1163SCOTLAND.-IRELAND.

or £ 40,000 will become payable to the Clayton Hospital andother local charities. z

Mr. T. Taylor, a well-known surgeon in the Clevelanddistrict and late of Brotton and Wetherby, died last week atRedcar.Newcastle-on-Tyne, May 2nd.

SCOTLAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Medico-legal Appointnaent.DR. JOSEPH COATS, lecturer on pathology at Glasgow

University and the Glasgow Western Infirmary, has beenappointed by Sherif Berry to succeed the late Dr. S. J.Moore as medico-legal examiner for the city.

Golf Fatality at Dumfries.Though we are accustomed to hear of fatal accidents in

connexion with many out-door sports, particularly football,it is comparatively seldom that any very serious injuryoccurs at golf, which is, perhaps, matter for some surprise,considering the tremendous impetus of a ball just drivenfrom the "tee." Such an accident, however, occurred onthe Kingholm Merse, Dumfries, on Saturday last, when alad of thirteen died shortly after receiving a blow from agolf ball. The boy ran, at a distance of about four yards, infront of a player who was in the act of ’’ driving " theball which struck him with great force on the back of thehead, with the result above stated. While this excellentgame is practically perfectly safe when played on a propercourse reserved for the purpose it becomes really dangerouswhen played, as in the case just noticed, in a public parkwhere other games are permitted.Professor Gairdner on the Position of Italy as regards the

Healing Art.In opening the summer course of lectures in the University

of Glasgow, on Tuesday last, Professor Gairdner gave anaccount of the International Medical Congress at Rome andmade extended reference to the position of medical sciencein Italy in our day as compared with that which it occupiedforty or fifty years ago. In discussing the latter part of hissubject he observed that "whatever else was apparent, evento the superficial observer, one thing was quite certain-namely, that in medical matters Italy is striving hard .toresume, if possible, the place which for so many ages sheoccupied in the vanguard of European thought and intel-lectual progress. In every leading centre men are to befound working upon the most advanced lines of pathologicaland medical inquiry, familiar, many of them, with severallanguages, and possessed of all the most modern ideas, theintercourse especially between Germany and Italy beingimmensely fruitful of late years. In several instancesGerman or Teutonic professors have found their homeand their field of instruction in the old Italian univer-sities, just as Vesalius of Brussels did in the sixteenth

century-a fact all the more remarkable when it is remem-bered that the Latin language has almost ceased to be thecommon tongue of professors, while the German occupationof North Italy was long one of the greatest politicalgrievances of the Italians, a grievance only ended by thebloody battlefields of Solferino and Magenta." This greatintellectual advance in respect of medicine Professor Gairdnerdeclared to be even more striking to him than the largeexpenditure which is now being lavished on hospitals andmeans of teaching (as in the magnificent "Policlinico" ofRome itself) by a country greatly impoverished, as com-

pared with her neighbours, as regards her available finan-cial resources. And yet, said Professor Gairdner, "Pro-fessor Macewen will tell you, if you ask him, that in allmatters of hospital and clinical arrangements, presentand prospective, Rome, Genoa, and Turin are ahead of us inGlasgow." Leaving this point, Professor Gairdner said thathe could not refrain from insisting on the contrast betweenhis first and his last visit to Italy in respect of the conditionthen and now of the science and art of medicine. In 1845-46a young man fresh from the school of Edinburgh foundItalian medicine and surgery whole decades behind the restof Europe. In the very country of Morgagni, the originatorof scientific pathology, there was at that time no pathologyworthy of the name ; nothing but endless speculations and

absolutely inane controversies as to diseases which were,or were supposed to be, hypersthenic, and diseases whichwere hyposthenic-a wave of controversy which reallyoriginated in the shallow,. if specious, imposture of Bru-nonianism, which had its birthplace, indeed, in Edin-

burgh in the latter part of the last century, but whichvery soon fizzled out in the land of its birth. ProfessorGairdner said that in his earlier years in Edinburgh itbecame part of his duty to read the Italian medical journalswhich were exchanged with the Edinburgh journal, but thatup to and even after the time when Virchow had commencedhis splendid career of pathological discovery, so full of thereality of progress, because it was so firmly based upon natureand fact, the medical journals of Milan, Turin, and Bologna(which were then considered the most advanced in Italy)were full of these inanities and hardly ever afforded any-thing worthy of reproduction in the English language. It wasdifficult to understand how the country which in 1761 hadgiven birth to the great work of Morgagni could have sunkinto such a state of medical decadence as that of Italy in the" fifties. " The magnificently enthusiastic reception accordedto Rudolf Virchow in 1894 by the whole Italian nation, andthe graceful and appreciative eloge pronounced by the greatGerman pathologist on John Baptist Morgagni as the firstand greatest of his predecessors in well-ordered pathologicalresearch, might be taken as marking in a very striking andalmost dramatic way the rejuvenescence of Italy in medicalscience. That Virchow was the legitimate successor of Mor-gagni in the present day no one could doubt ; it might evenbe doubted whether in any country of the world there was anyintervening name which could be placed in the same rank asthese two. Yet the marvellous fact was that, in and about1850, Italy seemed to have lost touch altogether with the linesof progress initiated by her own greatest pathologist, andthe art of healing had sunk into a corresponding position ofobscurantism. These things were a lesson for us also, if weshould ever be tempted to suppose that by casting away orneglecting the foundations of the medical art we could everhope to improve it in its more practical as contradistin-guished from its scientific aspects. It was the death ofCavour that sounded the tocsin of this decadence andaroused the whole medical profession of Italy to thevoice of all Europe, proclaiming, rightly or wrongly, thatthat great statesman had been slain outright by the blood-lettings performed upon him repeatedly according to anexploded system of practice, worthy of a barbarous age.1 Atall events, the new medicine might be said to have had itsbirth in Italy with the times of her political regeneration.What influence the latter had upon the former ProfessorGairdner did not stop to inquire; but he said it should not beforgotten that even a distracted and divided Italy had pro-duced in the last century such splendid specimens of medicalgenius as Redi and Spallanzani, to say nothing of suchphysicians as Volta and Galvani, and that in the precedingcenturies she had not only adopted Vesalius, the greatest ofanatomists since Galen, but had shown forth a perfect galaxyof medical names of the highest eminence, extending downto Malpighi in the seventeenth century and Morgagni in theeighteenth, names which placed her easily in the forefront ofall the nations of Europe up to those dates. We could onlyhope for her that she would go on prospering and to prosper,and thus recover in the twentieth century all her formerlustre. "May 2nd.

_______________

IRELAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Memorial Tablet to the late Dr. R. C. Mayne.A MEMORIAL TABLET has lately been erected in St. Patrick’s

Cathedral, Dublin, to the memory of the late eminent phy-sician, Robert Crawford Mayne, and his wife. It is com-

posed of white Carrara marble, with green marble columns,and bears an inscription testifying to the esteem in whichbhe deceased was held. Immediately over the inscription isplaced the family crest, with a monogram on each side.

Fetherston-Haugh Convalescent Home.This building, which occupies a position overlooking the

1 It may be interesting to refer our readers to a leading article onthis subject published in THE LANCET, June 15th, 1861, p. 593.—ED. L.

1164 IRELAND.-PARIS.

river Dodder, and is situated between Rathfarnham and iRatbgar, is now completed. It is designed to accommodate twelve male and an equal number of female convalescentpatients, besides affording accommodation for matron,nurses, and staff. The home is in connexion with theAdelaide Hospital.

Richmond Lunatic Asylum.The report of the medical superintendent for the past year

shows that on the last day of 1893 there was a total ofinmates in the asylum amounting to 1498. The nominallimits of accommodation were exceeded at the end of theyear by 398. The record exhibits the same steady increasewhich has been so marked for several years past. Twohundred and seventy-nine cases were discharged during theyear ; of these 163 had recovered, 97 were relieved, and 19were not improved. Among the relieved was one patientwho was discharged after having been found sane by a juryon a commission de luncctico inquirendo.

Insanity in Ireland.A special report prepared by the inspectors of lunatic

Asylums in Ireland, Drs. O’Farrell and Courtenay, on thealleged increasing prevalence of insanity in Ireland has beenissued as a Parliamentary paper. The report states thatthere is not any conclusive proof that there is a generalincrease of insanity in the country. There is a great increaseof the insane under care, but this is supposed to be anincrease due mainly to accumulation. Some increase of

insanity is apparent in particular districts. This is tracedto hereditary influence, consanguineous marriages, innu-tritious dietary of the poorer population, which tends to pro-duce anasmia and constitutional weakness which favour thedevelopment of scrofulous and neurotic disease, the im-moderate use of certain nervous stimulants, and the mentalstrain and anxiety caused by "acute agricultural depres-sion." The inspectors of lunatic asylums state that there isnot any conclusive proof that there is a general increase ofinsanity in the country; but they had a different opinion lastyear, for if we turn to the Report of Lunatic Asylums for1892, we learn that they state-after excluding certain causeswhich would account for a very large relative increase ofinsanity-" we must adhere to our opinion that they are notsufficient to explain the great increase of lunacy which hastaken place of late years in this country. This opinion isstrengthened by the table relating to admissions to districtasylums, showing as it does an almost uninterrupted yearlyincrease of the number of first admissions in the face of a ’’

declining population."-Yealt7t of Dublin : Quarterly Report.

During the March quarter the births registered in theDublin registration district amounted to 2542, and the deaths2749 ; the births were equal to 29-1, and the deaths to 31 5per 1000. Zymotic diseases caused 382 deaths, being 127over the number for the first quarter of last year. Nearly one-fourth of the mortality from zymotic diseases was caused bywhooping-cough ; the deaths from influenza were almostas numerous, amounting to 87. Measles caused 33 deaths,scarlet fever 17, enteric fever 32, typhus fever 6, anderysipelas 10.erysipelas 10. St. Mark’s Ophthalmic Hospital.A jubilee concert was held on April 30th in aid of this

hospital to clear off a debt of E400. The institution wasfounded by the well-known Sir William Wilde in 1844. Itwas first located in Mark-street, and contained twelve bedsfor patients, but was afterwards transferred to its presentposition in Lincoln-place. During the past fifty years thetotal number of in-door patients was 18,750, of out-door

patients 121,713, while the total number of operations per-formed was 18,484.

City of Dublin Hospital.The Zosmic F6’e, which was held last year at Ball’s Bridge

in aid of this hospital, has resulted in the handsome sumof £ 12,005 14s. 5d. having been obtained for a deservinginstitution.

Death of Dr. Allen Edmond Douglas.Another well-known Ulster practitioner. Dr. Douglas,

passed away at his residence, Coolbawn, Warrenpoint, onApril 25th, after a fortnight’s illness. Dr. Douglas, whowas a son of Captain Douglas, R.M., studied in Dublin,where he was Demonstrator of Anatomy at Steevens’Hospital School of Medicine, and became a Licentiate in1856 and a Fellow in 1874 of the Royal College of Sur-geons in Ireland. He also graduated M.D. at St. Andrews

in 1858. After practising in various places Dr. Douglassettled down in Warrenpoint, where he rapidly acquired theleading practice and won the confidence and respect of a

large circle of friends. He was dispensary medical officerfor Warrenpoint, and for several years was chairman of thetown commissioners of that place ; he was also a justice ofthe peace for county Down and was an active and leadingmember of the Freemasons’ craft. Dr. Douglas, who wasfifty-nine years of age, leaves a widow and two daughters,for whom there is the deepest sympathy. Kind and con.siderate and attentive to his duties, Dr. Douglas was greatlyrespected by the whole community of Warrenpoint.

Queen’s College, Belfast.On Tuesday, May lst, Dr. W. Russell, who has been

appointed Lecturer on Pathology in place of Dr. Barrett (re-signed through ill-health), delivered an introductory addresson the Victories and Aims of Pathology. The Presidentintroduced Dr. Russell and there was a good audience. Thenew chemical and materia medica laboratories are now

open to students.May 1st.

_____________

PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Glycerophosphates and their Therapeutical Uses.DR. ALBERT ROBIN, professeur-agrégé of the Paris Faculty,

can lay claim to the distinction of having created as muchsensation last week by the announcement of his discovery ofthe glycerophosphatic treatment as the late Dr. Brown-

Séquard did with his orchitic extract. Inspired by the fact thatmany neurasthenics void in their urine comparatively largequantities of incompletely oxidised phosphorus, the source ofwhich is probably the lecithin of the nerve tissues, the idea

, occurred to him that this nerve waste could be best met by,

supplying the system with phosphorus in organic combina-tion most nearly approaching to that under which it exists aslecithin in the nerve centres. Since 1888 Dr. Robin hasexperimented with the glycerophosphates of calcium, sodium,and potassium, either isolated or associated, and both sub-cutaneously and through the stomach. He asserts that theirinfluence on nutrition is indisputable. Thus, the hypodermic

r injection of twenty-five centigrammes of glycerophosphate oflime increases the total residue of the urine, the onlyingredients remaining unaffected being the uric and phos-phoric acids, the latter body appearing to undergo dimi-

e nution. The glycerophosphates seem to act antagonis-114 tically to antipyrin, which is the remedy for heightened

nervous excitability. Their action when swallowed is less

7 marked than when they are introduced into the system- through the lymphatics. Dr. Robin claims to have had

successes in the following conditions : convalescence from

t influenza, and certain infectious diseases; nervous depression;neurasthenic phosphaturia ; torpid form of chlorosis cbarac-

d terised by diminished oxidation of proteids; phosphaturicalbuminuria ; and simple phosphaturia. He further cites thecase of a young man of twenty-three years affected withAddison’s disease, and very thin and weak. Twenty-five centi-

s grammes of glycerophosphate of lime injected subcutaneously

68 daily, from the 5th to the 25th of January, brought up his,t

weight from fifty-six to fifty-nine kilogrammes, and restoredhis strength in a remarkable degree. He resumed his workon Feb. 9th, and the improvement had continued np toe April 5th, although the pigmentation persisted. Dr. Robin

’r opines that the really active agent in testicular juice isphosphorus in organic combination, and that its frequentfailure in this form may be explained by the instability of thegland extract. This instability is avoided when the artificial

,e product is employed. Tried on ataxies, the glycerophos-m phates were found to increase the body weight, theg average gain being fifty-one grammes a day ; the skin

became moister and the extremities warmer, and locomotionbecame less hesitating ; above all, the lightning pains

s, were markedly diminished ; the incoordination was notn influenced ; and the quantity of urine passed was increased.

During the first few days of the treatment the patients1, complained of formication of the legs and a sense of uneasi-s’ ness, and they were impelled to keep on alternately flexingin and extending their limbs. These uncomfortable effectsr- soon disappeared, however. Amongst other cases treated

there was that of a man aged forty-seven, crippled with