457IRELAND.-PARIS.

<consecutive years. His eldest son, Judge Kane (brother toCaptain Kane, formerly in command of the Caliope), waspresent, and expressed on behalf of the family his thanks forthe manner in which the acceptance of the portrait had beenproposed and seconded.

Dublin University Experimental Association.At the meeting of the above society fixed for this

(Tuesday) evening Professor Joly, F.R.S., will give a demon-stration of the new Lenard or Roentgen rays. Professor Fitz-

gerald will take part in the discussion.The Ulster -Hospital for Women arad Children.

The annual meeting of the subscribers to this hospital washeld on Feb. 6th. From the report I find that 142 new caseswere admitted to the children’s ward during the year, whilethere were 2654 extern patients. In the vromen’s department77 new cases were admitted and there were 486 extern

patients. There were 168 confinement cas3s and 170 childrenwere born. There were no deaths in tbesa cases.

Belfast Hospital for Consumptives.At the annual meeting held on !Feb. 5th I find by the

report that there have been during the past year 814 newextern and 84 cases admitted into the wards. The hospitalhas been maintained free from debt mainly through theexertions of Mrs. Purdon, the widow of a former well-knownmedical man in Belfast. At the termination of the annualmeeting a special meeting was held, a which a letter ofgreat importance was read from N citizen of Belfast, Mr.Forster Green, stating that he: had purchased, the house anddemesne known as Fortbreda, which is situated in one of thesuburbs of Belfast, with the intention that they may (withsuch additions and changes as may be thought necessary)be used hereafter as a hospital and sanatorium speciallydevoted to those suffering from chest diseases. I under-stand that Mr. Green gave &pound;7000 for the property, andhe has contributed &pound; 4000 for investment to pay the

ground rent. This munificent gift&mdash;to be called the " ForsterGreen Hospital for Consumption and Chest Diseases"-has (with the sanction of the Board of Trade in London)been made over to a corporate body so that the difficulty ofprocuring trustees and the constantly r?curi-ing expense oftransferring the properties to new ones when by death orother causes vacancies occur might be entirely avoided.At the special meeting held on Feb.5th Mr. Green was mostcordially thanked, and it was decided to i approve of theproposal to amalgamate the "Belfast Hospital for Consump-tion" with the "Forster Green, Hospital for Consumption andChest Diseases," by which the latter will take over uponconditions to be agreed upon the real and personal propertyof the former hospital. A committee has been appointed tocarry out this arrangement. ’This new hospital, which issituated in one of the most healthy districts’ of Belfast, on adry, sandy soil, will be a great boon to mny sufferers inthat city. ’that city.

Changes in the Royal University.One of the Dublin medical. schools has sent a petition to

the Senate of the Royal University praying that the medicalcourse shall not extend beyond five years from registration(at present, owing to the year spent in arts, it is really sixyears), on the ground that no other medical examining bodyrequires more than a five years’ curriculum, ,nd that, owingto the present arrangement, there is a falling-off in numbers.They also pray that the proposed new arrangement, wherebystudents will be required to attend a course of systematicdectures in ophthalmology, shall not com into force.

Election of Direct Representative on the General MedicalCouncil. ’, :

The preliminary poll between the three provincial candi-dates took place in Cork on Saturday last, and ProfessorCuming of Belfast was selected by a substantial majority.There was a large poll, though several indicated that theywould not take part in the preliminary cqntest owing totheir not knowing sufficient of the comparative merits ofthe three provincial candidates, but they stated that theywould gladly support whichever of the gentlemen was putforward as the champion of provincial interests at theofficial election. Professor Cuming is regarded as a

very strong candidate, as, apart from his, being now thedeliberately chosen representative .of the provinces, it isexpected that all the practitioners; who studied in BelfastCollege will give him energetic support. Here in the southhis candidature will also be warmly advocated, and every

effort be made to return him as a member of an assemblywhich many think ought in the near future to assume thefunctions of a medical parliament.

Supposed Suicide whilst suffering from Puerperal Fever.One of the Cork city coroners opened a very important

inquiry yesterday relative to the death of a young womannamed Kate Kirby. The constabulary authorities statedthat about a fortnight ago a soldier’s wife was delivered by amidwife, and some time afterwards developed puerperalfever, from which she died. Last Sunday week Mrs. Kirbygave birth to a child and was attended by the same midwife.In this case also puerperal fever set in, and a couple of daysago the poor patient, still suffering from the disease, wasfound standing opposite a looking-glass with her throat cutand a razor in her hand. The coroner stated that the mattersmentioned by the police should be inquired into, and heaccordingly adjourned the inquest in order that all availableevidence might be procured.

Abuse of Dispensary Visiting Tickets.At the last meeting of the Kenmare board of guardians

Dr. Robert Bohen complained that he had received a redticket from one of the guardians, and on obeying thesummons found the woman he was called on to attend wasa farmer’s wife. The Local Government Board inspector(Colonel Kirkwood), who happened to be present at theguardians’ meeting, stated that the medical officer could

proceed by legal process, if necessary, against the guardianwho had issued the ticket. It is to be hoped a knowledgeof that fact will cause some of our Poor-law guardians tothink twice before indulging in what has been heretoforeregarded by them as cheap philanthropy.

I’ital Statistics and Centenarians.The quarterly return of the Registrar-General for Ireland

shows that during the quarter ended Dec. 31st, 1895 therewere registed 24,535 births (12,651 boys and 11,884 girls), anumber equal to an annual birth-rate of 21-5 in every 1000 ofthe estimated population. The deaths during the sameperiod numbered 19,049, representing an annual rate of 16’7per 1000. They included 9 from small-pox, 43 from measles,204 from scarlet fever, 51 from typhus fever, 179 fromwhooping-cough, 84 from diphtheria, and 216 from entericfever. Of the deaths from small-pox 8 occurred. inthe city of Dublin and 1 in or near Parsonstown. The51 deaths from typhus fever were distributed as follows:17 in Leinster, 15 in Munster (of which 5 were

in Cork Union), 15 in Ulster, and 4 in Connaught.The deaths of the following very aged persons were

registered :-At Kilmaganny, 1 of 104 years and 1 of 98years ; at Enniscortby, a female of 96 years ; at Blarney, afemale of 102 years ; at Carrignavar, a male of 100 years ; atSkibbereen, 1 of 100 years; at Kilpatrick, a female of 99years ; at Cloghan, 1 of 96 years; at Limavady, 1 of 98years ; at Claudy (Londonderry), 1 of 113 years ; and atKillaan (Ballinasloe), " of the 5 deaths registered 1 was thatof a centenarian and probably a decade more, whilst another,though registered 90, was more probably within three yearsof the century." The death is announced of Dr. Kane, dispensary medical

officer of Anniscall, County Kerry, a much respected prac-titioner, from an acute attack of bronchitis.

Professor Byers of Belfast has been elected Presidentd’Honneur of the International Congress of Gynaecology andObstetrics, to be held in Geneva in September, 1896.Jan. llth.

PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Experimental Appendicitis.IN order to throw some light on the pathogenesis of that

dangerous and too common disease, appendicitis, Dr. Rogerand Dr. Josue recently undertook some experimentalresearches bearing upon the question. The appendixvermiformis of the rabbit was first ligatured after theintroduction into its cavity of a few drops of a virulentculture of the bacterium coli commune. The animaldied in a fortnight, the necropsy revealing the existenceof suppurative appendicitis with peri-appendicitis. Further

1 Soci&eacute;t&eacute; M&eacute;dicale des H&ocirc;pitaux, Jan. 31st, 1896.

458 PARIS.-BERLIN.

experience showed that the injection of the culture was

unnecessary, the mere aseptic ligature of the appendixsufficing to induce its inflammation. In a rabbit killedthree months after such a ligature the part of the

appendix isolated by the thread was seen to have beentransformed into a cyst shut off from the rest of theintestinal canal and filled with thick pus containing in apure state the bacterium coli. This microbe, then, harmlessso long as the flow of the intestinal contents is not impeded,becomes virulent directly stasis is established ; despite theabsence of any vascular disturbance (the vessels were notincluded in the ligature) suppurative inflammation ensued,and the occlusion produced by the ligature persistedafter the absorption of the catgut. The existence ofthis collection of pus, which may, as in this instance,remain harmless for months, constitutes neverthelessa real danger, for its rupture, which may arise froma trifling cause, would infallibly result in an attack ofacute peritonitis, seeing that it was not circumscribed byfalse membrane and that it contained living germs.M. Rendu found recently in the course of a post-mortemexamination of a phthisical subject the appendix convertedinto a closed cavity filled with pus. Professor Dieulafoy 2finds in these experiments a confirmation of the conclusionshe formulated in the course of thirteen lectures delivered atthe Faculty in November and December, 1895. These con-clusions are as follows. Appendicitis is always the result ofthe conversion of the appendicular canal into a closed cavity,the closure taking place at any point in its length. Partialobliteration with resulting transformation into a closed sacis due to the progressive formation of a calculus more or lesshard in consistence in proportion to the admixture in greateror less quantity of lime and magnesium salts to organic andstercoral ingredients. This calculus does not originate inthe cascum, but is the product of a true appendicularlithiasis comparable with biliary and renal lithiases. Thecoexistence of these three lithiases in the same family andtheir hereditary origin has often been remarked. Anothercause of the obliteration of the appendix is local infectionquite analogous with a similar obliteration of the bile ductin catarrhal icterus. In certain cases a fibrous stricturesimilar to an urethral stricture results in the shutting-off of the appendix. The symptoms of mild or seriousappendicitis reveal themselves only when the appendicularcanal is converted into a closed sac, then the germsnormally present in the appendix, inoffensive up to thattime, multiply and become more virulent. Thus is constituteda highly dangerous focus of infection, the principal micro-organisms present being the coli bacillus and the strepto-coccus (a fact verified many times by Professor Dieulafoy andhis interne, M. Kahn). The virulence of the appendicitismay of itself suffice to kill the patient while the peritonealsymptoms are quite subsidiary. In other instances the infection spreads to the peritoneum despite the absence of anyperforation of the appendix ; any variety of peritonitis maybe developed (generalised, encysted, acute septicaemia, andperitoneal abscess &agrave; distance). Then, again, peritonitis maybe set up by perforation. It would then appear that until thenormal canal of the appendix is converted into a closedcavity the symptoms of appendicitis are not present, anduntil this event has taken place we have no means of dis-covering the existence of a process which will infalliblyresult, some day, in an attack of that formidable disease.

The Average Annual Mortality of Medical Men in France.The Semaine M&eacute;dicale calculates the mean annual mortality

amongst the 17,500 votaries of the medical profession in thiscountry at 2’6 per cent., this figure being in excess of thatrepresenting the mortality amongst Paris medical men (2-4per cent.). The retirement into the country for diversreasons of a certain number of Paris practitioners wouldeasily account for this slight disparity. The total number ofdeaths of medical men in France would thus be 450 perannum. To fill up this hiatus no fewer than 800 newly-fledged medical men graduate each year. But from thesemust be subtracted a certain number of foreigners (about 125)who leave France after graduation. Of the remaining 675, 450fill up vacancies caused by death, about 125 succeed olderpractitioners who retire, and the remaining 100 go to increasethe standing army of medical men. Ten years ago the totalnumber of French practitioners practising in France was

16,800, as against 17,500 at the present time.

2 Ibid., Feb. 8th, 1896.

Fraqueney of Suicides in France and Germany.During the thirteen years included between 1881 and 1893

a total of 129,018 suicides occurred in Germany as against105,337 in France. The appended table will supply detailthat may be found interesting :-

I gather from the above statistics that whereas the popula.tion of France has during this same period of thirteen yearsincreased by only one-twentieth suicides have increased one-third. Rarer than in Germany in 1881, self-destruction hasbecome relatively more frequent in- France. It is said thatsuicides are in Saxony and Hamburg three times morenumerous than in Bavaria. Alsace-Lorraine has the bestrecord of all.

Annual Meetings of French Medical Societies.The fourth session of the Obstetrical Society of France

will be held in Paris from the 9th to the llth of April next.The following are the subjects for discussion :-(1) ArtificialDilatation of the Os Uteri at the end of Pregnancy or DuringLabour ; and (2) Treatment of Post-Partum Heamorrhage.The questions to be discussed at the 1896 session of theSoci&eacute;t&eacute; Francaise d’Otologie et de Laryngologie will be:-(1) Treatment of DifEuse Papillomata of the Larynx; (2),Treatment of Adenoid Growths ; and (3) Treatment ofLabyrinthine Vertigo. The session will be inaugurated onMay 4th.

Dr. J. B. Murphy of Chicago has been elected a foreigncorresponding member of the Paris Soci&eacute;t&eacute; de Chirurgie.Feb. llth.

BERLIN.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Further Discoveries in P7wtography.WHILST the scientific world is still busy in developing

Professor Roentgen’s discovery we hear that two medicalmen, Dr. Selle and Dr. Neuhauss, have succeeded in im-proving the art of photography in another direction. Theyhave, in fact, been able to obtain photographs of objects intheir natural colours by using three specially prepared glassplates appropriate for blue, green, and red lights respectively.Photographs of a similar kind have already been takenby Mr. Joly of Dublin, but his procedure, notwithstandingits great scientific value, is said to be too difficult forapplication in ordinary photography, whereas the methodsof the above-mentioned experimenters require no more thana few seconds. At a meeting of the Photographic Societythey aroused much interest by exhibiting photographs ofbutterflies, roses, and various other flowers in their naturalcolours. Professor Koenig, the well-known Berlin surgeon,in photographing a sarcomatous femur by Roentgen’s method,found that the parts where the osseous substance had beendestroyed by the growth were much less opaque in thephotograph than the normal bone, and he was in this wayable to estimate the size of the tumour.

The Hygienic Conditions of Bakeries.’

At the last meeting of the Public Health AssociationDr. Jiirgensen read a paper on the hygienic conditions ofbakeries, pointing out that in nearly all continental countriesthe conditions of milk-supply and meat-supply had beenmade much more wholesome during recent years, but thatbakehouses, except in Holland, were still very defectivefrom a hygienic point of view. The public do not