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amounted to £4188 2s. lld., being an increase of X32 17s. 7d.over the previous year, and making a total of £65,298 13s. 8d.since the foundation of the fund in 1874.

Hospital for Consumption, Belfast.A deputation from the Public Health Committee waited

on the board of the Consumption Hospital on Oct. 20th,stating that a deputation of inhabitants of the Ballynafeighdistrict had appeared before them, objecting to the buildingof a consumption hospital in that district. The PublicHealth Committee held a meeting on Oct. 22nd to considerthe subject, when the following resolution was passed, towhich, however, two members took exception : " That we,the members of the Public Health Committee, protestagainst a convalescent hospital being erected on the siteselected in Ballynafeigh, on the ground of the serioussanitary objections to the establishment of an institutionof this kind in the midst of a district rapidly increasing inpopulation, and we urge that a site should be selected moredistant from the crowded neighbourhood of the city, whichwould be more beneficial for the city."

The Belfast Royal Hospital.On Sept. 29 )h an inquest was held in the Royal Hospital

on a boy who had died there on the previous day, eighteendays after he had been admitted. The resident surgeonstated in his evidence that the deceased when admitted wassuffering from a compound fracture of the bones of the leftankle, and that the immediate cause of death was septi-caemia; whereupon the coroner, Dr. Dill, who is also Pro-fessor of Midwifery in Queen’s College, is reported in thepublic press to have observed that he knew that well, andbe wished to state that he had often called attention to thefoul state of the atmosphere in the hospital. The disease inthis case had been caused, in his opinion, by the foul air of theward, and if it had been ventilated that boy would probablyhave been living that day. He observed that he had beenseveral times insulted by the board of management, throughhe superintendent of the institution, when he had insistedon taking the jury into another room. He also stated thathe had kept the dispute to himself as long as he could.The verdict of the jury was that the deceased had diedrom injuries accidentally received. These extraordinaryremarks of Dr. Dill, having appeared in the Belfast press,were brought before the notice of the board of managementof the hospital, who referred the whole matter to theirmedical staff, and as a result a report was presented to theboard of management on Saturday, the 24th inst. Thereport pronounces Dr. Dill’s remarks to be unfounded.They say that the death-rate of the hospital is one of thelowest in the kingdom. No death from septicaemia hadoccurred for eighteen months prior to that of the one inquestion, and in that case there was not the slightestfoundation for the suggestion that the death was due to orin any degree accelerated by any want of proper ventilationof the ward in which it was treated.

The death is reported by cable of Surgeon-Major Wm. B.Moynan, 20th Bengal Native Infantry, at Bombay, on hisway home from Rawil Pindi, at the age of forty years.Oct. 27th.

_______________

PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

A few Therapeutical Hints.Endometritis.-The following is the treatment of this

troublesome complaint pursued by Dr. Labadie-Lagraveat the Paris Maternity Hospital. Starting from the ideathat endometritis is most frequently of infectious origin’(puerperal or gonorrhceal), he very logically applies to itscure the same therapeutic measures found appropriate incombating lymphangitic processes occurring in ary other.part of the body. A person pricks his finger, lymphangitissupervenes, with swelling of the epitrochlear and axillaryglands. The local treatment found most efficacious here isfree incision, with prolonged antiseptic baths. In likemanner, endometritis should be met by dilatation of the osand subsequent assiduous disinfection of the cavity of theorgan. The modus operandi of Dr. Labadie-Lagrave is asfollows : The vagina is first rendered thoroughly aseptic bymeans of frequent douches with a 1 in 5000 sublimate solu-tioncontin.ued for two or three days. The os is then dilatedwith laminaria tents, carefully asepticised. The introduction

of each tent is followed by a vaginal douche and pluggingof the vagina with iodoform gauze, or cotton-wool soakedin a sublimate solution. Dilatation being complete, theuterine cavity is, after having been previously washed out,tamponned with iodoform gauze soaked in a one-thirdglycerine solution of creasote. In introducing the strips ofgauze, each of which should be 40 centimetres long by twobroad, undue downward traction on the os should be care-fully avoided, as such traction might easily light up freshinflammatory mischief. The intra-uterine dressing isrenewed, at first daily, then every other day for a period oftwo or three weeks, the patient being meanwhile restrictedto the recumbent posture. In this way recovery is readilyprocured in fairly recent cases. For the efficacious treat-ment of chronic villous endometritis, scraping of the alteredmucosa will be necessary previously to the application ofthe method described above.

Biliary Lithiasis.-In the intervals between the attacksof biliary colic, Dr. Dujardin-Beaumetz prescribes a pillcontaining euonymin and soap, aa 2 gr. to be taken everynight and morning. At the same time, the patient takesimmediately after each meal 10 gr. of salicylate of sodium.For the relief of the actual attack, from six to seven ouncesof olive oil are given in one dose. This often calms thepain. Should it not do so, a hypodermic injection of gr. ofmorphia should be given, combined with no gr. of atropine.

Prophylactic Treatment of Post.gonorrhoeal Azoospermia.-Most practitioners are, I fear, too apt to ascribe the un-fruitfulness unhappily prevailing in many a ménage to somedefect in the genital apparatus of the woman-anteflexion,congenitally narrow or stenosed os, endometritis, &c.-andfail to accord to azoospermia consecutive to an old doubleepididymitis the importance due to it as a cause of sterilityin the husband. It is certain that the deposit in the epi-didymis of inflammatory products may effectively block thepassage of the spermatozoa for a long period after the attack.Prof. Pajot and others have repeatedly proved the absence ofthe essential elements in the sperm of such individuals. It is,therefore, a matter of great importance to determine by ourtreatment the early disappearance of these deposits. Thefollowing is the method adopted with this intent by Seelig-mann of Hamburg. As soon as the acute stage of the com-plication is over, recourse is had to daily massage of thetestis, epididymis, and cord (as far up as it can be reached)in the order named. Each séance is supplemented by theinunction of the same parts with a 5 or 10 per cent. ichthyolointment, and the testis is encased until the next séance ina Langlebert suspender. This apparatus is composed fromwithin outwards of layers of silk, cotton-wool, and oiledfilk. It acts by keeping up uniform compression, and alsoby maintaining the parts in a state of permanent moisture-a condition eminently calculated to effect the absorption ofthe products of inflammation.

A Baby Show.On the 24th inst. the walls of Paris were found placarded

with bills announcing for that evening a lecture on infanthygiene, to be delivered under the auspices of the Societedes Concours des Bébés. The conférence was to be followedby a baby show, and this attractive part of the programme,and not an overpowering thirst for knowledge, must be heldaccountable for the large attendance-about 100-of wet-nuises hailing from Orleans, Toulouse, and even more dis-tant places. Prizes from 1000 francs downwards, togetherwith gold and silver-gil t medals, had also-all in the interestsof babydom-been held out as inducements to these long-cloaked and beturbanned ladies to muster in full force.

I Unfortunately, the organisers of the meeting had omittedto arm themselves with the authorisation of the Pre-

. fecture of Police necessary for the holding of a con-I

cours, and consequently, no sooner was the lecture overI than the local Commissary of Police made his appear-Lance and promptly cleared the hall, to the great disgust’ of the expectant nurses. The incident is aggravated! by the fact that the majority of these nurses had been in’ Paris for the last three weeks for the purpose of competing’ at similar shows, which had, one and all, and for the same

reason, met with the same fate as the present one. The! exit of the indignant dames, with their tender charges lying passively in their arms, would make an effective

subject for a picture at the next Salon.t- The Depopulation of France.1 Writing of babies naturally leads me to mention a

r subject which is a sore point with every French patriot. I

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refer to the alarming decrease of population in this other.wise favoured land. Innumerable diecussions have takenplace thereon at the Académie de Medecine and all sorts ofpanaceas proposed to encourage the growth of the waningpopulation. The evil seems to increase as time goeson. The statistics of the year 1890 are now available,and they cannot be pleasant reading to the think-ing Frenchman. That year enjoys, in fact, the in-vidious distinction of being, from a Registrar-General’spoint of view, the worst year since the beginning ofthe century. M. Vannacque, the Chief of the StatisticalDepartment of the Ministry of Commerce, informs us inhis report that in 1890 there were in the whole of France ’!269,332 marriages, 5457 divorces, 838,059 births, and876,505 deaths. Comparing these figures with those of 1889,we find a diminution in marriages (m 1890) of 3602, in birthsof no less than 42,520, while the divorces and deaths in-creased by 671 and 81,572 respectively. For twenty yearsthe death-rate has not been so high, and we must hark backforty years if we would find an equally low rate of inar-riages. In this last computation we must, of course, ex-clude the years 1870-71 (the years of the war) from ourcalculations. As to the births, there have never been sofew reported since 1854, and the Crimean war and thecholera epidemic were sufficient to account for the low ratein that year. When, in 1884, divorce was re-established byM. Naquet, the late General Boulanger’s fidus uchates, itwas expected that it would, after the first two or three years, Ibecome a rare event. That this expectation was a vain one Iis proved by the following figures:-

1884 (4 last months) 1657 divorces = 6-6 per 10,000 households. I1885 4277 " = 5-7 " "

1886 ...... 2950 " == 4-0 " " I

1887 ...... 3636 " = 5.0 " "

1888 ...... 4708 " = 6’1 " "

1889 ........ 4786 " = 6’2 " "

1890 ........ 5457 " = 7’0 " "

Apropos of the high mortality prevailing in France, I maymention that epidemics of typhoid fever have been frequentof late in garrison towns and elsewhere. There are at pre-sent epidemics at Rouen (20 cases with 2 deaths at thebarracks), at the garrison of Nimes (70 cases with 3deaths), with a few cases amongst the civil population. AtChantilly, that racing centre, a few cases are reported, asalso two outbreaks in the Department of Arieges. InParis, where this disease is the bête noire of the Englishtourist, there were, in the week ending Oct. 15th, fourdeaths only from this cause, and these cases occurred indistricts not frequented by visitors. The general annualdeath-rate of Paris, calculated from the week abovementioned, is 22-29.

Paris Water.supply.There is good news for visitors to this capital. The

evil reputation unjustly enjoyed by Paris water is dueto the fact that in the height of summer, the supplyfrom the Vanne, Dhuys, and other recommendable andreliable sources, being insufficient for the needs of thepopulation, it has to be supplemented by the execrablewater derived from the Seine. Notice is invariably givenof this dangerous proceeding some days previously, and thedistricts thus favoured are mentioned in detail. The typhoidfever curve always ascends in these parts of Paris when theperiod of incubation has elapsed. I am happy to be able toannounce, on the authority of M. Humbert, chief engineerof the city of Paris, that by May, 1893, the works now inactive progress by which an extra supply of excellent waterwill reach Paris from the Avre will be completed. Eachinhabitant will from that date have at his disposal 100 litresper diem of good potable water, and the practice of turningon Seine water periodically in summer will be definitely dis-continued.

Paris, Oct. 28th.

BERLIN.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Professor Virchoit’s Seventieth Birthday.AT about 10 A M. on the 13th inst. a large assembly met

in the hall of the Kaiserhof here to celebrate Virchow’sseventieth birthday. Virchow arrived at ten, accompaniedby his family, and was conducted by the committee to theseat of honour. The first speaker congratulated the Pro-fessor in the name of the Government, and expressed the

good wishes of the Scientific Deputation for Medical Affairs.Virchow expressed his hearty thanks for the congratula-tions and for the great support and ready help be hadalways received from the Government. Professor Hirsch,Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University, congratulatedhim in the name of the Faculty. Virchow’s old friend andfellow- student, Prof. von Helmholtz, conveyed the bestwishe&of the Academy of Sciences. Burgomaster von Forckenbeck,representing the municipal authorities, thanked him in thewarmest terms for his great services to this city. SchoolInspector Bertram then read the letter conferring on

Virchow the honorary citizenship of Berlin. ProfessorWaldeyer read congratulations and addresses from the,Academy of Science in Amsterdam, the medical facultiesof Pavia, Casan, and Warsaw, the Anthropological Societyof Brussels, and the Medical Society of Odessa. Dr.Semon and Mr. V. Horsley read the address of the Britishgentlemen who had contributed to the medal. ProfessorAxel Key delivered the address of the Medical Academyof Stockholm. Professor Stokvis presented Virchowwith a marble bust of Camper (the gift of the medicalmen of Holland), an address from the University of-Amsterdam, and a copy of the last number of the DutchScientific Archive, specially dedicated to him. ProfessorSklifossowsky read the address of the Medical Society ofMoscow, and delivered the gold medal of the ImperialSociety for Natural Science, Anthropology, and Ethnography,and an address from the Archaeological Society, both of thatcity. Professor Botkin, jun., was the bearer of the addressesof the Imperial Academy of Military Medicine and of themedical men of St. Petersburg. Surgeon-General Groppiusbrought the congratulations of the medical officers of th&Prussian Army, Surgeon-General Wenzel those of the medi.cal officers of the German Navy, and Surgeon-GeneralGrasnick those of the Training Colleges for Army Doctors,of one of which, the Pépinière, or Frederick William’s.Institute, Virchow was an alumnus. Surgeon-GeneralMehlhausen and Privy Councillor Spinola delivered anaddress from the Cbarite. After it had been announcedthat telegrams had been received from the medical facultiesof Berne, Upsala, Tokio, Tomsk, Moscow, Kasan, andKönigsberg, and from thirty. five German and foreignmedical societies, there was a short interval for lunch.The large Virchow gold medal, the gift of the wholescientific world, was delivered by Professor Waldeyer. It,is 180 millimetres in diameter, and weighs about fivepounds. The front bears a portrait of Virchow flanked bythe word "Ætat" and the number "LXX.," and surroundedby the worda, "Rudolphus Virchow Pommeranus, CivisBerolinensis." On the obverse side is seen Isis, with the-winged genius of investigation, torch in hand, lifting herveil. At the foot of her pillar leans a tablet with a view ofthe Pathological Institute of Berlin. On the left there is a,figure representing Science, her right hand resting on a.book, her left holding a skull, in wnich the zygoma of thetemporal bone is distinctly visible. The designer of themedal is Scharff of Vienna, who was present. ProfessorWaldeyer stated that the medal had been struck in silverfor Virchow’s wife, and in bronze for each of the othermembers of his family and of the contributing uni-versities and institutes. A considerable sum remains, a,

to be disposed of as Virchow shall decide. It isvain to attempt to enumerate all the honours showeredon the venerable savant by his scientific and politicalbrethren and admirers at home and abroad. The con-

gratulations of the Berlin Medical Society were eloquentlyconveyed by Professor von Bergmann. Its gift was a,portrait of Virchow by the famous painter Lenbach ofMunich; it represents him sitting at a table, lookingthoughtfully upwards, his right hand resting on his hip, his.left on the table. What a trial the task of returning thanksfor all these gifts and honours, and for many more of whichtime and space forbid the enumeration, must have been caraeasily be imagined ; but Virchow stood it with unabatedvigour of body and mind to the last. One of the literarygifts which have been dedicated to Virchow on this oecasiondemands special mention ; it is the fruit of the effortsof his assistant, the private lecturer Israel, and consists,of three stately volumes, containing fifty-four articlesof very various contents. Besides the most eminentGerman investigators, five Italians, four Englishmen (in.cluding Lister and Paget), a Dane, a Swede, a French-man, a Dutchman, a Pole, a Russian, and a Japanese, areamong the contributors. The longest article is that of