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1481 scheme, which has been sanctioned by the Lieutenant- Governor, would seem to answer admirably the purpose involved, for by it the accommodation is sufficient, hard work and rigid discipline can be insisted on, as it is near the Bareilly central jail, and so can be efficiently supervised by the superintendent of that jail; each boy will be taught, according to his caste and previous occupation, a handicraft which he can follow on his release. Their physical develop- ment will be favoured by the drill, and the teachers and warders will be specially selected. The Inspector- General hopes that by these means permanent good results will accrue to the youths concerned. As regards the numbers admitted, there was a slight increase in those above 60 years of age, due no doubt to the scarcity prevailing during 1907, which caused some of those who could not support them- selves to resort to petty thefts. Many of these old prisoners were in truth more fit subjects for admission to a poor house than to a jail. The progressive rise in the number of habituals in 1906 again continued in 1907 ; this is probably due to the prevailing scarcity. The remedy would seem to be to increase the deterrent effect of jail life by making it as unpleasant as possible by more frequent combination of solitary sentences with rigorous imprisonment. Cubicle barracks, which are still wanting in many of the jails of this province, are very desirable. With respect to the special industries carried on in these jails, these embrace moonji matting, blanket weaving-the latter in the Bareilly jail being probably the exciting cause of an outbreak of anthrax, as on its occurrence all wool was ordered to be boiled and treated with lime, when no more cases occurred-carpet and durrie weaving, tent making, basket making, cloth weaving, oil pressing, tile making, printing, carpenters’ and blacksmiths’ work, with building operations. All the jail factories were worked at a profit. Respecting the vital statistics of these jails, there was not during 1907 much difference observable from those of 1906. The rates of admissions per 1000, of sick, and of deaths were for 1907, 603-0, 28-7, and 15-0, as compared with 602-7, 26-5, and 16-5 for 1906. As regards the chief diseases, we note that a very fatal epidemic of influenza with pneumonia occurred in the Agra jail, there being 45 admis- sions with ten deaths, which is a very high rate, whilst in the whole province there were 278 admissions with 80 deaths from pneumonia. At Lucknow jail there was a prevalence of cellulitis, the primary cause of which was never satisfac- torily made out. Special precautions were taken in obtain- ing dry earth for the latrines and other purposes, and under these precautions the disease began gradually to dis- appear. The patients were also isolated and thorough disinfec- tion of all clothing by steam was arranged for. An epidemic of beri-beri broke out in the Basti Central Jail, the cause of which was also not discovered ; the jail is an excellent one, with no overcrowding, and in very good sanitary con- dition. The use of rice was stopped early in October and is not likely to have caused the epidemic, which began later. This disease was new to the jails in that province. The symptoms were chiefly oedema of the feet and legs, dilatation and irregular action of the heart, pains in the leg muscles, and loss of knee reflex. The usual atrophic symptoms were absent. Acute cardiac failure accounted for the fatal cases. Although the opinion is stated that rice was not the cause of the disease as it was stopped early in October, yet there seems to have been one case at least of the disease early in September before the rice rations were abolished, so that this opinion is not altogether conclusive against such a cause. With respect to malarial fever, steps have been taken to prevent mosquitoes breeding in the jails, but these are nullified in many cases by the proximity of bazaars, where they breed freely. The Inspector-General thinks the more systematic prophylactic use of quinine in the unhealthy season of the year might be more freely tried in some of the unhealthy jails of the province with good effect. The report concludes with the usual appendices. Colonel Henderson also gratefully acknowledges the excellent work done by his head assistant, and by his head and other clerks. Province of Eastern Bengal and ÅS8am. The report of the jail administration for Eastern Bengal and Assam for 1907 is furnished by the Inspector-General of Prisons, Lieutenant-Colonel R. R. Weir, I.M.S. He gives the following details. The total number of prisoners admitted during the year was 36,382, against 40,295 in 1906, the daily average being 8098 against 7726 in the preceding year. This increase of 372 is attributed to longer average of length of sentences, as generally there has been a decrease in crime. We again notice that there is no provision in any jail in the province for the special and complete separation of juveniles from the general jail population ; it is to be hoped that the authorities concerned will awaken to the desirability of this procedure for the sake of the future of these juveniles. The report gives all particulars regarding sex, religion, previous occupation, education, nationality, and terms and nature of imprisonment. With regard to the amount of jail accommodation, overcrowding occurred in most of the jails of the province during the year, particularly in the case of those under trial ; this was partially overcome by placing surplus prisoners in temporary sheds, worksheds, and verandahs. Regarding the vital statistics for 1907, the ratio per 1000 of admissions into hospital for 1907 was 837’ 03, the daily average sick 35 35, and the mortality 28 - 40, as contrasted with 876 - 43, 40 14, and 27 - 95 for 1906. The daily average number of prisoners mentioned above was the highest for the past ten years, yet the hospital admissions were lower than in any of the preceding ten years, except those for 1904 and 1906, and that in spite of almost general over- crowding ; the cases actually admitted, however, were of a severe type, judging from the rate of mortality. With re- spect to the nature of the diseases met with, dysentery, we are glad to see, showed a decrease ; there was a rise in malarial fever-viz., 1904, against 1669 in 1906. The number of deaths, however, fell from 25 to 21. Beri-beri was reported present in four jails ; there were three admissions for enteric fever, all of which ended fatally. Epidemic dropsy caused 44 admissions, with three deaths ; the Inspector-General reports that segregation, with a change to a more liberal diet, effec- tively checked the disease. The bad effect of influenza with overcrowding was shown in the Feridpur jail, where the health was the worst since 1900. Dysentery, ague, pneu- monia, and tuberculosis very greatly prevailed in this jail. Many improvements bearing on sanitation have been carried out in 1907 ; thus ventilation, drainage, conservancy, water-supply, and cooking arrangements have all been bettered, and other important matters attended to, such as the clearing away of surrounding jungle from certain jails, the removal of insanitary cattlesheds, and improvement of the ground level. The report concludes with the various methods by which the prisoners were employed and the financial questions involved. The Inspector-General finally mentions with praise the work of the various superintendents, and especially draws attention to the successful management of the Barisal jail and the remarkable diminution in the sick- ness and mortality there, due to the careful and un- remitting supervision of Captain 0. St. John Moses, LM.S." Only those who have had charge of an Indian jail can fully appreciate what these words of praise signify. The usual statistical tables complete the report. Looking Back. FROM THE LANCET, SATURDAY, May 21st, 1831. CRYSTALLISED IODURET OF LEAD. M. CAVENTOU, of Paris, has discovered the following simple method of obtaining this valuable medicine in a crystalline form. On adding any solution of lead to a. solution of the hydriodate of potassa, a canary-coloured pre- cipitate of a minutely crystalline texture is thrown down. This precipitate has hitherto been considered as insoluble in water. M. Caventou has found that it is abundantly dissolved in hot water, and from this solution it crystal- lises on cooling in crystals of considerable size and of the utmost beauty. We have, on repeating this process, been astonished at the singular splendour of the product thus obtained. It so strongly resembles highly polished gold, that several persons have mistaken it for that metal. No satisfactory analysis has yet been made of the respective quantities of iodine and lead in this compound. By calcula- tion, it is believed to be composed of iodine 100, lead 85-5.
