1080 WALES AND WESTERN COUNTIES NOTES.-SCOTLAND.-IRELAND.

heavy-responsibility resting upon them as regards the safetyof the other patients in the hospital.

Cardiff Medical Society.An addition has been made to the rules of the Cardiff

Medical Society which will have the effect of making themedical officers of the garrisons of the district and theresident medical officers of the Cardiff Infirmary and unionhospital ex-officio temporary members of the society withoutsubscription. They will enjoy all the privileges of ordinarymembers except the power to vote.

April 9th.

SCOTLAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Appointment of Assistant Gynaæologists to the EdinburghRoyal Infirmary.

THE managers of the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, haveappointed Dr. James Haig Ferguson and Dr. WilliamFordyce assistant gynaecologists to the infirmary. The two

gentlemen selected have occupied the posts of gynaecologistand assistant gynæcologist respectively to Leith Hospital.

Proposed Presentation to Sir Henry D. Littlejohn.As was mentioned in THE LANCET of March 31st, p. 937,

a [movement is on foot in Edinburgh to mark Sir HenryLittlejohn’s long connexion with the Edinburgh School. Ameeting has been held and a committee formed for the

purpose indicated. It is proposed to present Sir HenryLittlejohn with his portrait by a leading artist and friendsand former pupils will, it is expected, readily participate inthe scheme. The secretary to the committee is Dr. Francis

D._Boyd, Manor-place, Edinburgh.The Direct Representative for Scotland on the General

Medieal Council.Dr. William Bruce, who has represented Scotland for

many years on the General Medical Council, intimated sometime ago that he would again place his services at the

disposal of his brethren in Scotland. In view of his intentionto do so it was well that he made the intimation, for therumour was going round that he was not to seek re-election.It is understood that some of those who opposed him at thelast election are taking steps to insure his having to fight forhis seat at the forthcoming election.

Glasgow Hospital Sunday -Fund.The report for 1905 of the Glasgow Hospital Sunday Fund

has just been issued. It states that the number of churchescontributing to the fund during the year was 402, as com-pared with 389 in the previous year. The total income ofthe fund, including donations and bank interest, amountedto &pound;4830 14s. lld., showing an increase of &pound;29 6s. 2d. onlast year. The sum set aside for the infirmaries was &pound;4560and the same course was followed in making the divisionas in the previous years-namely, in proportion to thenumber of fully occupied beds in each infirmary. Accordingto this arrangement the Royal Infirmary got &pound;2194 9s. 8d.,the Western Infirmary &pound;1719 14<. 10d, and the VictoriaInfirmary &pound;645 15s. 6d. After meeting the workingexpenses there is a balance of &pound;8 15s. 10d. to be carriedforward to next year.

A University Degree in Pharmacy.At the half-yearly meeting of the general council of the

University of Glasgow some discussion took place on theinstitution of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy.In one of the clauses of the ordinance it has been laid downthat all candidates for the proposed degree must alreadybe chemists and druggists registered under the PharmacyActs, 1852 and 1868." By some members of the council itwas thought to be undesirable that membership of thePharmaceutical Society should be made an essential pre-liminary to receiving the proposed degree ; on the otherhand, as pointed out by Dr. McVail, it seemed advisable forreasons of discipline that those who got this degree shouldbe members, in the meantime at any rate, of the Pharma-ceutical Society. On a division by a small majority theclause as it stood in the ordinance was approved.

The Care of Epileptics.At the monthly meeting of the Glasgow parish council

and district lunacy board a motion was brought forward,"That a committee be appointed to inquire as to the

number of sane poor epileptics in Glasgow, and further toinquire and report as to cost of land and buildings for thepurpose of establishing a colony for epileptics." After somediscussion the motion was carried by a large majority andthe matter was referred to a committee for considerationand report.

Glasgo7v Cancer Hospital.At the annual meeting of the subscribers to this hos-

pital reference was made to the proposed reconstruction andextension of the hospital. The directors have now in hand.B9000 and the sum aimed at is .620,000. Dr. G. T. Beatson,surgeon to the hospital, pointed out that in the years duringwhich the hospital had been in existence hundreds had beentreated who would not have obtained admission to anygeneral hospital in the city. In connexion with the re-

building of the hospital it has been thought that it is a

suitable opportunity for providing accommodation for thecarrying out of research work in connexion with cancer andfor this suggested department of the new hospital a separatefund has been opened and has already met with a gratifyingresponse.

Dumbarton Poorhouse Hospital.Recently there was an outbreak of fire at the hospital in

connexion with Dumbarton poorhouse. The hospital build.ings are separate from the main block of the poorhouse andat the time of the outbreak contained about 50 patients,mostly bedridden. When the fire was observed the patientswere removed, fortunately without difficulty, but before thefire could be got under the roof had fallen in several places.April 10th.

__________________

IRELAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

The Publio Health of Belfast.FROM the last published return of the Registrar-General the

death-rate of Belfast is again the highest of the great towns.The average rate of mortality in the 76 great towns ofEngland and Wales last week was 17 per 1000. The rate wasin Edinburgh 16, London 18, Glasgow 19, Dublin 26, andBelfast 29. These figures show the very bad positionoccupied by Belfast and demand the careful consideration ofthe health authorities of that city. The chairman of thepublic health committee said at the meeting of the corpora-tion on April 2nd that the public health committee " wouldwelcome any suggestion for lessening the death-rate or im-proving the health of the city." The position adopted doesnot seem to commend itself to the citizens who regard theappeal for suggestions as a confession of weakness.

lke Drainage of Belfast.At a recent meeting of the Harbour Commissioners of

Belfast attention was drawn to the cost incurred by theboard in the dredging rendered necessary by the dischargeof sewage into Belfast Lough. Six years ago in order to

get a Bill passed the city corporation of Belfast undertookto deal in a certain specified time with the whole subject ofthe treatment of the sewage of Belfast. This limit was

passed and yet it appears that only one-sixth of the sewage hasbeen up to the present dealt with and that the cost incurredby the Harbour Commissioners up to March lst of this year indredging what the engineer reports is crude sewage matterwas &pound;2400. This cost will be continuous so long as sewageis discharged as at present into the tideway between themain drainage station and a point 1800 feet north of thesame. The Harbour Commissioners have intimated to thecity corporation that they will hold them accountable forthe expense incurred in removing this sewage matter andthey have urged the corporation on two or three occasionsto press on with the work they engaged to do bythe Act of 1899. On the part of the corporation itis contended that they have acquired 74 acres of landand that already by bacteria beds they had dealt withone-sixth of the city sewage. The problem of how to dealwith the sewage of a large city like Belfast discharged intoa tidal lough is a difficult one. Some think the only course isto take the sewage away down to the mouth of the lough andto discharge it at a place there called Blackhead, just as thecity of Chicago, which used to discharge its sewage intoLake Michigan (which in this way became an open sewer asBelfast Lough is at present), now carries it over a distance of34 miles into a branch of the Illinois River at a cost of

1081IRELAND.-PARIS.

$37,000,000. The objection to such a method is the cost.In these circumstances the only alternative is to try topurify the sewage by bacteria beds before it enters the

Lough ; whether such a plan will really succeed or whetherit is suited to a great city like Belfast has still to be proved.

Tllster Hospital for Women and Children.At the annual meeting of the friends of the above hospital

held on April 5th it was reported that there were 216 interncases in the children’s wards and 2386 extern cases, of whom594 were ophthalmic. In the women’s department therewere 81 intern cases and 623 extern cases. Seven cases wereadmitted to the maternity ward and there were 165 externlabour cases attended by the nurse. The total number of

patients to whom the hospital afforded relief in 1905 was3478, an increase of 158 over 1904. Dr. Howard Stevensonhas been elected a member of the medical staff in place ofDr. J. St. Clair Boyd, resigned. The total income for the

past year was &pound;863 7s. 5d. and the expenditure was

L1128 18s. 11&frac12;d., showing a deficit for 12 months ofB265 lls. 62d., equal to about &pound;22 per month. It required&pound;94 per month last year to carry on the hospital, while thetotal income from all sources was .E72 per month, so thatmore income is needed. Many friends of the charity thinkthat the time has come when a new building will have tobe erected for the hospital.

-Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Election ofExaminers.

A meeting of Fellows will be held on Tuesday, May lst,at 4.30 P.m., pursuaut to the provisions of the supplementalcharter, for the election of examiners. Graduates of anyUniversity which may be from time to time recognisedby the College shall be eligible for election as examiners inthe subjects of general education. All the other examinersshall be Fellows or Licentiates of the College or professors orlecturers in any school of medicine recognised by the College.Candidates are requested to lodge their applications in

writing with the Registrar, at the College, on or beforeTuesday, April 24th, at 10 A.M.April llth.

__________________

PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

First-aid Dressings.THE Minister of War has just sent out a circular forbidding

the use of an impermeable layer of tissue in the packets offirst-aid dressings which are served out to every soldier,except as a protective covering for the packet itself. In

consequence, all packets of dressings made up since theissue of the circular have been modified in accordance withits terms. As regards those at present in store, it is not, ofcourse, possible to remove the sheet of gutta-percha tissuewhich they contain, so the packets have all been markedwith a notice to the effect that this tissue is not to be used.Army medical officers have been instructed to suppress theimpermeable tissue in the packets which they use forinstruction, and all hospital orderlies and regimentalstretcher-bearers are to be told of the dangers which mayaccrue from the dressing of a gunshot wound with animpermeable dressing.

The Treatment of the Tuberculous by -Recalcification.At a meeting of the Hospitals Medical Society held on

March 23rd M. Paul Ferrier read an account of a new treat-ment which he had tried in cases of tuberculosis. Heconsiders that nature employs the same process whether sheis building up the skeleton and the teeth or is bringing aboutspontaneous cure in a tuberculous patient. This process iscalcification and accordingly M. Ferrier determined to"calcify" his tuberculous patients. Calcification does notsimply mean the administration of salts of lime such asthe carbonate or the tribasic phosphate, however usefulthey may be. The physician must also attend tothe numerous causes which prevent the proper assimi-lation of the lime or which produce its elimination. 1Such causes are mainly dietetic errors, starting with the :absorption of acids which are not already saturated with ilime. By the use of sodium chloride the physician canpromote the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the gastricjuice and so improve digestion. In addition to this patients lwho do not improve upon a carefully regulated diet with 1

sodium chloride should also be given calcium chloride. Ifthen they do not begin to improve some other error in thedigestive process should be sought for. Ordinary hygienicmeasures must by no means be neglected.

Yellow lasses.At a meeting of the Academy of Medicine held on

March 27th M. Motais said that with a view to protectsensitive eyes from the light he had been in the habit ofusing for the past 15 years glasses slightly tinged with anorange yellow. These glasses give a remarkable effect oflight. The sky and other objects seen are illuminated withwarm tones very agreeable to the eye and besides this lighteffect the glasses produce a very calming effect, provided thattheir depth of tint is duly proportioned to ’the intensity ofthe light source or to the retinal hypersesthesia. These

yellow glasses are especially valuable when the visual acuityof patients is very enfeebled, as in cases of retinitis, choroid-itis, progressive myopia, optic atrophy, or keratitis. Patientssuch as these using blue or smoked glasses do not see at all.With the yellow glasses, however, the amount of lightadmitted to the eye is scarcely, if at all, diminished. Thedouble action which yellow glasses seem to possess-namely,of admitting more light and of soothing the eye-which iscontradictory to all appearances, is explained by the factthat these glasses suppress the chemical rays of light.Hydro-eleetric Baths in Various Cardio-vase2ular Affections.M. Albert Weil and M. Mougeot have been studying the

action of a hydro-electric bath of triphase alternatingcurrents in a certain number of cases of heart disease. Inthree patients the investigation was very complete and in-cluded observations on the frequency of the pulse, thearterial and arterio-capillary tension, tracings both of theradial pulse and the capillary pulse, and of the area occupiedby the shadow of the heart as observed by orthodiagraphybefore and after the administration of the bath. OnMarch 28th M. Weil and M. Mougeot communicated anaccount of their researches to the Therapeutical Societyand the chief points were as follows. There was a notablefall in the arterio-capillary pressure. Three times out offour there was a notable fall in the arterial pressurewhich, however, remained constant in the fourth experi-ment. The radial pulse-tracing shows definite modifications-namely, a rise in the amplitude of the systolic wave, anaccentuation or appearance of the elastic arterial wave, andan accentuation of the dicrotic wave. There is no increasein the amplitude of the capillary pulse. The cardiac area asmeasured by orthodiagraphy undergoes a remarkable diminu-tion when the heart is dilated. The observers concludedthat the triphase current bath brings about a diminution ofthe arterial resistance and favours the emptying of the heartand that by its administration it can be made a valuabletreatment for hypertension.

Salicylate of Sodium as a Preventive of Erysipelas.At a meeting of the Society of Biology held on

March 24th M. Lortat-Jacob and M. Vitry communicated apaper in which they stated that in three series of experi-ments they had been able to show that the intravenousinjection of small and repeated doses of salicylate of sodiumraised the resistance of the rabbit to consecutive inoculationsof a culture of streptococci. One rabbit inoculated with ahighly virulent culture after being treated with salicylatedied at the end of five days, although the control died inthree days. With a culture of feeble virulence the animaltreated with the salicylate of sodium presented no locallesion at all, although the controls were attacked with

erysipelas.The English Hospital at Nice.

On March 19th the English hospital at Nice was opened.This hospital has been built as a memorial of Queen Victoriaand is called the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital. It con-sists of two portions. One is at the side of the road to Ville-franche and the other is on the top of a hill in a pine wood.In this latter will be isolated hospital patients who are suffer-ing from contagious maladies. The approach to this build-ing is by a magnificent staircase cut out of the rock byblasting. It is composed of a basement, a ground floor,and a first floor, and contains 20 beds. The other build-

ing will be able to contain 30 patients and has a d&eacute;pend-ance consisting of a small block for the staff. The ceremonywas presided over by Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, sister of King Edward VII., who was accompaniedby Princess Alexandra of Hohenlohc Langenburg and