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this point their evidence is so opposite and contradictorythat the solution of this topic is not thereby ad.vanced. However, when coasting smacks unavoidably catcbnothing better than immature and other unmarketablefish, under a rational economic system, this fish should beused up for the manufacture of waste products ivhich in theUnited States of A7zerica represent upwards of 14 per cent.of the total value of their fisheries. Excluding the waste ojimmature and of unmarketable fish, I estimate that upwardsof 2,156,900 a year is wasted in the United Kingdom byomitting to work up the waste products of fish after theAmerican plans.Owing to pressure and other causes, almost all fish

caught in the nets are either dying or dead beforethey are landed into the smacks. British fishermen fre.

quently throw immature and unsaleable fish and fish refuseinto the sea. From time immemorial the Chinese andJapanese have profitably worked up and economised thewaste products of fish. The Americans boil fish to extract theoil useless for manure, whilst the bones are made into glueand other commercial products, and the remainder is usedas manure. The Americans bone and skin their codfish,and pack it in tins ; whilst thus making a higher-pricedarticle, they derive extra profit by working up the skinsand bones for by-products.In the United Kingdom valuable waste products, deriv-

able from fish refuse, are usually ignored in every house-hold. Excellent stock or basis for soups can be madefrom the heads, bones, skins of fish, and of filleted fish, afamiliar economy in China, where even sharks’ fins oftenfetch about thirteen pence a pound. A bread of fish " flour

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is popular in some countries. English rays are imported toFrance for making soup; bone earth from fish refuse formanure; albumen from fish blood. A "meat" extract ismade from fish; it has no fishy flavour, and is alleged to bebetter and cheaper than beef extracts. This fish extractmixed up with pea-food, flavoured with herbs and salt,makes a good food-sausage. Herring meal, mixed withstarchy food, affords a cheap and excellent food for cows,without giving any fishy flavour to their milk. In someforeign countries domestic animals and poultry are fattenedon fish.The heads, fins, entrails, blood, &c., yield excellent

guano. From the skins and bones of fish a strong adhesivecement can be profitably manufactured. The dried skinsof the shark, dog-fish, ray, &c., are useful for polishingwood and ivory, and in Egypt serve for the soles ofshoes. These fish skins afford a kind of leather calledshagree.n. The dried skins of flat fish can be used forgloves, " leather" purses, for fining coffee, as a substitutefor isinglass, and for artificial baits. The Chinese usepainted and varnished fish skins as ornamental lanterns. InJapan wax is made from the skins and intestines of fish.Eel skins serve for whip thongs, and when dressed and driedmake braces. In America, cusk and torsk skins have beenpatented for shoeleather. Siberian peasants clean, stretch,and dry the skin of the turbot for leather bags and as asubstitute for glass window-panes. In some parts of Asiathe tanned skin of the salmon yields a prettily markedscale-like leather, and ray skins a good imitation ofmorocco. Imitation porpoise leather is often made fromthe skins of the seal, walrus, and white whale. TheAmerican white fish yield large good upper leather.Indian-ink is obtained from the sepia fish. The roe of themullet supplies the botargo of Italy, and is an ingredient inIndian curries. Besides the sturgeon, the roes of manyother fish furnish caviares.

Especially about the middle of February, the decks ofboats where cod-fish are killed are actually milk-white withcod-spawn, which should be used for artificially rearing cod-fish, as in Norway. Russian scientists have been speciallysuccessful in rearing fish from the roes of dead male andfemale fish. Mussels, one of the best baits for sea-fish,have often been destroyed to serve as a cheap manure.

RABIES. - The number of dogs in Englandofficially reported during the week ending Oct. 12th as

afflicted with rabies was eight, against a similar number inthe preceding week. Of these seven were killed, and onedied. The distribution was as follows: Sussex (EasternDivision), two; and Essex, Lancaster, Middlesex, Oxford,Surrey, and York (West Riding) one each. No cases werereported from London proper.

LONDON THIRTY YEARS AGO.

THE report for the year 1888, with which the MetropolitanBoard of Works has wound up its career, has been madethe occasion of a résumé, in which that now defunct institu-tion replies to the comments and criticisms which have

accompanied its demise by solemnly placing on record theservices which in the course of its history it has renderedto the metropolis. Such a narrative can hardly fail to beinteresting in no ordinary measure. It is, for example, strangeand curious in a high degree to recall now the anarchiccondition of London local government so recently as

1855, when the Metropolitan Board was constituted. Inthe report just issued the picture is strongly drawn. Con-

temporary testimony to the frightfully insanitary conditionof the River Thames and of the slums is quoted from thepages of THE LANCET, and from evidence given by the lateLord Shaftesbury before a Royal Commission, which con-sidered in 1854 the question of the housing of the poor. Thedescription makes one wonder that such neglect of the most.elementary principles of hygiene could ever have occurredin a civilised community. The problem of finding adequateroom and wholesome dwelling places for the overwhelm-ing population of the metropolis is formidable, and farenough from solution to-day. What it must have beenwhen the river was nothing but an open sewer, and whenwe were forced to write, " Wheresoever we go, whatsoeverwe eat or drink within the circle of London, we find taintedwith the Thames," it is far from easy to say or even to

imagine.The Board of Works assign the foremost place among the

improvements which it has effected to the great work ofsewerage and drainage which it has carried out. It is, nodoubt, easy to over-estimate the merit of that work. Puttingthe picture of 1889 beside the picture of 1855, it is mostnatural that one should be led to exclaim, " What a vastchange!" And vast, indeed, it is. But it does not at allfollow from that that the reform is complete or the stageattained final. On the contrary, the work which theMetropolitan Board accomplished ought, in our judgment,to be regarded as a mere beginning. The costly and wastefulprocess of carrying the refuse of London out to sea andcasting it away there is wholly unworthy of the science ofthe day. The historian of the Board narrates with somedetails the various attempts which have from time to timebeen made to convert the sewage of London into manurefor agricultural use. It is his lot to record of every one ofthese attempts in succession that they have resulted in dis-

appointment, and the conclusion if not actually drawn issufliciently indicated that any such undertaking must ofnecessity be fruitless. We, however, for our part refuse toaccept that inference. In spite of all past failures, arisingas they have arisen again and again from unfavourablefinancial circumstances or other faults of management ordesign, the broad chemical facts remain that this trouble-some waste contains highly valuable ingredients, ingredients.of which the soil stands in need, and which have to besupplied from other sources at considerable expense. Theproblem is how to transport it from the place where it is a.

nuisance to another place where it is a desideratum, andwe wholly decline to draw the inference that this problemis insoluble from the meagre data furnished by the unsuc-cessful attempts to grapple with it which have been recordedby the Metropolitan Board. It may be that considerablealterations will have to be effected in the drainage systemwhich has been elaborated by the Board; it may be thatmuch of the work which it has done has been done uponI mistaken lines; but we confidently hope that it willeventually be found that a well-regulated town, even

though swollen to the present proportions of the metro-polis, can always find upon agricultural land an outlet forits refuse under an arrangement which, while easing theburden of removal, respects the economy of nature.

In perusing this report, we find ourselves more thoroughlyin accord with the writer in his comments upon the work ofthe board in connexion with the preservation of open spaces,and the protection of infant life. Thirty years ago thesewere subjects which were but little understood, and even

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less appreciated. In the interval there has been a greatawakening of public interest in these subjects, and a corre-sponding upgrowth of a sound and just sentiment. This’development is faithfully reflected in the present report.It appears that during its career the MetropolitanBoard had acquired control over parks, commons, andother open spaces to an aggregate extent of upwards of2600 acres, and secured their permanent enjoyment by thepublic against the encroachments of private interest. Inthe regulation and control of institutions and persons whosebusiness is the custody of children of tender years the recordof work done is less satisfactory ; but something at least hasbeen accomplished in this direction, and will no doubt afforda starting point for further reform. Upon the whole, thisreport will doubtless tend to improve the position of thelate Board in the eyes of the public, who will the morereadily forget the misdeeds which brought about its dis-establishment in consideration of the great and undeniableservices which it rendered at the time when the localgovernment of London was in the process of making.

THE PARIS UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION.(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

The Liberal Arts.-Amcrica, Russia, Roumania, Holland,Switzerland, Belgium.

THE time is now rapidly approaching when the greatExhibition must close its doors. For those who havewatched its development, its gradual ripening, till it reachedthe zenith of an unparalleled success, the thought that it willall so soon be over conveys an irresistible sense of melan-

choly. But a short life well spent often leaves an in-effaceable trace in the world’s history, and certainly many,years, if not centuries, must roll by before the glories ofthis Universal Exhibition, held as a pacific celebration of agreat historical date, is forgotten. Not only has the wholeseason been one of unusual material and commercial pros-perity, but public health has been marvellously maintainedthroughout. We have had no epidemics, no exceptionalsickness; and this, too, both with regard to the generalpublic and also with respect to the large army of atten-dants and others who have been present and have workedat the Exhibition. I called at the offices of the BritishCommissioners, and was there informed that all the Englishofficials and assistants had been remarkably free fromillness during their now somewhat lengthy sojourn in Paris.Perhaps the improved methods of drainage, though onlyapplied as yet on a very restricted scale, have contri-buted to this result. Certain it is that the Exhibitionitself has been well drained, in spite of the exces-

sive strain resulting from the extraordinary number ofvisitors. At the English Commissioners’ Office there isan interesting illustration of how a good closet maybe constructed in conjunction with the most defectiveand illogical tinette filtre system. It is one of Messrs.Jenning’s closets with a tinette filtre below. This, how-ever, does not prevent the application of a two-gallon flush.As the solids alone are retained in the tinette, it does notmatter how much water passes through, and consequentlyno nuisance has arisen throughout the six months the closethas been in use, for the flush was always sufficient. As Ihave already explained, the ne-vn police regulations authorisethe application of this system in the worst-drained parts ofParis, and therefore good results could be obtained every-where if the population were only intelligent enough toavail itself of the new regulation. Messrs. Jenning, besidesdraining the offices of the British Commissioners, have avery interesting exhibit of sanitary appliances in themachine gallery. Among other things are closet pans thatensure discharge of the flush from a number of small holesat the back and bottom of the pan, as well as from therim. This, it appears, the French, who are now makingalmost every form of closet known in England, cannotimitate. They are not yet perfect enough in this manu-facture to make the numerous little holes in the pan. Onthe inner gallery, immediately above Jenning’s show, willbe found an old acquaintance with a new name. TheCresyl-Jeyes is a French edition of the familiar Jeyes Dis-infectant, which in England has been long known and in

very general use. In Germany many scientific researcheshave been made as to its antiseptic qualities, and there is,I was informed, quite a mountain of German literature onthe subject. For the treatment of wounds it is said manyGerman surgeons prefer the Cresyl-Jeyes to corrosive sub-limate, iodoform, or carbolic acid. These exhibitors are par-ticularly satisfied with what they term a refined preparationof chaste fluid, and which is known in commerce as the

Liquor Antisepticus Jeyes.Before concluding these notices of the Exhibition I would

like to insist on the great good achieved by the Liberal ArtsGallery. This is the western wing of the main building,and here may be seen exhibits appertaining to scientific andartistic progress and study. In this wing there are manygalleries,where the various nationalities have their respectivesections. The English Section contains the exhibits ofmany publishers, and among them the large volumes of theChemist and Druggist journal. There is a rich show ofphotographs and photographic apparatus, and notably J. F.Shew and Co.’s pocket apparatus, which has received thehighest award given for this specialty. But there is nothingparticularly interesting in the English Liberal Arts Sectionfrom a medical point of view. In the Spanish Section, whichis our nearest neighbour, there is the cabinet of Dr. Macayaof Barcelona, who exhibits all that can serve to illustratethe prevailing method of vaccination from the calf. Thisis done on behalf of the Spanish Society for the Promotionof Vaccination. Here also are the exhibits of the SevilleDeaf and Dumb School. From the Spanish Section thevisitor reaches the French scientific educational exhibits.First among these are the collections from the Collegede France and the Ministry of Public Instruction, in-

cluding all that is used to instruct students in thenatural sciences. By the side of this large subject are theapparatus used in Dr. Brown-S6quard’s laboratory. Dr. C.Sappey’s anatomical specimens illustrating the lymphaticsystem in men and animals are beautifully arranged. Allthat appertains to chemical laboratories will be found inthis gallery, as also very elaborate charts, plans, andinstruments from the Central Bureau of the French Meteoro-logical Society ; these include large meteorological photo-graphs and a daily record of weather forecasts, &c. Thechemical scales of Messrs. Collet et Fils, who have obtainedthe gold medal, are in this section, and there is a collectionof most elaborate illustrations, plans, and models ofschoolrooms, school buildings &e. ; here will be notedthe improved French methods of warming and venti-lation and the realisation of the principle of a unilaterallight. All that appertains to the physical exercise andeducation of children is here also indicated. M. R. Guimardexhibits ingenious methods of in-door gymnastics whichcan be applied in any ordinary sitting-room. Weights thatcan be increased or diminished are raised from the groundby means of a rope that passes over a pulley affixed to awainscoting, and great facilities are also supplied for in-doortrapeze exercise. M. Ernest Lalanne exhibits a woodenhorse on which anyone in his own drawing-room can

learn how to ride. The horse is life-size. To the bridle andstirrups are carefully affixed weights suspended to pulleys.Other weights, from a framework above, can be made topress upon the chest, back, or thigh of the rider. In thismanner are produced artificially all the forces of propulsionwhich render it difficult for the inexperienced rider to keephis seat. Kicking, rearing, bolting, the various hazards ofa ride, can be produced in a moment and at will by thiswooden horse, and this in such a manner that to acquirethe same experience it would be necessary to ride twentydifferent living horses. M. Lalanne therefore maintainsthat the science of riding can be learnt much quicker andmore completely on his wooden horse than on real horses.However this may be, the wooden horse certainly suppliesan excellent and amusing pretext for in-door exercise.Proceeding through the Liberal Arts Galleries, the excep-

tional prominence given at this Exhibition to all thatrelates to anthropology becomes more and more evident.The Societe Ecole et Laboratoire d’Anthropologie, whichhas very appropriately received the gold medal, has, amongother exhibits, a small case of exceptional interest. It con-tains models of the brains of a number of criminals, andthe actual skulls of four most notorious and recent mur-derers. Three out of the four skulls show a marked pro-tuberance of the under jaw. Marchandon is the bestknown of these four criminals. In the centre of thiswing of the Exhibition there are, on the ground floor,