1884 IRELAND.-PARIS.

course, the immediate effect of very considerably swellingthe sum total of the duties of the medical officers of health.In the great majority of the districts the sanitary sub-officersto whom the duty of insuring the carrying out of the pro-visions of the new Order has been intrusted are to beknown as dairy inspectors. Additional officers may also be

appointed with the approval of the Local GovernmentBoard, which body has issued a circular to the varioussanitary authorities suggesting the desirability of appointingveterinary surgeons. But the instructions of the Order onthis head are not definite or final. They do not appear tosecure for the medical officer of health any official positionor controlling status, although the ultimate success of itsaim must necessarily depend on his supervision. It is un-

likely that veterinary surgeons will be made to replace thepresent sanitary sub-officers as dairy inspectors, with themerely nominal salaries which the latter have been receiving,even in the largest districts. And it is important to membersof the medical profession to ascertain at the earliest possibledate whether the health officers are to receive additionalsalaries under the new conditions. The only suggestion ofincrease of income with increase of duty seems to be that ofArticle 22 that every registered dairyman or cowkeeper willbe prevented from occupying a new cowshed until he hasobtained from the medical officer of health a certificate ofthe fitness of the building and its compliance with theregulations as to light, ventilation, drainage, water-supply,&c. For the work and labour of the inspection requiredbefore the preparation of the certificate and the issuing ofthe latter a reasonable fee is attached. The Order, as was tobe expected, has met with some opposition. At a meeting ofthe Aghadowey Creamery, with Dr. H. S. Morrison, the Presi-dent, in the chair, a resolution was passed to the effect thatthose present, representing the Aghadowey CooperativeCreamery and the 700 farmers who form its shareholdersand milk-suppliers, are of opinion that the inclusion of thesuppliers in the Dairies and Cowsheds Order is unnecessary:-(1) because all our milk is sterilised before it is manufactured; (2) it isnot sold as milk, but only as butter and cream; (3) practical experiencehas shown that although proper sanitation is necessary in byres, andvery desirable, nevertheless the standard fixed by the recent Order, itinsisted upon, will be ruinous to the farmers of Ireland ; (4) we desireto express our opinion that this Order should only apply to dairiesthat systematically sell milk in towns; (5) that the sub sanitary officerof each district is quite equal to the task of pointing out any defectthat requires a remedy in all cases except dairies; (6) we desire toexpress our thanks to the Coleraine rural council for their resistance tothis Order, which, in our opinion, is vexatious, and except in the casesmentioned unnecessary, and we call upon every district council inIreland to give their assistance in this matter.

At a meeting of the Belfast public health committee held onJune llth the executive sanitary officer reported that at thesummons court on June 9th two persons were fined forbreaches of the Dairies, Cowsheds, and Milkshops (Ireland)Order,1908.

The Belfast Board of Guardians. ’

The Local Government Board has written to the board ofguardians of Belfast after the recent biennial electionsrequesting that body to proceed to the election of a ladysuperintendent nurse. The whole matter will be consideredat the next meeting of the board, of which a medical man,Mr. J. S. Bryars, has been elected the new chairman.

Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.Hospital Saturday has this year yielded, up to the present,

a sum of E837 for the Royal Victoria Hospital, which is only5 per cent. less than last year, which is not to be wonderedat considering the extraordinary dulness of the times inBelfast. It is expected, however, that some more money willbe available from collections in the smaller towns in the

neighbourhood of Belfast.Ulster Medical Society.

At a meeting of the Ulster Medical Society held onJune 18th, Dr. T. S. Kirk, surgeon to the Royal VictoriaHospital, was elected President for the ensuing year.June 23rd.

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PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The French Society for the Study of Cancer.THE late Professor Poirier shortly before his untimely

death proposed to coordinate the study of cancer in France,but his illness prevented him from carrying out his intention.

This project, which is of the utmost value in a countrywhere cancer claims 13,000 victims every year, has been nowtaken up, and for more than a year a large body of scientificmen have been working to put it into execution. The resultis that the French Association for the Study of Cancer hasbeen organised with honorary and corresponding membersand more than 60 active members. Its officers are ProfessorBouchard, president ; M. Barrier, director of the AlfortSchool, vice-president; M. Pierre Delbet, general secretary;M. Ledoux-Lebard, secretary of meetings; M. Henri deRothschild, treasurer ; and Professor Petit, of the AlfortSchool, librarian. The association intends to organise labora-tories and to give subsidies and prizes for research work onmalignant tumours. As the etiological factors of cancerare of prime importance the association intends to send out acircular inquiry form to all the medical and veterinary prac-titioners in France which will contain spaces for the supplyof statistics, and the replies should give accurate informa-tion of the regions where cancer rages with particularseverity. At present more than half the victims of thedisease only seek medical advice when it is too late to doanything for them; since this often comes from ignoranceof apparently insignificant symptoms which mark the onsetof cancer, the association will also concern itself with theeducation of the public. The meetings will be heldmonthly.

The Sale of Oysters.The Prefect of Police has just issued an order regulating

the sale of oysters under the advice of the Council of PublicHealth. In future it will be illegal to expose for sale or tosell for food oysters unless their shells have been first cleanedof all animal or vegetable matter or other d6bris by brush-ing or some other means. Vendors of oysters may onlyemploy to soak or to sprinkle them water suitable for thepublic drinking-supply, with salt added in the requisite pro-portion. It is especially forbidden to use for this purposesalt which has been employed for preserving fish or othercommodities. Salesmen who open the oysters themselvesbefore delivering them must only employ instruments for thepurpose which are kept constantly clean; they are notallowed to wash oysters after opening them ; and they mustsee that the oysters are not exposed to any dirt. Any breachof these regulations will be a penal offence.

A Case of I’atal Ascending Paralysis following on AntirabicTreatment.

M. Babes and M. Mironesco communicated the notes of thiscase to the Biological Society on June 6th. The patient wasa woman, 40 years of age, who had been bitten by a rabiddog and submitted to treatment six days later. At the endof a fortnight of inoculations of the lesser strength thecourse was interrupted by the appearance of symptoms ofparalysis of the lower limbs but without any symptoms ofhydrophobia. The paralysis took an ascending form andrapidly proved fatal. At the necropsy oedema of the

meninges and of the brain with softening of the dorsal andlumbar segments of the cord was discovered. Portions ofthe bulb and cord injected into rabbits did not prove fatalto them. Microscopical examination of the cord showedwidely spread lesions in both white and grey matter ;irritative lesions were found in the bulb and the brain butno Negri’s corpuscles were demonstrated. The case was notone of paralytic rabies and it would seem that this con-dition has been confused hitherto with cases of rabidintoxication more or less severe.

The French S’ociety of Hygiene and the Fishermen.The French Society of Hygiene intends to hold a Congress

this year dealing with the dwellings of sea fishermen in adistrict to be determined by the delegates with the idea ofimproving the hygienic and moral environment of the

‘

" toilers of the deep." The work of the Congress will be intwo sections. The first will deal with the statistics ofbirths, deaths, and preventable diseases, the details ofcertain houses occupied by the fishermen and their families,the cost of such dwellings, and their sanitary arrangementswith reference to the supply of water for drinking andhousehold needs and the drainage of rain and slop-water.The second section will be concerned with the method ofimproving the hygienic conditions of such dwellings and ofsuch settlements and villages as stand in need of it and withthe construction of new suburbs near over-populous maritimetowns. Several prizes, including a gold medal worth200 francs, will be awarded at the Congress.

1885PARIS.-INDIA.

A Home of Rest for the Aged., At last week’s sitting of the supreme council of the PublicAssistance M. Mesureur, the Director, announced that he hadreceived information of the bequest to the Assistance by agenerous benefactress of certain property, including a farmand a garden at Arcueil and a sum of 10,000 francs. By theterms of the will this legacy must be devoted to the establish-ment of a home of rest for old people of both sexes who mustbe at least 60 years of age and French citizens and mustnever have been adjudged guilty of any offences ; in choosingthem no political or religious distinctions are to be made.The institution is to be known by the name of the Cousin deMericourt et Besson Home of Rest and is to be served by thesisters of St. Vincent. This condition is absolute and non-

compliance with it will render the bequest null and void, aswill failure to open the home within five years of the deathof the testatrix.

" Pathomimia."At a meeting of the Academy of Medicine on June 9th

Professor Dieulafoy described the extraordinary case of aman, 30 years of age, who two and a half years ago began tosuffer from gangrenous lesions on his left arm and forearm.He consulted several medical men and received differentopinions-trophic disorders, neuritis, myelitis, and hysteriabeing suggested in turn. He underwent an operation for thestretching of the nerves of the left arm, but as the sloughscontinued this was amputated at the upper third. A fewmonths later gangrenous patches made their appearance onthe right arm and quite recently large sloughs have formedon the left foot. Professor Dieulafoy has eliminated the

diagnoses of syphilitic or tuberculous ulcerations or a spinaltrophic affection, and he denies absolutely the possibility of ahysterical tropho-neurosis. He came to the conclusion thatthe lesions were self-inflicted both on account of the rapiditywith which the sloughs formed and of their resemblance tolesions made by cauterising with Vienna paste. He con-sidered that the sloughs had been caused by caustic potash,and the patient, after being kept under strict observation,was induced at a psychological moment to confirm this

diagnosis. Professor Dieulafoy set himself to study his mentalcondition. He declares that the man produced the sloughsand submitted his arm to amputation in response to anuncontrollable impulse with no intention of fraud or of

getting anything by his action. Professor Dieulafoy designatesthis morbid mental state as " pathomimia."

A Citrious Observation upon Birds.On June 9th M. Jean de la Riboisiere communicated to theAcademy of Science the results of a series of organometricresearches which he has made upon a number of birds.These investigations have convinced him that a very definiteorganic relationship exists in birds between the quantity ofplumage that they possess and the bulk of their liver andkidney substance. In every species he found that individualswith the largest livers had the fewest feathers and vice versd,and he suggests, surely with some boldness, that the plumageof birds is capable of exercising a supplementary hepaticfunction.June 22nd.

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INDIA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

The Principal Medical Officer in India.Surgeon-General W. L. Gubbins, C.B., M.V.O., Principal

Medical Officer His Majesty’s Forces in India, sails fromBombay on June 6th to take up his new appointment asDeputy Director-General at the War Office. Surgeon-GeneralF. W. Trevor, C B., V.H.S., at present principal medical officerof the Poona Division, will succeed him at Simla. Surgeon-General Gubbins held the appointment of Assistant Director-General at the War Office in 1897, whence he went to theSouth African war as principal medical officer of the6th Division and afterwards as principal medical officerat Pretoria, being mentioned in despatches and speciallypromoted colonel. As principal medical officer of theLondon District in 1902 he had supreme charge of themedical arrangements in connexion with His Majesty’sCoronation and received the M.V.O. in recognition of hisservices. From London he passed by special selection toIndia as principal medical officer, Western (Bombay)Command, and from this to Eastern (Bengal) Command, and

finally was specially selected as chief of the military medicalservice in India. As principal medical officer on LordKitchener’s staff in India he has held this appointment fortwo years. During his tenure of office at Simla Surgeon-General Gubbins has initiated and introduced manychanges. The better conditions and supervision of QueenAlexandra’s Military Nursing Service for India was one ofthe first matters to receive attention. Improvements wereintroduced as regards station and family hospitals andquestions affecting the health, eyesight, &c., of the youngchildren of soldiers were the subject of special inquiry.Committees having Surgeon-General Gubbins as Presidentwere appointed by the Government of India and HisExcellency the Commander-in-Chief to examine and to adviseon nearly every subject of military medical importanceaffecting India specially-enteric fever, trooping arrange-ments for invalids, field hospitals, mobilisation stores, thebetter treatment of venereal diseases, station and familyhospitals, conditions to better troops in barracks, and so on.Ten divisional sanitary officers each possessing a D.P.H.diploma were appointed to the ten divisions of the army inIndia with an eleventh at army headquarters as sanitarystaff officer to the principal medical officer. Besides this,each brigade laboratory had specialists in bacteriologyappointed to them for research work in enteric, malarial,and other fevers. This organisation of preventive medicinein the army of India may be regarded as the most valuableand permanent record of the work effected during thetenure of office of Surgeon-General Gubbins and its fruitswill be apparent to anyone studying the statistics ofdisease in the medical reports of the army of India. Anotherfar-reaching change introduced was the creation of inde-pendent principal medical officers of divisions with militarymedical officer for their staff officer, and the wisdom of thestep has been very manifest in the recent mobilisation forthe frontier, which at one time assumed considerable propor-tions, as had the Afghans not stopped when they did ageneral mobilisation must have occurred. In bidding good-bye to India Surgeon-General Gubbins carries the bestwishes for his future not only of the army but also of manyfriends from the other series, and he leaves with the satis-faction of knowing that he has left his work in order andready for his successor to carry on smoothly.

Pasteur Institute of Kasauli.In the Pasteur Institute of India at Kasauli during the

last six years for which statistics are available 4052 personshave been treated, with a mortality of 35-i.e., 0 ’8 per cent.If, however, we take the statistics of Europeans and natives ofIndia separately we get the following figures : (a) Europeanstreated, 1527 ; failures 2. or 0’13 per cent. ; and (b) nativesof India treated, 2555 ; failures 33, or 1.2 per cent. Thedifference between the statistics for Europeans and those forIndians is very marked, the much greater percentage offailures amongst the latter being without doubt due to thefacts (a) that the majority are bitten on the bare skin ;(b) that many of them are bitten by jackals and wolves ; ;and (e) that Indians delay much longer in coming for treat-ment than Europeans.

Cholera at Peshawar.The principal anxiety in connexion with the Mohmand

Field Force has been in respect of an outbreak of choleraamongst our units at several points. The disease is notuncommon in the early summer in the Peshawar Valley andit frequently takes an epidemic form. The Royal MunsterFusiliers when in camp near Abazai suffered severely andthe Northumberland Fusiliers also had their quota of cases.Among sepoys and followers, too, some deaths occurred. But cholera is now rapidly abating and the Field Force itself isnot likely to be affected. The army medical authorities havetaken the strictest measures to secure a clean bill of health onthe march. The regiments belonging to the brigades mobilisedin connexion with the Mohmand Field Force that have beeninfected with cholera have returned from the camps in whichthey were segregated. The 5th Fusiliers marched intoPeshawar on May 20th and occupied their own barracks, the3rd Mountain Battery which was located in a portion of theFusiliers’lines moving out into a camp in the cantonment.The 4th Gurkhas have also gone into camp. It is evidentthat the measures taken to protect the Munster Fusiliersfrom further infection have been successful. No furthercases have occurred and it is hoped that they are now freeand will return shortly to Peshawar. The epidemic in thisregiment has been severe. There have been 42 cases with 28