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answer given by a student who was being examined in patho-logical anatomy and was asked to name the organs of thebody in which cysts most commonly occur. He enumeratedseveral, but omitted to mention the ovary, whereupon theexaminer good-naturedly said: I I Try to think of an organwhich you do not possess," and the candidate, who was ofJewish extraction, immediately replied : ° ‘ Oh, the

prepuce " ! Feb. 28th.

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EGYPT.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Pilgrimages to Mecca.WE are now well advanced in the Mussulman fasting

month of Ramadan, and very soon the devout will be makingpreparations for the annual pilgrimage so as to be at tb(holy places before the great feast which will take place thisyear about April 13 bh. The French have very properlystopped all idea of pilgrimage from their colonies. Th(Indian Government seems afraid to take this step, and thEKhedive of Egypt can hardly be expected to be moncourageous than his English advisers. The Hadj of last yea]was the largest since 1893, partly because the chief day ojthe feast fell on a Friday, and the year was therefore con.sidered to be a sacred one; 62,000 pilgrims landed at Jeddah.and the concourse at Mouna was reckoned at 250,000,Jeddah, in spite of its population of 20,000 people, had ncmoney for scavenging purposes, because the Customs revenuedestined for sanitation was swallowed up in paying th(Government officials, whose salaries were eight months irarrear. The stinks and dangers in the town of Jeddah carbe better imagined than described. It is true that the Sultarsent three medical men from Constantinople to inspect, apasha and two beys, and they reported well of everythingthey saw. There was no cholera during last year’s Hadj, bu1plenty of small-pox and a corresponding dearth of vaccine,while the other chief diseases were malarial fever, dysentery,and rheumatism, all treated by one sovereign remedy-th(actual cautery ! One of the greatest wants is a railway frorrJeddah towards Mecca. There is apparently no religiousdifficulty to this, but the amount of backsheesh required bthe Bedouins is so enormous that the idea has been reluc,tantly postponed. One Arab tribe lives during the wholfyear upon the results of dastardly murders committeeby it upon unprotected pilgrims. Nothing can bE

reformed until the Powers coerce Turkey. Everpilgrim should be provided before landing at Jeddalwith a certificate of good health and at least £ l5 in bispocket. Many now land with less than 15s. in theiipossession, and hundreds are sent back every year bycharitable persons. The British Indian pilgrims, I amashamed to say, are the greatest offenders, about half ojthem being paupers. The Javanew, on the other hand, ar(the richest, because Holland insists on every pilgrimpossessing an adequate sum. The Persians are universallypitied, because their Consul-General is said to levy veryheavy contributions on them. In fact, the pilgrims arErobbed everywhere-in Jeddah, en route by the Bedouins,and then again at Mecca. The Grand Shereef himself isa famous robber, and among other perquisites receives3.?. for each camel hired by the pilgrims. He is not

- very rich himself by all accounts, because of th(large presents he has to send to Turkey. This com.

pletes the vicious circle, for it is Turkey which stops al]sanitary reform in the Hedjaz, and it is idle to expect thaiTurkey will ever seriously mend matters there until she i:forced to do so by the European Powers. When Europe foundherself menaced by plague from Egypt in 1820 she com.

pelled Egypt to create sanitary reforms up to the level of the"European knowledge of the day. Has not the time come for

Europe to put similar pressure on Turkey and the holyplaces ?places ?

Strongylus Subtilis.This hitherto unknown worm was discovered at severa

necropsies in Cairo and Alexandria by Dr. Looss in 1895, ancwas then reported by him.1 In the fæcal matter of one oj’Dr. Sandwith’s ankylostomiasis patients, an Egyptiarpeasant, Dr. Looss has now discovered the eggs of thE

1 Centralblatt fur Bakteriologie und Parasitenkunde, Band xviii.,No.6.

strongylus subtilis, and this is necessarily the first time thatthis parasite has been recognised in a living patient. Theman now being studied is improving under the ordinarythymol and iron treatment.

Medical Appointnaents.Crookshank Pasha, who has been Director-General of

the Prisons Department in Egypt since its creation byMr. Clifford Lloyd in 1884, has now been promoted to theimportant post of English Controller of the Daira Sanieh.This post carries with it a salary of £ 2050 a year, and is byfar the most lucrative appointment which has yet been givento an English medical man in this country. The Daira Saniehconsists of the personal estate of the Khedive Ismail Pasha,and was reclaimed from him in 1876, at the time of settle-ment of the national debts. It comprised originally morethan 400 000 acres, nearly all being cultivated land, chieflysugar estates and factories ; but to try to reduce the yearlydeficit on the revenue several parcels of land have of lateyears been sold or exchanged to Government servants in lieuof pensions. The Prisons appointment has now been givento the Chief of the Cairo Police. This is, at first sight,a retrograde step, for the weak point of the Egyptianprisons has so far been hygiene and not discipline. Itis apparently intended that the future sanitation of thecity and provincial prisons shall be regulated by the alreadydeeply pledged sanitary department. Dr. Warnock of theGovernment Lunatic Asylum and Dr. Wilson, Professor ofPhysiology at the Medical School, have both had theirappointments permanently confirmed. Dr. W. Grant, a sonof the late Dr. Grant Bey, has been appointed to the secondmedical post at Mombasa.

Animal Trtaccine Institicte.The statistics for 1896 are very satisfactory. The number

of primary vaccinations in Egypt during the year was 17.176and of these only 577 failed. It must be remembered inaddition not only that the vaccinators are all natives, butalso that the custom of the country is to vaccinate each childon both its arms. This really means, therefore, a doublenumber of successful results.Feb. 24th.

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NEW YORK.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The National Museum of Hygiene.WHILE the museum concerns hygiene generally, it has

much to do with ships. Here quarters and berths are

arranged for the sick on shipboard in models representingseveral methods. There should be seen in this exhibit aperfect hospital ship-one equipped with all modern con-veniences in addition to the best medical and surgicalmeans-as an example for those who construct as well asfor those who use. The present sick-bays of warships arealtogether inadequate to the exigencies of battle, and berth-decks, or rather makeshifts, could in no manner meet require-ments as would properly constructed special hospital ships.These would, indeed, be floating homes of refuge, recognisedby all nations as sacred to the unfortunate. In another por-tion of the building there is a ship-disinfecting apparatus, bythe use of which long detention at quarantine is unneces-sary, for with it purification is rapidly accomplished in thevarious parts of the vessel, while all germs contained in theclothing, bedding, &c., of passengers and crew are destroyedby a separate process. In the latter work the possiblyinfected material is subjected to extreme degrees of heat inclosed cylinders, in which are moveable carriers, mountedupon a wheel track used for running material in and out.In fumigating a vessel with the apparatus mentioned twosulphur furnaces are used-one on a tugboat which lies along-side, and the other located on a wharf and mounted upon atrack, so that it can be wheeled opposite any part of theship. Each furnace is provided with a rotary suction blowerdriven by a steam-engine and connected with the hold of thevessel by galvanised iron pipes. The air is drawn from the holdthrough one pipe, forced over large pans of burning sulphur,and is driven back through another duct into the hold purifiedby heat and mixed with sulphur dioxide. While it hasbeen said upon good authority that the best way in whichto take wounded men from the hold is to carry them uponthe back, effective mechanical arrangements for this purpose

705

have been invented, and the exhibit contains a number ofthese. The Museum of Hygiene ofEers a fine opportunity forthe medical student in Washington, and many avail them-selves of this source of information. Classes from the NavalMedical Department find here much that has to do with thehygienic care of ships and the prevention of epidemicdisease.

The Common Communion Cup.The rector of the Church of the Advent, East Oakland,

California, has asked the Board of Health to take such steps aswill do away with the common communion cup now used inthe celebration of the sacrament. He thinks it is dangerous,and the more since California is a sort of I Mecca " to which

phthisical pilgrims from every part of the United Statescome. " As a result there is a greater percentage ofso-called consumptives in the population of California thananywhere else except Colorado. As consumption is nowdefinitely known to be a contagious disease, and as allChristians attend to their religious duties more faithfullywhen ill than at other times, it follows that there is a

particular need of safeguards in this State about the commoncup in the communion service. May your petitioner presumeto ask which member of your board would be willing to sipfrom a cup from which fifty strange persons had drunk,some of whom were known to be affected with phthisispulmonalis ? "

’’ Sweat Shops" in Tliglz Places.According to recent investigation by the factory inspectors

some of the most fashionable millinery and dressmakingestablishments in New York City are quite as veritable "sweatshops " as are to be found in the tenement districts of theeast side, where clothing is made by wretchedly underpaidworkers huddled together in the most narrow and unwhole-some quarters. The following is a summary of some of theworst cases. On Fifth-avenue the inspector found twenty-fivegirls working in a cramped room which would hold onlynine if due regard to health and comfort were paid. Inanother fashionable place the space adapted to eighteen girlsactually held twenty-eight. In a dressmaking establishmenttwenty-seven were found working where there should havebeen but thirteen. Miss Cane, the inspector, says that in-sanitary crowding is general among the fashionable establish-ments. The lower fioors are usually spacious, with luxuriousfurnishings. The upper floors, where the girls work fromearly morning until midnight, are cramped and crowded inas direct a violation of the State laws as any place discoveredin the poorer class of tenement houses,

A Training School for Coloured Women.The scheme of the New Orleans University Medical

College to found a training school for coloured women asnurses is well under way and is assured of success. The aimis to supply at moderate rates nurses who will be competentfor all the duties performed by white nurses and willing andable also to relieve the strain put upon an ordinary householdby sickness, instead of, as is now sometimes the case, aggra-vating it. Careful inquiry was made by the physiciansinterested in the movement to make sure that there wouldbe a paying demand for the graduates of the school, and theresult was satisfactory. No one who has had much experi-ence with sickness is ignorant of the fact that the trainednurse of to-day is, though indispensable, extremely expensive,directly and indirectly, or that there may be many cases inwhich less costly, even if less accomplished, attendantswould be a great convenience. If coloured girls can betrained to meet this need-and they unquestionably can-itwill open to their race an occupation which those fitted byintelligence and character now entirely lack.

Semi-centennial Anniversary of the Academy of Medicine. ,

The semi-centennial anniversary of the New York Academyof Medicine occurred on Jan. 29th. An audience of up-wards of 3000 citizens assembled in Carnegie Hall, andamong the distinguished persons on the stage was thePresident of the United States. Of the 150 physicians whoassisted in the organisation of the Academy fifty years agoonly eight are still living. Dr. Lewis A. Sayre, one of theincorporators, was present and addressed the meeting. Dr.Purple, a former President and an original member, gave ahistory of the growth of the Academy and especially of itslibrary, which is now second only to the library of the Surgeon-General at Washington. The ceremonies were concludedwith an address by the President of the United States on"The Physician as a Citizen." After alluding to the evils of

unrestricted charlatanism he remarked : " I need not suggestthat such evils are allowed to exist by reason of the insuffi-ciency of our laws or a laxity in their execution. I haveintimated that for this condition you are not responsible in aprofessional sense ; but are you sure that as citizens you aredoing all in your power to remedy the situation? 7 Wecannot but think that the discoveries and improvements inthe medical practice which we now enjoy are dearly bought ifthe members of the profession in their onward march haveleft behind them their sense of civic obligation and theirinterest in the general public welfare. We cannot accuseyou of utter neglect of your duty to the country ; and yetwe cannot keep out of mind the suspicion that if yourprofessional work in exposing evils were more thoroughlysupplemented by labour in the field of citizenship theseevils would be more speedily corrected. If laws are

needed to abolish abuses which your professional in-

vestigations have unearthed, your fraternity should notbe strangers to the agencies which make the laws.If enactments already in force are neglected or badlyexecuted, you should not forget that it is your privilege andduty to insist upon their vigorous and honest enforcement.If members of your profession were oftener found in ournational and State legislative assemblies ready to advocatethe reformatory measures you have demonstrated to be

necessary and to defend your brotherhood against flippantand sneering charges of impracticability, the prospect ofyour bestowal upon your fellow-men of the ripened resultsof your professional labour would be brighter and nearer.You will, I hope, permit me, in conclusion, to enjoin uponyou the duty of an active and general interest and participa-tion in public affairs for the promotion of your country’sgood in all its phases. No object of personal ambitionand no activity of professional life should be permitted towithhold from our Government the tithe of devotion andservice due from its thoughtful, intelligent, and educatedcitizens."

’ Feb. 20th.

Medical NewsSOCIETY OF APOTHECARIES OF LONDON.-The

following candidates passed in the under-mentioned subjectsin February :-

Surgery.--J. T. Brickwell, Guy’s Hospital; E. C. Corfield. St.Bartholomew’s Hospital; C. E. Covernton, Guy’s Hospital; C. I.Ellis, Aberdeen and St. Thomas’s Hospital; H. Fulton, Guy’sHospital; F. Harvey, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital; H. Lewko-witsch, Breslau; H. H. Monckton, King’s College; C. W. Moore,Manchester; A. W. Oxford, Charing-cross Hospital; F. M.Simmonds, Edinburgh ; E. G. Smith, Westminster and London;and S. K. Vines, Birmingham.

Medicine, Forensic Medicine, and Midwifery.-G. W. Dutton,Middlesex Hospital; R. B. Greaves, Sheffield; J. L. F. De Gannes,University College; F. Harvey, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital;G. E. H. Sargent, London; and S. F. Smith and L. W. Seymour,St. George’s Hospital.

Medicine and Forensic Medicine.-H. R. Rice, Birmingham andLondon.

Medicine.-P. H. Collingwood, St. Thomas’s Hospital; T. Jones,Middlesex Hospital; C. W. Moore, Manchester; A. P. Miirtz,King’s College; and F. M. Simmonds, Edinburgh.

Forensic Medicine.-E. P. Hewitt, St. Mary’s Hospital; and J. P.Race, Manchester.

Midwifery.-F. Adams, St. Thomas’s Hospital; A. H. Gtace, Bristol; ;_and M. Sharp, Royal Free Hospital.

The diploma of the Society was granted to the following candidates,entitling them to practise Medicine, Surgery, and Midwifery : Me’srs.Dutton, Fulton, Grace, Harvey, Hewitt, Murtz, Oxford, Race, Sargent,S. F. Smith, and Miss Sharp.

ROYAL WEST OF ENGLAND SANATORIUM, WESTON-SUPER-MARE.-The annual meeting of the Royal West ofEngland Sanatorium, Weston- super-Mare, was held on

Feb. 13th, under the presidency of Sir C. D. Cave. The

honorary secretary in his report stated that the receipts were£ 3016, which with a balance brought forward from 1895 of.f.601 made a total of £ 3617, as against £ 3415 the previous

, year. The expenditure was .E2950, as against £ 2814 in 1895.The number of convalescents admitted had been 1441-viz.,782 men and 659 women ; last year 1391 had been admitted

, (643 men and 748 women). The hot and cold sea water3 baths still continue to afford invaluable benefit to many, convalescents. The number of baths taken during last. year was 5078, the number in 1895 being 4198. The reportL adds that these baths are of immense importance to the-

institution.