proved fatal. The soldier who dies on the field of battle while fighting for Queen and country, the martyr who surrenders his life on the scaffold or at the burning stake in the cause of truth, dies not more nobly than this young medical man has died in the discharge of his duties. We regret to learn that it is necessary to raise a subscription on behalf of his family, as Mr. Carruthers was but a young man, and had not been able in his short life to make any adequate provision for those dependent on him. We shall be glad to receive any contributions from our readers who may wish to assist in this object, and trust that the testimonial now being raised may bear some proportion to the nobility of the man and to the grandeur of the sacrifice.

MEDICAL OFFICERS OF HEALTH.

We

WE recently read in one of our daily papers that the Local Government Board would not any longer sanction the appointment of two district Poor Law Medical Officers as Medical Officers of Health. cannot lay our hands on the exact particulars as to name and place, but the facts are as stated. When the Hon. James Stansfeld was President of the Local Government Board, he initiated the policy that Poor Law Medical Officers were not to be appointed Medical Officers of Health. We fail to see on what reasons he established this policy. At the time vigorous protests were made against this slur on the Poor Law service, but without avail. Those who are familiar with the history of the Poor Law Service are aware that the Poor Law Medical Officers were the sanitary pioneers. Up to a dozen years ago there were scarcely any fever hospitals in England but those connected with our workhouses. It is too long a task to now enter on the work done by the service. We hope to return to it again. We trust the Poor Law Association will move in this case, and that it will be brought officially under its notice.

PECULIARITIES OF CHINESE PATIENTS. ACCORDING to Dr. Brown, of San Francisco, the Chinese must make very good patients, for they invariably carry out instructions to the letter, are very grateful, and always pay their bills. Constipation is almost unheard of among them. Their children at birth are usually much smaller than white babies, six pounds being the average weight. They use paper on the lying-in bed as a protection, and thin paper as napkins for the lochia. It has the appearance of a muslin fabric, being thick and soft. It is prepared, however, from a stout paper of a light brown colour, smooth, and bearing no resemblance to that in use. The mode of preparation consists simply of crumpling and rubbing it with the hands. Being tough and thick, it is completely transformed by this process, and makes a soft fabric, almost impermeable to water, and admirably fitted for temporary protection to the bedding, one sheet being replaced by another as soon as it has become soiled. Lacerations of the cervix are very rare among them.

ANTISEPTICS AND VOLATILE PRODUCTS OF DECAY.

AN investigation of antiseptic substances has led M. le Bon to the following interesting conclusions, which we translate from the Polytechnisches Notisblatt: 1. The disinfecting power of an antiseptic is weaker the further decomposition has advanced. 2. The most energetic of the disinfectants are permanganate of potash, chloride of lime acidulated with acetic acid,

sulphate of iron, carbolic acid, and the glyceroborates of soda and potash. 3. There is no connection between the disinfectant power of an antiseptic and its effects on microbes. 4. Neither is there any connection between the power which prevents decay from setting in and that which checks or stops it when it has once begun. 5. Antiseptic substances in general exert but a slight effect on bacteria; an exception is found in those substances, like corrosive sublimate, which are violent poisons. 6. The poisonous action of decaying body has no relation to the poisonous qualities of the volatile alkaloids evolved from the decaying substance. 7. These volatile alkaloids, which form only during advanced stages of decay, are very violent poisons, resembling prussic acid and conine in toxic effect, showing how injurious the air from graveyards may be under certain circumstances, even where there are few, if any, microbes present.

INSTINCT AND REASON.

THE Darwinian theory meets with its greatest difficulties when it passes out of the region of purely physical phenomena. It is when they come to apply evolution to morals, politics, and religion, that the uncompromising evolutionists become rash and speculative, and build vast conclusions on slender substructures of observed facts, after a method very different from that of the most laborious and cautious inquirer of the century. So careful was Mr. Darwin that he would not include in his "Origin of Species" the chapter on Instinct and Reason, which had not received the benefit of his final consideration, though it was the result of a long and elaborate series of observations and experiments. Mr. Romanes, the literary executor, and in some sense we hope it may be said the scientific legatee, of Mr. Darwin, has, however, made this most interesting paper known to the world. In it the naturalist has brought a vast array of facts to bear on the question-whether what we call instinct in animals is really inherent and instinctive, or whether it is not the result of the principles of the survival of the fittest and natural selection which have modified their bodily structure, and produced the variations of species. Are the "instincts" of animals inherited habits which have conduced to the perpetuation of the type?

That is the question which Mr. Darwin was inclined to answer in the affirmative (which Mr. Romanes has discussed in two able volumes). The question, as Mr. Darwin himself thought, bears largely on the moral side of his theory. The destructive and repulsive practices of many creatures he regarded as more satisfactory, if not more logical, to consider not instincts specially given by the Creator, but as a very small part of one general law leading to the advancement of all organic bodies.

THE RECENT SOLAR AND LUNAR PHENOMENA.

THE phenomena of blue suns and green moons and gorgeous December sunsets have, during the past month, delighted and perplexed admirers and observers of nature. As to the reason why these sights are seen doctors still differ. The theory that the air is filled with volcanic dust seems not improbable; but undoubtedly it has its difficulties. How, for instance, can it be supposed that volcanic dust from Java could have spread over India, which lies northeast of that island, or South Africa, which lies southwest, when its only mode of conveyance would have been on the wings of the trade wind, which blows north-eastward? Moreover, the volcanic theory is "completely negatived," as a correspondent of the Times thinks, by the circumstance that the blue sun was observed at Trinidad on the 2nd of September ; so that the volcanic dust from Java would have had to be carried half round the earth in seven days. According to this writer, our planet may have encountered a great cloud of meteoric dust "in space," which permeated the atmosphere and caused the refraction and other phenomena noticed. On the other hand, it is pointed out that some similar effects, including blue and green suns, were observed in England in 1821. Not long after great volcanic eruptions in the Isle of Bourbon and the "burning island" east of Krakatoa, resembling in many respects the recent disturbances in Java and elsewhere. Mr. Sydney Hodges contributes one interesting item to the controversy. After a very careful observation, he is induced to believe that the green moon of December 11th and 12th was not due to the "subjective" colouring caused by the presence of a complementary colour (the rose-tint of the sunset) in the sky. were, as Mr. Hodges says, it stands to reason that we should not unfrequently see the moon of a green colour.

If it

THE NATIONAL HEALTH EXHIBITION. THIS exhibition will be held during 1884, in the building recently devoted to the Fisheries Exhibition. Whilst it remains open we shall devote special attention to the various exhibits, and shall endeavour to keep our readers acquainted with all the recent improvements and advances in sanitary science for the prevention of disease, and in food for the promotion of health. The practical value of such an exhibition cannot be overestimated, and the progress of sanitation will, we are confident, be materially assisted by it. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has, with his accustomed energy in matters relating to the health and happiness of the nation, given his influential support to the scheme, and we wish it every success.

dyspnoea by contraction of the pulmonary vessels. The diastole of the heart is much prolonged, and after very large doses is arrested, due to an action upon the inhibitory nerves, which can, however, be counteracted by the administration of atropine, which causes the cardiac movements to again take place. Muscarine also causes a great increase of the abdominal secretions and tetanic contraction of the muscles of the intestines, bladder, and spleen. The pupils become intensely contracted, but dilate before death. When applied directly to the eye, however, it dilates the pupil.

THERAPEUTIC USES.-Dr. Murrell has used an extract of the fungus as a remedy for the night sweating of phthisis. It was found to act somewhat slowly, there being usually no improvement the first night, but on the second and third night the sweating was considerably less, and by the end of the week had ceased, or was so slight as not to cause inconvenience. It stops the perspiration without causing abnormal dryness of the skin.

PREPARATIONS AND DOSES.-The dose given by Dr. Murrell was five minims of a 1 per cent. solution of liquid extract of the fungus of about the consistence of treacle. Dr. Ringer and Mr. Morshead found that the muscarine synthetically prepared by Dr. Merck, produced the symptoms of the drug when given in hypodermic injection in the dose of grain. Schmiedeberg and Koppe found that of a grain of pure muscarine produced myosis, loss of focalising power, and the other symptoms caused by the drug. Nitrate of muscarine, an uncrystallisable salt, is the usual preparation met with in commerce. It is hygroscopic, forming a brownishyellow viscid liquid. Atropine appears to be the best antidote to the effects of muscarine, 10 of a grain of the former being used in the form of hypodermic injection for this purpose, and the quantity repeated, if necessary, until the dyspnoea and other symptoms are relieved. Scutellaria.

Under this name Scutellaria lateriflora is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. This species and S. integrifolia are extensively used by eclectic practitioners and others in the United States as a nervine tonic, and are considered almost equal to valerian, and in some cases superior to it, from the absence of disagreeable flavour and odour, so marked in the latter drug. Scutellaria lateri flora is a perennial herb, growing in moist places by the side of ditches and ponds in all parts of the United States. The stem is about one or two feet high, and the leaves are opposite, ovate, acute, dentate, and subcordate at the base, and are supported by long petioles. The flowers are small, and of a blue colour, and are arranged in long lateral leafy racemes. The taste is bitterish, but without

aroma.

THERAPEUTIC USES.-At one time the plant was esteemed a remedy for hydrophobia, but its chief use at present is as a nervine tonic in neuralgia, convulsive affections, chorea, delirium tremens, and nervous exhaustion from fatigue or over excitement. The fluid extract has been given with success, in conjunction with tincture of digitalis, iodide of potassium, and henbane, in chronic hydrocephalus. It has also been employed in the treatment of epilepsy.

PREPARATIONS AND DOSES.-A fluid extract is official in the United States pharmacopoeia. The dose is one to two fluid drachms. Scutellarin is prepared by mixing a concentrated tincture with water, precipitating with water, washing and drying; the precipitate forms a powder of a greenish brown colour. It is given in doses of one to five grains. The decoction is made with two ounces of the herb to eight ounces of water; the dose is one or two fluid ounces.

Reviews, etc.

Half-yearly Report respecting Disease amongst Foreigners and Natives in China. By the Customs Medical Officers. Published by order of the Inspector General of Customs.

WE have read with interest these reports, dealing with the six months ending March, 1883, made by medical men stationed in Ichang, Amoy, Swatow, Canton, Hoihow, Pakoi, Shanghai, and Winchow. Cholera and malarial fever appear to have been the causes of the greatest number of deaths, and severe strictures are passed on the unhealthiness and insanitary condition of the houses inhabited both by Chinese and foreigners, and Dr. A. Henry (Ichang) records a case of amaurosis chinica, which occurred in a foreigner living in Chungking. The patient had taken several doses of quinine in quick succession, to cure an ague, and as a result suffered much from dilatation of the pupils, blindness, and delirium, lasting a few days. Dr. Henry warns travellers and residents in out-of-the-way places of the serious results that may arise from an overdose of quinine, as it appears that some people are very susceptible to its action. He alludes to a case where the taking of fifteen grains in five hours caused total blindness for three days and limited vision for over a year. Convulsions and delirium may occur. The colourblindness which accompanies the failure in regard to perception of light is said to take a long time in clearing up. Dr. E. A. Aldridge (Hoihow), in discussing the pollution of water, states that drinking water obtained from near a graveyard in China may be very different from that taken from near a European graveyard, for in the latter case the water is more liable to pollution than in the former. European coffin is often made of soft wood planks, lightly screwed together, while the wood forming a Chinese coffin is the hardest procurable, and some inches thick, the planks being dovetailed together; the corpse is often wrapped in cotton wool an inch or so thick, and the coffin filled up with lime, and cemented inside and out, thus making it completely watertight. Every one can bear witness to the odour emitted by a European coffin within a few days, but such is never the case in China, where the temperature is often so much higher. Dr. D. J. Macgowan (Winchow) records the occurrence of a cattle murrain, which also affected pigs, dogs, and poultry. The flesh of cows that died of the pest presented a yellowish appearance, and persons who ate it suffered from swollen heads and hands and ulcerated feet, their complexion turning yellow. In some cases death followed the use of the beef; in these a swelling of the body was observed, which extended upwards, causing death on reaching the neck. Fowls' gizzard is employed by the Chinese largely in bowel complaints of children, but particularly in urinary disorders, curing them of a malady that is indicated by "milky urine." It removes abdominal tumefactions, correcting incontinence of urine; it is valuable in spermatorrhoea, leucorrhoea, and in flooding following delivery; it corrects nausea,

A