698 DISEASED ANIMALS AND MEAT IN NEW SOU HI WALES.

far more impressive in the south, where the exuberance ofplant life makes the passage from winter to spring likea transformation scene in fairyland. The opening of theCongress is, perhaps, somewhat earlier than might have beendesired, if climatic considerations were alone to be regarded.March, which has so evil a name at home, is a " ticklish "

month even in Italy. It is often windy and variable, par-taking now of the characteristics of the departing winter andagain of those of the incipient spring. But as March mergesinto April there begins, perhaps, the most delightful seasonof the year, which lasts until the heat of summer becomes

oppressive towards the end of May or the beginning of June.Many of the members of the Congress will, no doubt, prolongtheir stay after the proceedings have concluded, and they ’,may hope for meteorological conditions highly favourable for ’,sight-seeing and enjoyment. Italia la Btlla, decking herselin her summer robes, is a sight that might stir poeticenthusiasm in the least romantic breast.

Rome, which was a favourite winter resort for poitrinairesin the times of our grandfathers, has lost its reputation inthis particular and with justice. Its climate has neither themildness nor the equability which the pulmonary patientusually craves. In the winter months the tramontana often

sweeps down from the spurs of the Apennines with destructivebitterness. The stieets-at least those of the mediaeval city,now largely disappearing before the relentless march of

modern "improvements "-do not well admit the sun’s rays,and the alternations from sun to shade temperature are

sudden and extreme. Nevertheless, as compared with

northern lands, the climate has much charm, and can besafely recommended to many patients, excluding those whoare the subjects of grave pulmonary disease. The same

remarks apply with even greater force to Florence. The

mountains are there nearer the city, and the tramontanablows with greater severity. Again, Rome, which is distantonly about fourteen miles from the sea in a straight line,possesses a climate that is partly marine, whereas Florence,distant about fifty miles from the sea, has a distinctlyContinental climate. Neither of these cities, unparalleled asare their claims from the esthetic, literary, and antiquarianpoint of view, possesses the requisites for a really good winteror spring resort. They yield their maximum of attraction andadvantage not to the serious invalid, but to the jaded andoverworked individual to whom variety of interest is more im-portant than ideal meteorological conditions. Further south,on the bay of Naples, at Sorrento, Castellamare, or Capri,spring comes early, and winter often departs with the monthof February. On the other hand, the traveller in Lombardymust be prepared for severe cold prolonging itself well intothe spring.The seasoned traveller well knows that throughout the

greater part of Europe spring is the most capricious seasonof the year, and that in many places anything from wintercold to summer heat may be encountered. He will make his

plans accordingly, not forgetting that while it is well to beprepared for either extreme no harm ever comes from beingover clothed should the weather prove unseasonably mild,while the gravest injury may result from being underclothedif unusual severity should prevail. These rules are as

applicable to Italy as elsewhere, and no doubt will beborne in mind by those of our readers whom they at presentconcern. The traveller who goes south for the first time

should learn that sunshine and warmth are not alwayssynonymous, and that a brilliant sun may coexist with themost bitter and parching winds. This conjunction consti-tutes the great danger of such places as Nice, and shouldnever be forgotten in Southern Europe in spring time. The

transition from brilliant sunshine to chilly cathedrals andpicture galleries is another of the familiar perils of Italiantravel, easily robbed of all serious danger by sedulous atten-tion to dress, but constituting a real peril to the more delicate

in the absence of such precautions. Travellers need alsoto remember that Italy is approached by railways that

pierce a great mountain chain, and run for considerabledistances at high elevations ; and also that travellers fromLombardy southwards must cross the Apennines. In these’elevated tracts extreme cold may be encountered in the

spring months, and for this adequate provision should be-made. As a final hint, we may remind our readers that.nearly all the derangements of health occurring during foreigntravel are due to obvious and preventable causes-viz,fatigue, exposure, improper clothing, and errors in eating anddrinking. The traveller who is careful not to exhaust him-

self, who avoids exposure to hot sunshine or cold winds, who.clothes himself adequately but with a due regard to seasonand temperature, and who eats and drinks moderately,avoiding or partaking sparingly of unwonted articles of diet,will generally travel with impunity and in many cases witha great gain in point of health.

DISEASED ANIMALS AND MEAT IN NEWSOUTH WALES.

LAST year an Act was passed by the Legislative Assemblyof New South Wales, entitled the Diseased Animals andMeat Act," which conferred powers for dealing with animalssuffering from dangerous maladies, and also for controllingthe sale of meat for human consumption. Previous to thatdate the Board of Health had caused to be made inspectionsof animals sent for sale at Sydney and various countrymaikets, and as a result a large number were found to bediseased and were promptly destroyed, the owners as a ruleoffering no objection. The mayor of Sydney also took similaraction in the interests of the public health. In making thepreliminary arrangements for administering the Act, theBoard of Health determined to utilise as far as possible the’services of officers then in the employment of the Govern-ment and of the different municipal councils ; and to this endauthorised, in accordance with the powers given them bythe Act, Government medical officers, inspectors of stock,municipal inspectors, police inspectors of slaughter-houses,and other police officials to inspect and seize animals underthis Act. Thus some 700 inspectors were appointed through-out the colony without any additional cost.

It appears, however, that some of the municipal councilswhich were invited to submit the name of one of theirofficers for appointment failed, and in several instances abso-lutely refused to do so. As the Act was a measure passedin the interests of the public, it was reasonably expectedthat municipal authorities would have cheerfully assistedthe Board in safeguarding the health of their particular dis-tricts, and in the first report on the administration of theAct, a copy of which has just reached us, regret is expressedthat all the municipal councils did not give their energeticcooperation in carrying out such a very useful piece of legis-lative work.

It appears from the above-mentioned report that during theyear the following animals were seized and dealt with :.cattle, 1930 ; pigs, 507 ; sheep, 23 ; calves, 2 ; and rabbits,675. In addition to these, portions of unwholesome, unsoundor diseased beef, mutton, veal, and pork carcases and putridbacon have been seized and condemned. Prosecutions havealso been instituted against persons for selling or consigningdiseased animals, both in Sydney and the country districts,.and in nearly every instance convictions have been obtainedand fines inflicted. A large number of diseased cattle, appa-rently ownerless, and found straying on public lands, high-ways, reserves, &c., were also seized and dealt with underone of the sections of the Act, and are included in the abovefigures. It may be noted that the metropolis, Sydney, fur-nished more of the animals enumerated than all the countrvdistricts. The veterinary officers of the board had visitectmany parts of the colony from time to time, and had affordedvaluable instruction to authorised persons as to their duties,and also given simple directions for the detection of diseasedbeasts ; but in all seizures the authorised persons actingtherein have been directed to secure professional aid to

699ANOMALIES IN DRAINS OF CRIMINAL WOMEN.

support them, either from the Local Government medicalofficer or a competent and qualified veterinary surgeon.

It seems that much opposition to the Act was displayed atits initiation by various persons connected with the breedingand sale of stock, and it was found necessary, in addition tothe seizure and destruction of diseased animals, to instituteproceedings for the recovery of penalties, in order that their ’,responsibility in this matter might be brought home tograziers. As the provisions of the Act became better knownit was realised that the trade generally would benefit by itsstrict enforcement, and that ultimately the flocks and herdsof the colony would be considerably improved. In no casehad the Board instituted any prosecution, except in cases inwhich the disease was external and clearly observable by anyperson possessing an ordinary knowledge of stock.The administration of the Act has raised many points of

scientific interest and practical importance, to elucidatewhich it was necessary to undertake microscopical andexperimental investigations, chiefly in the Board’s labora-tories. The diseases so investigated were tubercle, actino-mycosip, abscesses, cancers, dermoid affections, and con-

tagious pneumonia. The colony must derive great benefitfrom the operation of this Act, not only in protecting thepublic health, but also in limiting the prevalence of diseaseamong the domestic animals and their products.

PATHOLOGICAL AND CONGENITALANOMALIES IN BRAINS OF CRIMINAL

WOMEN.BY SIGNOR WILLIAM FERRERO,

MILAN.

IT is a fundamental law of the Italian school of criminologythat the moral derangement of the criminal is closely con-nected with physical abnormalities, among which those of thebrain, as the organ of the mind, are no doubt the most im-portant, and consequently Professor Lombroso and myself,who are engaged in studying criminal women, have not failedto devote particular attention to the subject. The facts ascer-tained so far have certainly not been sufficient to enable us todraw any decisive inference on the point, but it will not be un-interesting to know what we as well as other scientific menhave found in such researches in the pathology of the brainsof criminal women, and the more so as those facts might atieast form the point of departure for further researches.The anomalies that have been met with in the brains ofcriminal women are of two kinds-viz., (a) pathological, pro-duced by a disease contracted individually ; and (j3) congenital,a consequence of imperfect development, generally resultingfrom hereditary causes. Pathological anomalies were foundby us in ten among thirty-eight criminal women’s brains- examined, and among all the anomalies encountered the

following were the most noticeable : (1) dilatation ofthe lateral ventricles ; (2) haemorrhages in the frontalpart of the hemispheres ; (3) thickening of the cranialand spinal dura mater ; (4) meningo-encephalitis ; (5) apo-plexy of the brain from haemorrhage into the lateral ven-tricles; (6) syphilitic gummata in the form of two smalloval masses adhering to the peduncle of the cerebrum andto the inner surface of the optic chiasm ; (7) abscess inthe brain, which had produced in the last months of lifeparalysis of the extremities ; (8) cerebro-spinal meningitis,with the lateral ventricles containing an excess of turbidriluid and lymph ; (9) tumour of soft consistence betweenthe origins of the third and fourth pair of cranial nerves ; and i

(10) abscess in the cerebellum. More than those thirty-eight <

brains hare not been examined, the women that die in prisonbeing few. It is impossible, of course, to make any safe <

deductions from so slight a number of observations, but we Jcan hardly be said to overstep the limits of cautious reserve reserve with which an investigator has to proceed in stating that a 1proportion of ten cerebral diseases ending almost always in I,death out of thirty-eight brains examined is a large and Jremarkable one. If future researches confirm the hypothesis ithat the probability of criminal women being affected by 1some cerebral disease is very great, a most important fact, <

as regards both pathology and criminology, will have been 1’established. v

With respect to congenital anomalies, the discoveries of Min- (

gazzini, who carefully examined seventeen brains of criminawomen, are very useful. In one of those brains (that of a " sub-microcephalic’’ murderer) the vertical and anterior branchof the fissure of Sylvius was absent ; in another the gyruscunei was very superficially placed ; in a third brain themiddle frontal convolution joined almost at its beginning thesuperior, from the external and deep side of which a furrowran transversely to the anterior part of the inferior frontal con-volution. The brain of a matricide showed a prolongation ofthe inter-parietal sulcus crossing transversely the occipitallobe and a corresponding prolongation of the calloso-marginalsulcus. In the right hemisphere of another criminal woman’sbrain the inter-parietal sulcus appeared as a furrow in the shapeof a cross, which divided the superior and inferior parietallobules ; the parietal convolution was at the left dividedtransversely into two secondary gyri by a sulcus bifurcated inits upper part and running parallel with the fissure of Rolando.In two cases the parallel fissure was connected with the parieto-occipital fissure ; and in another the parallel fissure, afterhaving thrown off a descending branch, crossed the hemisphereright through and reached its free margin. In one case thesulcus extremus was absent; in two other cases the calcarinefissure and the collateral fissure ran into each other ; and,lastly, in one brain the sulcus extremus and an inferior branchof the bifurcated calcarine fissure were in connexion.As Mingazzini examined also thirteen brains of male

criminals it may be interesting to draw a parallel betweenthese and the seventeen female cases just instanced by meansof the following table :-

Parts of brain. 13 Men. 17 Women.The vertical and anterior branch of the t - 1

fissure of Sylvius assent ...... S ""

Gyrus cunei supelflcially placed 2.... 2Anomalies of the frontal lobes .... 1.... 1The parietal ascending convolution l _ Idivided in two secondary gyri B

""

The parallel fissure in connexion with the t - .... 2

parieto occipital fissure j ""

The parallel fissure reaching the free I. - 1

The sulcus the lobe ..... ) I ""

The sulcus extremus absent...... &mdash; ....

The calcarine fissure and the collateral t - 2fissure in connexion...... .f ""

The sulcus extremus and an inferior’branch of the bifurcated calcarine}- -

.... 1fissure in connexion.Besides these data there are a number of isolated cases of

observations on brains of criminal women, which showed anaccumulation of anomalies, both pathological and congenital,and struck very forcibly the investigators who studied them.Ferrier described, as follows, the brain of a criminal whoused to practise tribadism : the right hemisphere was byforty grains lighter than the left; the fissure of Rolandowas cut through by a deep furrow which sprang from theascending frontal convolution, the latter being in a state ofatrophy ; and in the third convolution he found a depressionwith several gyri smaller and of firmer consistence than theusual structure of the convolution. Ferrier explains thelatter anomaly as resulting from inflammation, but observesthat the former irregularity at the fissure of Rolando seemedto him to be very remarkable and rare, as he encountered itbut in one case out of 800 brains of normal men. Flesh foundin the brain of a female thief, besides pachymeningitis, theascending frontal convolution interrupted at the left, a centrallobe of the cerebellum shaped like those of some speciesof mammifers, and two furrows which shooting out forwardscrossed the horizontal convolutions right through the wholelength of the hemispheres. Hotzen published in his I I Psych-iatric Archives" a number of interesting observations on thebrain of Mary Koster, who, at the age of eighteen years, killedher mother in order to rob her of a small sum of money.Besides some traces of pachymeningitis, her brain showeda most curious atrophy of the cerebral cortex ; the anteriorcentral convolution was crossed by many small furrows,and the posterior was broken through by one groove by meansof which the fissure of Rolando and the inter-parietalfissure became connected. The fissure of Rolando did notreach down to the fissure of Sylvius; both central convolu-tions, the anterior and posterior, were crossed by a deep broadgap, which united the inter-parietal fissure and the firstfrontal sulcus. This was undoubtedly a case of atrophy,resulting from congenital (and hereditary) degeneration of thebrain ; the numerous irregular furrows, indeed, do not indi-cate a superior degree of evolution, as do the convolutions,because they do not increase the cerebral substance, butvery considerably lessen it. Congenital (and hereditary)degeneration was in this case also proved by some other