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Holborn and Finsbury Hospital, Archway-road. N.—SecondAsst, M.O. £300.

Indian Medical Service.—AppointmentsLeeds Public Dispensary.—Jun. Res. M.O. £150.London Temperence Hospital, Humpstead-road. N.W. H.P. At

rate of £100. Also Cas. O. At rate of £120.M.A.B., Injections Hospitals Service. —Asst. M.O.. £560.Manchester, Crossley Sanatorium, Delancre Forest, Cheshire.—

Asst. M.O. £200.Manchester Ear Hospital.—Hon. Asst. S.Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London, W. Second

Demonstrator for Physiology Dept. £350.Mines Department, Westininster, S.W.—Medical Inspector of

Mines and Quarries. £750.Ministry of Health.—M.O. £600New Dethi, India, Lady Hardinge Medical College.—Clin.

Pathologist. Rs.450 per mensem.North Wates Sanatorium, Llanguyjan, near Denbigh, N. Wales.—

Asst, Res. M.O. £200.Poplar, Metropolita Borough of.—Consulting Phys. 2 guineas

per attendauce.Preston and County of Laneaster Royal Infirmary.—H.S. At

rate of £150.Royal Army Medical Corps.—Commissions.Royal Free Hospital, Gray’s Inn-road, W.C.—Cas. O. £100.

Asst. P. to Electro-Light and Massage Depts. Also Clin.Assistantships.

Royal Northern Hospital, Holloway, N.—Surg. tu Ear, Nose,and Throat Dept. Also P.

St. Mark’s Hospital for Cancer, &c., City-road, E.C.—Clin. Assts.Sheffield, jessop Hospital for Women.—Two Asst. H.S.’s. Each

at rate of £100.Stamford, Ruttand atett General Infirmary.—H.A. At rate uf

£200.Sudan Gorernment, Wellcome Tropical Research Laboratories,

Khartoum.—Asst. Bacteriologist. £E.720.Sutton, Surrey, Downs Hospital for Children.- Jun. Asst. M.O.

£500.Swansea, County Borogh.—Asst. M.O. £660.University of London.—External Examinerships.Victoria Hospital for Children, Tite-street, Chalsea, S.H. -

P.H. and H.S. Each of rate of £100.Warrickshire County Council.- Asst. County M.O.H. £600.West Bromwich and District Hospital.- Hon. S. to Ear, Nose.

and Throat Dept., and Hon. Orthopredic S.West London Hospital, Hammerswith-read, .—Res. Asst. .

£260.Western Ophthalmic Hospital, Marylebone-road, N.W.—Hen.

Asst. Anæsthetist.

The Chief Inspector of Factories announces a vacant appoint-ment for a Certifying Factory Surgeon at Ossett, York (W.R).

Births, Marriages, and Deaths.BIRTHS.

GIBSON.—On June 17th, at a nursing home, Worthing, the wife ofCharles Gibson, F.R.C.S. Edin., of a daughter (stillborn).

WILLIAMS.—On June 16th, at harley-street, to E. ChristinePillman Williams, M.B., B.S., the wife of Dr. E. UlyssesWilliams—a son.

WRIGHT.—On June 16th, at Farnahm Royal, the wife ofA. J. Wright, M.D., of a daughter.

MARRIAGES.HOCKING—COUCHER.—At Paddington Chaped, Marylobone-road,

on June 15th, Dr. F. D. M. Hocking, M.B., Il.s.. M.Sc. Lond.,of 37, Welbeck-street, V. 1, Assistant Pathologist to theWestminster Hospital, to Amy Gladys, youngest daughter ofA. T. Coucher, Ksq., of Harrow.

MEAD—SUTCLIFFE.—On June 18th, at Trinity PresbyterianChurch, Clapham-road, Dr. Kenneth V. Mead, to MarjorieMackinon, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Suteliffe,of Elms-road, Clapham Park, London.

STEWART—FRASER.—On June Kith, at St. Michael’s Clurch,Sl’rouston, William Ross Stewart, M.B., F.R.C.S.E.,Major, I.M.S., to Margaret Jean Denhohn Fraser, eldestdaughter of Rev. D. Denholm Fraser, M.A., and Mrs.Fraser, The Manse, Sprouston.

SWINDELL—GLEGE.—On June 15th, at Ht. Mary’s Cathedral,Glasgow, Halph Stanley Swindell, M.B., li.S. Lond., toDorothy. only daughter of the late Sheritf A. T. Glegg andof Mrs. A. T. (ilegg, of Lily bank-gardens, Glasgow

DEATHS.BEST.—On June 13th, very suddenly, at St. IBes, Palemon Best,

M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., age 59.DAVIDSON.—On June 15th, at Bickenhall-manisons, W.,

Ellen Alison, widow of Alexander Davidson, M.D., F.R.C.P.,of Liverpool, aged 71.

FRANEY.—On June 13th, at Banbury, Oxon., Edward Franey,M.R.C.S., L.S.A., aged 92.

GORDON.—On June ] !)th, James Edward Gordon, O.B.E.,M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., of Endless-street, Satisbury, aged 55.

JESSETT.—On June 17th, at Orchard House, Fleet, FredericBowreman Jessett, F.R.C.S. Eng., in his 90th year.

LEACH.—On June 14th. at The Gabies, Graffham, Sussex, JohnLeach, M.A., M.B., C.M.

N.B.—A fee of 7s. 6d. is charged for the inscrtion of Notices ofBirths, Marriages, and Deaths.

Notes, Comments, and Abstracts.SUPPORT FOR THE SEDENTARY.

THERE was once a time (if biologists are to be believed)when our ancestors ran about on all fours. The habit wasthen fashionable, and it is not fur us to blame them ; itwould be impious to disinter the famiiy- skeleton merely tomock at it. All the same, it was certainly a change for thebetter when the function of support was relegated to thehind limbs, and at a small sacrifice of speed and steadinesstwo sensitive hands were given their freedom. To theuntrammelled activity of our fingers we owe, perhaps, themost of our intellectual development—a thesis ably main-tained by Prof. F. Wood Jones in his book,

" Arboreal Man "

—and the advantages of bipedal transport must beobvious to anyone who gives a moment’s thought to therelative etliciency, in modern social circles, of the horse’shoof and 1 he human hand.A great deal has been written about man’s assumption

of the crect posture; its benclits have been set out atlength in scientific literature, and its regrettable effect onthe abdominal organs has been freely ventilated of lateyears in the daily newspapers. It seems the more astonishing,therefore, that but little attention has been paid to anotherprofound biological adaptation that is taking place in ourmidst. Our quadruped forefathers, it must be supposed,needed long persuasion by the forces of nature before theywould trust themselves to the sole support of two hindfeet. and many ages have gone by since this momentousadjustment was completed. Yet in a few short years alarge proportion of the human race—and those which weremost highly developed—have been carelessly convertedinto sedentary anintals, and hardly anyone seems to havenoticed that this can be regarded as the beginning of a funda-mental change in our anatomical evolution. At first (aswe have remarked) man supported himself on four feet ;then he relied on two ; and now, in London at any rate,he supports himself, whenever possible, upon his back orthe lower part of it. From being a biped—which was reallynot unsatisfactory—he has become, so to speak, a binatc.Should this change go on much further, it will mean therelease of a second pair of limbs from the bondage imposedby stability ; but unfortunately the strenuous service of ourfeet throughout the centuries has somewhat impaired theirflexibility, and we cannot look forward with any certaintyto having descendants with four hands in everyday use.

It is not suggested, of course, that the change describedis as yet complete ; even those of us who daily spendeight and a half hours lying down and 15 hours sitting upare by no means incapable of movement on the legs ; weremain facultative bipeds, though primarily binatile. Evennow there are but, few people whose legs are wholly function-less ; for one thing it is hard to arrange mechanical transportfor every sort of journey ; for another, we arc as yet tooill-adjusted to our environment to dispense with artificialexercises of the limbs and trunk. Nevertheless, the amountof movement which is possible for the average otlice-worker is so small that it is of very real importance howlie sits and what he sits on. The havoc wrought in theabdomen by man’s becoming erect is nothing to what isbeing done by his collapse into a spineless curve.To those who spend much of their days in walking or riding

on horses it does not matter much how the body is disposedat other times ; it may be allowed to take up a positionof full relaxation in the easiest chair that the wit of man candevise. It is otherwise, however, with the person whosefatigue springs not from exercise but from the lack of it—whose spinal and abdominal muscles have lost their tone

from general lethargy and from disuse. With such a person,when at sedentary work, an attempt should be made tobreak the sagging habit.. True cure can only be broughtabout by bringing back muscular tone and well-being, butthis does not mean that no support to the back is permissible.1’roperly planned, a chair may do much not only to preventthe bad posture which springs from fatigue, but also toovercome it. The ulllscle which is regaining tone cannotbe expected to keep the back straight for long periods unaided,and its owner requires constant reminders from his chairif lie is to make the conscious efforts which are needed forits rc-cducation.M ost ordinary chairs, in spite of the time to be spent in them,

are made so unwisely that the tired body can only find restby falling forward into a bad position. Itecognition of thisfact has led the Hev. W. A. Simcox (of Sunnycroft, ForestCorner, Ringwood) to devise a new model which he callsthe Convex Health chair, and which he strongly recommendsfor general use. W-here the backs of many chairs are con-cave, to fit the curve of the relaxed shoulders, the back ofMr. Simcox’s chair is convex, so that from the lumbar regionupwards the spinal column remains more or less in contact

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with the chair, but the shoulders get no support unless theyare thrown backwards, their roundness being thus corrected.To the person who sits back on this chair there is a perpetualencouragement to place the body in a good position, thusincidentally increasing the depth of respiration, and thefeeling of support is compensation for the lack of soft repose.Unfortunately, however, it remains possible to sit on thefront of the chair and ignore the back altogether, so that thespine droops and the shoulders fall forwards, and Mr.Mimcox’s design for this reason does not wholly solve the problem presented by the person who sits writing at atable, for whom an adjustable chair, offering support at thelumbar curve alone, is probably the ideal. As furniturefor a dining room or living room, Mr. Simcox’s model hasmuch to recommend it, however, and experiments of thiskind are worth the serious consideration of all who realisehow much damage is done by chairs which connive atdeformity instead of persuading into rectitude. If we are tolive in our chairs let us at least have them habitable.

GOLD COAST HEALTH REPORT.

- REPORT, prepared by Mr. G. C. du Boulay. acting Colonial Secretary, on the affairs of the Gold Coast for 1925-26,has been issued by the Colonial Office. From the medicaland sanitary section some interesting particulars are

gathered ; registration of births and deaths is compulsoryin 19 towns. The number of births registered in 1925—26was 2914, and of deaths 3811. There were 112 stillbirths.

’

The chief causes of death were, as usual, pulmonary andintestinal diseases. The number of European residents ’was 3104, of whom 994 were officials, 1529 merchants, ’169 miners, and 112 missionaries. Among them therewere 22 deaths, whilst. the invaliding rate averaged 40.27per 1000. The eight deaths amongst European officialswere due to septicaemia (2), blackwater fever (1). heartfailure (1), drowning (1), chronic alcoholism (1). hepatitis (1),and suicide (1). Of the 14 deaths amongst European non-officials 3 were due to blackwater fever, 3 to nralaria, 2 todysentery, and 1 each to intestinal obstruction, fracturedspine, yellow fever, perforated duodenal ulcer, drowning,and alnœbic abscess of liver. The total population, at thecensus taken in 1921, was approximately 2,296,400. Out-breaks of epidemic disease occurred during the year invarious places. Eight cases of yellow fever were reported- -viz., four cases at Accra, two at Nsawam. and one each atWinneba and Cape Coast. Extensive outbreaks of small-pox occurred in Ashanti and the Northern Territories. 311,927vaccinations were performed, of which 98,869 were reportedas successful, giving a percentage of 31.69. The efforts ofthe medical and sanitary authorities in promoting the treat-ment of disease and the knowledge of general hygienecontinue to exercise a beneficial effect on the general healthof Europeans. Most of the large towns were in a fairlysatisfactory sanitary condition. 405,228 houses were

inspected during the year and the average larval index wastt-78 per 100. The drainage of Saltpond Lagoon—a long-needed sanitary measure—was commenced. The congestedarea at Cape Coast, which was demolished in 1924-25, waslaid out and drained. At Kumasi, in Ashanti, a temporarymarket, new wells, and a number of sanitary structureswere provided. At Accra the mean shade temperature was79.1°, and at Kumasi and Sekundi 79° and 80° respectively.The rainfall was at Accra 36-54 inches; at Aburi 57-22,

at Sekundi 43-71, at Axim 6941. at Tarkwa 59-11,at Kmnasi 67-24, and at Tamale 45-77. The climate,though hot and Mamp, is cooler than that of most, tropicalcountries situated in the same latitude. It is not in itselfunhealthy, but an evil reputation has been earned for it inthe past by the prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases,against which all possible precautions have constantly tobe taken. The Gold Coast is peculiarly free from any of thediscomforts associated with tropical countries ; hot nightsand intense heat by day are the exception rather than therule, while insects are comparatively unobtrusive. Therainfall varies with the configuration of the country. Thelirst rains, or rainy season proper, begin in March and endin July ; the later rains are spread over the months ofSeptember and October. The rainy season is marked bya considerable fall in the temperature. which is found to berefreshing to many Europeans, but proves trying to some.There are eight European hospitals, 27 African hospitals,and one infant welfare hospital. During the year 3174Europeans and UI,73ti Africans were treated in the hospitalsand dispensaries of the colony. The daily average numberof patients in the Accra Lunatic Asylum was 227-1. Therewere 49 deaths—48 males and one fetnale.The Gold Coast is divided into three parts- Gold Coast

(’olony, area 23,490 square miles; Ashanti, area 24,560square miles; and the Northern Territories, area 30,600square miles. To this is now added the narrow strip ofTogoland—area 13,040 square miles-administered by theGold Coast Government under the Mandate allotted to G reatUritain by the Peace Treaty. )

HOW TO REMAIN YOUNG.

THE preoccupation of the elderly with the iclea of becomingyoung again appears to be one of the dominating themes atthe present day in the emotional life of civilised communities.The space given to attempts at rejuvenation in the popularpress reflects to some extent tin- general interest in thissubject. Hence a popular book called Outwitting MiddleAge," 1 by Mr. Carl Ramus, a surgeon in the U.S. PublicHealth Service, ought to have a wide appeal. The title issomewhat misleading, however, for the book is reallyconcerned with preserving comfortable middle age andpreventing the onset of senile decav. It is strongly provoca-tive in places, dealing with such debatable subjects as

Steinach’s operation, historical cases of great longevity andsome aspects of the diet problem, but it is certainly interestingthroughout even if its hy-paths into the subconsciousmind and psycho-analysis seem a little too far from thebeaten track. A good bibliography is included so that anyoneto whom old age is a dreaded nightmare can obtain quite alot of information as to how its arrval may be postponed orprevented.

TRAINING WORKING GIRLS IN HUNGARY.

THOSE interested in the work of the " Save the Children "

Fund will remember Mme. Julie Rve Vajkai’s booklet" Child Saving and Child Training." Her latest book... Education for Life," is a further fascinating accountof her work-schools in Budapest. She started with a randomcollection of girls in some old military huts, under the mostheart-rending conditions of after-war poverty and distress.After a desperate struggle to find handicrafts which they couldlearn quickly and make money by, she has at last succeededin establishing her schools firmly enough to be able to bringeducation into lirst place and relegate earnings to second.Her one aim is to prepare the children in life best possibleway for their future. which is the work-room or factory,and her success is due to her skill in estimating the creativecapacity of her individual pupils and grading their instruc-tion accordingly, so that they always have, from the start,the stimulus of successfully achieving something useful.Her girls have received glowing praise from employers allover Hungary for their productiveness, enthusiasm, andadaptability. For instance, an electric lamp manufactureremployed some girls who had learnt to make pillow-laceat the sclutol, and was amazed at the speed with which theypicked up the totally different technique of his own trade.Ifer secret lies in knowing how to train girls to like work ;self-government and team-work is carried to a perfec-tion rarely seen even in this country. This experiment nowincludes nine work-schools and a reformatory, but of greaterimportance than the immediate work is the interest it hasaroused in the Government and the Association of HungarianManufacturers. There is, indeed, a fair prospect that it maylead to a wholesale and salutary reform in the spirit not onlyof the national education, but also of the national industry.

MEDICAL TREATMENT OF GLAUCOMA.FOR some years Dr. Cliarles Abadie has held that

glaucoma is due to disturbance of innervation of the ocularsympathetic, giving rise to an exaggerated dilatation of thevessels of the eye and consequently to hypersecretion of-intra-ocular fluids and an increase of tension. He thereforetreats the condition with vasoconstrictor drugs 3 and claimsgood results from the cornbined administration of 1-5 to2’0 mg. of adrenalin (according to the age and weight of thepatient), a cachet of 0-1 to 0-2 g. of ergotin, and 1 to 2 g.of calcium chloride in aqueous solution. So far, accordingto Dr. Abadie, this treatment has been found beneficial inevery case he has treated. Not only is the glaucomarelieved or its development hindered. but there is a con-siderable gain in visual acuity, especially in the early stages.

So long ago as 1897 Abadie brought forward a theory ofglaucoma according to which the hypertension depended ona vascular disturbance. Subsequently, he suggested opera-tion on the ciliary nerves. It has been found that reutoval ofthe superior cervical ganglion is followed by decrease ofintra-ocular pressure, but the effect is only temporary.The theory of hypersecretion as the cause of glaucoma

does not tally with the generally held opinion which ascribesit to a blockage in the channels of exit of the intraocularfluid ; nor with the theory recently put forward by Dr.Duke Elder (see THE LANCET, June llth, p. 1250), whocombats the view that true secretion takes any part inits formation at all.

1 London : George Allen and Unwin, Ltd. 1926. Pp. 269.7s, 6d.

2 The Weardale Press, 26, Gordon-street, London W.C. 1.Price 1s.

3 Bull de l’Acad. de Méd., xcvii., p. 380.