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30 vote of thanks, on the proposal of the President, seconded t by Dr. Rsnton, was accorded to Dr. Grange. i WINDSOR AND DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETY.- 1 The third meeting of the session of this societv was held at t the Guildhall, Windsor, on Dec. 16th, 1903, Mr. W. B. Holder- t ness, the President, being in the chair.-Dr E. B. Hulbert t read a paper entitled "The Importance of an Adequate í Fluid Intake in Various Morbid Conditions." He said ( that the normal quantity of water that should be 1 taken to compensate the daily loss should not fall below 40 or 50 ounces and mentioned among the various ( morbid conditions due to deficiency of liquid intake 1 gout and its different manifestations. Migraine often con- t nected with gout was, he said, much benefited by increasing ( the amount of liquid consumed, The relation of temporary increase of intraocular tension to migraine was alluded to and attention was drawn to the good results obtained by ] increasing the fluid intake in this condition and also in progressive myopia. The value of increasing the aqueous intake in anaemia was also mentioned ani stress was laid on the importance of addifg plenty of water to each dose of iron. Dysmenorrhcea. was also specified, as also was the collapse following severe gastro- 4 enteritis and heamorrhage. Fmally, Dr. Hulbert alluded to a case of bilateral parotitis in an aged patient which had apparently yielded to this line of treatment.-Dr. Alexander Haig, while agreeing with Dr. Hulbert that in gout and I similar conditions where poisons were circulating in the blood free dilution of the blood would be likely to benefit I the patient, said that it was difficult to explain that in migraine where the blood pressure was high good results should follow the ingestion of fluids-a proceeding which tended to raise the blood pressure. The same difficulty presented itself in other diseases mentioned by Dr. Hulnert, anaemia** and dysmenorrhoaa., where in prac- tice Dr. Haig’s conclusions did not tally.-Dr. Rayner D. Batten said that though he had no experience of gaug- ing the blood pressure by the instrument employed by Dr. Haig his finger told him that copious draughts of water tended to lower the blood pressure, and he thought that this was the common experience. In treating acute glaucoma he thought that the time allowed was too short for treat- ment on general lines to do good. Besides, glaucoma having a more or less mechanical origin, treatment hy operation seemed to be the most reasonable plan. He thought, however, that Dr. Hulbert’s line of treatment might prove useful as a preventive measure. With regard to progressive myopia he said that the question as to why the sclerotic yields in this disease was still unanswered. In prescribing spectacles one was only treating the symptom of a disease, and he thought that it was quite possible that subsequent experience would prove that it was a cardio- vascular change. He concluded by expressing the hepe that more work would be done in this direction and his belief that such work would tend to show that Dr. Hulbert’s advice as to tbpe treatment of progressive myopia was based upon sound principles. . FORFARSHIRE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.-The third ordinary meeting of this society was held in the University College, Dundee, on Dec. llth, 1903, Dr. W. Graham Cctmpbell, Vice-President, being in the chair.-Patients and specimens were shown by Dr. J. S. Y. Rogers, Dr. J. Mackie Whyte, and Dr. W. E. Foggie.-Dr. R Stirling of Perth gave an account of a cise of Gastric Ulcer with Perforation which be had treated by suturing. The con- valescence was delayed by diaphragmatic pleurisy follow- ing operation. He had kept Ut) rectal feeding for a week after the operation -Professor David MacEwan referred to the difficulty in the diagnosis of such cases. In most suspected cases he thought that it was safer to operate- Dr. Mackie Whyte mentioned a case of recovery after symptoms all of which pointed to perforation. He dis- cussed the advisability of giving morphine in small doses so as not to ma-k the symptom-.-Dr Stirling replied that in his case there were almo-t no symptoms of previous gastric mischief. -Dr. C. Templeman introduced the subject of the Municipal Supply of Sterilised Prepared Milk. He e iphasised its importance and pointed out the success winch its adoption in Liverpool, Battersea, and Leith had met with. He mentioned it as one possible preven- tive of the growing infantile mortality in Scotland and e"pecially in Dundee. One thing, however, that must be guarded against was the inducement to mothers to shirk the proper nursing of their children. He considered that for the ultimate success of the proposed scheme the sup- port of the medical profession of the city was necessary.- Professor A. M. Stalker thought it would be well not to cherish too high hopes of the success of the system to begin with. The people must have natural intelligence and natural affection, while a great deal depended on what happened after the baskets of nine bottles were handed over to the mothers. The system was a means of bringing before the working class the extreme importance of infant feeding, in which direction an immense amount of good could be done by the municipality. He considered it a good scheme and one which in the long run would be sure to impress itself on the populace.-Dr. A. P. Low dwelt on the necessity of proper veterinary inspection of dairies and spoke of the impossibility of cleaning the long glass tubes in some feeding bottles.-Dr. R. C. Buist proposed a motion pledging the meeting to support Dr. Templeman and approving of his scheme.-Dr. Mackie Whyte, in seconding, said he thought that medical men should dis- abuse their minds of the idea that sterilised milk in infant feeding caused infantile scurvy and quotEd Sir Thomas Barlow in support. Infantile scurvy had been caused by too long feeding on malted foods.-This motion was adopted unanimously. GLASGOW OBSTETRICAL AND GYNaeCOLOGICAL SOCIETY.-A meeting of this society was held on Dec. 16th, 1903, Dr. J. Nigel Stark, the President, being in the chair.- Specimens were shown by Dr. Carstairs C. Douglas, Dr. R. Jardine, Dr. J. K. Kelly, Dr. G. Balfour Marshall, Dr. A. McLennan, Dr. A. Louise McIlroy, Dr. Russel (for Dr. J. Edgar), and Dr. Taylor.-Dr. G. Scott MacGregor read a paper on the Management of Anterior and Posterior Displacements of the Uterus. The paper was discussed by Dr. Kelly, Dr. McLennan, Dr. Marshall, and Dr. Russel.-Dr. McLennan read notes of a case of Sarcoma of the Uterus. Hysterectomy was performed. The uterus was much enlarged. When split open it was found to contain a tumour involving the whole posterior wall and almost rupturing into Douglas’s pouch. Dr. McLennan attributed the enlargement of the uterus to the poison secreted by the tumour acting on the myometrium.-Dr. J. Lindsay showed a Double Monster (Thoracopagus) and read a clinical note by Dr. Edgar. All the serous cavities in the two ieetuses were separate except the pericardium which was single and contained the hearts. The organs were normal except that the liver was composite. Dr. Lindsay gave a description of the circulatory arrangements. I Reviews and Notices of Books. Sir Henry Wentworth Acland, Bart., 1.C.B., F.R.S., Regius Professor of Medicine in the Univers1.fy of Oxford : a Menwir. By J. B ATLAY, late Scholar of Oriel College, author of ,. L’ rd Cochrane’s Trial before Lord Ellen- borough." London : Smith, Elder, and Co. 1903. Pp. 507. Price 14s. net, IT is rather to be feared that this book may fall chiefly into the wrong hands : that it will not be seen by many who would be greatly interested in the record of a full, active, and useful life ; and that, on the other hand, it will be read or at least looked into by many who have been taught to regard Sir Henry Acland as a great physician and who may therefore be disappointed in the record given. As a physician he was rather good than great and the course of events took him far afield from the quiet routine which is almost essential to the successful work of a leader of medical science. To understand thoroughly the essential characteristics of Sir Henry Acland it is necessary to appreciate his hereditary disposition and his upbringing and it may be best to say first a few words on these points, for if they are not kept in mind a reader who had never met him in life and who for the first time makes his acquaintance through this book may be inclined to form an opinion of him which is not justifiable and to conclude that his undoubted success was due rather
Transcript
Page 1: Reviews and Notices of Books

30

vote of thanks, on the proposal of the President, seconded t

by Dr. Rsnton, was accorded to Dr. Grange. i

WINDSOR AND DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETY.- 1The third meeting of the session of this societv was held at tthe Guildhall, Windsor, on Dec. 16th, 1903, Mr. W. B. Holder- tness, the President, being in the chair.-Dr E. B. Hulbert

t

read a paper entitled "The Importance of an Adequate íFluid Intake in Various Morbid Conditions." He said

(that the normal quantity of water that should be 1taken to compensate the daily loss should not fallbelow 40 or 50 ounces and mentioned among the various (morbid conditions due to deficiency of liquid intake

1gout and its different manifestations. Migraine often con- tnected with gout was, he said, much benefited by increasing (the amount of liquid consumed, The relation of temporaryincrease of intraocular tension to migraine was alluded toand attention was drawn to the good results obtained by ]

increasing the fluid intake in this condition and alsoin progressive myopia. The value of increasing theaqueous intake in anaemia was also mentioned anistress was laid on the importance of addifg plentyof water to each dose of iron. Dysmenorrhcea. was alsospecified, as also was the collapse following severe gastro- 4

enteritis and heamorrhage. Fmally, Dr. Hulbert alluded toa case of bilateral parotitis in an aged patient which hadapparently yielded to this line of treatment.-Dr. AlexanderHaig, while agreeing with Dr. Hulbert that in gout and Isimilar conditions where poisons were circulating in theblood free dilution of the blood would be likely to benefit Ithe patient, said that it was difficult to explain that in

migraine where the blood pressure was high good resultsshould follow the ingestion of fluids-a proceeding whichtended to raise the blood pressure. The same difficultypresented itself in other diseases mentioned by Dr.

Hulnert, anaemia** and dysmenorrhoaa., where in prac-tice Dr. Haig’s conclusions did not tally.-Dr. Rayner D.Batten said that though he had no experience of gaug-ing the blood pressure by the instrument employed by Dr.Haig his finger told him that copious draughts of watertended to lower the blood pressure, and he thought that thiswas the common experience. In treating acute glaucoma hethought that the time allowed was too short for treat-ment on general lines to do good. Besides, glaucomahaving a more or less mechanical origin, treatment hyoperation seemed to be the most reasonable plan. Hethought, however, that Dr. Hulbert’s line of treatment mightprove useful as a preventive measure. With regard toprogressive myopia he said that the question as to whythe sclerotic yields in this disease was still unanswered. In

prescribing spectacles one was only treating the symptom ofa disease, and he thought that it was quite possible that

subsequent experience would prove that it was a cardio-vascular change. He concluded by expressing the hepe thatmore work would be done in this direction and his beliefthat such work would tend to show that Dr. Hulbert’s adviceas to tbpe treatment of progressive myopia was based uponsound principles.

. FORFARSHIRE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.-The thirdordinary meeting of this society was held in the UniversityCollege, Dundee, on Dec. llth, 1903, Dr. W. GrahamCctmpbell, Vice-President, being in the chair.-Patients andspecimens were shown by Dr. J. S. Y. Rogers, Dr. J.Mackie Whyte, and Dr. W. E. Foggie.-Dr. R Stirling ofPerth gave an account of a cise of Gastric Ulcer withPerforation which be had treated by suturing. The con-valescence was delayed by diaphragmatic pleurisy follow-ing operation. He had kept Ut) rectal feeding for a weekafter the operation -Professor David MacEwan referred tothe difficulty in the diagnosis of such cases. In most

suspected cases he thought that it was safer to operate-Dr. Mackie Whyte mentioned a case of recovery after

symptoms all of which pointed to perforation. He dis-cussed the advisability of giving morphine in small doses soas not to ma-k the symptom-.-Dr Stirling replied that inhis case there were almo-t no symptoms of previous gastricmischief. -Dr. C. Templeman introduced the subject ofthe Municipal Supply of Sterilised Prepared Milk. Hee iphasised its importance and pointed out the success

winch its adoption in Liverpool, Battersea, and Leith hadmet with. He mentioned it as one possible preven-tive of the growing infantile mortality in Scotland and

e"pecially in Dundee. One thing, however, that must beguarded against was the inducement to mothers to shirk

the proper nursing of their children. He considered thatfor the ultimate success of the proposed scheme the sup-port of the medical profession of the city was necessary.-Professor A. M. Stalker thought it would be well notto cherish too high hopes of the success of the systemto begin with. The people must have natural intelligenceand natural affection, while a great deal depended on whathappened after the baskets of nine bottles were handedover to the mothers. The system was a means of bringingbefore the working class the extreme importance of infantfeeding, in which direction an immense amount of goodcould be done by the municipality. He considered it agood scheme and one which in the long run would be sureto impress itself on the populace.-Dr. A. P. Low dwelton the necessity of proper veterinary inspection of dairiesand spoke of the impossibility of cleaning the long glasstubes in some feeding bottles.-Dr. R. C. Buist proposed amotion pledging the meeting to support Dr. Templemanand approving of his scheme.-Dr. Mackie Whyte, inseconding, said he thought that medical men should dis-abuse their minds of the idea that sterilised milk ininfant feeding caused infantile scurvy and quotEd SirThomas Barlow in support. Infantile scurvy had beencaused by too long feeding on malted foods.-This motionwas adopted unanimously.GLASGOW OBSTETRICAL AND GYNaeCOLOGICAL

SOCIETY.-A meeting of this society was held on Dec. 16th,1903, Dr. J. Nigel Stark, the President, being in the chair.-Specimens were shown by Dr. Carstairs C. Douglas,Dr. R. Jardine, Dr. J. K. Kelly, Dr. G. Balfour Marshall,Dr. A. McLennan, Dr. A. Louise McIlroy, Dr. Russel(for Dr. J. Edgar), and Dr. Taylor.-Dr. G. Scott

MacGregor read a paper on the Management of Anteriorand Posterior Displacements of the Uterus. The paperwas discussed by Dr. Kelly, Dr. McLennan, Dr. Marshall,and Dr. Russel.-Dr. McLennan read notes of a case ofSarcoma of the Uterus. Hysterectomy was performed.The uterus was much enlarged. When split open it wasfound to contain a tumour involving the whole posterior walland almost rupturing into Douglas’s pouch. Dr. McLennanattributed the enlargement of the uterus to the poisonsecreted by the tumour acting on the myometrium.-Dr. J.Lindsay showed a Double Monster (Thoracopagus) and reada clinical note by Dr. Edgar. All the serous cavities in thetwo ieetuses were separate except the pericardium which wassingle and contained the hearts. The organs were normalexcept that the liver was composite. Dr. Lindsay gave a

description of the circulatory arrangements.I

Reviews and Notices of Books.Sir Henry Wentworth Acland, Bart., 1.C.B., F.R.S.,

Regius Professor of Medicine in the Univers1.fy of Oxford :a Menwir. By J. B ATLAY, late Scholar of Oriel College,author of ,. L’ rd Cochrane’s Trial before Lord Ellen-borough." London : Smith, Elder, and Co. 1903.Pp. 507. Price 14s. net,

IT is rather to be feared that this book may fall chieflyinto the wrong hands : that it will not be seen by manywho would be greatly interested in the record of a full,active, and useful life ; and that, on the other hand, it will beread or at least looked into by many who have been taughtto regard Sir Henry Acland as a great physician and whomay therefore be disappointed in the record given. As a

physician he was rather good than great and the course ofevents took him far afield from the quiet routine which isalmost essential to the successful work of a leader of medicalscience.To understand thoroughly the essential characteristics of

Sir Henry Acland it is necessary to appreciate his hereditarydisposition and his upbringing and it may be best to sayfirst a few words on these points, for if they are not kept inmind a reader who had never met him in life and who for thefirst time makes his acquaintance through this book may beinclined to form an opinion of him which is not justifiableand to conclude that his undoubted success was due rather

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to luck than to the solid and great qualities which heundoubtedly possessed.There is a saying in Devonshire-and as it is quoted in

the book, we can refer to it without apology-that " theworld is made up of men, women, and Aclands." Like

most sayings which live it is not without meaning. Acland

appears always to have judged things and people from hisown particular standpoint. Fresh from Harrow, Oxford,and the plains of Troy, he was ready to write in themanner of an old stager on life in London, as learnt from astudy of the medical students at St. George’s Hospital. Heresembled in some respects the amiable Mr. Barlow and hadhe been wrecked on a desert island it would probably nothave seemed incongruous to him to adopt on Sundays thechimney-pot hat, without which, it may be remembered,Mr. Seagrave never walked abroad. A disquisition on theadvantage of savings banks which Acland gave to somenaval boys after presenting them with a shilling each didnot apparently convert them to his views on these estimableinstitutions and he expressed himself as being shocked thatso large a sum as the one wh:ch he had given to each ofthem should be expended in the acquisition of nuts and

oranges-a course which he suggested might have been

adopted by monkeys. Acland indeed took himself veryseriously and resented it when he was not so taken byothers. On a yachting cruise he drew up a series ofrules and recommendations which were printed and hungup on deck for the instruction of the crew and of his

guests. Amongst the rules was one to obtain informationas to sanitary wants of fishing villages and fishing popula-tions whenever possible." On one occasion the exhilara-tion of a wet day ashore tempted some of his guests to writea somewhat playful report on the sanitary state of a fishingvillage. It was " received with eloquent silence and neverreferred to again."A sense of humour is not a universal gift and if the

general reader will pardon Acland for the deficiency he mayfind very much of interest in the book, for it shows clearlyenough how great was the work he accomplished, howloveable he was as a man, how attractive to his friends, andhow good to the poor. His life at Harrow was not happybut at Oxford he met John Ruskin who became his life-longfriend. In the year of the accession of Queen Victoria-aperiod which seems very remote-he started for a tour to theEast, visited Athens, Rome, and Constantinople and madedrawings of the seven churches of Asia. Whilst a studentat St. George’s he preferred to the society of his fellowstudents that of Mr. George Richmond, the painter of

Ruskin, of Newton of the British Museum, and of Philpott,then a master at Charterhouse, afterwards Canon ofHereford. At this period Richmond made a very fine

drawing of him, which is reproduced in the book. It iscurious that Ruskin either disliked it, or thought it not

good. ,

Acland soon left London and studied in Edinburgh.His health was delicate and Brodie warned him that ifhe settled in London he would not live till he was

40 years of age, and added that the " well-informed andintellectual society of Oxford" would be good for him.He was appointed to Lee’s Readership and he marriedSarah Cotton. His marriage proved the greatest blessingand gave him a fixity of purpose which he might never Iotherwise have obtained. Mrs. Acland became an ideal i

housewife and mother, was the kindest and most con-

siderate of hostesses, and exercised the strongest powerfor good on what may be called the domestic university lifeof Oxford. Acland from time to time entertained successivelyand pleasingly a number of strange guests, a thing impossiblein the absence of a hostess endued with kindness, with tact,and with common sense. Of the work done by Aclandduring the cholera epidemic of 1854 nothing need here be

said and the great fight of his life-that for the ettablish-ment of the science museum at Oxford-is too well knownto be here repeated. In 1857 he was appointed RegiusProfessor of Medicine and it is in that position that hewas best known to the world at large. In 1858 he travelledwith the King (then Prince of Wales) to Canada and his visitto America proved a great success and increased the numberof his friends. Acland regretted the position taken up bySamuel Wilberforce in regard to science and saw clearlythat it was untenable; he equally regretted the action ofOwen in regard to Huxley. The book contains a verycharacteristic letter by Tyndall in which he says that, in hisopinion, the English clergy appear to him "to be speciallyendowed with the capacity of bringing into contempt thenoblest aspirations of the human mind."Acland was a great hater of injustice and was profoundly

disgusted with the treatment meted cut to Sir Bartle Frerewho was in turn disgracefully ill-used by Lord Beaconsfieldand by Mr. Gladstone. A thoroughly religious man he sawthe weakness of the position taken by Gladstone on "TheImpregnable Rock of Holy Scripture"; his own teaching-which had the entire approbation of Henry, CardinalNewman-is concisely expressed in one sentence of his

Harveian Oration. " No student of Nature worthyof the name looks on the problem of this world as otherthan vast and inexplicable. He pretends no more thanto see by an image darkly and to bend before the

cause of all which is by us unattainable, by us onlycomprehensible." "

No one interested in the religious and scientific life ofthe middle of the last century can afford to ignore thisbook. Everyone familiar with the chief personalities ofthe last half of the century will read much of it with °

interest. Mr. Atlay must be congratulated on having carriedout conscientiously and well a work which must have costhim time and no little anxiety, for to write a fair, critical, ]and true biography is a literary achievement of no smallmerit.

The Praotioal Study of malaria and other Blood Parasites.By J. W. W. STEPHENS, M.D. Cantab., D.P.H., WalterMyers Lecturer in Tropical Medicine, University ofLiverpool ; and S. R. CHRISTOPHERS, M.B. Vict., I M.S.;Members of the Royal Society’s Commission on Malaria,in Africa and India, 1898-1902. London: Longmans,Green, and Co. 1903. Pp. 378 xxxv. Price 10s. net.

IN recent years the subject of tropical medicine has been,enriched by many notable works. The student of to-dayhas the great advantage of Dr. Scheube’s encyclopaedic itreatise on tropical medicine, of Sir Patrick Manson’s book,of Dr. Danielb’s recently published Laboratory Studies 8 inTropical Medicine," and lastly of the work now under re-view. The major portion of this publication is occupiedwith the subject of malaria and contains some very usefuldetails in connexion therewith. The last chapters tell us,ofblackwater fever and the facts concerning the haemamcebidse,Texas fever, African coast fever, spotted fever, spirillar fever,trypanosomata, and the filaria.

In considering the subject of malaria the authors give us’I an account of the best and most simple technique according. to their knowledge gathered from the extensive experience, of several years and their labours on the Royal Society’s. Commission on Malaria. They have found that for ordinary’. work it is better to use almost entirely dry films and the ’7 book opens with a description of the technique bywhich the latter are prepared. The making of wet films’, is also described. In the staining of films preference is, we think rightly, given to Romanowsky’s method

which is fully described. Leishman’s stain is also dealt °

I with, and this is, perhaps, easier to carry out. The I

i description of normal bldod ,next follows and is succeeded

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by an account of the abnormal constituents of the same.In the third chapter the important subject of the malaria

parasite is treated very fully. Then we come to certain

subsidiary signs of the affection and the differential count ofthe leucocytes. The description of the examination for thepresence of the parasites in the tissues follows. The Cam-

bridge rocking micrctome in its ordinary’ form suffices forall practical purposes. The student is then taught how toimbed, the precautions in the matter of imbedding are

detailed, hints on the cutting of sections are given, andthis part of the subject terminates with directions concern-ing the staining and mounting of the sections. Altogetherthis chapter is an excellent one. We next find a sufficientaccount of the life-history of the malarial parasite. The de-

scription of the mosquito follows. The ovum, the larva of themosquito together with other larvae, the nymphx, and theirexamination are next portrayed, and then follows a veryuseful chapter on the capture and experimental feeding ofmosquitoes. The methods of the dissection and examinationof mosquitoes for the malarial parasite are given very fully,the chapter containing this account being one of the mostvaluable in the work. After describing the internal anatomyof mosquitoes the authors next tell us how to collect mos-quitoes, how to kill them, and how to mount them. Theo-bald’s classification is mentioned. The more common

situations in which the anopheletes breeds are collected

together in a very useful table. Those whose duty it

may be to investigate the endemic malaria of any placewill find in the chapter relating to this part of the sub-

ject the fullest directions. The estimation of the red cells,of the leucocyte count, acd of the haemoglobin and the bloodplatelets is next considered. We note the authors’ opinionthat there is practically no difference between quinine hasmo-globinuria and blackwater fever ; this, however, will not beadmitted by a great many observers. It is stated by Dr.Stephens and Dr. Christophers that blackwater fever occursonly in those who have previously suffered from malaria. Ifthis theory really be true it is at least remarkable that wehave never seen blackwater fever in India, although manyhundreds of cases of malarial fever treated by quinine have Ipassed through our hands. The organisms of Texas fever,African coast fever, spotted fever, yellow fever, and ’,spirillar fever receive due attention. The last two chaptersdeal with the trypanosomata and the filaria and the workcloses with a very useful appendix on the blood-suckingflies and a description of the various stains, mountingmedia, and the apparatus required for work in the tropics.We have thus briefly reviewed the scope of this interestingwork which, supplementing the excellent treatise of Dr.

Daniels, will be found of great value to observers in thetropics.

Hypnotism, its History, Practice, and Theory. By J. MILNEBRAMWELL, M.B.. C M. Edin., author of numerous

articles on the Practice and Theory of Hypnotism.London: Grant Richards. 1903. Pp. 477. Price 18s.net." The author" of this book, we are told by the publisher,

has devoted the last 12 years to hypnotic practice andresearch and his personal observations of the practicalwork done in France, Germany, Sweden, Holland, Swit-

zerland, and Belgium should also make the volume a

valuable addition to the science of a subject which is

exciting much interest at the present time." In the

introductory chapter the author tells us that in the courseof the volume he proposes to refer not only to his ownhypnotic 12 years’ practice and research but also to givesuch a general account of the subject as can be broughtwithin reasonable compass." Examining Dr. Bramwell’sbo)k in the light of his own account of his intentionswe doubt if he has fulfilled the promises made. One chapter

I is devoted to the early history of hypnotism ; it is short and, very incomplete ; for example, the account given of MesmerL is fragmentary. The work of Elliotson, of Esdaile, and, of Braid is more fully treated. The section on the lateri History of Hypnotism contains an account of the practice, of Dr. A. A. Liebeault of Nancy. A section follows, entitled "History of My Own Practice." The remaining p3,rt, of the book is devoted to dissertations on the methods of, inducing and terminating hypnosis, susceptibility to hypnosisand the causes which influence it, the experimentalphenomena of hypnosis, and the management of hypnotic

, experiments and an account of the" different stages of, hypnosis." The therapeutic use of hypnotism is dealt with in

chapters on hypnotism in medicine and surgery and in oneon the management of medical and surgical cases. This

, is followed by a disquisition on hypnotic theories which

occupies 150 pages, or nearly a third of the whole work. A

chapter is devoted to "the so-called dangers of hypnotism "and this is followed by a summary, conclusion, and list ofreferences. Of the two appendices one is the late Dr.

i Williamson’s account of the origin of Braid’s work and theother is a note on spiritualism, clairvoyance, and telepathy.The general effect produced by the book is a feeling of

wonder that such a subject, with all its suggestions of

mystery and occultism bred of our imperfect knowledge, canhave led to the production of so unstimulating a book.Doubtless Dr. Bramwell was particularly right to treat hissubject very seriously, but he might have taken more stepsto arouse and to hold our interest. The work would gainmuch if it were rearranged and rewritten so that the his-

tory of the subject and the theories of its various exponentswere placed together. For example, the life of Esdaile isgiven in one place, while his theories will be found inanother. The author’s views naturally pervade the book,but while lessons from personal experience are of the utmostvalue in all medical treatises, an author should beware lestthe actors of the past should appear merely as puppetsin his play. Dr. Bramwell is, we are sure, unaware howstrongly the impression is produced that views contrary tohis own are erroneous and misleading.

LIBRARY TABLE.

essays on Rural Hygiene. By GEORGE VIVIAN POORE,M.D., F.R.C.P. Lond., Commander of the Dannebrog; Eme-ritus Professor of Medicine and Clinical Medicine, Uni-

versity College, London ; Consulting Physician to UniversityCollege Hospital. Third edition. London, New York, andBombay : Longmans, Green, and Co. 1903. Pp. 426.Price 6s 6d.-The first edition of this book was publishedin the year 1893, a second edition was printed in 1894, andin the present volume the work has been arranged inmore orderly form," as the author says, some omissionshave been made, and some new matter has been added.The book as now presented should prove of use to all thosewho live in rural districts and take an intelligent interest insanitary matters and it will be found to be suggestive andstimulating. Dr. Poore recommends that the general supplyof water in London should be given by meter but he doesnot apparently take into consideration the cost of the

general installation of such a system. In speaking of theold water-supplies of London he says the Westbournehas disappeared and calls Bay’s Water a stream. The

general teaching of the book, as we have had the pleasureof pointing out on previous occasions, is excellent and-its chief use is to show that the sanitation of ruraldistricts must be arranged on plans entirely different fromthose suitable for towns. Dr. Poore has had considerable

practical experience of dealing with human excrement in thecountry and he is evidently well pleased with the resultswhich he has obtained. He gives, facing the title page.


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