1043

conditions revealed by medical inspection of the schoolchildren of the town. Much, he says, may be done withoutany specific medical treatment. For example, a certain

proportion of the eye defects are due to defective lightingof class-rooms, to badly constructed desks, or to impropeIand constrained positions in writing and reading, while manyof the disorders of the throat and nose can be remediec

by improved conditions of heating and ventilation in therooms. In the event of the education authority formulatingany scheme for the medical treatment of the childreI

attending the elementary schools Dr. Walford considers thait should be made to apply to that class of children whoseparents are too poor to pay for medical attendance and areyet not eligible for the Poor-law relief.Sept.29th.

SCOTLAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Final Exctmination at the University of Glasgow.OWING to the recent changes that have been made in the

medical examinations at the University of Glasgow therewill be the unprecedented number of three finals in 12

months-namely, in December, 1908, and in April andOctober, 1909. When it was first arranged to have two finalsin the year the dates fixed were December and June, but thishas now been altered to April and October. This latter

change will benefit graduates in a way that is not at first

apparent. Formerly when the final was held in June the

graduation did not take place till the middle of July, whereasin other Universities, Edinburgh for instance, the finalexaminations were over about three weeks earlier, the resultbeing that all the best posts in the country at the time weretaken up before the Glasgow students were qualified to

apply.The Crichton Asylum, Dumfries

In a recent article in the Glasgow Herald attention wasdrawn to the circumstances which led to the establish-ment of the Crichton Asylum. In 1823 there died atFriars’ Carse, near Dumfries, Dr. James Crichton. Hewas a native of Sanquhar, studied medicine, became phy-sician to the Governor-General of India, and amassed a

large fortune by commercial enterprise and medical prac-tice. On his death he left the sum of .6100,000 tohis widow, Elizabeth Grierson, the great-grand-daughterof Sir Robert Grierson of Lag, to be used for such

purposes as she and trustees might direct. They wereinclined to the establishment of a University at Dumfries,but a series of difficulties arose. Lord Brougham was

Lord Chancellor at that time and he intimated that a scheme for the establishment of a fifth University inScotland would meet with his opposition. The scheme was

thereupon abandoned, and after consideration Mrs. Crichtondecided to apply her husband’s fortune to the erection andendowment of an institution for the treatment of the

mentally afflicted. At that time in Dumfries the provisionfor persons mentally weak was notoriously inadequate andunsatisfactory. 12 apartments in the Dumfries Infirmarywere kept for the detention of such patients, and this accom-modation proving insufficient it was supplemented by theuse of prison cells. In 1835 the foundation-stone of theCrichton Royal Institution was laid and a building waserected at a cost of .650,000 with accommodation for 120patients.

66 Hon2e for Incitrables "for .Elgi7z.Under the will of the late Mr. John Munro, merchant, the

town of Elgin has benefited considerably. Amongst otherlegacies the sum of E6000 is left to the provost, magistrates,and town councillors of Elgin for the erection, equipment,and carrying on of public baths and a similar sum for a likepurpose to the town of Forres. On the death of his sister histrustees are directed to convert his dwelling house, withgarden and offices, into a home for persons, drawn from thecounty of Elgin and its burghs, suffering from diseases usuallyreckoned to be of an incurable nature. It is also directedthat the whole residue of the estate shall be held as arendowment for the home.

Aberdeen City Hospital : Proposed Additions.Extensive additions to the Aberdeen City Hospital ar,

contemplated by the public health committee of the Aber-deen town council. The additions consist of (1) the enlarge-ment of the two outside pavilions, Nos. 1 and 4, towardsUrquhart-road, by 17 beds each and rearranging the two oldwards to suit the new pavilions ; (2) erecting an additionalpavilion to contain 16 beds, at the south side of the offices;(3) erecting a skin disease pavilion, to contain 12 beds;

, (4) providing additional nurses’ accommodation in the. administration block by heightening the original frontL block to the south and making it three floors high,

which would provide ten single bedrooms and two doublebedrooms for nurses in addition to the present accom-

modation, and also provide a nurses’ recreation room overthe kitchen wing on the same floor ; and (5) enlarging thereception block by additional wings to the south and northends of the same, and rearranging the present internal wardsto suit the new additions, giving accommodation for 12 bedsextra. Pavilion No. 4 would be specially constructed forcases of pulmonary tuberculosis. At the present time thereis accommodation in the hospital for 127 patients, and ifthe whole of the proposed additions were carried out itwould be increased by 74 beds, making in all room for 201

e patients. The estimated cost of the additions is E12,500,e and if the scheme is approved the work will be commenced2 at once in order to give work to the unemployed.d Sept.29th.

_________________

IRELAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Deat7b of Sir Arthur ’Vernon Macan.THE death of Sir Arthur Vernon Macan, professor of

obstetrics in Trinity College, Dublin, took place on Saturdaylast, Sept. 26th, at his residence, 53, Merrion-square, thusdepriving Dublin of one of its most prominent practitioners.

Richmond Hospital and Pauper Luncctics.The question of pauper lunatics was before the meeting of

the guardians in the North Dublin union workhouse on

Sept. 23rd, to which reference was made in THE LANCETlast week. A letter was read from Mr. J. O’Conor Donelan,medical superintendent of the Richmond and Portranelunatic asylums, calling attention to the crowded condi-tion of those institutions and stating that he had beendirected by the joint committee to request that the milderor purely senile cases should be retained in the work-house until such time as adequate provision should bemade for the feeble-minded, as distinguished from thestrictly insane. Early legislation on the matter has beenpromised, but meanwhile the joint committee finds that allthe available accommodation in its two institutions hasbeen practically absorbed. A scheme of further extensionsis at present being developed, but no additional relief canbe hoped for within the next 12 months. The chairmanobserved that no more could be done than there had beenin the circumstances. They were pressed on the one hand

by the joint committee not to send these people to itsinstitutions, while, on the other hand, the Local GovernmentBoard was pressing to have them sent out of the workhouse.One member pointed out that they could not be left to die in

the streets, and another having suggested that it was a.

matter that might be referred to the committee which wasat present dealing with the general management of thehouse, an order was made to that effect. On the same datea corresponding discussion was carried out at a meeting ofthe guardians of the South Dublin union, at which it wasdecided that the guardians would not recede from their rightto send insane paupers to the asylum.Coombe Hospital, Dublin, and the Boag-ding-oqtt of hafants.At a meeting of the Rathdown board of guardians on

Sept. 23rd some of the items of recent practice of theCoombe Hospital received a share of censorious criticism.Miss Griffin, inspector under the Infant Life Protection Act,reported the death of an infant named Alice Clarke, at theage of three weeks. She had been taken out to nurse by aMrs. Mahon of Dundrum on August 31st. The nurse statedthat she had received no certificate of health respecting thischild nor any instructions or advice from the hospitalauthorities as to care or diet. After death there was a post-

mortem examination and an inquest and the jury found that

1044

the child had died from inanition from insufficient and im-proper food. At the inquest evidence was given in favour ofthe authorities of the charitable institution which was re-

sponsible for the boarding-out of the child to the effect that"infants are taken from their mothers at the Coombe

Hospital and boarded out at about a fortnight old without.any medical authority or certificate as to their condition,the mothers being then received into the institution at

8, Lower Leeson-street." The lady inspector added : I I My’experience is that a large proportion of the infants boardedout in this way die within the first year." And to the fore-

going report she subjoined the verdict of the coroner’s jury,which contained the following rider: "We do not attachany blame to the nurse. We condemn the practice of theCoombe Hospital in sending out to nurse children at an earlystage of life, as we consider they should remain longer incharge of their mothers." Some members having defendedand some others having attacked the Coombe Hospital prac-tice in this respect, and contradictory views having beenexpressed regarding the judgment and the jurisdiction ofcoroners’ juries in general, it was decided to furnish theauthorities of the Coombe Hospital with a copy of theverdict of the jury.

Lay Views on Tucbcrculosis.A letter recently appeared in a leading newspaper from

the pen of a master of a workhouse which is sure to have itsfull share of attention from the average members of the rural

population of our more remote districts at least. It announces’’ a most remarkable cure of an advanced case of consump-tion of a lady in Youghal."

" The patient had (May 13th last)been confined to bed for 11 or 12 weeks ; weight had fallenfrom 8 stones 2 pounds to 6 stones 7 pounds ; sputum hadbeen sent to a Dublin bacteriologist for analysis, and con-sumption bacilli had been found; while the regulation’’ night-sweats, intermittent high temperature, racking cough,and profuse expectoration all pointed to the dread disease,"and were well in evidence. Fortunately, however, themicrobes had fallen upon thorny ground, for, as we areinformed, "When the patient learned this, being herself atrained nurse and a person of strong mind, she said shewould fight the bacilli, and thereupon got out of bed andcommenced the Nordrach home treatment of consumption.Her husband procured a plan of the American homesanatorium or ’shack,’ and forthwith erected one on

the boundary wall of his little garden....... Here the

patient sleeps with air as pure as if the bed was

under the canopy of heaven....... Then she took the

nourishing food-took it, so to say, artificially, without

having any inclination to eat....... She now weighs 8 stones1 pound....... Night-sweats and temperature have dis-

appeared, Nature seems to resume her proper functions-all except the appetite for food ; but this, according toNordrach theory, will come in a year or two when thebacilli are completely routed, and not till then will re-

covery be complete." Wisely has the prophet spoken, as allreaders must admit! And the correspondent goes on to say,in concluding: " I am not a doctor, but during my time asmaster of the Youghal Workhouse I saw a great many casesof consumption, and I have not the slightest doubt in mymind that were it not for commencing the Nordrach treat-ment the patient referred to would be in her grave to-day."

"

In a country like Ireland this class of document will weighmore with country folk than 50 scientific lectures fromanti-tuberculosis crusaders, so that the workhouse master hastaken upon himself a heavy responsibility.

Double Tenaneies io Belfast.The Public Health Committee passed the following resolu-

tion on Sept. 24th :-That where two or more families reside in a house in which sanitary

accommodation is only provided for a single family the executivesanitary officer be instructed to prosecute in order to put a stop to whatthe Revising Barrister described as "disgraceful" and "contrary tomorality and decency."With reference to the evils that arise from double tenanciesthe Belfast Health Commission reported as follows :-On the ground that the upper tenancies have in effect no sanitary

accommodation, those double tenancies should be sternly abolished, orthe provision of an external stairway from the upper rooms to the yardshould be insisted upon. This double tenancy was not alleged to benecessary even on the ground of poverty of the tenants, yet it has beentolerated for years, although the practice is well known both to theCorporation and to the Public Health Department.Sept. 29th.

PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The French Vital Statistics for 1907.THE vital statistics for 1907 have just been published. The

deaths exceeded the births by 19,920, an excess due both toa fresh decline in the number of births, which was 32,878less than in 1906, and to the increase in the number ofdeaths, which exceeded those of 1906 by 13,693 ; theseexceeded the deaths of 1905 by 10,025, which in turn were8968 above those of 1904. In comparison with 1906 thenumber of live births has diminished in 52 departments and -

has only increased in five. The departments in which theexcess of deaths over births is especially apparent are thosewhich comprise the richest country. The relative increaseof the population per 10,000 rose to an average of 18 from1901 to 1905 ; it fell to 7 in 1906 and in 1907 was replacedby a decrease of 5 per 10,000. There has been a greatincrease in the number of departments in which the deathsexceed the births.

The Treatment of Sleeping Sickness.Professor Laveran of the Pasteur Institute, who has been

wholly occupied for several years in investigating sleepingsickness, has communicated recently to the Academy ofSciences in the names of himself and his fellow worker, Dr,Thiroux, a note on the treatment of the disease based on aresearch upon guinea-pigs that had been injected withtrypanosomes. He first used tartar emetic, followingPlimmer and Thomson, and found that this drug wasrapidly effective in causing the trypanosomes to disappearfrom the blood-stream. In this manner he was able to curethree out of 13 guinea-pigs which he treated. He then tried

giving this drug in combination with atoxyl by hypodermicinjection, with even better results, six out of the 13 animalsbeing cured. Professor Laveran and Dr. Thiroux are at

present trying the alternate administration of atoxyl andorpiment (sulphide of arsenic) which seems to promisethe best results.

.

Tobacco Poisoning and Pregiiancy.M. Dastre communicated to the Academy of Sciences on

Sept. 21st a note by M. Robinson concerning the effect oftobacco poisoning upon pregnancy. It has no effect uponthis process in bitches, cats, and mares, but it has an effectupon rabbits and guinea-pigs. It is well known that women

employed in tobacco factories run the risk of sustainingcertain ill-effects from tobacco poisoning. M. Robinson hasinstituted an inquiry amongst Eastern women who use

tobacco with negative results. Of those who smoke the

nar.qlâle or large quantities of cigarettes-30 or 40 a day-M. Robinson has not found a single case of abortion whichcould be put down to the tobacco.

The Nnrstng School of the Assistance Publ,ique.On Oct. lst an examination for pupils desirous of entering

the nursing school of the Assistance Publique will take place.The candidates will have to undergo a medical examinationand will in addition have to pass in dictation, to write asimple essay, and to pass a written examination in simplearithmetic. They will also be examined in sewing. Theexamination is open to female nurses and to servant girlsalready in the service of the Assistance, as well as to outsidecandidates. The school is for resident pupils who are girlsof from 18 to 25 years of age and unmarried. Candidatesalready in the service of the Assistance may be as old as 30years. Candidates if successful must undertake to serve theAssistance for a term of three years or in default must returnthe expenses of their keep. During their stay at the schoolthe pupils receive board, lodging, light, firing, and laundry.In the first year they are paid 10 francs per month and inthe second year 20. If their conduct in the school is

satisfactory they are passed out with a certificate of anurse of the second class.

Sept. 29th. ________________

ITALY.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Pestis B-rcbooaiccz at Pieste.THE cholera shadows hovering ominously on the horizon

are stirring the Board of Hygiene to exceptional vigilance,