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view of the present state of chemical science, and hasconscientiously availed himself of the labours of past andpresent chemists. His work will constitute a safe guideto the student who only wishes to attain a fair average

acquaintance with the present state of chemical know-ledge. He who is studying chemistry as a science, who ! wishes to know all, or even nearly all, the results ofmodern investigation, will necessarily require a more ’,prolix instructor.

Lectures on Electricity, comprising Galeaniim, Magnetism,Electro-magnetism, Magneto and Thermo-electricily. ByHENRY M. NOAD. A new and enlarged Edition,Illustrated by nearly Three Hundred Woodcuts. Lon-don : George Knight. 18-14. 8vo.

THIS is a most complete and elaborate treatise, whichdoes very great credit to the scientinc acquirements andto the perseverance of the author. The labourers in this

department of the natural sciences are now so numerous,and the additions which they have made to our know-ledge of electricity during the last few years have beenso varied and important that Mr. Noad’s attempt toanalyse the whole must have been a most arduous one,one which for its accomplishment required all the talentand information which he undoubtedly possesses. To

attempt anything like an analysis of the varied contentsof Mr. Noad’s treatise would be unfair, as it would be

quite impossible for us, in the limited space which wecould devote to it, to do him justice. We must, therefore,content ourselves with recommending it cordially to ourreaders.

Mental Hygiene, or an Examination of the Intellect and

Passions, designed to illustrate tlaeir Influence on Healthand the Duration of Life. By WILLIAM SWEETSER,M.D. (New York). Edinburgh : Maclachlan and Co.1844. Royal 8vo. Pp. 60.

THIS admirable little treatise cannot be too extensivelycirculated both in and out of the kingdom. Writing in afree and unpretending style, Dr. Sweetser, after giving ashort account of the intellect and its operations, laysdown a series of judicious laws regulating the mode inwhich the intellect should be used, and concludes by ashort examination of the passions, and of their influ-

ence on health and longevity. Although thus treatinga most abstruse subject, Dr. Sweetser contrives so wellto keep abstract ideas in the back ground, and illustrateshis propositions in so entertaining a manner, by examplesdrawn from historical biography, that once we had takenup the book we could with difficulty lay it down. The

knowledge which it imparts is calculated to assist themedical attendant in his professional labours, not to marthem ; we can, therefore, recommend it to our readers,not only for their own perusal, but for that of their

patients. It is a very cheap reprint of an Americanwork.

Thoughts on Physical Education, and the True Mode of Im-proting the Condition of Man. By CHARLES CALD-WELL, M.D., Kentucky. Second British Edition.

Edinburgh : Maclachlan and Co. 1844. Royal 8vo.Pp. 36.

ASSUMING that the mental and moral improvement ofman is inseparably connected with his physical im-provement, Dr. Caldwell very justly wishes to direct theattention of all who are occupied with the education ofthe young to the means by which this physical ameliora-tion is to be attained ; in other words, the subject of histreatise is the hygiene of the younger classes of society.Dr. Caldwell’s views are very judicious, and presented in

such a form as to be intelligible to all, so that their pro-pagation cannot but do good. We must, by the by,remark, that they are founded on phrenological prin-ciples ; a fact,. however, of but little importance, as theadvice is equally rational, whether emanating from

phrenological or physiological data. Right or wrong,phrenologists have certainly done good by thus for-cibly directing attention to hygienic questions. This

is, also, a cheap Edinburgh reprint of a " popularAmerican work."

BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNALS.

ON THE ALLEGED EARLY PUBERTY OF THE FEMALE SEX

IN GREECE.

AN impression has very generally existed that femalepuberty commenced at a very early age in Greece. This

opinion seemed to be fully confirmed by the almostofficial statements made in a work recently published byMr. Strong, the Bavarian consul at Athens.* He says :-" Nature is so extremely precocious in Greece, thatfemales attain the age of puberty at ten or eleven years,and men at fifteen or sixteen. Young lads of sixteen andseventeen are frequently met with in the villages alreadymarried and with families. I am acquainted with a ladyof one of the first Athenian families who, though onlytwenty-five years of age, has already had sixteen children(eight of them twins), of whom seven are still alive. It

may scarcely appear credible in England, but there isnow at Athens a venerable grandmamma in the person ofa lady not yet twenty-four years old. She was marriedwhen eleven years of age, and had a daughter in thecourse of a year. That daughter married also whenscarcely eleven, and has just become a mother."Mr. Robertson, of Manchester, has, as our readers are

already aware, paid considerable attention to this in-

teresting subject. The views here expressed, however,being distinctly at variance with those which he had longsought to establish, he was induced to make some in-quiries on the subject, and publishes the results in theEdinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal. Those resultsmay be thus briefly summed up :-

1. That the average age of commencing puberty isnearly the same in the Grecian and British Islands.

2. That the age at which menstruation is said to ceasein Greece is- quite as late as in Englaud, namely, fromforty-eight to fifty ; an irresistible presumptive evidence,were there no other, that puberty is not earlier in the onecountry than it is in the other.

3. That the age of marriage, though considerablyearlier in the kingdom of Greece than it is in England,would seem not to be, generally speaking, so early as instated in the work of Mr. Strong and by several authorswho have published journals of their tours in that region.

4. That the instances of early child-bearing are butexamples of what is common in all countries in a lowstate of civilization, or during periods of public excite-ment. Parallels may be found " at the present time per-haps in this country ; at all events it is likely they couldbe in Ireland," and we are informed, that, during theFrench revolution, one or two instances occurred offemales at eleven, and even below that age, being receivedin a pregnant state into the hospital, " the Maternité,"in Paris. Non-professional writers seem to have con-founded early marriage with early puberty. These in-

quiries of Mr. Robertson place the matter in a more

satisfactory light.TREATMENT OF DYSENTERY IN INDIA.

Out of one hundred and twelve cases admitted fifty-one deaths occurred, chiefly in patients who came tohospital either in the advanced stage of the acute or inthe chronic form of the disease. In the first, calomeland opium, leeching, blisters, fomentations, blue pill, orthe hydrarg. cum creta, combined with ipecacuanha andgentian extract, or with Dover’s powder, or the acetate

* Greece as a Kingdom. 8vo., London.

760

of lead and opium, or the chalk and opium powder, withanodyne enemata, or opiate suppositories, were themeans used. In the latter, sulphate of copper and opiumWas found the most valuable remedy, in doses of fromone to three grains of the former, and two to five orsix grains of the lat,ter, thrice daily, or even more fre-

quently in extreme cases. In the successful cases, generalor local blood-letting, or both. Twining’s combinationof blue pill, ipecacuanha, &c., calomel with ipecacuanhaand opium, and when much blood was voided, the acetateof lead and opium, from two to six grains of the former, and three to six of the latter, with diluted vinegar asdrink, to prevent the acetate passing into the state ofcarbonate in the bowels. These, with the application ofblisters, followed by light, astringent, bitter tonics duringconvalescence, nourishing diet, and port wine, were theprincipal means employcd.-Transactions of the Medicaland Physical Society of Bombay.

DISEASES OF THE SPLEEN IN INDIA.

Eight admissions to the native hospital, and all suc-cessfully treated. In one case the spleen was enormouslyenlarged. The patient was suddenly seized with severevomiting of dark grumous, clotted blood, mixed withshreds of coagulated lymph. This pulpy substance seemedto be the dissolved spleen, and was brought up to theextent of several pounds, after which the viscus was sud-denly reduced to its natural size, and the patient left thehospital convalescent. This is supposed to be the onlyinstance known in this part oi India, of diseased spleenbursting into the stomach.—Idem. [There is no proofthat the spleen did burst.]A LIVING CHILD, FROM 39 DAYS AFTER QUICKENING-

147 DAYS AFTER CONCEPTION.

This curious case happened in the practice of Mr. C.Smythe, of Castle Douglas. A female, in her secondpregnancy, and in the 147th day of utero-gestation, hada severe flooding, with rupture of the membranes.Labour did not take place till the next night, when avery small but well-formed fcetus was expelled, giving noother indication of life than a very feeble action of theheart and a Strong pulsation in the cord. By propermeans it was resuscitated, and cried as strongly as a childborn at the full period of pregnancy. It weighed lessthan two pounds, and measured exactly twelve inches.It swallowed some nourishment, but died at twelve hoursand a half after birth. The membrana pupillaris wasentire ; the testicles had not descended; the head wellcovered with hair. Some ecchymosis appeared on theback and on the hands before death. From peculiar cir-eumstances, it was evident that the mother of the infantwas perfectly correct in respect to dates.There was clearly nothing in the organisation of this

child to prevent its growing to the age of maturity. Webelieve there is a case recorded in the Edinburgh Medicaland Surgical Journal, where a premature fœtus of eighteenweeks was preserved by great care. In the present casethe period of utero-gestation extended to twenty-oneweeks.—Medico- Chirurgical Review.A; FLOCK OF SHEEP POISONED BY EATING THE RANUN- ’,

CULUS REPENS.

The sheep had not been many hours in the field beforethe shepherd observed that several of them seemed sud-denly to fall down, as if they had been struck by light-ning : their eyes rolled about in their sockets ; theirbreathing was hurried and laborious; and some of themkept turning round and round as if they were dizzy, anddied with their heads inclined over to their left flanks. Hefancied that the seizure was owing to a coup de sang,and bled the animals accordingly, but the loss of bloodseemed to do harm rather than good, for eleven animalsdied almost immediately afterwards. A veterinary sur-geon, who was summoned, immediately detected thecause of the mischief in the great admixture of the ra-

nunculi with the grass. He therefore at once recom-mended that the bleedings should be discontinued, and adose of sulphuric ether in milk be given to all theaffected animals. Under this treatment the alarmingsymptoms quickly subsided; and, although for some days

the sheep remained very feeble and tottering on their legs,they all recovered completely.-Idem.

SCIRRHUS Olr THE LUNG.

Dr. Stokes said, on laying the specimen before theDublin Pathological Society, that it had been taken froman old man who for a long time had suffered from a can-cerous ulcer on the face. Although the lung was affectedby cancerous disease, there was not, during life, any de-cided symptom of pulmonary lesion, except that Mr.Shannon had found the right side of the chest rather dullon percussion. Although the disease might be suspected,there was no pathognomonic symptom of its existence.The present specimen was one of great interest ; therehad, on former occasions, been presented to the societyexamples of encephalnid deposition, but no specimen ofthat organ affected by true scirrhus had as yet been laidbefore it, nor had Dr. Stokes himself ever met with sucha case before the present. In this specimen the upperpart of the lung was very hard, difficult to cut, and theact of cutting it produced a grating sound; it was, infact, of an almost stony hardness. There was a well-marked line of distinction between this indurated portionand the rest of the lung, which was infiltrated with a

gelatinous matter of a greyish colour. This gelatinousdeposition appears to be the earliest stage of the cancerousdisease ; to this succeeds the condition of induration, andthen that of ulceration, a state not yet arrived at in thiscase. In most cases, where the deposition of cancerousmatter in the lungs is extensive, the pleural cavities areobliterated, a circumstance which proves that irritationis associated with this deposit of heterologous matter.The absence of such symptoms as pain is also usual. Inthe descending aorta there was incipient ulceration. Asto the diagnosis of these cases he would remark, that theymight be considered as forming three species. In thefirst, the external cancer precedes the internal; those arethe easiest to diagnose, for in them any evidence of or-ganic change in internal parts may be taken as evidenceof their being affected by cancer. The second species isthat in which some internal organ is affected hefore thecancer has exhibited itself externally; and a third speciesis that in which only the internal organs are affected, andthe cancer does not engage any part of the external sur-face Of both these the diagnosis may be very obscure.-Dublin Journal.

ABSCESS BEHIND THE PHARYNX. FATAL TERMINATION

BY THE ENTRANCE OF AIR INTO THE VEINS.

Mr. R. W. Smith relates the case of a female, agedsixty, who was admitted on a Tuesday into the RichmondHospital. On the previous Saturday, in the act of deglu-tition, a bone had stuck in the pharynx, where it remainedfixed for about three hours. On admission into hospitalshe complained of pain in the throat (not in the larynx) ; ;she was unable to swallow solids ; she was watchful anddid not sleep. At the right side of her neck a tumourwas observable, it was variable in size, and evidently con-tained both air and liquid. On Friday the pharynx wasminutely examined, and a tumour was observed project-ing into its lower portion. The tumour was puncturedwith a trocar, and some air escaped from the wound;, ina few minutes afterwards she fell back and expired ; theveins of the neck were distended with air.When the body was examined after death a large ab-

scess was found situated behind the pharynx and œso-

phagus, extending into the posterior mediastinum. Ithad burst by numerous small openings into the oesoplta-gus, and had also infiltrated with purulent matter all theloose reticular tissue between that canal and the verte-bral column. Mr. Smith considered that in this case thefatal disease had originated in the injury done by theforeign body to the mucous lining of the pharynx, fromwhich the abscess rapidly resulted. The veins had beeneroded and opened by ulceration. He would deduce fromthis case and from previous observations the necessity ofa careful examination of every abscess occurring behindthe pharynx, and also that they should be punctured- ina very early stage. In the present case the death wascaused by the entrance of air into the veins, a mode oftermination that had not been observed before in similarcases.-Idem.

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DESCRIPTION OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR EXPLORING THE

CHEST IN CASES OF HYDROTHORAX.

Mr. Cock, writing in Guy’s Hospital Reports, says-" An instrument, admirably adapted for exploring the

chest, and, indeed, generally applicable for elucidatingthe nature of many other forms of obscure disease, hasbeen contrived by Dr. Babington. It consists of a needlecontained in the smallest-sized canula; this is passedbetween the ribs into the suspected spot ; the needle iswithdrawn, and the escape of fluid from the tube at onceindicates the existence and the nature of the abnormalsecretion. A farther investigation, as to the size anddirection of the cavity, may also be obtained by intro-ducing a fine silver probe through the canula. The painit inflicts is of the most insignificant kind; I believe it tobe quite incapable of doing injury to any thoracic viscuswhich, under an error of diagnosis, it may happen topierce."

ENORMOUS ABSCESS OF THE LIVER.

In the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, Dr.Inman records a case of abscess of the liver, containingthirteen pints of purulent matter, of a reddish-brown co-lour, and very fcetid odour. The most remarkable point inthe history of the case was the absence of those symptomswhich generally indicate suppuration in the liver.

ON THE USE OF PESSARIES IN DISEASES OF THE WOMB.

11 They are contraindicated :-" First. When the patient expresses great repugnance

to their use (unless the circumstances of the case forbiddelay), because mental uneasiness exerts a most preju-dicial influence on diseases of the uterus.Second. When the genital organs are unusually

sensitive, or the seat of much pain, except in certaincases of neuralgia, which are cured by the application ofa pessary.

Third. When the instrument excites much pain,which sometimes does not happen for some time after itsapplication, and is then almost uniformly due to theaggravation of a previously existing but latent inflam-mation. Fourth. When chronic vaginitis or metritis are pre- ’,

sent, and also for at least three weeks after they havebeen completely dispelled.

11 Fifth. When the vagina or cervix uteri are ulcerated.Leucorrhœa does not contraindicate the use of a pessary,except when it is complicated with chronic inflammation." In their application, some practitioners recommend

that the patient should be made to cough, sit, or even

walk, in order to ascertain whether a pessary has beenefficiently applied, but this is very injudicious, as beinglikely to aggravate the pain so commonly experiencedduring the first few days the instrument is worn ; thepatient should, on the contrary, be restricted to the re-cumbent posture for at least five or six days. When a

large pessary is requisite, it very frequently cannot betolerated if applied at once, but by first introducing asmall instrument, and at suitable intervals replacing itby others of larger size, one of sufficient magnitude mayultimately be borne. Nothing can be more mischievousthan to leave a pessary in the vagina for any considerable.period ; it should be removed every fifteen or twentydays, and after being thoroughly cleaned, immediatelyreplaced. When a pessary has been allowed to remainso long as to have excited inflammation, it should not beremoved (as its removal causes much irritation) untilafter the inflammation has been subdued."—British andFereigrc Review.

SPONTANEOUS CURE OF CATARACT.

A stone-breaker had suffered from cataract from hisyouth. Whilst pursuing his occupation, he was struckby a splinter in the affected eye, and this gave rise tosevere inflammation. He consulted a medical man, who,with a view of examining the eye dropped into it a solutionof belladonna. The pupil became largely dilated, and atthe same time the opake lens fell into the anterior

chamber, vision being immediately restored.—EdinburghMonthly Journal.

A CASE OF SINGULAR FORMATION OF CATARACT

is mentioned in the same journal. An aged merchant,whilst sitting opposite a window, was " struck on the faceby a sunbeam," and suddenly experienced severe painin the right eye. The pain soon diminished; but vision,which was previously perfect, was quite lost. On exami-nation, three days after, a lenticular cataract of the eyewas discovered.

ON THE EXCITING CAUSES OF GOITRE AND ITS TREAT-

MENT BY IODINE.

In a short communication, addressed to the samejournal, Dr. Morris expresses his belief that rheumatismmust be considered as one of the occasional excitingcauses of goitre. He illustrates his views by a referenceto three cases of the disease. The treatment, success-fully pursued, consisted of iodine and its preparations.It was remarkable that, in one instance, the external useof this remedy produced constitutional disturbance,vertigo, &c.

,

CHEMISTRY, PHARMACY, ANDMATERIA MEDICA.

XANTHIC OXIDE IN GUANO.

PROF. MAGNUS recently communicated to the BerlinAcademy of Sciences, that M. Unger had discovered inhis laboratory Marcet’s xanthic oxide in guano. This body,so highly interesting to physiologists and chemists, hashitherto occurred but twice as a diseased secretion in theform of a calculus. Liebig and Wohler, in their researcheson uric acid, havepublished the most complete descriptionof it; they assign to it the name of Urous Acid, Xanthine ;the quantity of the stone at their disposal was howeverexceedingly small.Xanthic oxide is obtained from guano by treating

this substance with hydrochloric acid, and precipitatingthe solution with an alkali. Caustic potash then removesa small portion from the precipitate obtained, whichhowever is not always equal in amount. Xanthic oxide iseither precipitated from the solution in notash by a currentof carbonic acid, or separated by the addition of chlorideof ammonium, when it is deposited as the ammonia eva-porates. The yellowish pulverulent body thus obtainedhas all the properties which Liebig and Wohler assignto xanthic oxide; it differs only in this respect, that it issoluble in hydrochloric acid, as is evident from themode of its preparation. But M. Unger has found thatxanthic oxide not. only enters into combination with

hydrochloric acid, but likewise forms with several otheracids crystalline compounds which are soluble in water,and the description of which he will soon publish in full.Thus guano, so remarkable from its origin, and which

promises to be of as great service for European agricul-ture as it has long been for certain districts of SouthAmerica, likewise affords an interesting subject for science.The small quantity of xanthic oxide which the guano

contains does not admit of our supposing it to have origi-nated by gradual decomposition; the occurrence of thisbody, known hitherto only as a diseased secretion of theanimal organism, would afford a further proof, were itneeded, that the guano consists, as shown by Alex. vonHumboldt, of the excrements of animals. The inequalitywith which it is distributed in the guano renders it highlyprobable that it likewise has been secreted as a diseasedproduct along with the excrements of the birds ; otherwisewe must admit that it forms the normal excrement ofcertain animals, in which case it would be of great interestto become acquainted with these species of animals, whichperhaps may still exist.-Chemical Gazette, from Poggen-dorf’s Annalen.

ANALYSIS OF GALLS. BY M. GUIBOURT.

Galls contain, according to the author, the followingconstituents, which pre-exist in them:-

, Water, 11.5; woody fibre, 10.5; tannine, 65 ; gallic acid,’ 2. Ellagic acid and luteo-gallic acid, 2. Brown extractivei substance, 2.5. Gum, 2.5. Starch, 2. Chlorophyllean:d

volatile oil, 0.7 sugar, 1.3; albumen and salts.