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definite solutions, they were not on that account less interest-ing; indeed, the author thought that their very speculativecharacter rendered them the more adapted to be brought underthe notice of a Society having such objects as the Harveian.The first question noticed was that of the supposed influenceof syphilis as a predisposing cause of disease amongst the in-fants under one year. It is admitted by a large proportion ofthose who have inquired into the subject, that syphilis is oneof the most fatal influences to which the new-born child is sub-ject. Although the author would not adopt this opinion as hisown, he would assume it as a starting point in collecting suchfacts as, it appeared to him, could be adduced in its favour.The much greater mortality of new-born infants, and the muchgreater frequency of premature births amongst the illegitimatethan amongst others, were illustrated by the statistics of vari-ous continental countries, particularly France and Sweden, inthe mortality returns of which persons of illegitimate birthare distinguished from the rest. The prodigious mortality offoundlings in France, amounting to fifty per cent. in the firstyear of existence, was noticed; and it was thought that sucha state of things as is indicated by an average duration of lifeof four years cannot possibly be entirely attributable to thesystem of state tutelage, wretched though it be, under whichthey are placed in that country. The author then inquiredinto the grounds on which certain fatal diseases of internalorgans, particularly of the lungs and thymus gland, are sup- ’,posed to be of syphilitic origin, without however expressing aconclusive opinion as to their real nature. Under the heading of vitiated air it was inferred that the well-known deleterious ’,influence of a town atmosphere on infantile life was rather de- ipendent on the increased mortality of affections of the respi-ratory organs than of those of the zymotic class. This infe-rence was supported by statistics, and illustrated by a varietyof facts; amongst which were those referring to the frequencyand fatality of respiratory affections amongst infants reared instable dwellings. That variety of overcrowding which consistsin the association of men and animals under the same roof is,perhaps, more directly productive of disease than any other.In concluding, the author illustrated, from the local returns ofmortality of his own district, the fatal influence exercised oninfantile life by accumulations of stagnant and impure waterin the form of canals. He compared this influence to that ofmarsh malaria; and showed from the statistics of marshy dis-tricts, both in this country and in Frauce, that in that casealso the pernicious agency was mainly exerted on the infantileportion of the population. The presence of an aguish consti-tution of the atmosphere in the neighbourhood of the Pad-dington Canal, was rendered the more probable by the remark-able facts, not only that intermittent fever had presented itselfin considerable frequency, but that other febrile diseases hadmanifested, in their development, a markedly intermittentcharacter.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 1ST, 1856.DR. BABINGTON, PRESIDENT, IN THE CHAIR.

DR. McWILLIAM read a paper, by Dr. SMART, of H.M.S.Diamond, and late in charge of the Naval Brigade Hospital,Balaclava,ON THE CLIMATE OF THE CRIMEA, AND ITS EFFECTS ON

HEALTH, AS OBSERVED DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF THEOCCUPATION BY THE ALLIED FORCES.

Dr. Smart introduced the subject of his paper by a few veryappropriate observations on the early as well as the modernhistory of the Crimea. He stated that in the earliest passagesof European history, " Cimmeria," now the Crimea, was fabledto be a land involved in perpetual mists and darkness, its in-habitants addicted to the most barbarous practices, and so in-hospitable that they sacrificed all strangers to a relentlessfemale deity. At length some Ionian adventurers, undauntedby these fables, or by the general belief of the unnavigablenature of the intervening sea, pushed boldly across, and reacheda sunny shore, with far-receding fertile plains. Here theyfounded the city of Panticapæum, that exists to this day underthe name of Kertch, which, owing to the excellence of its com-mercial situation, arose from being the humble tributary of abarbarous people to the dignity of the seat of a kingdom, andhas since been, in succession, a dependancy of the Pontine,Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Russian empires. Fromthat date (B. c. 650 years) commerce began to carry civilization !

on her wings to the remoter parts of Scythia, and to return ladenwith the native productions of those vast plains and interminableforests. The importance of this commerce increased with thegrowth of the Byzantine empire; but when the eastern mistressof the world became the metropolis of the Ottoman empire,Cimmerian darkness again enshrouded these favoured regions,and thus the ancient fables concerning them have been almostequalled in modern days. Before the massacre of Sinope hadstained the waters of the Euxine with blood, our fleet lay inthe Thracian Bosphorus, hesitating to enter a sea of which thepilotage was unknown, presuming it to be studded with un-discovered shoals, and obscured in fogs and clouds pregnantwith storms. Two years have sufficed to dispel these delusions,and western Europe remains no longer in ignorance of these,amongst the fairest regions of the earth-the borders of thatgreat basin into which the largest rivers of Europe pour theirinexhaustible floods. The labours and triumphs of war haveconduced, in this instance, to the extension of the arts ofpeace. Our pilots now navigate fearlessly the furthest recessesof this sea, knowing that its broad bosom is free from hiddendangers. Our merchants have become more fully acquaintedwith the resources of the fertile provinces extending from itsshores, which, when fully developed, will render it an almostunequalled emporium for the supply of less productive regions,opening at the same time a wide field for the spread of ourcommerce and manufactures. This general good has beenearned at the cost of legions of which Britain was justly proud,whose sufferings have been wrongly attributed, in great mea-sure, to the nature of the climate, in which they were calledto undergo military labours, with numbers inadequate to theirtask. Enfeebled by epidemic disease, they were landed in theCrimea when winter was close at hand, to encounter a skilfuland unwearied enemy; and after conquering in the field, torestrain within his fortifications this foe, possessing unlimitedresources and the advantage of winter quarters, while theythemselves lay encamped in the open field suffering the worstevils of poverty. Calamities beyond calculation naturallyfollowed, intrinsically of such a nature that they were some-what increased by the rigour of the climate. To describe thenatural features, and to account for some of the more obviousphenomena of the climate and seasons, as observed throughoutthe first year of the occupation of the allies, forms the mainobject of Dr. Smart’s communication. The Crimea (observesDr. Smart) being almost surrounded by water, and connectedby means of a narrow short isthmus with a vast extent of flatcountry, possesses, from its conformation and contiguity, aclimate partaking of both those orders of characteristics thatare contradistinguished by the terms continental and insular.These opposite characters do not, however, impress their traitscontinuously, so as to mark each its own seasons of the year;but by their frequent alternations serve rather to stamp theclimate as an irregular and inconstant one, from which it maybe anticipated that the advent and course of the seasons willbe found to vary much in a series of succeeding years.In describing briefly the leading features of the seasons

throughout the first year of the occupation by the allies, andthat of the capture of Sebastopol, each in succession, it maybe said of the winter that its mean temperature was mild,much moisture being deposited in the early part of the season,to the end of December, after which there were heavy falls ofsnow, with low depression of the thermometer continuouslythrough a space of three weeks. This, which may be regardedas the climax of the winter, occurred early in January; and inreceding or advancing from that period, there was not anygreat duration of cold. A most striking peculiarity of thewinter was the suddenness of accession of great variations oftemperature, by which animal and vegetable life was submittedwith rapidity to the accelerating and reproductive efforts thatmore properly belong to the spring, and again acted on by theretarding influences of the depth of winter, very marked changesof this kind being completed in the course of a few hours.These were simply the interchanges of the continental and in-sular conditions of climate which were felt extremely in theposition occupied by the allies - the Chersonese - becausethe mountain barrier that shelters from the northern influ-ences does not extend so far west. As early as the middle ofFebruary, the thermometer was observed to have risen to70° Fahr.; and the galanthus and crocus-the first offerings ofa grateful soil-were seen thus early bedecking every bank ;and numerous varieties of bulbous and orchidaceous plantswere in flower. The spring season, from the early part ofMarch to the end of April, was warm, and the ground wasmoistened by showers that fell frequently in the day, the nightbeing cold, clear, and dewy. The invigorating effects of this

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season on the animal kingdom was strongly exemplified in thelarge flights of migratory birds that tarried on these shores ontheir course to their northern fields, in the improved conditionof those domestic animals that had withstood the vicissitudesof the winter, and in the joyful spirit pervading the camp.The heat of the summer was at no time excessive.- not equal

to that to which our troops are accustomed when stationed atGibraltar and Malta,; but in May and June it was oppressivefrom extreme dryness of the atmosphere, with northerlywinds that absorbed every atom of moisture, giving very fewshowers in return. This dry heat was much complained of,because of the great evaporation that goes on from the surfaceof the body while it lasts, but it does not appear to be un- ,,

healthy. The summer season changed, imperceptibly, into I,that of autumn; and, regarding the autumn as a whole, Dr. ISmart knows no country in which the climate is found more agreeable to the sensations, by a succession of cool nights towarm, clear days, than marked its course to the end of October,when the north wind, blowing coldly at intervals, suggestedthe necessity of a return to winter clothing.

The change from autumn to winter, in 1854, was as suddenas that from winter to spring. This change depresses evenmore than that exhilarates, in consequence of the continuedrains rather than of severe cold attending its commencement.The sudden mutations of temperature to which the climate ofthe Crimea is liable in the winter months, were more hurtfulto the health of our forces than any other of the climatic con-ditions. These changes of heat and cold were the sequencesof the shiftings of the winds from the northerly and southerlydirection, or vice versâ. A fall of 30° Fahr., within a few

hours, was by no means an unfrequent occurrence. It hasbeen said, that these great vicissitudes of temperature of thewinter season, together with the frequent electric changes ofthe summer, are dependent upon the alternations of the twoprincipal winds, or rather on the changes of relative altitudeand position of the planes of these atmospheric currents, as

determined by the mixed continental and insular conditions ofthe land, and by the configuration of its surface. High moun-tains range along its southern coasts, and form a boundaryrising into the clouds that causes the insular conditions ofclimate to predominate south of the barrier over that narrowstrip of coast which resembles in its scenery, as well as in itsclimate, the Italian " Riviera," between Nice and Genoa. Tothis shore the imperial family and the nobility resort to enjoythe balmy influences of a southern clime, in villas seated amidthe soft seclusion of luxuriant valleys, or on the sunny aspects,of mountain slopes that decline rapidly towards the sea. North-ward of the mountain range, the whole aspect of the countryand its climate, except in a few sheltered vales, are assimilatedto the continental conditions of Southern Russia. The flanksof the mountain range, of which the western was the seat ofwar, are obnoxious to all the inconveniences of the alternations,of climatic condition to which allusion has been made. Thecharacter of the produce of a land, and the earlier and laterdate of its harvests, are general, but withal good criteria ofthe average conditions of a climate. To apply this, it may beatated, that on first arriving on these shores, in the middle ofSeptember, 1854, it appeared significant of a moderate meantemperature of the summer, that the cereals had just then beenreaped, and were but partially gathered, while the grape wasnot ripe for the vintage; and the absence of the olive afforded- evidence that the production of its oil does not enter into theprofitable agricultural resources of a country where much ofthe commodity is in demand.These facts would lead to one of two inferences: either that

the summer of 1854 was behind the average of years; or thatthe climate of the south-western portion of the Crimea, in itsmain features and mean temperature, resembles more closelythat of Belgium and the south of England, that lie five degreesnorth of it, on the western or oceanic contines of Europe, thanthe plains of Lombardy and central France, which are situatedwithin its own parallels.

Dr. Smart thnn proceeds to examine, seriatim, the atmo-spheric and marine currents; the effect upon temperature andclimate of the great rivers which-after draining the vastexpanse of land extending from the northern slopes of theCaucasus to the eastern precipices of the Swiss Alps, and fromthe Balkan and Dalmatian Alps to the hills of modern heightthat form the northern boundary of the great central plain ofRussia,-pour their waters into the Euxine; and the hygro-metric and electric conditions of the atmosphere. For the

explanation of the various phenomena of the Crimean climate,Dr. Smart handles these elements in a most able and philoso-phical manner. Dr. Smart’s paper was concluded by a masterly

sketch of the principal diseases of the camp in the Crimeaduring its occupation by the allied forces.A discussion followed the reading of the paper, in which

Dr. Milroy, Mr. Rawlinson, Dr. Snow, Dr. Greenhow, andDr. Mc William took part. Dr. Milroy and Mr. Rawlinson,having been employed as sanitary commissioners in the Crimea,bore evidence to the great zeal, ability, and usefulness, whichmarked Dr. Smart’s conduct while in the responsible charge ofthe Naval Brigade Hospital at Balaclava.

Reviews and Notices of Books.Outlines of Ophthalmology. Third Edition. To which is pre.

fixed an Introductory Discourse, &c. By WILLIAM MAC-KENZIE, M.D., Surgeon-Oculist in Scotland, in Ordinary, toher Majesty, &c. &c. London: Longman & Co. 1856.pp. 4’2-

Defectg of Sight; tltei?- Nature, Causes, Prevention, and GeneralManagement. By T..WHARTON JONES, F.Ii"S., F.R.C.B.,Professor of Ophthalmic Medicine and Surgery in UniversityCollege, London, &c. &c. London: John Churchill. pp. 149.THE first of these two volumes consists apparently of what

may be considered a syllabus of the author’s lectures. Dr.Mackenzie’s reputation as an oculist is too well established torequire any corroborative testimony from us. We may observe,however, that if the lectures delivered in Glasgow Universityat all fulfil the promise of the syllabus, they must as nearlyexhaust the subject of ophthalmology as is possible. The pre.fixed discourse is judicious. The advice contained in the fol-

lowing passage should be laid to heart, not merely by allophthalmic practitioners, but by all engaged in the practice ofmedicine or surgery.

" Another point on which success in this department ofmedical practice very much depends is the doing of whateveris done to the very best of one’s ability-doing nothing slovenly,nothing carelessly, nothing at random-prescribing no remedywithout a clear and reasonable object in view, applying everyremedy with the utmost care, and watching the effect of everyapplication with diligence."We cannot commend Mr. Jones’s work. To whom is it ad-

dressed-to the profession or the public ? If to the former, itis unnecessary, by reason of the substantial works of Mr. Joneshimself and others already before the profession; and if to thepublic, we think the book extremely objectionable, for the fol-lowing reasons: it contains too much and too little; there istoo much ophthalmic pathology, medicine, and surgery, andtoo little anatomy, physiology, optics, and hygiene. In the

preface, Mr. Jones professes to have for his object the layingdown of some principles to guide people in the care and pre-servation of their sight. To this end, he says he has " throwntogether" certain observations, &e. They certainly are "throwntogether." ’’ If they had been more numerous and systematic,the book would have been more useful to general readers andmore creditable to the author. We should like to know ofwhat use, to non-professional persons, it is to address to thema disquisition on the relative merits of the operations for cataractby displacement, extraction, and division ! The only effectwe can conceive of such a proceeding is to imbue the mind ofthe innocent reader with a profound conviction of the learningand abilities of the author, and in all probability such reader-will repair to Mr. Wharton Jones whenever he needs theservices of an oculist.We entertained a profound horror of, and rooted dislike to,

books which occupy the debatable ground of the volume inquestion. Let the public have anatomy, physiology, naturalphilosophy, and hygienics by all means; they will really benefitby a knowledge of the subjects; but in the name of professionaldignity we do protest against writing at the public in these

semi-medical two-and-sixpenny books. They do not teach,

what is useful, and all the physic and surgery they contain isonly so much of advertisement, besides being incomprehensible