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are not pushed against the wall, these buffers being usedalso as handles for moving the bed. The articles of furniturestand well up from the floor and all shelves and tops ofcupboards and washstands are made of glass so that they areperfectly non-absorbent.The administrative block has a main central entrance

to the north and the entrance hall is spacious andwell appointed. The ground floor of this block containswaiting rooms, consulting rooms, an operating theatre, andvarious committee rooms, and rooms for the medical officers,together with a dispensary, library, and laboratory. Thereis a commodious dining hall for the patients and con-

veniently to this hall there are placed the kitchens, in whichevery arrangement is fully up to date. Accommodation isalso provided in this block for the medical superintendent,the staff, and the servants. At the western end ofthe buildings the chapel has been built; it is a V-shapedstructure, the arms of the V forming two naves,one for men and the other for women. This can be

truly called an open-air chapel because the south walls ofthe two naves are built in open arcade work but provision ismade to prevent rain or snow from drifting in. At the apexof this curious chapel there are two pulpits, one of whichcan be used by the preacher in wet weather when the

congregation will be gathered round him sheltered, if

necessary, by cloisters erected for the purpose. The chapelis heated by means of steam pipes running under thestone floor. This method of heating is a revival ofthe old Roman plan of warming rooms. An up-to-datelaundry has been built and close to it is the engine-housewith machinery for the supply of the electric light. The

equipment of this portion of the institution is of a mostelaborate character and care has been taken to introduce thebest of modern labour-reducing machinery. The water-

supply comes from a reservoir on Henley Common in NorthPark Copse. It is pumped to the highest part of the groundsof the institution and a reservoir has been there madecapable of holding 160,000 gallons. The daily service ofwater will be amply met as there will generally be sufficientwater to yield 60,000 gallons a day. One advantage ofhaving a reservoir holding such a large reserve is thatin case of fire there will be no lack of water. The

drainage system is in connexion with that of the town ofMidhurst, and although the carrying out of this drainagework presented considerable difficulty it has been found

possible to complete the work in the most satisfactorymanner. A word or two must be said in praise of the land-scape work involved in laying out the grounds and there isno doubt that the sanatorium is rendered attractive by thefine gardens and lawns that have been placed around it. Thesite of the building was chosen, amongst other considera-tions, for the mild and equable climate of the district,largely influenced by the proximity of the sea and theshelter afforded by the pine forest. The average number ofhours of sunshine for the year is 1689 and for the week35. The average yearly rainfall is 30 inches, the numberof rainy days is 157, the mean annual temperature is 48° F.,the mean maximum temperature is 57.1°, and the meanminimum temperature is 41.4°.There is accommodation provided in the King’s Sana-

torium for 100 patients ; 14 of these will pay eight guineasa week and the remainder two guineas a week. Thosewho pay at the higher rate will have slightly better bed-rooms and enjoy superior arrangements for feeding. The classfor which the sanatorium is specially built is that just abovethe very poor for whom no provision in case of sickness,such as tuberculosis, exists ; the institution will serve auseful purpose for such people as governesses, teachers, andbadly paid members of certain professions. It is not in-tended that rich people should be able to send their gardenersand other servants to the sanatorium by merely paying somuch a week.

BIRMINGHAM.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Complaints against tlte General Hospital.WiTHiN a short space of time two serious complaints

have been made against the resident staff of the GeneralHospital. The first was by the father of a child whowas accidentally burnt, it being asserted that great andunnecessary delay had occurred before the child was

admitted, and the second was by a nurse of the ChurchArmy who considered that she and the patient whom sheaccompanied had been treated with scant consideration anddiscourtesy. Both complaints were fully investigated bythe house committee and by the board of management andboth have been proved to be without foundation. The delaywhich occurred in the first case was due to the father’s hesita-tion to leave his child in the hospital and in the second caseit was shown that the nurse had misunderstood what the resi-dent surgical officer had said to her. He had told her that thepatient could not be admitted at once but would be takenin as soon as possible and she had waited on hoping herpatient would be taken in that day, whilst the surgicalofficer had communicated with the medical man who sentthe case telling him that he would write and let him knowwhen the case could be received. Neither of the complaintsis to be regretted, for the thoroughness of the investigationswhich followed and which proved both the efficiency andthoughtfulness of the staff will serve still further to increasethe confidence which the general public have in the institu-tion. Moreover, the second case should draw the attentionof practitioners to the fact that it is advisable to com-municate with the authorities and to assure themselves thatroom is available before sending a serious case for admission.

l2etirement of Mr. Bennett May.For many years Mr. Bennett May has rendered invaluable

service to the Queen’s Hospital and to medical education inBirmingham, but in the ordinary course of events the timehas come when his term of office as honorary surgeon to theQueen’s Hospital terminates and the committee has acceptedhis resignation of office with feelings of the greatest regret.He is still a keen and an active surgeon whose interest in his

profession seems to grow with increasing years and in order toexpress its high appreciation of his past services the com-mittee has recommended to the governors of the hospitalthat Mr. May be elected honorary consulting surgeon. Hisconnexion with the hospital for which he has done so muchwill thus be maintained, whilst his time will be more freefor the purposes of his private work.

Death of Sir Willoughby Francis Wade.Many years have passed since a severe illness necessitated

Sir Willoughby F. Wade’s resignation of his appointmentof honorary physician to the General Hospital and it isten years since he left Birmingham, but his services tothe city, his excellent medical work, and his interest-

ing personality have not been forgotten, and sincereregret was felt when it was known that he had diedin Rome. Though born in Ireland he was of Yorkshiredescent, and he was educated at Rugby, Trinity College,Dublin, and in Paris. He took an active interest in all

things associated with the medical profession and for manyyears he was a member of the council of the British MedicalAssociation. In 1890 he delivered a memorable address onmedical education, in which he pointed out how insufficientwas the scientific knowledge then possessed by medicalmen. That address was but an indication of the

general scientific tendencies which stimulated him to take anactive part in the foundation of the scientific grants com-mittee of the British Medical Association. He was a keenobserver and was one of the first to recognise that diphtheriawas something more than a mere local disease. It was in

recognition of his great services to medicine that he wasknighted in 1896 and the distinction thus conferred uponhim gave the greatest pleasure to his colleagues and friends.He served on the staff of both the General Hospital and theQueen’s Hospital and he was one of the founders of theBirmingham Medical Institute.

Successes of the Birmingham Ambulance Brigade.During Whit-week the members of No. 3 district of the

St. John Ambulance Brigade camped in the old park ofBroughton House, near Kettering. No. 3 district is a largeone, including Birmingham, Dudley, Northants, &:c., and 325officers and men were in camp. The weather was delightful,the work was done enthusiastically, and the Birmingham menwere jubilant when as the result of the competition for theMarkham Cup it was found that Birmingham No. 1 andNo. 2 teams had secured first and second places respectively.

Medical Benevolent Society.At the recent annual meeting of the Medical Benevolent

Society of this district it was pointed out by Sir JamesSawyer that 4000 medical men resided within the area of the

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operations of the society-that is, within 50 miles ofBirmingham-and that it would certainly be worth the whileof those who were not already members to make inquiriesinto the objects of the society; if they did so they would inall probability become members. The funds of the societynow amount to .615,940 and it grants at present 22 annuitiesvarying in value from .E18 to £36. Dr. E. Rickards is

president for the ensuing year and Mr. W. F. Haslam ishonorary secretary.

Opening of a New Small pox Hospital.The permanent buildings erected at Bagnall by the North

Staffordshire joint small-pox hospital board were opened inthe early part of the month and there can be no doubt thatDr. G. Reid, the county medical officer, was fully justifiedin saying that North Staffordshire was now equipped withproper provision for dealing with small-pox. The hospitalhas accommodation for 39 beds, with an allowance of 2000cubic feet per bed. It is provided with an isolation pavilion,laundry, disinfection rooms, ambulance sheds, destructor,boiler house, and stables. The cost of the permanent worksand buildings was about E8000 and the hospital stands ingrounds of about seven and a half acres.

The Care of Feeble-minded Children.The Birmingham education department has sent out a

circular letter to the boards of guardians in this districtdrawing attention to the offer of the Rev. H. N. Burden, amember of the Royal Commission on the Care and Control ofthe Feeble-minded, to furnish and to staff a boarding schoolfor mentally defective children if he could feel assured thatlocal boards of guardians and education authorities wouldsend a certain number of cases and pay for their maintenancewhich would not exceed .E24 per head, including cost ofclothing. The letter has been considered by the boardsof guardians of West Bromwich, Waleall, and Atherstone.The West Bromwich guardians make provision which theyconsider quite satisfactory in their own institution andcannot therefore see their way to join in the movement. Thehouse committee of the Walsall guardians finds itselfunable to recommend the guardians to give any pledge butit is prepared to give full consideration to the matter ifthe scheme is carried out. The feeling at Atherstone wasmore favourable, for the clerk pointed out that they hadexperienced considerable difficulty in finding suitable insti-tutions for the feeble-minded who had become chargeable tothe union and he thought that the scheme would supply amuch felt want. Eventually the subject was referred to thecommittee for further consideration.June 12th.

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LIVERPOOL.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Tinned Meat: Condition oftke Liverpool Supplies.Dr. E. W. Hope, the medical officer of health, made an

important statement to the health committee on June 7thin reference to the tinned-food scare. He said that thegreat bulk of the tinned meat which came into Liverpoolarrived in a very excellent condition. It was not all for con-sumption in Liverpool but great quantities of it passedthrough the port. The trade was a very large one andperhaps thousands of tons were consumed annually in thiscountry and no single instance of any harm arising had sofar been brought to light. On the other hand, they knew thatin a trade so extensive there occurred what were knownas "blown" tins, owing, perhaps, to defective fasteningor other causes. The contents then decomposed. That

happened in relatively a small percentage of cases andappeared much the same as resulted from the defectivecorking of wine. Those tins were carefully taken outby the importers and sent to the corporation depotsand were there punctured and put into the destructors.300 or 400 tons every year were dealt with in thisway but the great bulk of the stuff was in first-class condition. They had to set against these facts-facts known to them-statements coming from an exceed-ingly high authority-no less a personage than the Presidentof the United States, who says that the conditions inChicago are so revolting that the reports are unfit forpublication. They must balance in the scale these two

things, one, the report made by an authority of indisputableintegrity and exactness, and the other, what they hadthemselves experienced. Possibly the explanation was thatthe very bad material had been kept for home consumption

in America but as a sanitary authority they could only judgeby what they had read in the newspapers. Whilst the Presi-dent gave his immense weight of authority to the abomin-able conditions existing in Chicago he (Dr. Hope) shouldadvise people to refrain from taking anything that came fromChicago so long as these conditions existed, but he was surethat the public were not so unwise as to discard altogetherthat very excellent form of food which was contained initinspreserved in varied ways and which formed an importantpart of the food of this country.

Hospital Saturday Fund.—Gift to the Royal SouthernHospital.

The honorary treasurer of the Hospital Saturday Fund hasacknowledged in his first list the receipt of contributionsfrom the employees of various workshops amounting to.S6034. The second list will be published on July 3rd.-The Royal Southern Hospital has received a handsome giftin the shape of stained- glass windows for the chapel of thehospital. Situated as the chapel is, on the first landing, thisaddition can be seen by all visitors and also by convalescentpatients. The gift is from Mr. William Moss and his sistersin memory of their mother who for a long period took a deepinterest in the work of the hospital. The three windows, whichface the west, represent the central three-light window," Faith, Hope, and Charity " ; the two-light window to thenorth, " Christ blessing little children" ; and the two-lightwindow to the south, " The Nativity of Our Lord." Thewhole gives a beautiful glow of colour to the little chapel.A suitable inscription is recorded at the foot of the centralwindow.June 12th.

SCOTLAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Consumption and the Edinburgh City Hospital.SOME weeks ago it was stated that wards had been

allocated at the Edinburgh City Hospital for the reception ofadvanced cases of pulmonary tuberculosis. The publichealth committee of the town council, it seems, is dis-appointed that so far the accommodation provided has notbeen taken advantage of to a greater extent than it has been.Since the opening of the wards in April last 21 patients havebeen admitted, nine of whom were males and 12 females.Eight deaths have occurred. One patient died after four anda half weeks’ residence, four after three weeks, one after oneweek, and two after part of a week. In the beginning ofthis week there were five males and eight females remainingin the wards. Since May 25th only one application foradmission had been made, although the deaths from pul-monary tuberculosis as reported averaged 13 or 14 a week.It was also stated that the opportunities for voluntarydisinfection had not been taken advantage of as they mightby the medical profession. The committee recommendedits medical officer to bring the advantages of the hospitalunder the notice of the medical secretaries of the publicdispensaries.

Legal Decision regtcrdinrt Cascara Sagrada.The Leith public health authorities some time ago raised

an action against a highly reputable firm of druggists chargingthem under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act with selling to asanitary inspector ten ounces of a liquid extract of cascarasagrada which was destitute of alcohol, whereby they wereliable to a fine of £20. Without going minutely into thecase it may be indicated that the contention was that theliquid extract of cascara ought to have the composition givenin the Pharmacopœia and be compounded according to theformula given there. It was argued by the defence that thearticle supplied was of the nature, substance, and quality ofthe article demanded, and that instead of using alcohol asthe preservative glycerine was used, because for this drugit was a much better preservative than alcohol. Thesheriff in giving judgment in favour of the druggists laidstress upon the preservative element in pharmaceuticalpreparations and also upon the position of the BritishPharmacopoeia, If the Pharmacopoeia formula had to befollowed-if alcohol were used to a less extent than 17 percent.-then the purchaser could repudiate and claim damages.He thought that might be the position occupied by theformula-- of the British Pharmacopoeia as regarded the pre-servatives of drugs, but if so that position did not seemto have been conceded to it hitherto. So far as the pro-ceedings in this case had gone it would appear that this was