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118 ASYLUM REPORTS. foundation of a new college in Bombay. The trustees of the late Seth Gordhandan Sunderdass Charities have offered to the corporation the princely donation of Rs. 12 lakhs from their funds for founding a medical college in Bombay. The corporation has taken an enlightened view of the proposal and has asked their Medical Relief Committee to report on its practicability. " The Bombay Medical Union, ’ said their President, ’’ is delighted with the offer, considering it to be conceived in the interests of medical science by the indigenous qualified profession. The present system of medical education in India was conceived in 1845, when not a single Indian was possessed of Western medical educa- tion and qualification. Naturally, officers of the Indian Medical Service in the employ of the Government were put in charge of teaching colleges like the Grant Medical College on our side. To those pioneers of medical education we owe a deep debt of gratitude for their unselfish efforts in the I cause of medical education. But the pupils of the college, ’, owing to the system of the covenants on which the European ’’ teachers were engaged when coming out to India, could not become teachers in their own college, though certain appoint- ments have been made in the junior subject of botany." Dr. Shroff added that recently under the stress of war, three appointments from among the Indian medical profession had been made to professorial chairs. shortage of Medical Men. The Government of India have had under consideration - the question of offering enhanced terms to civil sub-assistant surgeons on military duty, including those already employed, who undertake liability for field service out of India and on - expeditions based on the frontiers of India during the present emergency. They have now decided that each civil sub- assistant surgeon on signing the declaration, undertaking the liability to proceed on active service when ordered, will receive his civil pay, plus military pay, plus compensation for loss of private practice, plus an outfit allowance, free ’rations, and the usual service concessions for families. These liberal terms ought to draw a very large number of these men from civil to military employ, more especially as in addition to the above each sub-assistant surgeon will receive ,permanent promotion without departmental examination to - the next higher grade, should such promotion become due whilst in military employment, provided that he has a good record of service generally and has been reported on by the military authorities as fit for promotion. Further, it has been specially provided that the civil prospects of such civil sub-assistant surgeons as volunteer for field service shall not be adversely affected. The fact of undertaking liability for field service will, on the contrary, be taken into account as conferring a special claim to con- sideration hereafter should prospects of promotion offer for which the sub-assistant surgeon is otherwise fit. Plzntaan Juice as an Antidote for Snake-bite. I recorded recently a case of alleged cure of snake-bite at Colombo by the use of plantain juice.2 A case of snake- bite at Serampore will therefore be of interest where - plantain juice was used. A servant of the principal of the Government Weaving College was bitten by a venomous snake in the foot. The principal applied a - ligature eight inches above the bitten part and then cut it with a lancet and applied permanganate of potash, making the wound bleed freely. He then extracted some juice from .a plantain tree and gave the patient about a cupful to drink. After drinking the plantain juice, the man seemed to recover a little, and the wound was washed. He was made to walk up and down, and in the morning, when the ligature was removed, the man was declared cured. June 10th. 2 THE LANCET, April 1st, 1916, p. 746. THE RESEARCH DEFENCE SOCIETY.-The annual .general meeting of this society has been postponed owing to the war, many of its members being engaged on active service, while others have their time fully occupied in various kinds of work on behalf of the sick and wounded in this country. But the propaganda work of the society is still actively carried on under the direction of Mr. Stephen Paget. Among the most recent literature issued by the society are reprints from the Field and English Lllechaitic, bringing before the public in clear language the value of scientific pathological work both to our Army and to the .civilian population. ASYLUM REPORTS. Kingseat Mental Hospital (Aberdeen City District Board of Control) (Annual Report tor the Year 1915).-The total number of cases under treatment during the year was 665, the average daily number resident being 527. The number of admissions amounted to 171, of which 49 were transferred from other asylums. Of those admitted 2 were not insane, 44 were curable, 107 were absolutely incurable, and in 18 the prospect of recovery was doubtful. The most prevalent forms of disease were those embraced under the term manic- depressive insanity, imbecility and idiocy, the alcoholic psychoses, primary dementia of adolescence, epileptic insanity, and arterio-pathic and senile dementia. With regard to the duration of illness prior to admission, it was found that of the direct admissions 93 had been mentally ill for less than three months, 8 for less than 12 months, and the remainder for over 12 months. Hereditary predisposition was present in 33 cases, and 18 had suffered from one or more previous attacks. The discharges during the year numbered 75, the percentage of recoveries on the admissions being 32 1, which was 4 per cent. lower than in the previous year. This decrease was due to the admission of 40 incurable patients from Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively. Excluding these extraneous admissions, the percentage of recoveries among the Aberdeen admissions was 40-4, being 4 per cent. higher than in 1914. There were 50 deaths- 29 men and 21 women ; of these, 12 were over 70 years of age. The war has had so far practically no material effect on the admission rate. Maddlesbrozogh County Borough lI-Iental Hospital (Aotzazcal Reportfor the Year 1915).-The total number of cases under treatment during the year was 639, with an average daily number resident of 472. The admissions, which totalled 207, included 116 cases transferred from Newcastle City Asylum in April. There were 79 from the borough, a decrease of 5 as compared with the previous year, but the number resident was increased by 9. The proportion of the insane to the estimated population of the borough was 1 to 402, or 24’ 8 per 10,000, the figures for England and Wales being 1 to 266, or 37-6 per 10,000. The total number of discharges, 96, included 54 patients transferred to Chester Asylum. The recoveries were 30, making a recovery rate of 37 on the direct admissions. The report states that one of the patients who escaped was a man who had been in the asylum since shortly after it was opened in 1898. He was ordinarily well-behaved and was allowed a good deal of liberty, but he had a habit of talking to himself and cursing imaginary enemies while at work. One morning he did not return to breakfast, and when next heard of he was with the Royal Engineers in Flanders. The deaths numbered 58, making a rate of 12’2 on the average daily number resident. Post-mortem examination was made in 41 cases. There were 17 private patients on the register at the end of the year, 4 having been admitted, 1 discharged recovered, and 6 having died during the year. Cozc.nty and City of jY’oreester Lunatic Asyl1f?n, Powick (Ann1fal Report for the Year 1915).-The total number of cases under treatment during the year was 1531, the average daily number resident being 1262. There were 405 admis- sions, of which 144 were direct, the remainder being trans- ferred from other asylums. The discharges numbered 83, of which 59 were recovered, making a recovery rate of 40 95 per cent. on the direct admissions. One patient was discharged "not insane." A male patient was prosecuted for a murderous assault on the son of the medical superintendent. He was found "Guilty, but insane." He was removed to a criminal asylum. An interesting medico-legal feature was that the man appealed against the verdict. The Court of Appeal held that the verdict "Guilty, but insane " was not a conviction, and that a man who was not convicted could not appeal. There were 99 deaths, making a death-rate of 7-9 per cent. on the daily average number resident. The principal causes of death were as follows : Pulmonary tuberculosis, 21 ; heart disease, 20 ; senile decay, 17 ; epilepsy, 8 ; and pneumonia, 6. Post- mortem examinations were held in 89 cases, a percentage of 89’8. On Jan. lst, 1915, there were 24 private patients in residence. Four females were discharged. One male and two females died. On Dec. 31st, 1915, there were 19 remaining.
