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affected many ye, rs before. Was this primary ulcerationalso lupus ? The slow course of the attack and its superficialcharacter were against the hypothesis of syphilis, of whichthere was no history.-Mr. HUTCHINSON said the case

was one of a rare form of lupus, and mainly a super-ficial form ; but he did not think it was erythematouslupus, its superficial character alone differentiating itfrom ordinary lupus, its tubercular character (e. g., on thearm), and the slow serpiginous ulcers on the legs beingsufficiently typical. There was another rare form of lupuswhich, from its superficial character and slight discharge,much simulated eczema.-Dr. THIN some years ago saw acase of erythematous lupus on the forearm, spreading towardsthe shoulder, and limited by an abrupt line. He regardedMr. Morris’s case as one of lupus erythematosus, which hewould distinguish from erythematous lupus. In lupus properthere was a tubercular formation due to aggregations ofcells, which were not met with in lupus erythematosus, aspecifically distinct affection both clinically and anatomi-cally. The change in lupus erythematosus creeps along thepapillary layer, but leaves unaltered the pars reticularisof the corium.-Mr. HENRY MORRIS said that there wasnow under his care in one of the cancer wards of the MiddlesexHospital a woman who had suffered from lupus for six orseven years. The disease had destroyed the lip, nose, botheyes and eyelids, and one ear, and had resulted in extensivecicatrisation. The whole of the area occupied 1^:T the earwas now a white cicatrix. Ulceration occurred at differenttimes, and then healing took place. The disease was limitedto the head and face, and was somewhat deeper than in thecase exhibited, but it resembled that in its limitation on thescalp to its anterior part.Mr. BuTLIN showed a specimen of Squamous Epithe-

lioma of the Upper Jaw, removed from a man sixty-twoyears old, admitted into St. Bartholomew’s Hospital inNovember, 1880, for carbuncles on the back. In Decemberhe complained of a sinus in the upper jaw, which had beendischarging for some time before. On Dec. 29th Mr. Willettexplored this sinus, which opened into the alveolus of thesecond right molar tooth, and was thought to be due tocarious bone. Exploration of the antrum through this sinusshowed that cavity to be partly filled with pus and blood,and to be lined by soft granulation-like material. Therewas no swelling; but the condition of the antrum wasthought to be suggestive of malignant disease. At thebeginning of February Mr. Butlin scraped out some of thecontents of the antrum, and found in the scrapings alteredepithelial cells and cell-nests. Accordingly, on Feb. 8th,he removed the whole of the maxilla, and found that thedisease not only filled the antrum, but invaded the orbitand spheno-maxillary fissure, and had made its way beneaththe temporal muscle. Yet the oniy external indication wasa slight puffy swelling, which had appeared beneath theorbit in January. The growth was a pure squamous epi-thelioma, and was remarkable for its insidious character,and widely-destructive course within a comparatively shortspace of time. It belonged to the class of maxillarynew growth called by Reclus " epitheliome terebrante" "(Progres Medical, 1876), and described by that writeras starting from the alveolar process. In each of Reclus’scases the disease was first thought to be caries, and ran arapid cause. The disease probably starts from the alveolusof a tooth which has become carious, or from which thetooth has fallen out, and thence spreads into the jaw, anddoes not start in the antrum, which is lined by cylindricalepithelium. It was not, therefore, necessary to trace itsorigin back, as Reclus does, to an alveolar cyst, or to theremnant of the epithelial masses of the primitive tooth sac.There was no affection of the glands or other internalorgans in this case. The only other instance in Englishliterature is one described by Mr. Lawson at the ClinicalSociety in 1873, as a well marked squamous epithelioma,which Mr. Hulke suggested as beginning in the alveolarprocess.-Mr. RUSHTON PARKER did not think this formof disease very rare.The following card specimens were shown :-Odontoma of

Left Second Lower Molar, by Mr. Rushton Parker; OldOutward Dislocation of the Patella, by Mr. Charles J.Symonds; Sequestrum of Clavicle, Osteo-Sarcoma of LowerEnd of Femur, and Cancer of Mamma following Eczema ofNipple, by Dr. Macnaughton Jones (through Mr. Hutchin-son) ; Epithelioma of Tongue; Gangrene of Lung after Ex.cision of Tongue, by Mr. Royes Bell.The Society then adjourned.

MEDICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

Pseudo-hypertrophic Paralysis.-The Digestion of Fats.-Disseminated Syphilitic 3leningitis.

At the meeting on March 28th the chair was taken by thePresident, Dr. BROADBENT, who exhibited a man, agedfifty-one, who had been eleven years a soldier and subse-quently followed the occupation of a gardener. At the

present time he was a patient in St. Mary’s Hospital. Fortwo years he had a rolling gait, and gradually became un-able to raise himself from the recumbent or sitting posture.The man presented all the characteristics of pseudo-hyper-trophic paralysis. As he walked he swayed from side toside and was unsteady on his feet; in short, he exhibitedjust the condition of the children who were shown at the lastmeeting of the Society. The tensor vaginae femoris waslarge and in an energetic condition ; there was extremelordosis. The calf muscles did not respond to continuous orinterrupted currents. Dr. Broadbent asked what was thenature of this paralysis. It was not progressive muscular-atrophy, nor was it an instance of the adult form of infan-tile paralysis ; the lipomatous development so often asso-ciated with this kind of paralysis he did not regard as anessential feature. He would venture to remind the Societythat at one time infantile paralysis was considered to beconfined to children, but such is not now found to be thecase.-Mr. ADAMS remarked that the case certainly simu-lated Duchenne’s paralysis thoroughly both in attitude andmovement, but it was against his experience to find the dis-ease commencing so late in life. It is essentially a diseaseof children, a congenital affection.-Dr. GILBART SMITRsaid that in 1862 Trousseau had called locomotor ataxy Du-chenne’s disease, but now authorities seemed undecided as-to what the term "Duchenne’s disease" really referred.-Dr. MACKENZIE had a patient, an adult match-seller, withsimilar symptoms. He also regarded the fatty developmentas an accidental accompaniment, and as more apt to exist in

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Duchenne’s paralysis of children than of adult age.I

Dr. J. MILNER FOTHERGILL made some remarks uponthe Digestion of Fats, and of the value of conveying theminto the stomach in the form of an emulsion ; he consideredthat the best emulsifying agent was bile, and that the smallquantity of bile required for this purpose would not beirritating to the stomach.-Mr. DORAN asked if the distastefor fats in phthisical patients was not often due to the in-ability that existed to digest such foods.-Dr. THOROWGOODhoped the result of the administration of these emulsionswould be made known. He regarded with favour the com-bination of malt extract with cod-liver oil, which he hasemployed for some time.-Mr. OWEN had used an emulsionof oil and solution of potassium. Only a small quantity ofthe alkali was required, but he was not prepared to say thatits administration was followed by any markedly satisfactoryresults.-Dr. FOTHERGILL, in reply, said that he hadbrought forward the whole question in a purely tentativemanner, and hoped that as time went on some definite resultmight be obtained.

Dr. MACKENZIE read notes of a Case of DisseminatedSyphilitic Meningitis, illustrating the value of MercurialTreatment. The patient, after the customary prodromata,came under treatment for great tremor of the hands andlegs, occurring on voluntary movement, pain in all thelimbs, formication in the hands and feet, stiffness of handsand fingers, and pain in left side of head. She had acharacteristic syphilitic tertiary eruption on the foreheadand forearm. Iodide of potassium in ten, and, later on, intwenty grain doses, failed, even in combination with theinternal administration of the perchloride of mercury, toameliorate the nervous symptoms, though it sufficed to curethe syphilide. Mercurial inunction and perchloride oimercury, internally, were then employed with rapid relief tothe symptoms; salivation was produced, and the mercuryhad to be suspended for a short time, but was resumedafterwards, mercurial inunction alone being employed cau-tiously and intermittingly, on account of the great suscep-

tibility of the patient to its influence. All the symptomsgradually cleared off, leaving the woman weak. Fifteen, months later the improvement had not only been maintained,, but was greater. The case was brought forward to illustrate

the value of mercury in such instances, mercury often actingmore quickly and certainly than iodide of potassium ; and, as

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in this case, when the iodide had failed to produce anyfavourable influence, inunction was the form recommendedin syphilitic nervous affections, as by this means the largestquantity of mercury could be introduced into the systemwith the least disturbance. The first thing was to use itboldly, the next to continue its use sufficiently long.-Dr.DOWSE thought it strange there was no mention of retinalchanges in Dr. Mackenzie’s case; it was his experience thatgenerally more faith was placed, and properly so, in the useof preparations of mercury than in those of potassium.-Dr.HERON asked why the author had chosen the perchlorideof mercury before all the other preparations of the metal.Some practitioners went so far as to say that the perchloridewas therapeutically useless; was there any family historyof neurosis ?-Tlle PRESIDENT noted one peculiar andinteresting character of the spinal affection-syphiliticmyelitis, which here resembled very closely diffused sclerosis.It was the first time he had heard a simulation of these twoimportant diseases. He would have begun with the iodideof potassium, but if the cure was delayed he would haveprescribed mercury.-Dr. MACKENZIE replied that in thelater stages of the disease mercury is required, then solutionof the perchloride is of the greatest therapeutic value.The meeting then adjourned.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

AT a meeting of this Society held at University Collegeon March 2nd, Sir Joseph Fayrer, K.C.S.I., M.D., in thechair, Surgeon-General Dr. John Murray read a paper onthe "Influence of Fairs, Famines, Floods, and Seasons onthe Development and Diffusion of Cholera in India,’’ whichwas accompanied by several very elaborate statistical tables.Tables Nos. 1 and 2 illustrated the effect of fairs by showingthe mortality caused by the epidemics which originated atHurdwar in 1867 and 1879. No. 3 showed the mortalitywhich follows the great fair at Allahabad in the easterndistricts of the north-western provinces, Oudh and Behar.No. 4 related to the mortality in the delta of the Gangesafter the cyclone wave of 1876. No. 5 showed the mortalityfrom cholera accompanying the famines in Madras in 1866and in 1875-6-i. These tables were so arranged as to con-trast the mortality in the epidemic years with that in ordi-nary years, and also to show that in some years the diseasewas almost non-existent. An abnormal increase of the dis-ease must be induced by some special cause; and thosecauses now under consideration range over a wide area, andinvolve a population of more than thirty millions under eachhead, and must therefore be of the utmost importance inthe history of the disease. The statistical returns of thecivil population show the course of the disease more clearlythan the records of military hospitals, though the latterhave been kept from the beginning of the present century.The period is longer, but the number under observationis comparatively small, and the disease is under the re-

straint of strict medical and sanitary treatment. Themilitary also are exempt from the influence of floods andfamines, and’almost so from that of fairs, but the influenceof season is common to all. In considering the subject offairs the epidemics following the Koomke Mela at Hurdwarwere minutely traced, accurate returns having been obtainedfrom all the civil surgeons of the appearance and progress ofthe disease in their various districts in 1867, and in all casesthe dates corresponded with the arrival of the pilgrims atthe ordinary rate of travelling. In 1879 the dates coincidedin all instances except in Scinde, where its arrival was ac-celerated by about two months, which may be attributed tothe introduction of railway travelling, more than a hundredcases of the disease having been removed from the trains ina dead or dying condition. The great fair which is held inFebruary at Allahabad is followed by an analogous diffusionof cholera. The fair is held six weeks earlier than that ofHurdwar, and the epidemic appears six weeks sooner.

These reiterated facts prove the danger arising from thesefairs, but their suppression cannot be resorted to by Govern-ment on account of the religious feelings of the natives. Tocontrol them and establish strict sanitary supervision is alltint can be recommended, though less efficacious. Dr.Cuuingham denies the transmission of the disease by thepilgrims, but rather considers it existed in some aerial forrrin the villages, and attacked the pilgrims who were pecu

liarly susceptible of its inroads; so that, instead of thpilgrims importing the disease which affected the inhabi-tants, the village infected the pilgrims. This opinionrests entirely on the theory that such aerial poisonexists, of which there is no proof or probability. Thenext division of the subject referred to the severe

epidemic which commenced two days after a cyclonewave overwhelmed the eastern part of the delta of the

Ganges on October 31st, 1876. It proved fatal in the

following four months, in the three coast districts, to 75,459persons. The disease spread to the surrounding districts,and the mortality during the year amounted to 159,733. InTable No. 4 the year is counted from July 1st to June 30th,to show the course of the epidemic, which culminated inJanuary, and rapidly subsided after February. The courseof the disease in this epidemic appears to bean exaggerationof the usual course of cholera in the delta, which differsessentially from that in the other provinces of Bengal,Orissa, Behar, and Assam, and also from its course in theUpper Provinces, Scinde, Punjaub, Central Provinces, andBombay, where the cold season is a period of quiescence,while it is at its height in the cold season in the delta ofthe Ganges. There was a partial cyclone wave on thesouthern coast of Chittagong in 1879, followed by a similaroutbreak of cholera two days after the subsidence of thewater. The influence of famine on cholera was shownin Madras, where there was a severe famine in 1866,when the mortality from cholera amounted to 197)977.A more prolonged famine occurred in 1875-6-7, whenthe mortality from cholera rose to 617,8G9. The courseof the disease in both famines was identical, the raor-

tality being greatest when the price of food was

highest. It was little influenced by season, and wasprobably aggravated by the collection of crowds of starvingpeople at the famine kitchens and its spread on their returnto their homes. The influence of season is shown in thereturns from the military and civil hospitals, which areepitomised in Tables 6, 7, and 8. They extend over a

longer period-viz., from twenty-six to seventy-four years,but include a much smaller population. The season of theprevalence of the disease, as it appeared from the tables,differs essentially from that shown by the tables relative tothe civil population in the epidemic years. In the militaryhospitals of the Upper Provinces and the Punjaub thegreatest mortality is at the commencement of or during therainy season-i. e., from June to September, whereas thegreatest mortality amongst the civil population commencesin April. By removing the epidemic years from the civiltables, the returns for the other years show a seasonal in-crease in the mortality coinciding with that in the militaryhospitals, but this is obscured by the excessive mortality ofthe epidemic years.

In the discussion which followed, the President, Dr.Norman Chevers, Dr. White, Dr. Duka, Dr. Dickson,Mr. Netten Radcliil’e, Mr. Lawson, and Dr. Gordon took part.A letter from Mr. J. Lawrence-Hamilton was read on the

subject of artificial production of vaccine lymph.

OBSTETRICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

AT the meeting on Wednesday, March 2nd, 1881, Dr.Matthews Duncan, President, in the chair,-

Dr. GODSON showed, for Dr. J. Dewar, a specimen of Inter-stitial Fibroid. The patient was a widow aged forty-three,sterile. Three years ago Dr. Dewar attended her for retro-flexion. She wore a Hodge’s pessary with advantage forsome time ; then it began to give pain, and had to be re-moved. About a year after she had an acute attack of

pelvic peritonitis, which left the uterus fixed. She diedrather suddenly from a second attack of peritonitis. The

specimen showed a small fibroid in the anterior wall of thebody of the uterus. The fundus was retroflexed, pointingdownwards very markedly.The PRESIDENT then delivered his inaugural address,

which has already appeared in our columns.Dr. BARNES read a paper on so-called "Missed Labour,

with a case in illustration." The author commenced bystating that the term "missed labour" proposed by Dr.Oldham was not justified by the facts of that gentle-man’s case, which proved on autopsy to have been one

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