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be administered as cheaply as possible only in cases ofextreme poverty, the benefits derived are bound to be

insignificant and transitory." The report takes a strong line on this subject and definitely lays down that a feedingscheme should hold in view the permanent well-being of thechild, and that the selection of children should depend notexclusively upon the poverty of the parents but upon themalnutrition of the child, this malnutrition being as definitea physical defect as any other which comes within the purviewof school hygiene.

Before it is possible for the school medical officer to dealwith school meals as one of the agencies under his controlfor treatment of malnutrition, the following conditions, laiddown in Sir George Newman’s report, must be compliedwith. The school medical officer must (1) have the right tonominate children for meals who are suffering from malnu-trition due to " insufficiency or unsuitability of food " ; (2) beconsulted as to dietary provided ; (3) have the right of

inspecting meals at all stages of preparation and distribu-tion ; and (4) be consulted in all questions of doubt as to thenecessity for retaining a child on the feeding list owing toits physical condition. That these conditions do not prevailin many places is unfortunately one of the commonplaces ofschool medical work. The Poor-law aspect of the matter,with a strong dash of the Poor-law spectre "deterence," isall too frequently allowed to dominate the educationalaspect. We gather from this report that all over the countrythe organisation of meals is in an early and primitive con-dition, although the total of meals given and children fed is afigure of large dimensions. Thus in 1912-13 over 19 millionsof meals were given in England and Wales, an increaseof more than 2 millions over the previous year. Thenumber of children fed was over 300,000, and as there areabout 10 per cent. of the total 6,000,000 children in attend-ance at school, or 600,000 suffering from malnutrition, thisfigure shows that only half of those requiring food are, infact, receiving it for longer or shorter periods. Each childfed received on the average something over 60 meals, andthe period under consideration included the coal strike,which compelled a number of authorities who had not

previously done so to enter upon feeding schemes.How diverse is the practice of different authorities with

regard to provision of meals is seen clearly by a glance atthe statistical table which sets forth the total expenditure ofthose who availed themselves of their powers under theEducation (Provision of Meals) Act, 1906. Firstly, the tableshows that less than one-third of the 317 authorities availedthemselves of their powers. Secondly, of those who didmake use of their powers, Keighley, Kidderminster,Mossley, Heston and Isleworth, and Kent spent only E4, 65,.E8, .68, and Z9 respectively, while London, Bradford, Leeds,East Ham, the West Riding of Yorkshire, and Tottenhamspent respectively .E44,605, .E4139, .E3348, E1059, .61437, and.E959. It is not possible to draw any very definite statisticalconclusion from these tables. But when we add to the

divergencies of method our knowledge of the lack of orderedmedical supervision of the meals and of their inadequacyfrom the standpoint of nutrition we have to describe theadministration of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act,1906, as very seriously unsatisfactory and only redeemed fromwholesale condemnation by the efforts of such authoritiesas Bradford, who do try to cope with the existing problem asit stands, and not on theoretical grounds. As to the kind ofmeal necessary there seems very little doubt. A good middaymeal is best and should be physiologically calculated to makeup the presumed deficiencies of the diet at other times.Experience in secondary schools confirms this, the Londonreport on secondary school feeding being summed up in thewords, "Improvement in physique has gone pari passu withthe improvement of the midday meal."

Physical Training and Juvenile Employment.Both with regard to physical training and the employment

of children under and just over 14 years the sphere ofmedical inspection is an obviously enlarging one. Field

games, swimming, and remedial exercises are matters espe-cially belonging to the school medical officer’s province. Butthe whole of physical training is or should be within theambit of the organisation of the school medical service. Thesection dealing with physical training contains a useful anddetailed description of exercises and apparatus (withdiagrams), and should help on the movement towards greaterefficiency in this branch of teaching.

The section dealing with juvenile employment bringsout very clearly indeed the evils of this practice.There are no less than 211,000 children under 14 yearswho at any one time during the year have obtainedtotal exemption from school attendance, and there are

35,000 "half-timers." Apart from this, however, a verylarge number of children do some kind of work out of schoolhours and suffer correspondingly with the nature of that

employment and the severity of the labour involved. Theeffects are so grave that the Board of Education suggestthat all employed children should be entered upon a specialregister and examined periodically by the school medicalofficer as specials.

Conclusions.

This report is a great searchlight that flashes into therecesses of our social order, and by enabling us to see

clearly and in detail what is wrong gives us the opportunityof doing what is necessary to put the wrong right Thewhole of the report consists of the two things-a displayof existing wrong conditions and detailed proposals for theapplication of knowledge to put those conditions right.It may be, not improbably, that, in a future which hasforgotten the party cries and surface turmoil of the present,the application of science to life, which is the great themeof Sir George Newman’s report, may appear as one of theoutstanding achievements of our generation.

IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY.

THE Earl of Cromer, O.M., as chairman of the Entomo-logical Research Committee, instituted some years ago,l haspresented his second report to the Secretary of State for theColonies (the Right Hon. L. Harcourt, M.P.), and hasannounced that in future a report will be made every year.The chief feature of the work in 1913 has been the actualestablishment of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology. Ithas consequently been decided to discontinue the use ofthe title " Entomological Research Committee," as confusionseemed likely to arise from the existence of what were

apparently two separate organisations in London working atthe same subject. The Entomological Research Committeehas, therefore, now become the managing committee of theBureau, and Mr. Guy Marshall, who held the appointmentof scientific secretary to the Entomological Research Com-mittee, has been made director of the Bureau, the expensesof which are met by contributions from the Imperial Govern-ment, Canada, India, the Australian Commonwealth, the WestAfrican Colonies, Zanzibar, and the other Governments con-cerned. The whole organisation is singularly comprehensive,and is proving of great utility, not only to countries withinthe Empire, but also to those without. The Review of

Applied Entomology," issued by the Bureau every month, ismaking satisfactory progress, and the material available forpublication is steadily increasing, more especially on theagricultural side.

The Distribution of the Stegomyia Mosquito,The Bureau has made considerable progress towards

obtaining a complete set of the various laws and regulationsagainst injurious insects which have been promulgated in theBritish Dominions and colonies, and arrangements are nowbeing made to collate and summarise them in a convenientform. The Bureau has also extended the sphere of itsactivities in another important direction. Major S. P. James,of the Indian Medical Service, was recently deputed by theIndian Government to visit South and Central America andreport on the possibility of yellow fever being introduced intoIndia by the increased traffic across the Pacific Ocean whichwill inevitably follow the opening of the Panama Canal.’ It

appeared from his report that there is little or no knowledge,not only of a sure method of diagnosing the disease, but also ofthe presence or absence-and of the distribution if present-ineastern lands of the mosquito which is known to convey thedisease (stegomyia fasciata). It also appeared that there isa similar want of knowledge as to whether stegomyiascutellaris, another very widely distributed and abundantspecies of mosquito of the same genus, carries the disease or

1 THE LANCET, Sept. 18th, 1909, p. 878; Dec. 7th, 1912, p. 1606.2 THE LANCET, Jan. 31st, 1914, p. 329.

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not, and as to many other matters of capital importanceaffecting the etiology and prevention of yellow fever. Shouldit be necessary, therefore, to deal with an outbreak of yellowfever in a new territory, it is evident that this want of

knowledge would greatly hamper and delay efficient andenlightened administrative action. The cooperation of theBureau was invited on behalf of India and the easterncolonies, and the Bureau has undertaken to collect informa-tion as to the distribution of the stegomyia mosquito in thecountries which are likely to provide ports of call for vesselsfrom infected districts.As a preliminary measure the Bureau has asked to be

furnished with all information available as to the distribu-tion of mosquitoes generally, and of the genus stegomyia inparticular, in the French, German, Japanese, American, andDutch possessions in the Far East and the Pacific, and to beprovided with collections of mosquitoes from these localities.The question of sending out an entomologist specially tocollect information in those places from which none can nowbe obtained may be considered at a later date in the lightof the knowledge thus gained. Dr. A. T. Stanton has kindlyoffered to supply the Bureau with collections and data fromthe Federated Malay States, and has written to various

correspondents in the East asking them to do the same.He is shortly visiting Siam and Indo-China, and will utilisethe opportunity to further the inquiry. Mr. J. C. Moulton,of the Sarawak Museum, has agreed to assist in Borneo, andMr. P. D. Montague, of Cambridge, who has just started ona zoological expedition to New Caledonia, has consented tocollect mosquitoes both there and in any parts visited enroute. In Hong-Kong the medical authorities have alreadymade a preliminary mosquito survey.

Glossina Morsitans.The committee are also taking steps to render assistance in

another important direction. Arrangements have been madewith Mr. W. F. Fiske, one of the most capable entomologistslately in the service of the United States Bureau of Entomo-logy, to carry out, under the direction of the Royal Societyand at the expense of the Government of Nyassaland, a

thorough investigation of the bionomics of the tsetse fly,glossina morsitans. In the first instance, however, heis investigating the allied species, glossina palpalis, in

Uganda as a preliminary. The committee, with Mr.Andrew Carnegie’s consent, are placing at his disposalone of the scholars who are being trained in Americanmethods of entomology with the help of funds providedby Mr. Carnegie for the purpose. It is to be hopedthat this will be the beginning of an organised campaignagainst the various species of tsetse fly throughout Africa,and the committee are now considering whether they cannotrender further assistance by employing the two entomologistswho are working under their direction in East and WestAfrica respectively entirely on investigations connected withtsetse flies. It is clear that the discovery of any effectivemethod of dealing with these flies in Africa would have themost far-reaching effects on the prosperity and progress ofthat continent.

Other Investigations.The report gives many further details of the work of the

Bureau, and also points out that the question of the identi-fication of parasitic hymenoptera is becoming a pressingone owing to their great importance in the control of

injurious insects. Unfortunately, the number of reliable

specialists working at these groups is extremely limited, andthey already have more work than they can do. The com-mittee therefore propose that one or more of the assistantsworking under the director of the Bureau should devotethemselves to this group of insects. For the identification ofthe African tachinidas (a very useful family of parasitic flies)the committee have been fortunate in securing the generousassistance of Dr. Villeneuve, of Rambouillet, who has kindlyagreed to name all the material submitted to him.The Secretary of State for the Colonies, in acknowledging

the receipt of Lord Cromer’s report, expresses high apprecia-tion of the work of the committee and the rapidity withwhich it is expanding. He adds that he has readilygiven his approval to increases of staff recommendedby the committee, and takes the opportunity of thankingthe trustees of the British Museum for continuing to provideaccommodation for the director of the Bureau and hispersonal assistants.

MEDICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON:THE ANNIVERSARY DINNER.

THE 141st anniversary dinner of the Medical Society ofLondon was held at the Whitehall Rooms, Hotel Métropole,on March 4th. The chair was taken by Sir DAVID FERRIER,F.R.S., the President, who was supported by a largecompany of Fellows and guests. Among those present, inaddition to the speakers mentioned below, were Mr.

Martindale Ward, Master of the Society of Apothecaries ;Surgeon-General Sloggett, Director-General of the ArmyMedical Service ; Colonel Bruce -Skinner, Commandant ofthe Royal Army Medical College ; Sir Alfred Pearce Gould,Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in the University ofLondon ; Surgeon-General Arthur May, Medical Director-General of the Royal Navy ; Sir Richard Douglas Powell;Professor Howard Marsh, Master of Downing ; Sir T. CliffordAllbutt, Regius Professor of Physic in the University ofCambridge ; Sir John Tweedy; Mr. D’Arcy Power ; Dr. J.Mitchell Bruce ; Sir R. Havelock Charles ; Dr. SamuelWest; Dr. F. W. Mott ; Mr. C. A. Ballance ; and Sir JohnBroadbent.

After the loyal toasts had been honoured, the PRESIDENTproposed the toast of "The Medical Society of London,"which he coupled with the name of Mr. V. Warren Low,one of the trustees. He made allusion to several

early patrons of the society-in particular Lettsom, a

founder and generous benefactor, and the two Fothergills,John and Anthony. He voiced the regret of the Fellowsthat through the illness of Dr. F. M. Sandwith, the deliveryof the Lettsomian Lectures for 1914 had been postponed untilthe summer, and announced that the Fothergill Medal hadbeen awarded this year to Professor J. G. Adami, of Montreal,for his researches in pathology as applied to medicine andsurgery. Originally, said the President, their member-

ship was confined to 30 physicians, 30 surgeons, and 30apothecaries ; but now, in its 141st year, the society numberednearly 700.

Mr. WARREN Low prefaced his reply by maintainingthat the records of the society were themselves a betterresponse to that toast than any speech could be. Hebelieved that the Medical Society of London was especiallyvaluable because it provided a common ground in homelysurroundings upon which the physician, the surgeon, thegeneral practitioner, and, he might add, the crank couldmeet and exchange views. He rather deprecated over-

organisation and the set discussion wherein the openingspeech was often followed by a number of admirable papersquite off the track.

Dr. F. DE HAVILLAND HALL, in submitting the toast of thekindred societies, paid compliments to the 13 presidentswho were among them that evening. The friendly competi-tion between their society and the Royal Society of Medi-cine had been productive of good to them all.The response was entrusted to Sir Francis Champneys,

President of the Royal Societv of Medicine, and Earl Russell,President of the Medico-Legal Society.

Sir FRANCIS CHAMPNEYS said that the body which herepresented had passed through the storms incidental to thesettling down of the 23 amalgamated societies into one

working organisation. It was now on the best of termswith the Medical Society of London, which in his maturedopinion had done wisely in standing out, for unlike thevarious constituent societies it was complete in itself and byjoining would have disappeared. It was the mother of all themedical societies, and to have swallowed it up would havebeen matricide and cannibalism.Lord RussELL, in a humorous speech, mentioned the

horrible specimens in bottles which were sometimes broughtforward by medical members at meetings over which he pre-sided, and the sensational discussions which occasionallyembarrassed the mere legal members of the Medico-LegalSociety. He concluded by emphasising the need whichthere was nowadays for the doctor and the lawyer (with whomhe included the politician who made the laws) to understandeach other better so that they might cooperate for the publicgood. As an example he quoted the legislative and adminis-trative problems connected with uncertified and uncertifiablelunatics.

Mr. C. B. LoCKWOOD, in propnsing the health of the