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paresis of the right upper extremity and livid colouration ofthe forearm, the skin being dry and exfoliating. On thethird day there was complete mummification, no pulse wasto be felt in either the ulnar or the axillary arteries and ampu-tation was performed in January. Professor Weichselbaum,who made the pathological examination and exhibited thepreparation, said that there was no change in the arteries ofthe forearm, except the presence of some coagula. In his

opinion the case is remarkable on account of the mummifica-tion occurring in the forearm and also on account of thebrain being affected, for the patient is at the presenttime suffering from right facial paralysis. The explanationmay be a neuropathic necrosis due to destruction of thetrophic centres ; but this process being very rare the mummifi-cation may be due to the want of blood-supply. The bloodpressure was but trifling, and, of course, vascular engorge-ment in the capillaries and veins took place with transuda-tion into the soft parts and subsequent drying up. Thecerebral lesion is embolic softening due to a thrombus ineither the aorta or the heart from which particles aredetached, giving rise to embolism of the axillary arteryand also of the arteries supplying the fissure of Sylvius.

Feb. l6th. _______________

RUSSIA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Twelfth International Medical Congress.THE arrangements for the next International Congress,

which will be held in Moscow in August, 1897, are now beingworked out by the special committee appointed for thepurpose. There will be twelve sections, as follows: (1)anatomy, (2) physiology, (3) general pathology and patho-logical anatomy, (4) general therapeutics, (5) internaldiseases, (6) children’s diseases, (7) nervous and mentaldiseases, (8) dermatology, (9) surgery and diseases of the eye,(10) midwifery and gynæcology, (11) hygiene, and (12) legalmedicine. The Government has assigned 35, 000 roubles for theexpenses of the congress. The official language of the congresswill be the French language, but in the general meetings,of which there will be three, communications may be madein any European tongue. In the sectional meetings onlythree languages will be admitted-namely, French, German,and Russian. It will be seen that in this respect theorganising committee have altered their original intentions,which were to make French and German the officiallanguages and to exclude all others completely. The pro-priety of admitting Russian communications to a congressheld in the Russian capital cannot be questioned. English-men, however, must still regret that they will be debarredfrom making communications in their own tongue to thesectional meetings and that their only opportunity ofreading papers in the English language will be in the threegeneral meetings.

The Jenner Centenary in Russia.The Russian National Health Society is making strenuous

efforts for the success of the Jenner centenary celebration tobe held in May. Much, however, of their success must ofnecessity depend upon the response made by English medicalmen to the overtures of the society. Although the methodin which the society proposes to commemorate Jenner’s great discovery has already been detailed in THE LANCET, I may Ibe permitted to again call attention to it. There are offered i

four prizes, the first equivalent to 100 guineas, and a goldmedal, for the best work upon vaccination. English is oneof the languages in which the work may be written, and thework must be sent in before March 12th (New Style). An ex-hibition of relics of Jenner, and of books, pamphlets, prints,tabular returns, instruments, and other objects relating tovaccination or to Jenner will be held. It is to be sincerelyhoped that any one possessing such objects will freely lendthem to the exhibition. It would be a graceful act on the partof authors of books, pamphlets, or reports upon vaccinationto present a copy to the permanent library of the RussianNational Health Society to commemorate the occasion. The

society is also publishing a history of the development ofvaccination in Russia and other countries, and a full

biography of Jenner, together with a portrait and copies ofhis drawings. The price of this centenary edition" will ’,b3 three roubles (about 6s.). The promises of subscriptionhave so far come in well. Before the end of last year namesof over 1GOO subscribers had been received, and probably

many more have since come in. The edition will be editedby Dr. Ladislas Hubert, the secretary of the society and anacknowledged authority upon vaccination. It is to hisinitiative that the scheme of the centenary celebration isdue. Invitations have been sent to various learned societiesand medical institutions in England to appoint delegates toattend the celebration, and some leading English physicians,whose names will probably be announced shortly, have con.sented to become its "patrons." All objects intended forthe exhibition, as well as any other communication relatingto the centenary, should be addressed either to Dr. Hubert,15, Dmitrofski-pereoulok, St. Petersburg, or to Dr. F.Clemow, 69, Earl’s Court-square, London, S.W., who is

acting for the society in England.The Odessa Medical Faculty.

The buildings of the new faculty of medicine in theNovorossiisk University in Odessa will be on a generousscale. The cost of the anatomical theatre and laboratoriesalone will be 319,150 roubles ; the clinique will cost 386,880roubles ; paving of courtyards, planting of trees, and similarexpenses are put down at 43,970 roubles ; two new buildingsin the University for chemical and physical laboratories willcost 20,000 roubles ; so that the whole cost of the buildingswill be as high as 950,000 roubles (about £100,000). Thefurnishing them will probably cost 250,000 roubles. In theclinique will be beds for 175 patients, and not for 255 as afirst proposed.

Diminzctiort of Cholera.Cholera has quite disappeared from the government of

Kief and is almost extinct in St. Petersburg. BetweenJan. 19th and 26th (Old Style) there were eight fresh cases ofthe disease in the capital and five deaths. On the 26th onlyfour cases of cholera remained under treatment.

Feb. 16th, 1896. _______________

CONSTANTINOPLE.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Quarantane Measures.THE General Board of Health publishes the following

notice in the daily papers :-The existence of cholera in

Egypt rendering it necessary to adopt prophylactic measureswith regard to pilgrims proceeding to Hedjaz by way of theSuez Canal, the General Board of Health has decided thatpilgrim ships coming from the Turkish littoral will proceedto the lazarettos of Clazomena, Beyrout, or Tripolis in

Barbary, where they will be subjected to disinfection; here,too, their bilge-water will be pumped out and their provisionof drinking water renewed, while the linen of the pilgrimswill be disinfected. These vessels, as well as those comingwith pilgrims from Morocco and Algeria, will cross the SuezCanal without communicating with the land, and will beunder the supervision of pilots taken at Port Said who havepreviously undergone a quarantine of five days. The vesselswill proceed direct to Djeddah. At this port pilgrims willbe subject to medical inspection. Should a case of choleraoccur during the passage the vessel will, immediately afterits arrival at Djeddah, be isolated and sent to Camaran,where it will undergo the regular term of quarantine.

The late Dr. Soutsos.The death is announced from Athens of Dr. Pericles J.

Soutsos, Physician-in-chief of the Greek Army. Deceasedwas born at Odessa on Aug. 30th, 1829, and was a member otthe well-known Phanariot family. His father, John Soutsos.was a Grand Dragoman of the Sublime Porte. He studiedmedicine in the university of Athens, and afterwards went toFrance to complete his professional studies. He returned toGreece in 1856 and joined the army, in which he served untilthe time of his death.Feb. 5th.

________________

AUSTRALIA.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

11 Presidential Address.DR. W. SNOWBALL, the retiring President of the Victorias n

Branch of the British Medical Association, delivered a shortaddress at the annual meeting in December. He consideredthat the union of physician and surgeon was becoming day

523

by day more evident and that scientific surgical interferencewas fast supplanting the more empiric treatment by drugs,though no conscientious surgeon would speak of a surgicaloperation as devoid of danger. Exactness of diagnosis wasall-important, and in this direction too much attention

perhaps was given to laboratory work to the neglect ofbedside observation. Speaking of the diphtheria antitoxinhe remarked that there was a tendency to forget that it

simply antagonised the diphtheritic virus, and that when thevirus had produced actual structural change it was futile toexpect benefit from its use. He strongly advocated theestablishment by the Government of an Institute of PublicHealth where toxines and vaccines could be prepared andbacteriological investigations made. In diseases of childrenhe referred to the advances made in the treatment ofintestinal trouble, the keynote of which was asepsis ofthe intestinal tract, purity of the food-supply, cleanli-ness of environment, food, and bowel, the latter attainedby lavage. He was strongly of opinion that ameliorationof the medical diseases of childhood was to be effectedrather in the household kitchen than in the laboratory ofthe pharmacist. In the surgical diseases of the young theresults of wise and cautious operative interference were mostsatisfactory, as seen in eraions of joints and the treatmentof intussusception and tuberculous peritonitis by laparotomy.For stone in the bladder he still preferred the lateral

operation notwithstanding that the supra-pubic method wasfashionable just now.

Proposed Maternity Hospital for Sydney.Sydney is strangely lacking in proper accommodation for

indigent maternity patients. The Benevolent Asylum has alying-in department attached to it, but the buildings arenow quite unsuitable and have been repeatedly condemned.Not very long ago reference was made to an outbreak ofpuerperal septicaemia, that occurred there, leading to theresignation of the staff, who attributed the outbreak to theinsanitary state of the buildings. The lying-in departmentof the asylum, however, is not the only provision for

maternity patients in Sydney. Some time ago a Women’sDispensary was started in Hay-street by some members ofthe medical profession, with whom are associated some ladieson the board of directors. The directors have been makingenergetic efforts to collect funds to enlarge the build-

jng, and recently a deputation waited on the Colonial

Secretary to ask the Government for a piece of land on whichto erect a new maternity hospital ; also to request a donationof pound for pound for any money subscribed for the buildingof the same. Some of the directors of the BenevolentAsylum also attended to urge the prior claims of that institu-tion to Government assistance. All the Asylum authoritiesrequire is that the Government should take over the presentsite and grant them another more suitable for the purpose.The society has a building fund of £20,000, a sufficientportion of which it is prepared to devote to the building of anew maternity hospital if the Government will grant therequired land.

Medical Journalism in Australia.An amalgamation has just been effected between the

Australian Medical Journal and the Intercolonial QuarterlyJournal of Medicine and Su.rgery. The former publicationwas founded by the Medical Society of Victoria in the year1856, and was for long the only medical journal in Australia.Then the Australasian Medical Gazette was started in 1881- in Sydney as the organ of the Victorian, New South Wales,and South Australian branches of the British MedicalAssociation. Soon afterwards the Victorian branch made.arrangements to publish its transactions in the A2tstrahanMedical Journal, and so it came about that the Gazettewas the Sydney and the Journal the Melbourne,medical publication. Then the branch of the BritishMedical Association in Brisbane arranged to publish itstransactions in the Gazette, which became gradually moreand more Australasian in character, while the Journalbecame more and more local and Victorian. Both weremedical newspapers giving leading articles and local news.not entirely medical though of professional interest. Nearlytwo years ago the Intercolonial Qutarterly was started as a’private enterprise in Melbourne by some members of theprofession, who thought there was room for an independentjournal of a more purely scientific character and free fromlocalism in every sense. Last year the Gazette was purchasedby the New South Wales Branch of the British MedicalAssociation, and is now supplied, as well as the British

Medical Journal, to all members of the branches of the BritishMedical Association in Australia, of which it is now therecognised organ. The new journal formed by the amalga-mation of the Quarterly and the Australian Medical Journalis to be published monthly and called the Intercolonial MedicalJournal of Australia. The editorial staff will be a large one,all the colonies being represented, and it is intended tomake the new publication an independent journal of a

thoroughly intercolonial character.The Medical C’ongress in New Zealand.

The arrangements for the meeting of the IntercolonialMedical Congress of Australasia to be opened in Dunedin onFeb. 3rd are practically complete, and the meeting promisesto be a great success. A considerable number will attendfrom the Australian continent, tempted to a large extent bythe favourable opportunity afforded of seeing the magnifi-cent scenery of New Zealand. Some alterations have beenmade in the positions of presidents of sections. Dr. Jamiesonof Melbourne being unable to attend has resigned the Pre-sidency in Medicine, and the position has been accepted byDr. A. A. Lendon of Adelaide. Dr. MacCormick of Sydneyhas resigned and Mr. H. M. O’Hara of Melbourne has

accepted the position of President of the Section of Surgery.Report of City Coroner for Sydney for the Year 1895.

During the year 1895 the number of deaths reported to theCity Coroner of Sydney was 541, 237 of which formed thesubject of inquests. In almost every case the Government

pathologist, Dr. G. E. Rennie, has made a report, and alsoa post-mortem examination in the majority of cases. The

year has been one of suicides, especially towards its termina-tion. In five days of December seven people committedsuicide. The suicides run in cycles, one is followed byseveral in quick succession and then there is a lull. Shoot-ing with a revolver is the most frequent method employed,then drowning, then poison, arsenic being the favourite.Infanticide has been less prevalent.

Case of Xerostomia.At the last meeting of the South Australian Branch of the

British Medical Association Dr. T. K. Hamilton exhibited apatient suffering from xerostomia, or persistent dry mouth.She was forty-six years of age and enjoyed good health up toMarch, 1895, since when she has suffered from dryness ofthe nose, throat, and mouth. The tongue was dry, glazed,red, and hyperæsthetic. The salivary glands did not respond toeither mechanical, chemical, or mental stimuli, and onlyslightly and temporarily to electrical stimulation. Mastica-tion was difficult, and the whole buccal cavity shared in thedryness ; both taste and smell were defective. No treatmenthas had any effect, pilocarpin and electricity both failing torelieve the patient.

Jan. 2nd.

Obituary.SURGEON-GENERAL J. EKIN, C.B., M.B. LOND.,

ARMY MEDICAL STAFF.

WE regret to announce the death, on the 14th inst., of

Surgeon-General J. Ekin, C.B., at the age of sixty-seven.The deceased officer retired from the Army Medical Servicea few years ago, and his loss will be greatly regretted, forhe was most deservedly respected as an able officer and

excellent administrator as well as an upright, honest manof excellent judgment. Surgeon-General Ekin had seen agood deal of field service. He served with the 4th Regi-ment at the siege and fall of Sebastopol, and receivedthe medal with clasp and Turkish medal. He alsoserved in the Afghan war of 1879-80, and accompaniedSir Frederick, now Lord, Roberts in his march to Candaharas principal medical officer of the infantry division, andwas present at the battle of Candahar (mentioned indespatches, medal and clasp). He afterwards served in theEgyptian campaign of 1882, where he acted as principalmedical officer of the First Division, and was present at thebattle of Tel-el-Kebir (mentioned in despatches, medal andclasp, Khedive’s star, and C.B.). He used to declare thathe regarded his work as a medical officer in the briefEgyptian campaign as about the most fatiguing and arduoushe had undertaken, and considered that the medical staffrendered excellent service on that occasion. He was