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iiung his harness. Everything pointed to death fromsuicide. A witness, however, came forward and offered tonarrate the results of some experiments he himself had made.In physical build he was about the same height and weightas the deceased. He stated that he had fixed the bridle andthe strap just as it had been placed before the fatal occur-rence, he had then walked towards them and just beforereaching them he had deliberately stumbled and fallen, sothat his neck was caught in the loop ; he would have chokedhad he been unable to regain his balance at once. He

repeated this experiment with the same result three timesout of four attempts. The court held that this testimonywas admissible as showing how death might have occurred.

American -7inned Provisions.Mr. D. L. Thomas, medical officer of health of the borough

of- Stepney, in giving evidence at the Thames police courtrecently in support of a summons for selling unsound con-densed milk, informed the magistrate that about 75 per cent.of the tinned foodstuffs imported from America are consignedwithout labels. This means that whatever information mayafterwards be afforded by the label upon the tin is affixed bythe firm selling it, with whom it rests whether the statementshall be accurate or not. As an American firm enjoying a-high reputation and anxious to maintain it would probably-insist upon its distinctive label appearing upon all its goods,the inference would seem to be that a large proportion of the,tinned provisions imported from the United States are not ofthe highest quality, and also it may be conjectured that theyare not sold as American products.

Looking Back.FROM

THE LANCET, SATURDAY, April 11th, 1829.

COMMUNICATION OF HYDROPHOBIA FROM RABID SHEEP

TO OTHER ANIMALS.

SOME very interesting experiments have lately been madeat the veterinary school at Alfort, with respect to the abovesubject. Two sheep, belonging to the flock of M. Yoart,’having been bitten by a dog, which soon afterwards diedwith the symptoms of confirmed hydrophobia, and having,about a month afterwards, evinced all the signs of rabies, ahorse, a dog, and two sheep, apparently in perfect health,were inoculated with their saliva ; the skin was in severalplaces slightly scarified, and the saliva applied to the

wounds ; at the same time the four animals were left inconstant contact with the two rabid sheep, which died onthe fourth day after the first symptoms of rabies. A fewhours previous to the death of one of them, a dog and a lambwere inoculated with its saliva.

Four months after the experiment, none of the six inocu-liated animals had exhibited any symptoms of the disease;it is accordingly more than probable, that the disease cannoti be communicated from sheep to other animals.

From the description of rabies in sheep, as observed in the above cases, it appears, that it is not accompanied by thedread of water, and that, therefore, in these animals, as well as in dogs, it is improperly called hydrophobia.-Magendie’s I- Journal.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN 76 of the largest English towns 8269 births and 5492" deaths were registered during the week ending April 6thThe annual rate of mortality, which had been equal to 16 ’ 8and 17’ 7 per 1000 in the two preceding weeks, further

’ rose to 17 ’9 per 1000 during the week under notice. Duringthe 13 weeks ending March 30th the death-rate in thesetowns averaged 19’ 0 per 1000, the rate in London during thesame period being 19’ 2 per 1000. The lowest rates last weekin the 76 towns were 6’ 3 in Handsworth (Staffs), 7’ 0 inHornsey, 9 - 1 in Croydon, and 11 ’ 1 in East Ham ; amongthe other towns the highest rates were 24’ 4 in Grimsby,24-5 in Portsmouth, 24.6 in Birkenhead, 26’ 9 in Oldham,

and 27.7 in Wigan. The 5492 deaths in the 76 townsshowed an excess of 43 over the number in the

preceding week, and included 568 which were referredto the principal infectious diseases, against 469and 559 in the two preceding weeks ; of these, 251resulted from measles, 170 from whooping-cough, 59 fromdiphtheria, 36 from scarlet fever, 34 from diarrhoea, and18 from " fever " (principally enteric), but not any from

small-pox. No death from any of these epidemic diseaseswas registered in Bournemouth, Devonport, Wolverhampton,Coventry, York, South Shields, or Tynemouth ; the annualrates from these diseases, however, ranged upwards to 5’4 4in Hanley, 5’5 5 in Portsmouth, 7’9 9 in Birkenhead, 8. 5 inSt. Helens, and 8-9 9 in Giimsby. The 251 fatal cases ofmeasles were 18 in excess of the number in the precedingweek, the highest annual rates therefrom being 4’ 1 in WestHartlepool, 4’ 3 in Portsmouth, 5’1 1 in St. Helens, 5’ 2 inGrimsby, and 7’ 0 in Birkenhead. The 170 deaths referredto whooping-cough showed a decline of five from thenumber in the preceding week, the rate from thisdisease, however, ranging upwards to 1’ 8 in Salfordand Preston, 2’1 1 in Willesden, 2’ 7 in Bury, and 3’ 0 inGrimsby. The 59 deaths from diphtheria also showed afurther decline from the numbers in recent weeks, thehighest proportional mortality being recorded in Sunder-land and Gateshead. The fatal cases of scarlet fever,of "fever," and of diarrhoea were not excessive in any ofthe 76 towns. No case of small-pox has been under treat-ment in the Metropolitan Asylums Hospitals since theend of June last. The number of scarlet fever patientsin these hospitals and in the London Fever Hospital, whichin the 14 preceding weeks had uninterruptedly declined from3846 to 2657, had risen again to 2666 at the end of lastweek ; 352 new cases were admitted during the week, against327, 312, and 330 in the three preceding weeks. Thedeaths in London referred to pneumonia and otherdiseases of the respiratory organs, which had been 403, 353,and 354 in the three preceding weeks, rose again last weekto 412 and were 99 in excess of the corrected averagenumber in the corresponding week of the previous five

years. The 17 deaths referred to influenza in London werefour below the corrected average. The causes of 44, or 0’8 8per cent., of the deaths registered during the week werenot certified either by a registered medical practitioner orby a coroner. All the causes of death were duly certifiedin London, Leeds, West Ham, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Salford,Leicester, and in 47 other of the 76 towns ; the propor-tion of uncertified deaths, however, showed a marked excessin Liverpool Birmingham, Sheffield, Bristol, Bradford,Portsmouth, Reading, and Warrington.

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in eight of the principalScotch towns, which had been equal to 20’ 6 and20’ 3 per 1000 in the two preceding weeks, further declinedto 19’ 4 per 1000 in the week ending April 6th, but was1’5 per 1000 in excess of the mean rate during thesame period in the 76 large English towns. The rates in theeight Scotch towns ranged from 12’ 9 Paisley and 16 1 inAberdeen and in Greenock to 21’ 9 in Glasgow and 24’ 0 inPerth. The 673 deaths in the eight towns showed a declineof 33 from the number in the preceding week, and included114 which were referred to the principal epidemic diseases,against 100, 102, and 107 in the three preceding weeks.These 114 deaths were equal to an annual rate of 3’ 3 per1000, which exceeded by 1’ 5 per 1000 the rate from theprincipal epidemic diseases in the 76 English towns ; theyincluded 48 which were referred to "fever," 40 to whooping-cough, 14 to diarrhoea, five to diphtheria, four to scarletfever, and three to measles. The deaths referred to "fever,"which had been 48 and 39 in the two preceding weeks,rose again last week to 48, and included 32 in Glasgow,seven in Edinburgh, six in Leith, two in Dundee,and one in Aberdeen ; 29 of these fever" deaths inGlasgow, six in Edinburgh, five in Leith, and the two inDundee were certified as cerebro-spinal meningitis. Thefatal cases of whooping-cougb, which had been 33, 33, and34 in the three preceding weeks, increased last week to 40, ofwhich 31 occurred in Glasgow, three in Edinburgh, three inDundee, and two in Aberdeen. Eight of the 14 deaths fromdiarrhoea were registered in Glasgow, three in Dundee, andtwo in Edinburgh. The five fatal cases of diphtheria in-cluded four in Gla3gow ; two of the four deaths from scarlet

1037

fever occurred in Glasgow and two in Edinburgh; and twoof the three deaths from measles in the latter city. Thedeaths in the eight towns referred to diseases of the

respiratory organs, including pneumonia, which had been155. 147, and 123 in the three preceding weeks, furtherdeclined last week to 109, and were 33 below the numberin the corresponding period of last year. The causes of 25,or 3’7 per cent., of the deaths registered in the eighttowns during the week were not certified ; in the 76 Engli shtowns the proportion did not exceed 0 - 8 per cent.

HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The annual rate of mortality in Dublin, which had been22’ 3 and 24’ 3 per 1000 in the two preceding weeks,further rose to 28’ 3 per 1000 in the week ending April 6th.During the 13 weeks ending March 30th, the death-rate

averaged 27’2 per 1000, the rates during the same

period being 19’2 in London and 19 . 6 in Edinburgh. The212 deaths of Dublin residents registered during the weekexceeded by 30 the number in the previous week, andincluded 15 which were referred to the principal infectiousdiseases, against 12 in each of the two preceding weeks; ofthese eight resulted from whooping-cougb, three from

measles, three from diphtheria, and one from " fever," butnotanyfrom small-pox, from scarlet fever, or from diarrhoea.These 15 deaths were eqnal to an annual rate of 2’ 0 per 1000,the death-rate last week from the pnccipa.1 infectious diseasesbeing 1’9 9 in London and 2’4 in Edinburgh. The eightdeaths from whooping-cough exceeded the number recordedin any previous week of this year; the deaths from diph-tberia also showed an excess over the numbers in recent

weeks; while the mortality from measles and from "fever" "

was slightly lower than it had been in the preceding week. The212 deaths from all causes included 32 of children under oneyear of age and 50 of persons aged upwards of 60 years, eachof these numbers being six in excess of the correspondingnumber in the preceding week. Seven inquest cases and fourdeaths from violence were registered ; and 97, or nearly48 per cent., of the deaths occurred in public institutions.The causes of five, or 2’4 per’ cent., of the deaths inDublin last week were not certified ; in London all thecauses of death were duly certified, while in Edinburgh theproportion of uncertified deaths was as much as 4 - 1 per cent.

THE SERVICES.

ROYAL NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE.

Deputy-Inspector of Hospitals : W. Tait, to Hong-kongYard. Staff Surgeons : A. E. Kelsey, to the Dia,de7a, onrecommissioning ; and W. J. Codrington, to the Isis, oncommissioning.

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS IN INDIA.

Lieutenant-Colonel D. O’Sullivan, on reversion from the9th Secunderabad Division, is appointed to the command ofthe Station Hospital, Rawalpindi. Lieutenant-Colonel F. H.Treheme is appointed to the command of the Station Hos-pital, Sialkot. Major N. Tyacke to the command of theStation Hospital, Dalhousie. Captain L. W. Harrison tomedical charge of Headquarters Staff and establishments,Northern Command. The following hill station appoint-ments have been approved for the summer season of 1907 :Major 0. R. A. Julian, to command Station Hospital, Cherat ;Captain J. M. H. Conway, to command of the Station Hos-pital, Kalabagh ; Captain R. L. Argles, to command of theStation Hospital, Khyra Gali ; Captain R. Storrs, to com-mand of the Station Hospital Camp, Barian ; Lieutenant-Colonel D. M. O’Callaghan, to command of the StationHospital, Kuldanna ; Major H. N. Dunn, to command of theCombined Station Hospital for Khanspur and Ghora Dhaka ;Captain W. D. C. Kelly, to command of the Station Hospital,Upper Topa ; Lieutenant W. Benson, to command of theStation Hospital, Lower Topa; Lieutenant J. A. Turnbull,to command of the Station Hospital, Bara Gali ; MajorG. St. C. Thom, to command of the Station Hospital, Solon.The following officers have been granted leave CaptainW. F. Tyndale, on private affairs for seven months ; Lieu-tenant Colonel C. C. Reilly, for six months on medicalcertificate pending retirement ; Lieutenant-Colonel B. L.Mills, seven months on private affairs; Lieutenant-ColonelA. L. F. Bate, seven months on private affairs; CaptainW. M. Power, three months privilege in India; Captain

B. H. V. Dunbar, six months on private affairs ; MajorL. A. Mitchell has been granted extension of sickleave to August 18th, 1907. Lieutenant-Colonel M. B.Skinner, M.V.O , on arrival from England will be posted toNowshera and appointed to the command of the Station Hos-pital there. Lieutenant-Colonel P. C. H. Gordon is trans-ferred from Secunderabad to Burma Division, LieutenantG. Ormrod from Eastern Command to Burma Division,Captain J. F. Whelan to Aden for duty in the Station Hos-pital, Captain J. W. Seccombe from Rawalpindi to Ambala.for charge of Brigade Laboratory, Lieutenant-Colonel J. RStuart from Mount Abu to Neemuch, Captain E. W. Powellfrom Poona to Kirkee, and Lieutenant C. D. M. Holbrookfrom Kirkee to Poona.

ARMY MEDICAL RESERVE OF OFFICERS.

Surgeon-Lieutenant James C. Herbertson to be Surgeon-Captain (dated March 19h, 1907).

CHANNEL ISLANDS MILITIA.The Royal Militia of the Island of J6rsey. -Staff : Surgeon-

Major W. Falla, Principal Medical Officer, to be Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel (dated Feb. 6th, 1907).

HONOURABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY OF LONDON.

Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel R. J. Reece is granted the-

honorary rank of Surgeon-Colonel (dated March 7th, 1907).IMPERIAL YEOMANRY.

Fifeshire and Forfarshire : Alan Leonard Smith Tuke to>be Surgeon-Lieutenant (extra) under the conditions of

paragraph 28, Imperial Yeomanry Regulations (datedFeb. 27th, 1907). Worcestershire (the Queen’s Own Wor-cestershire Hussars) : Surgeon-Captain J. H. Beilby resignshis commission (dated Feb. 28tb, 1907).

VOLUNTEER CORPS.

Royal Garrison Artillery (Vol1lnteers): Ist Ayrshire and’Galloway : John Aitken to be Surgeon-Lieutenant (datedMarch 15tb, 1907).

Rifle : 4th Volunteer Battalion the Queen’s (Royal’West Surrey Regiment) : Charles Spencer Palmer to be

Surgeon-Lieutenant (dated Feb. 15th, 1907). 2nd Volun-teer Battalion the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) : Super-numerary Surgeon-Captain J. G. Martin (on ceasing to do’duty with the Liverpool Bearer Company, Royal ArmyMedical Corps (Volunteers), is absorbed into the establish-ment (dated Feb. 1st, 1907). 8th (Scottish) VolunteerBattalion, the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) : The under-mentioned officer resigns his commission: Surgeon-CaptainW. S. Henderson (dated Feb. 15th, 1907). 5th VolunteerBattalion the Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) : SurgeonMajor J. Mill to be Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel (datedFeb. 20th, 1907). lst Volunteer Battalion the RoyalWarwickshire Regiment: Surgeon-Captain C. Y. Flewitt

resigns his commission (dated March 6tb, 1907). lst Volun-teer Battalion the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regi-ment) : Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel H. G. Thompson(Brigade Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel, Senior Medical Officer,.Royal Fusilier Volunteer Infantry Brigade) is granted thehonorary rank of Surgeon-Colonel (dated March 4th, 1907).2nd Volunteer Battalion the Duke of Cornwall’s LightInfantry : Surgeon-Major and Honorary Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel W. Nettle to be Surgeon-Lieutenant Colonel (datedJuly 3rd, 1906) l9th Middlesex (St. Giles’s and St. George’sBloomsbury) Volunteer Rifle Corps : Surgeon- LieutenantW. F. Roe to be Surgeon-Captain (dated March 9th, 1907).

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS (VOLUNTEERS).Scottish Command, Glasgow Companies : Captain D.

Christie resigns his commission (dated March 14th, 1907) 5David Shannon to be Lieutenant (dated March 15th, 1907).

THE REGULATIONS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF CANDIDATESFOR ADMISSTON TO THE INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICE.

Revised regulations for the examination of candidates foradmission to His Majesty’s Indian Medical Service have beenissued, one of the principal alterations being a change in thelist of subjects under Item 6 which formerly read" Chemistryand Pharmacy, with either Botany or Zoology." It nowreads " Materia Medica, Pharmacology, and Toxicology.’gThe maximum number of marks-namely, 600-remainsunaltered.THE COURSE OF INSTRUCTION FOR NAVAL SURGEONS AT

HASLAR.The course of instruction for surgeons of the Royal Navy

at Haslar was brought to a close on April 5th, when the