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Consumptive Homes of Scotland.Mr. Quarrier, the originator of this scheme, announces the

teceipt of a cheque for £1000 from an anonymous donor for’the purpose of erecting a lodge with entrance gates to thehomes. This sum completes a total of £19,000 towards the60,000 estimated to be necessary to complete the under-taking. In the complete scheme, as defined by Mr. Quarrierin his -letter to the local papers, it is contemplated to erecta dispensary in Glasgow at a cost of £3000. It is impossibleto believe that the advising committee of medical menunderstood to be acting with Mr. Quarrier can approve ofthis part of the scheme. Such a dispensary is entirely un-necessary. The out-door departments of the general hos-pitals and various other charitable dispensaries alreadyprovide ample facilities for the treatment of cases ofchronic phthisis, and a new dispensary for such cases

will be merely a new competing institution in a fieldalready fully occupied. Public money spent in this waywill be public money wasted. That some arrangementshould be made in the city for the examination of patientsproposed to be sent to the homes at Bridge of Weir is

obviously necessary. It is, indeed, most desirable that anadequate medical guarantee of the correctness of the

diagnosis and the suitability of the case for treatment shallbe secured, but this can surely be provided without theexpense of a new dispensary for chest diseases. Ample pro-vision in this direction already exists in Glasgow, and it is tobe hoped that the proposal as defined will be reconsidered.

Glasgow Maternity Hospital.Mr. Robert Jardine, M.D. Edin., M.R.C.S. Eng., has been

promoted to be one of the obstetric physicians to the

hospital. His promotion leaves a vacancy in the positionof assistant physician.

Glasgow University.The senate announce a new departure in the shape of free

public lectures to be delivered on Monday afternoons.Among the lecturers are Professor Coats, whose subject isto be °‘Inflammation" ; Professor Young, who will speak on, "Illustrations of History from the Hunterian Coin Room" ;and Professor McKendrick, who will lecture on "SoundWaves as revealed by the Phonograph." The course is to be

opened on Jan. llth with a lecture by Lord Kelvin on " TheDynamics of a Crystal."

Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society.At a meeting of the Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society,

held on Nov. 19th, the following office-bearers were elected :President, Dr. G. M. Edmond ; Vice-president, Dr. J. McK.Booth ; Secretary, Dr. G. Dean ; Recording Secretary, Dr. T.Milne; Treasurer, Dr. J. Gordon; and Librarian, Dr. A. T. G.Beveridge. The society at present consists of sixty-fivemembers ; during last year there were nine additions, onedeath, and one withdrawal.Dec.9th.

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IRELAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

The Proposed Isolation Hospital for Scarlet Fever.THIS question is still unsolved. The buildings in the

neighbourhood of the Pigeon House Fort will come into thepossession of the corporation after some months and willdoubtless serve henceforward as a means of relief to a stateof congestion of the general hospitals such as that causedby the present epidemic. The President of the Royal Collegeof Physicians in Ireland, Sir’Francis Cruise, Dr. SamuelGordon, and the authorities of the Army Medical Departmenthave recently expressed their strong approval of the site. Iunderstand that the corporation have the right to establisha hospital for infectious diseases, but if they did so theexpense would fall altogether on the occupiers of Dublinhouses, who are at present very highly taxed. Themoneys expended by the board of guardians, on theother hand, come from the owners as well as the occupiersof property ; the outlying parts of Dublin, such as Rathminesand the Pembroke township, are, as well as the city, undertheir care ; while, lastly, the guardians are obliged by law toprovide hospital accommodation for fever patients. Sir

Charles Cameron, the chief medical officer of health for thecity, has proposed that the corporation should handover the buildings at the Pigeon House to the two boards ofguardians, to be equipped as a convalescent hospital and tobe managed by them jointly. This proposal is stillunder consideration. In the meantime the scarlet feverpatients are distributed among the general hospitals, whoare paid from ls. 6d. to 2s. 6d. per head by the guardians,who thus satisfy the requirements of the Act of Parliament,which does not state that they shall build or establish ahospital, but that they shall provide hospital accommodationfor infectious diseases. It has been found possible to obtainbeds for all the scarlet-fever patients up to the present, butthe strain on the resources of the general hospitals has, asmight have been expected, caused other infectious cases tohave been unable to obtain admission. No less than twenty-seven cases of measles were notified last week, so thatthere is danger of that disease, in addition to scarlet fever,becoming epidemic in the city.

The Proposed New Hospital in Belfast.A most important statement, signed by all the members of

the medical staff of the Belfast Royal Hospital, has justbeen published, pointing out the great and crying necessityfor a new hospital. Attention is drawn to the fact that the

present hospital accommodation in Belfast is very deficientfor a city with a population of 300,000. The principal hos-pital contains only 189 beds, and the total number of

hospital beds in Belfast (exclusive of the Poor-law hospitals)is not more than 470. In comparison with this, Dublin(which is now smaller than Belfast) has 10 general hospitalsand 2500 beds. But in addition the present accom-

modation in the Royal Hospital is also defective in

quality, as might be expected in a building the mainblock of which was erected so far back as 1817.Larger, airier, and more cheeful wards are required, andmore accommodation, especially for fever cases. The staffare unanimously of opinion that a large new hospital on anew site is urgently required, built according to modernideas, and they feel strongly that the erection of a newhospital - is essential to the efficiency, progress, and continuedprosperity of the large medical school of Belfast (the onlycentre of medical education in Ulster), and would have amost favourable influence upon the training of the medicalmen of the future. Many feel that when the needs of thecity are fully known the people of Belfast will not be behindtheir contemporaries in this most necessary and benevolentwork. The Lord Mayor has called a meeting of the citizensfor to-morrow, Dec. 9th.

The late Dr. Richard Ross.

On Sunday, Dec. 6th, at a special service in St. Andrew’s, Church, a memorial window, erected by his wife and: children to the memory of the late Dr. Richard Ross, was.

unveiled and dedicated by the Lord Bishop of Down. A verylarge number of medical men of Belfast, where the late Dr.Ross had been so well known as a physician for nearly half acentury, were present. The window consists of three lightsrepresenting the parable of the Good Samaritan. j

Battle of the Clitbs at Cork : Presentation to Mr. Philip Lee,Honorary Secretary to the Cork Medical Association.

Last Wednesday there was a large and representativemeeting of the Cork medical profession held in the medical

e society’s rooms for the purpose of making a presentation to3 Mr. Philip Lee, in recognition of the services rendered by him1 to the profession since the inception of "the battle of thee clubs." The presentation consisted of a beautifully illumi-1 nated address and a very handsome Crown Derby desserte service. Dr. N. J. Hobart occupied the chair, and in a very1 felicitous speech assured Mr. Lee that he is held in thet highest esteem by his professional brethren, and that theyI fully and entirely appreciate his unselfish and persevering11 efEorts to maintain the status and dignity of the medicale profession, not alone in Cork, but in the whole Unitedn Kingdom. He mentioned that for some time past it wase in contemplation to express in some substantial form

e the gratitude of the medical men of Cork for thes single-minded and untiring energy be had displayeds in the discharge of his most onerous duties : s honoraryr secretary of the Medical Association, and they consideredo his recent marriage a most auspicious occasion f< r tendering.r to him an expression of their recognition of tie tact and

1726

zeal he had exhibited on many trying occasions. On the

part of the whole profession in Cork he wished Dr. andMrs. Lee many years of the happiness always associatedwith the performance of good works. Mr. Lee thanked thechairman for the kindly sentiments he had expressed. Any-thing he had done was a labour of love, and much as heappreciated the handsome presentation made to him hevalued far more highly the friendship and esteem of his

professional brethren.The Meath Hospital.

The ceremony of declaring open a bed, which has beenadded to the hospital as a memorial to the late Sir GeorgePorter, Bart., was performed on the 30th ult. at the hos-

pital by his Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant, who wasaccompanied by the Countess Cadogan and a large party ofvisitors. A meeting was held before the ceremony, at whichViscount Powerscourt filled the chair and spoke in strongterms of the high qualities of the late distinguished surgeonwho for more than a quarter of a century had been hisintimate friend. In reply to an address which was pre-sented to his Excellency, Lord Cadogan delivered a gracefuland eloquent tribute to the memory of the late senior surgeonto the hospital, who had the honour to be also Surgeon-in-Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen in Ireland. As repre-sentative of Her Majesty his Excellency remarked that hecould say that she sympathised with the staff of the hospitalin the loss which they had sustained and that she wouldrejoice to hear of their doing honour to the memory of oneso deserving and so much regretted. His Excellency thendeclared the memorial bed open for the reception ofpatients. A brass shield attached to it bore the followinginscription :-"In loving memory of Sir George Hornidge Porter, Bart. D.L.,

senior surgeon of this hospital, Surgeon-in-Ordinary to Her Majestythe Queen in Ireland, Regius Protessor of Surgery University ofDublin, &c., who for nearly half a century most generously placed hisskill and experience at the service of the sick poor in this institution.Died 16th of June, 1895. This bed was permanently endowed bysubscriptions from his many friends and admirers as a tribute ofaffectionate regard. 1896."

Ulster Medical Society Annual Dinner.The annual dinner of the Ulster Medical Society was

held in the Grand Central Hotel, Belfast, on Nov. 26thand was in every respect a very great success. The room inwhich the dinner took place was crowded, seventy-threemembers and guests being present. The President, ProfessorSymington, was in the chair, and the following were thetoasts:&mdash;" The Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales, and othermembers of the Royal Family," proposed by the President ;" The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and Prosperity to the

Country," proposed by ’Mr. Fagan and responded to

by the ex-president, Professor Sinclair; "The Queen’sCollege and the Belfast Medical School," proposed by thePresident of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland,Dr. DufEey, who was a guest, and replied to by thePresident of Queen’s College, Rev. Dr. Hamilton. Dr.Hamilton drew attention to the jubilee of the College inJanuary, 1897, at which, in addition to the inauguration ofthe Students’ Union by the Lord-Lieutenant and the

graduates’ banquet, Sir Joseph Lister, Bart., had kindlyconsented to open the new physiological and pathologicallaboratories. The toast of "The Dublin Medical School"was proposed by the President. Dr. James Little, thePresident of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, whowas a guest, in his very sympathetic and humorous replystated that many years ago he had dined with a formerPresident of the Ulster Medical Society in Belfast, and ofthose then present only two remained, both of whom hewas glad to see that evening- Professor Cuming andDr. Whitaker, medical officer of health for Belfast.Professor Cuming proposed "The Guests," to whichSurgeon-Major Mulvaney, Rev. Richard Leaver, and Mr.Seddall, the Commissioner of Police, replied. ProfessorByers proposed "The North of Ireland Branch of the BritishMedical Association," and the President, Professor Whitla,and the Secretary, Dr. John Campbell, responded. The lasttoast, which was received most heartily, was " The Presi-dent of the Ulster Medical Society," given by Dr. JamesLittle, to which Professor Symington replied. During theevening a musical selection was contributed by Mr. W. G.Mackenzie, Dr. McKisack, Dr. Leslie, and Dr. J. A. Lindsay,and recitations were given by Dr. J. S. Morrow and Dr. JohnSt. C. Boyd.

Dec. 8th., .

ROME.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Massacre in the Somali Oountry.THE year closes as it commenced, with news of disaster

from what to Italy may in every sense be called the " DarkContinent." Captain Cecchi, a veteran African explorer andItalian Consul, had, in the interest of a private company,moved inland from the Benadir coast for exploratory pur-poses and had completed the first part of his enterprise.The success of this induced him to undertake a secondexpedition at the instance of another company. With anescort so small as to imply total absence of danger, andreinforced by officers of the navy attracted to his side byscientific among other motives, he fell after five hours’march into an ambuscade, from which he extricated himselfwith some loss. Retreating to the coast he had to fight hisway against ever-increasing hordes of natives till he himselfwas killed and sixteen others, partly officers, partly sailors.Their bodies have been recovered, and among them is thatof Dr. Alfredo Smuraglia, a young medical officer of thehighest promise, just entering on his twenty-seventh year.His death adds another to the many losses sustained by theprofession in these ill-starred African expeditions.

l7ce Maragliano Serum.

Statistics have placed it beyond doubt that as many as onemillion cases of diphtheria have already been cured by theBehring serum, and there is ground for believing that thatantitoxin would have scored a still greater success had itoftener been applied before the diphtheria poison had estab-lished a fatal foothold. The same results may yet beattained by the Maragliano serum in pulmonary phthisis ;but the nature of this latter disease is such that theantitoxin can never assert its power so rapidly andso decisively as in diphtheria. It is in private practioe,moreover, that Dr. Maragliano and his followers have hadmost success, and for reasons that are obvious. In suchcases the tuberculous patient generally sees the consultantin good time ; he is surrounded, as a rule, with the com-forts and the careful tendance of home; and he can oftenreinforce the cure by change of scene. In hospital prac-tice, on the other hand, the patient, in ninety-nine cases

out of a hundred, is far gone in the disease; his strengthhas been reduced by pyrexia or h&oelig;moptysis; his nights havebeen impaired by harassing cough ; and his resisting poweris often low through mal-nutrition. And yet even in this latterless favourable type of case Dr. Maragliano, as shown in thesecolumns, has had most encouraging success. His followers,mainly in the Neapolitan school (which, by the way, was atfirst rather slow to adopt his treatment), have been not lessfortunate; and now Dr. De Renzi, the dean of Italian

clinicians, who for twenty-nine years has held thechair of clinical medicine at Naples, announces that hehas had forty-four cases of cure by the Maraglianoserum in his wards and equally gratifying results in privatepractice. Like all others of his colleagues who have used theantitoxin he found its efficacy most marked when the patientwas seen early and when complications were at their mini-mum. One lesson he profited by in his clinique, and thatwas (as Maragliano himself had inculcated) not to despairwhen even 200 injections had failed to achieve the effectdesired. He observed, indeed, that while improve-ment had declared itself even in the most intractablecases, he had only to suspend the treatment for a briefinterval to witness the rapid exacerbation of all thesymptoms and to resume the injections "in tutta fretta" "

(in all haste). Sero-therapy, said Dr. De Renzi to a col-league the other day, has a great future. It is rational andphysiological ; it corresponds to what the Father of Medi-cine meant by the &phgr;&ugr;&sgr;&tgr;s iaTpcK and what we modernsunderstand by the poteri fisiologici superstiti" (thesurviving physiological forces). In his own clinique Dr. DeRenzi had had convincing proof of the action of the

Maragliano serum "contro le proteine tubercolari." Withthe " tuberculine" of Koch inoculated in phthisical patientsto the amount of 5 milligrammes he had obtained a strongreaction; but applying the same I I tuberculine " to patientsalready under the Maragliano treatment the reaction wasmuch less strong, showing that, pro tanto, they had become