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following symptoms which the patient presented-namely,nasal insufficiency, shown by inability to breathe 20 timesthrough both nostrils ; thoracic insufficiency, shown byabsence or impairment of the movements of the thorax;and diaphragmatic insufficiency, shown by immobility or

Tecession of the abdomen during inspiration, a conditionmet with in pseudo-pleurisy of the bases of the lungs.Respiratory re-education under medical supervision was,’in their opinion, the specific treatment for respiratory in-sufficiency. In the case of convalescents it constantly pro-,duced a progressive threefold effect-namely, expansion ofthe thorax, diuresis, and increase of weight. It promotedin a marked degree the recuperation of the vital functionswhich followed acute illnesses and the general health of thepatients improved rapidly. It ought to be combined with- other forms of treatment and the action of the latter wasenhanced by it. Although of great power it did not requirefor its application any special institution or any specialapparatus. The system could be practised anywhere, eitherin a hospital or in the poorest dwelling. It needed nothingmore on the part of the patient than the absence of anymechanical obstacle to the passage of air through the rhino-pharyngeal tract, and nothing more on the part of themedical man than a willing mind and a ’qualification whichwas indispensable though too much neglected-namely, a- knowledge of the fundamental laws of human physiology.

Poisonous Cream Cakes.

, M. Metchnikoff, the deputy director of the Pasteur

Institute, has just been taking part in an interesting inquiry.For some months past he has been receiving almost dailysamples of cream cakes from the same batch as those whichhad given rise to symptoms of poisoning in those personswho had eaten them. M. Girard of the Municipal Labora-tory had also investigated the cakes. The Society of’Confectioners and Bakers was aware of these researchesand its members, when they knew that results had been’obtained, convened a meeting at which Dr. Metchnikoff

gave an interesting discourse. The cause of all the

mischief, he said, was the white of the egg whichcontained microbes. It is not clear why the white ofcertain eggs contains microbes but the fact is certain thatsome hens do lay eggs the whites of which contain microbes.Even freshly laid eggs when cultivated in a cultivator givecultures. This being so the method in which the cream isprepared for the cakes is eminently calculated to developthe microbes. The white of egg slightly warmed is sprinkledwith a " cream " which itself is at a temperature of 80° C.,one far too low to have any destructive effect on the germs.This " cream " being made of gelatin, sugar, and milk offersan ideal culture medium when the mixture is warmed. This,explains why white of egg, even when it does contain germs,gives rise to no symptom of poisoning when it is consumedin the ordinary way without the admixture of "cream."The following method is suggested to avoid future risks.Before sprinkling the white of egg with the "cream itshould be coagulated in boiling sugar which will certainly-destroy the germs.

Feb. 14th. _________________

NEW YORK.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Prevention of Yellow Fever in Ouba.THE American Public Health Association met in Havana

’on Jan. 10th and the principal feature of the introductoryproceedings was the address of the President, Dr. CarlosFinlay, chief of the Cuban Health Department. He highlyeulogised the labours of American experts to whom, he- said, was due the banishment of yellow fever from Cuba.The American Commission, under the leadership of the lateMajor Reed, had decisively established the true etiology ofyellow fever. Dr. Finlay also praised the work ofMajor Gorgas, chief health officer under General Wood,who, adopting the findings of the commission, succeededwithin seven months in ridding Havana of the in-veterate enemy. Regarding the two cases of yellowfever which occurred in Santiago Province, Dr. Finlaysaid it was presumed that they were transmitted bymosquitoes from a quarantined ship. There can be no doubtthat the American medical men did a great work in riddingCuba of yellow fever and are entitled to all the praise

bestowed upon them by Dr. Finlay. It would, however, seemfrom recent reports that since the Cubans themselves havetaken over the government of the island sanitary affairstherein have decidedly retrograded. It is therefore needfulthat the American Government, for the sake of the in-habitants of Cuba, as well as in the interests of the Americanpeople at large, should strongly advise, and if necessary bringpressure to bear on, the Cuban authorities in order that thesanitary conditions of Cuba should not be allowed to lapseinto their former unsatisfactory state through neglect.

Alleged Swindle by Physicians.Two physicians were arrested in New York recently

charged with engineering a radium cure swindle. The caseagainst them was brought by the New York County MedicalSociety through its attorney, Mr. Champe S. Andrews. Thecomplainant, a carpenter, stated that the physicians hadobtained from him$10,000 ( £ 2000), the amount of his savingsof years. The carpenter had been informed by the medicalexaminers’ of an insurance company that he had a slighttendency to Bright’s disease and went to the defendants fortreatment: He was told by them that he was suffering from ..Bright’s disease in its worst form and that his only chanceof recovery lay in his being treated by means of radium.He was further told that owing to the great cost of radiumthe treatment would be very expensive. Acting upon hisfears the defendants managed to extort from the plaintiffthe sum above mentioned. The New York County MedicalSociety’s agents heard of the matter and initiated an invebti.gation, with the result that some of the so-called radiumwas obtained and subjected to a searching analysis when itwas found that the composition contained no trace whateverof radium, but, as a matter of fact, consisted of gentian, iron,and a few simple drugs ordinarily used in a tonic prepara-tion.

The Adnlterat’ion of WhiskyDr. H. W. Wiley, chief of the United States Bureau of

Chemistry, has recently stated that he believes at least85 per cent. of the whisky sold over the bars in the UnitedStates is not straight" whisky. He states that it is a com-

pound, made of neutral spirit, or alcohol, artificially coloured,often flavoured with artificial essences and sometimes mixedwith more or less " straight whisky to give flavour. Theremarks of Dr. Wiley on the adulteration of food and

whisky have given rise to much heart-searching and theliquor dealers have been endeavouring to minimise as far aspossible the effect of his statements. There can be no doubt,however, that adulteration is conducted on a wholesalescale in the United States and it is not unlikely that theFederal and States Governments may take cognisance ofthe matter and endeavour to check the evil by means oflegislation.

Tuberculosis and Alcohol. -

A controversy has been going on in the lay press of NewYork with regard to the effect of alcohol upon consumptives.Dr. Wiley has recently " stirred a hornet’s nest" by makingpublic his opinion that alcohol is beneficial in consumptionas well as in certain other diseases. Dr. Knopf, the well-known New York authority on tuberculosis, has stoutly com-bated these views and declares that in any stage pr form ofpulmonary tuberculosis large quantities of alcohol are contra-indicated. These views are in direct opposition to thoseheld by Dr. Arthur C. Latham who, writing on the subjectin the Practitioner for January, declares that whensolid food cannot be taken by consumptives alcohol isour sheet anchor and in another part of the same articlesays that " nothing but good results from the administrationof large quantities of alcohol when fever is present so longas the pulse is becoming slower, the appetite better, the skinand tongue moister, and the patient quieter." Opinionsdiverge greatly as to the position of alcohol as a nutritiveagent. In America probably the medical profession isalmost equally divided on the question.

Feb. 6th. __________________

NOTES FROM INDIA.(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

A Case of I "Sati " in Beltar.

THE desire for the barbaric custom of ’’ Sati" seems tostill linger in the Hindu mind. A recent case in Behar wasattended by an enormous and sympathising crowd and the

465

village watchman refused to lay information with the police. IA Brahmin died and the body was laid on the pyre. The "

widow, having bathed in the small river close by and yadorned herself as for her marriage, took her seat on the t

pyre and called on her son to do his duty as a devout Hindu. qThe son with other Brahmins placed lighted chips of wood pre- t

viously soaked in ghee under the pyre. As the flames reached n

the widow she is said to have writhed about but finally t

to have stood up, then turned towards the setting sun and t

immediately fell back, apparently overcome by the rapidly c

increasing flames. During this time the crowd were shouting Stheir incantations, there were beating of drums and clanging 2

of cymbals, and probably little or nothing was heard of any tcries from the terrible pyre. Fortunately the son and hisaccomplices have had severe punishment administered to ithem and this horrible offence is not likely to be repeated. ’’

Lady Ampthill Nurses’ Institute. ;This nursing institute was started in Madras last July but

the staff of nurses has only recently been completed. Twoof the nurses have come out from England, the others havingbeen trained in India. Good work has already been done ]

"

and the want of a trained nurse so long felt in Madras hasto a great extent been remedied. This want is greatlyexperienced in nearly all parts of India except in the citiesof Calcutta and Bombay and the establishment of otherinstitutes and nursing associations is under consideration.

The Increasing Plague Mortality.The mortality from plague throughout India is rapidly

increasing. Last week there were 25,719 deaths, as com-pared with 24,385 for the previous seven days and 22,645recorded for the last week of the past year. The UnitedProvinces returned 11,777 deaths, the Punjab 5569, Bengal3318, the Bombay districts 2886, the Central Provinces 444,Hyderabad State 399, Rajputana 352, Madras Province 341,Bombay city 192, and Calcutta 33. Since these figures werepublished plague has broken out in a fishing village on theoutskirts of Madras city. The village has beenburnt and thepatients and "contacts" have been segregated. Dead ratsdiscovered have been found to be swarming with plaguebacilli. The Mauritius emigration depot adjoining withabout 500 emigrants has been declared plague-infectedand a special quarantine depot has been established.Another village has been found infected but no further caseshave occurred amongst those isolated. This looks as ifMadras city, which has escaped so long, will at last bestricken with the disease. The recrudescence in BombayCity and Calcutta is developing and the former is also

suffering from a severe outbreak of small-pox. During thepast week the whole of Northern India has experiencedsevere. cold and as the greatest mortality is now occurring inthose parts we shall be able to see if the course of thedisease is in any way modified.Jan.28th.

_______________

Medical News.TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN.-At examinations

held in Hilary term the following candidates were

successful:- -

FINAL EXAMINATION.Section A.-Gustav W. Thompson, William Hutchinson, Richard A.Connell, Malcolm K. Acheson, Archibald L. Robinson, Theodore C.Somerville, Charles G. Sherlock, Henry D. Woodroffe, Wilfred L.Hogan, Langford V. Hunt, Herbert J. Wright, and Francis O’B.Kennedv.

FOREIGN UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE. -Berlin .’Dr. Karl Kaiserling, privat-docent of Pathological Anatomy,and Dr. Heinrich Wolpert, privat-docent of Hygiene, havebeen granted the title of Professor.-Munich : Dr. RobertGaupp has been recognised as privat-docent of Psychiatry.-Naples: Dr. Ugo Benenati and Dr. Giovanni Castronuovohave been recognised as privat-docenten of Internal Patho-logy.-Prague (German University) : Dr. Eduard Pietrzi-kowski, privect-docent of Surgery, and Dr. Rudolf Fischl andDr. Raudnitz, privat-docenten of Pædiatry, have all beengranted the title of Professor.- Vienna: Dr. WilhelmSchlesinger has been recognised as privat-docent of InternalMedicine.

THE LONDON, ABERDEEN, BANFF, AND KINCARDINEAsSOCIATION.-The annual dinner of this association washeld on Feb. 10th at the Criterion Restaurant, London. Sir

Dyce Duckworth in proposing the principal toast, that of" Scotland," had Some rather critical remarks to make uponyoung Scotland. Allowing that, Scotchmen were famous all’the world over for perferviderm ingenium, he thought it a,

question whether the ingenium. was so perfervid as in formertimes. The facilities of communication had become sonumerous, luxury had grown to such an extent, andthere was so much Carnegie-spoon-feeding north ofthe Tweed that doubts had arisen as to whether theearnestness and assiduity of the rising generation inScotland were as intense as formerly. Only a few days,ago an old undergraduate of the University of Edinburghtold him how he had found in the union of the universitystudents playing whist in one room and billiards being playedin another at 3 o’clock in the afternoon in the middle of thewinter session. As an old student of the university he ofcourse remembered billiards and whist being played there andhe had no objection to whist and billiards in their properplace, but he doubted the advisability of students playingcards and billiards at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and hehoped that such tiivialities would not be permitted to-interfere with the work of Scotch students of the present day.He urged students to assume the earnestness and to cultivatethe industry which their forefathers possessed. Sir PatrickManson responded to the toast with a humorous speech.Surgeon-Colonel J. Richardson, in replying to the toast of

j ’’ The Imperial Forces," proposed by Mr. J. W. Barclay, saidthat the navy was now so formidable that the mere mentionof it got on the nerves of some of our neighbours ; in regard’to the army it was being forged and when finished it wouldbe a powerful thunderbolt. Amongst those present wereMr. J. Cantlie, Dr. A. M. R. Sinclair, Dr. G. B. Currie, Dr.J. Mitchell Bruce, Dr. T. I. Rowell, and Mr. G. Tocher.

RESTRICTIONS ON THE SALE OF PATENT MEDICINESIN VENEZUELA.-The British Foreign Office has received acopy of a decree published in the Venezuelan official gazetteof Dec. 15tb, 1904, on the subject of the sale of patent medi-cines. It declares that the sale of patent or secret medicineswhich are not authorised by the Medical Council, even

though approved by foreign faculties, is now prohibited inVenezuela. The decree accordingly provides for the estab-lishment of a commisssion to undertake the examinationand classification of such medicines. Manufacturers of

foreign patent medicines must submit the products whichthey wish to import into Venezuela to this commission withinfour months from the date of publication of the decree.The application must be in the customary legal form andmust state the name of the article, the principal ingredient,and the dose to be taken, and should be accompanied by twosamples of the article with the same information on thelabel. Each application-one for each product submitted-will be subject to a fee of 20 bolivars (15s. 10d.) and thepower of attorney must bear a 5-bolivar stamp. Four monthsfrom the date of the publication of the decree unauthorisedpatent medicines will be classified by the Customs in the fifthclass of the tariff for a period of two months, during whichtime they may still be submitted to the commission ; this termexpired, they will be included in the list of articles prohibited

. to be imported. Secret or patent medicines subsequentlycompounded, however, will be examined and classified by the’ commission in accordance with the regulations.

SALE OF A MEDICAL PRACTICE.-At the Devon,- Assizes on Feb. 6th and 7th Mr. Ellis Pearson of Bideford’

sought to recover from Dr. A. Lane damages for fraud in con-. nexion with the sale of the goodwill of a practice at Bide-

ford. The defendant denied fraud and countErclaimed for

: fees which, he alleged, the plaintiff had received on hisbehalf. The plaintiff, who employed no solicitor or

e accountant in connexion with the purchase, admitted thatt he had received certain of the fees and gave credit for them._ Evidence showed that Mr. Pearson purchased from Dr. Lanero for £1000 a practice stated to be worth .f.800 per)-

annum. The practice, however, according to Mr. Pear-

son, was only worth about £185 a year. After hearingd a considerable amount of evidence Mr. Justice Lawrence

n in summing up said that the only question for the jury

n to decide was whether there was a substantial practiceal carried on by the defendant or whether the practice was built

up simply and solely for making a good appearance on arotten foundation for the purpose of selling it. The jury

E found that the practice was built up for sale and assessedas the damages at &200. It was stated that the plaintiff hadir paid £57 into court, a sum realised by the eoNection of