1405IRELAND.-PARIS.

outbreak has occurred at Leith, no less than sixty-one newcases having been notified during last week. Of these, forty-sixoccurred in South Leith and fifteen in North Leith. As a smallconsolation it may be noted that in fifty-eight cases in hospitalonly one death has occurred. On Tuesday last Dr. Littlejohnstated that eighteen cases had been notified in Edinburgh.In a letter to his committee on the subject he pointed outthe close relationship of Edinburgh and Leith, and the con-sequent danger of the spread of small-pox from the latter tothe former. A large proportion of the Edinburgh patientshad attributed their infection to Leith, and, in Dr. Little-john’s opinion, the time had come when the Edinburgh towncouncil should call on the Leith authorities to adopt theNotification Act without further delay. In commenting onthe letter, Lord Provost Russell said he did not understandwhy Leith should stand out as a seceder from a course whichhad been so generally followed by the large cities in thekingdom.May 30th.

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IRELAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Royal College of Surgeons.ON Monday next, June 4th, the annual elections for office-

bearers will take place. Mr. W. Thornley Stoker will beelected president, Mr. William Thomson vice-president, andSir Charles Cameron secretary without opposition. Besidesthe names of candidates mentioned for the Council lastweek I now add the following-viz., Messrs. A. H. Jacob,R. D. Purefoy, J. J. Cranny, J. H. Scott, and Arthur Chance.There will be twenty-five candidates for nineteen places.Mr. Hamilton, who retires from the presidency, will not goup for the Council, neither will Dr. Kidd.

Eye, Ear, and PM-oat Hospital, Cork.The subscriptions towards the building fund of this hospital

amount to .62261 15s. 8d., which is less than one-half of thetotal sum required. Sir John Arnott heads the list with thehandsome donation of E500. It is intended to build on thesite of the present premises a commodious and well-equippedhospital which will provide ample accommodation and beas efficient as institutions of a similar nature in Belfast.It is confidently expected by the promoters that funds willbe obtained from a larger area than that of the county ofCork.

The Belfast Royal Hospital.At the quarterly meeting, held on May 28th, it was

reported that during the past three months 617 intern (258medical and 359 surgical) and 4618 extern patients had beentreated. The expenditure for the eight months endingApril 30th has been 6010 10s. lld., and the receipts from allsources .E6817 Os. 2d., showing an excess of income overexpenditure of £806 13s. 3d,, and, after deducting a debt of£145 13s. ld. carried forward from last year, a balance is left in favour of the hospital of £661 Os. 2d. at the end of thequarter. Dr. Colville has been appointed house surgeon(vice Dr. Davidson resigned), and Dr. T. S. Kirk has beenelected house physician.

Extension of the Belfast Royal Hospital.Owing to the great increase in the number of out-patients,

it has been found necessary to enlarge the accommodation ofthis department. A new wing, which is practically a con-tinuation of the present waiting-room, is being built. It isdivided into five compartments for the surgeons and physiciansin charge of the extern department.

The Queen’s College, Belfast, Students’ Union Fête.The great Students’ Union Fete and Bazaar was opened on

Wednesday, May 23rd, by the Marquis of Londonderry, andhas been a very marked success. The weather was fine, theattendance was large, and the utmost enthusiasm prevailedboth among professors, students, graduates, and thoseladies and gentlemen who gave their services to make theietea a success. The students themselves take charge of agreat many of the out-door amusements. The sum realisedhas not yet been accurately ascertained, but it is hoped itwill be sufficient, with what already has been subscribed, toerect the new Students’ Union Buildings. The Bazaar andFete closes on Tuesday night, having been opened for six days.May 28th.

PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Treatment of Briglat’s Disease with Renal Extract.THE late Dr. Brown-S6quard maintained that the real

danger in albuminuria consisted in the fact that the internalsecretion of the kidney was suppressed, such secretion pos-sessing the property of either neutralising the toxines gene-rated in the system, or contributing to the elimination ofthese noxious products of metamorphosis. An attempt hasrecently been made to verify this view by MM. Teissier andFrenkel of Lyons, by the employment on patients sufferingfrom nephritis of subcutaneous injections of glycerine extractof kidney tissue obtained by macerating the triturated renalsubstance in a 10 per cent. mixture of glycerine and water.This preparation is quite inoffensive ; 20 c. c. of it per kilo-gramme of the body-weight of the animal experimented onmay be introduced either into the areolar tissue, or into theveins without determining any trouble. When, however, thedose per kilogramme of body-weight is increased to 100 c.c.,death ensues rapidly with intense dyspnoea, nystagmus, andconvulsions. Of the two patients subjected to the treatmentone had typical interstitial nephritis with the usual complica-tions (œdema, cardiac trouble, &c.), and the other sufferedfrom what is denominated dyscrasic albuminuria. Forthree days prior to the injections, the two women

were put upon a rigid milk diet. During this period,a complete quantitative analysis of the urine was

made, their degree of toxicity was estimated, the densityof the blood noted, as also its richness in red-and-whiteblood- corpuscles. Two c.c. of renal extract were injectedonce daily for the first two days; then the same quantity wasinjected twice a day for three more days. The urine andblood analyses were continued during the five days of thetreatment and also for the three following days. The resultswere: quantity of urine voided unchanged ; no change in thedensity or corpuscular richness of the blood, but a slightincrease of arterial pressure; a slight increase in the quantityof urea passed, no increase in the elimination of chlorides,but a decided rise in the quantity of phosphates and anincrease in the urotoxic coefficient, which was now 0’252instead of 0’205. This increased toxicity of the urinarysecretion was proved by the myosis produced by the injec-tion from the second day of treatment of only 60 c.c. of itinto the rabbit, which phenomenon was hardly perceptiblewhen 340 c. c. was injected previously to the treatment. Thisincreased elimination of the products of retrograde meta-morphosis through the diseased kidney is, indeed, the mostnotable effect produced by this new therapeutic method.Add to this the improvement in the general conditionof both patients and a case appears to be made outin favour of further trials in this direction. It mustnot be forgotten that Professor Dieulafoy of Paris hasalready experimented in his wards with extract of renaltissue. The trials, however, have, so far as my knowledgegoes, not been persevered with.

The Hospital Staff of Paris.From figures published by the Assistance Publique it

appears that the strength of the staffs of the Paris hos-pitals was 202 on Feb. lst, 1894. Of these, 16 are honoraryphysicians, and 9 honorary surgeons. The oldest of thehonorary physicians is Dr. Moissenet, and of the honorarysurgeons, Dr. Maisonneuve, who retired as far back as 1872.There are 88 physicians and 44 surgeons on the active list.The Bureau Central counts amongst its staff 18 physiciansand an equal number of surgeons. The youngest hospitalphysician is Dr. Widal, and the youngest surgeon Dr. Lejars.There are 7 physician-accoucheurs and 4 assistant physician-accoucheurs.’ A French Estimate of the Royal Society.

The following extract from one of the most important Paris, "dailies "-an extract I purposely refrain from translating-will give some idea of the value attached to honours con-ferred on French scientific men by British learned societies : e"Grand succes pour la science francaise ! La Societe Royalede Londres, le premier corps savant de l’univers, avait a,choisir un membre parmi les botanistes des deux mondes.Elle a elu, a 1’unanimite, notre compatriote, le ProfesseurH. Baillon, de la Faculté de Médecine de Paris. C’est,croyons-nous, le seul botaniste français qui fasse partie del’illustre Académie des Harvey et des Newton."

1406 BERLIN.-RUSSIA.

The Treatment of Syphilis.Dr. Jullien read a paper on this subject at a meeting of the

Société de Thérapeutique held on the 23rd inst. He sharesthe opinion of Diday and of most practitioners that mercurialtreatment should be applied as soon as the diagnosis isIndubitable. The method which has yielded in his handsthe best results is a revival of one recommended as long agoas 1864 by Scarenzio of Pavia. It consists in the injection intothe buttock or the deltoid region of a solution of calomel inpetrolein, each injection being composed of ten centigrammesof the salt dissolved in one cubic centimetre of the vehicle.The strength of each dose may be diminished one-half,according to the age, strength, and weight of the subject.For the space of two months the injections are practisedonce a fortnight. The interval is then increased to twenty,twenty-five, or thirty days. The inconveniences attaching tothis method, practised under strict antiseptic conditions, areslight. Sach occasional symptoms are headache, a tendencyto syncope, mild gingivitis, and a sensation of constrictionof the chest, which is difficult to explain. Before beginningthe treatment the state of the kidneys and of the gumsshould be inquired into. The results are, according toDr. Jullien, marvellous, and this statement has been con-firmed by an experience extending over several years. Hegives his method the preference over all others.

Methyl Blue in Facial Epithelioma.Dr. Darier1 reports a series of cases of cancerous growths

of the face cured rapidly by daily touchings with a 5 per cent.solution of the above substance. This substance appears toexercise a specific action on cancerous elements, and is

capable, when thoroughly applied, of bringing about cureunaided. But success is more easily and quickly obtainedwhen a previous application of chromic acid or the galvano-cautery has been made. When the tumour is deeply seated,hypodermic injections of methyl blue must be practised.Dr. Darier states that recovery is greatly facilitated by skin-grafting done from the fifteenth to the twenty-first day.May 29th.

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BERLIN.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Prccg2ce Congress.IT is very generally felt here that the International

Medical Congress at Rome was not very successfullymanaged, and the opinion has found expression in in-fluential quarters in Berlin that, unless decisive steps aretaken at an early date, the Congress of Hygiene at Praguein September will miscarry in the same way for want ofefficient and business-like management.

Cholera and Water Traffic.The importance of maintaining a strict watch over the

water traffic on rivers and canals in order to prevent theintroduction of cholera into Germany has been demonstratedby the experience of the last two years. Especially on the’Vistula the service for inspection of the traffic was very care-fully organised. This has now been again mobilised, so asto ward off any danger from the East.

Medical Society of Berlin.At the meeting of the Medical Society of Berlin on May 23rd

Dr. Langerhans showed the organs of a man aged thirty-nine who had died from glanders in Professor Leyden’swards in the Charite. Since the discovery of the bacillusof glanders by Schiitz and Löffler no case of this diseasehas been reported to the Medical Society. The diagnosiswas confirmed by the bacteriological examination, whichgave pure cultures of the bacillus, and by the results ofvaccination on guinea-pigs. The internal organs, with theremarkable exception of the liver and kidneys, all showednumerous foci of the disease.

Ticberezclosis among Domestic Pets.

Professor Frohner has been investigating the extent towhich tuberculosis occurs amongst domestic pets in Berlin.He found that this disease is rare amongst dogs, somewhatmore frequent amongst cats, and quite common in parrots.

1 Acad de Médecine, May 22nd.

The frequency with which the latter are attacked is attributedto their being kept almost entirely indoors.

S’chool Hygiene in Berlin.Dr. Edel, speaking to an assembly of medical men, recently,

on school hygiene, recommended, amongst other points, thatthe following heterogeneous regulations ought to be enforced:(1) all schools, especially private schools, should be examinedby medical officers of health in respect to cleanliness,heating, lighting, ventilation, and closet accommodation;(2) eye-glasses should not be allowed, and spectacles onlywhen ordered by a medical man ; (3) corsets should be for-bidden entirely if possible ; (4) upright writing should beintroduced ; and (5) studying by gaslight should be avoided.

It appears that in the last few months a considerablenumber of cases of influenza have occurred in Berlin.May 28th.

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RUSSIA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Tke Death of Dr. Sperk.THE death is announced of Dr. Sperk, the Director of the

Imperial Institute of Experimental Medicine in St. Peters-burg. Dr. Sperk was a syphilologist and dermatologist ofhigh repute. For twenty-one years he was chief physician tothe Kalinkin Hospital, the large hospital for venereal andskin diseases in St. Petersburg, which affords an immensefield for observation in these classes of disease. The earlypart of his professional life Dr. Sperk spent in a civil appoint.ment in Siberia, in the far away provinces of the Amur andthe Primorskaia, or Maritime Province. Three years ago hewas appointed to the Directorship of the Oldenburg (now theImperial) Institute of Experimental Medicine in this city.His works on Prostitution and Prostitutes are widely known.

Zymotic Fevers in Russia.Typhoid fever is said to be widely epidemic at the present

moment in the government of Pskof, and to have broken outin the town of that name. A few cases of relapsing feverhave recently occurred in St. Petersburg, but there is no

epidemic of the disease in the city.Syphilis in Siberia.

Syphilis is widely spread in all parts of Russia, and in somedistricts is a veritable scourge. In the government of Tomsk,in Siberia, the immigrant population is said to be decimatedby the disease. The medical department has, therefore,commissioned three medical experts-Drs. Stepanof, Flitner,and Tchapin-to proceed to Tomsk and to take what measuresmay be necessary to prevent the further spread of thedisorder there.May 27th.

THE INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY.- The annualdinner of the Institute of Chemistry was held at St. James’sHall, on Friday, the 25th ult. Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R.S.(President of the Institute), being in the chair. Amongstthose present were Lord Kelvin, Sir J. Evans, Professor J.Norman Lockyer, Professor H. E Armstrong, Sir HenryTrueman Wood, Dr. Frankland, Dr. Thorne Thorne, andothers. In replying to the toast of ’’ The Learned Societies," Lord Kelvin said he rejoiced to know that the offspringscientific societies were able to relieve the parent societyby printing a large amount of valuable scientific matterwhich, although of the utmost value, could hardly beaccepted by the Royal Society on account of the exces-

sive demands upon its funds. Sir J. Evans, in proposingthe toast of the evening, The President and Institute ofChemistry," said that the institute sought, in the first place,to insure that all those who practised as analytical or con-sulting chemists should be properly educated and shouldhave the proper amount of training, and he was gratified tolearn that at the present time the institute had 800 membersand upwards of 200 students. The President (Dr. W. J.Russell, F. R. S ) replied in a short speech, in which he saidthat the institute had just passed through a critical time, butthat there were now signs on every side that the endeavoursof the Council to raise the status of the professional chemistwere being generally recognised.