139PARIS.-ROME.

nationality very many of whom were past masters in theirart; a physician who for 40 years arrived at 8 A.M. to theminute in his wards when he saw all his poor patients whose.claims were never neglected for those of the rich and mighty;.a public man whose retirement meets with universal

regret and who is everywhere respected ; in addition to.all this he is absolutely upright and kind-hearted toa degree which no one who knows him can forget. Over-whelmed as he was by requests for a consultation he neverwould raise his fees-a fact with which his younger colleagueswould sometimes reproach him-but whoever asked for hisopinion, even among the humblest, was sure of getting it, andthat, too, very often without any fee. These, then, are thereasons why throughout France no physician is regarded withsuch practically filial respect as

’’ Father Potain," to givehim the name by which he is generally known. When,therefore, the day dawned upon which one so lovedhad to resign his chair and his hospital work it is easyto conceive the cruel wrench which the parting would givehim. Such a feeling was widespread, and by no concerted Iaction but on their own initiative all his pupils and many I,of his friends attended his last lecture. There in that

throng, so evidently permeated by an emotion no less markedbecause restrained, were Professor Bouchard, ProfessorDieulafoy, Professor Gayon, Professor Brissaud, Dejerine,Gaucher, Oulmont, Gourand, Moutard-Martin, Duflocq, ’,Vaquez, Marey, Teissier, and many more old pupils ’,who have now become teachers. Professor Potain began ’,his lecture jast in his usual calm way and pointed out ’,the remarkable harmony which existed between the resultsof a radiographic examination of the heart and the results- obtained by stethoscopy-it seemed as if he wished his lastwords as professor to be concerned with his favourite studyof the heart, by doing homage to the modern discovery,owing to which that study had entered on a new road.Eleven o’clock struck, the master stopped, and in the midstof a dead silence announced that he had given his lastlecture. "I wish," he continued, "to say a word or twoin memory of Corvisart who, 100 years ago in this verytheatre, created the first course of clinical medicine in France.I wish to thank my colleagues, my pupils, my friends,Wvhom-- ’ " His voice failed and he stopped with his eyesfull of tears. Thunders of applause burst through thetheatre, during which his pupils rushed towards him andescorted him to the door. There the Professor fell into thearms of his old pupil Dieulafoy, who warmly embraced him.He then went up the staircase, which was lined withold pupils and friends, whom he saluted and all of whom ’,were visibly moved. Then slowly and sadly crossing the ’,quadrangle, he left the hospital for the last time. ’,

Definite Lesions in Prehistorie Bones.M. Zambaco of Constantinople recently showed before the I

Academy of Medicine a series of photographs of humanbones collected in Upper Egypt and dating back some 8000,years. Alterations of a destructive or hypertrophic nature,-such as suppurative osteitis, exostoses, eburnated surfaces,.and the like were evident upon the bones of the skull, thelimbs, and the vertebral column. Some of these M. Zambacoconsidered were due to syphilis and others to tuberculosis.M. Fournier said that he did not consider that the lesions ofwhich M. Z.mbaco had shown photographs gave anydefinite evidence of having been caused by syphilis. It isnext door to impossible to affirm the existence of syphilissimply from the alterations exhibited by the bones, for avariety of diseases give rise to alterations in the bonesexactly similar to those produced by syphilis. Not only doordinary injuries give rise to exostoses exactly comparable tothose; produced by syphilis, but varicose ulcers give rise tohyperostosis of the tibia at the border of the ulcer whichdiffers in no way from syphilitic periostitis. M. Fournier,therefore, was of opinion that a simple inspection of a bonylesion was not enough to enable the observer to determineits origin.July 10th.

_________________

ROME.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Tuberculosis in Rome.AT a recent meeting of the Società Lancisiana di Roma

Professor T. Gualdi, chief medical officer of the Bureau ofHygiene, gave some interesting particulars regarding tuber-cnlosis in Rome. While, he said, the population of the city

had increased from 350,000 in 1885 to over 508,000 in 1899the number of cases of tuberculosis bad remained about thesame, and it might therefore be inferred that there hadoccurred a relative diminution in the prevalence of thedisease. But even if the proportion had remained the samethere would still have been cause for satisfaction, because asthe population increased so did the sources of contagion.Pulmonary tuberculosis, which on account of the greaterease of diagnosis afforded a better guide than other forms,accounted for over 900 deaths out of a total for all forms of1500. A diminution had taken place in the number of

abdominal, meningeal, glandular, and miliary cases, which(except the last) were the usual index of infection

by the digestive tract. In regard to the morbiditythere was little to guide one since the hospitals reportedonly the gravest cases. The number of cases of pul-monary tuberculosis might, however, be put down as beingat leat three times as great as the number of deaths-in other words, it might be said that every year therewere 3000 phthisical subjects in Rome, A good deal hadbeen done in the direction of prophylaxis, but muchremained to be done. Tuberculosis of animal originhad been reduced to a minimum. No tuberculousmeat was eaten and milk no longer presented seriousdangers. Santori had found bacilli constantly presentin the sediment of the milk supplied in Rome whichresisted acids after staining with Ziehl’s solution andyet were not tubercle bacilli. These were constantlypresent in the normal fasces of the cows. But no bacilli

capable of causing infection were found. The hygieniccondition of the dairies had improved immensely. Theuse of tuberculin had become general and gave splendidresults. On notice being given by the authorities of theslaughterhouse of any cow with tubercle the cows of thedairy from which the animal came were at once tubercu-linised. All cows were now so examined once a year.At first there was a great difference between the number ofcases in oxen and the number in cows, but now there wasthe same proportion in both-viz., 6 per cent.-of thoseslaughtered, and in the greater number the tuberculosis wascircumscribed. Since cattle caught the infection from manit was well to keep them out of the city, although thisrendered supervision more difficult. In regard to disinfection’this had been carried out during the last five years in allhouses where death from phthisis had occurred and in thehouses of all phthisical patients sent to hospital. Excel-lent results had been obtained by washing the floors with

boiling caustic soda and whitewashing the rooms withlime. All second-hand furniture and carpets sold oughtto be disinfected and eventually this would be done. Theisolation of patients, Professor Gualdi thought, would notbe secured without a vigorous propagation of the doctrine ofinfection. In the hospitals it was already well carried outand even in tenement houses it began to be practised as itsnecessity became better understood. In this connexion hedwelt on the importance of early diagnosis. In all publicplaces in Rome placards forbidding spitting on the floorshad been put up and spittoons supplied, and the same hadbeen done in the houses of the working.classes. Instructionsin the various hygienic measures for preventing the spreadof the disease had been issued to the public. ProfessorGualdi added that he believed the low relative proportion ofcases of tuberculosis in Rome to be due to the backwardstate of industries, with the developmeet of which anincrease in the number of such cases might be expected. Inthe discussion which followed the reading of Professor Gualdi’spaper several speakers, while praising the work already done bythe Municipal Bureau of Hygiene, commented on the absenceof precautions against infection in the schools, and someadvocated a system of medical inspection of the schoolchildren for the purpose of eliminating all tuberculoussubjects, for whom special permanent schools-sanatoriumschools, as suggested by Baginsky at the Congress of Naples-should be established. It was even urged that the Bureauof Hygiene should take up the question of the gratuitousfeeding of school children by the Government. One speakerdeplored the insanitary condition of the public offices, courtsof justice, post offices, &c., and was not surprised that untilthe authorities provided more efficaciously for the clean-liness of the places immediately under their care thereshould be a disposition on the part of the publicto ridicule the prohibition against spitting. In thecourse of his reply to these criticisms Professor Gualdiremarked that a great practical difficulty in the way ofsecuring obedience to the injunction against spitting was the

140 ROME.-NEW YORK.

want of a good portable pocket spittoon. The responsibilityfor the hygiene of public offices lay, he said, not with themunicipality, but with the Government. He entered heartilyinto the scheme of school canteens which had been estab-lished in Belgium at trifling cost. He admitted the deficiencyof hygienic supervision of the schools, the need of specialschools, of sanatorium schools, &c., but the resources of aMunicipal Bureau of Hygiene were unequal to the task ofcarrying out such a vast programme.

The Anti-qitalarial Campaign.The anti-malarial campaign in the Agro Romano has now

fairly begun, the eight ambulances organised for it by theRed Cross Society having left Rome for their various stationsat the end of June. A day or two previously they had beeninspected by the President-General of the Society, ConteTaverna, who was accompanied by Conte Della Somaglia,President of the Roman Committee, and by the medicalinspector, Professor Postempski. The wagons were con-structed at the arsenal of Turin expressly for this serviceand are made in such a way as to be convertible in time ofwar into transports for the wounded. Every wagon, inaddition to the ambulance stretchers, carries three cases

containing surgical instruments, medical appliances, andmedicines (compressed and liquid), and a fourth case

with miscellaneous stores and a saddle for the use ofthe medical officer in the event of his services beingrequired at places not accessible by carriage. The personnelwear the uniform adopted by the Red Cross Society forAfrica-flannel tunic and trousers with helmet and alpineboots for the officers, and linen coat and trousers withhelmet for the nursing attendants. The medical officers, ofwhom there are eight, are armed with revolvers. On July lst,at daybreak, the ambulances started on their various rounds,and already the first reports of the work done begin to reachthe Bureau of Hygiene. For the present, and until themalarial season commences in earnest, this work willbe chiefly in the nature of practice, to familiarise themedical officers with each locality and the best wayof dealing with its particular needs. Nevertheless,on this the first day of the campaign a large quantityof preventive remedies were distributed and a couple ofbad cases of malaria were admitted into the Hospital ofSanto Spirito. Even the small experience already gainedshows that this crusade against the deadly foe which yearlyexacts so heavy a tribute from the fever-stricken peasantryof the Roman Campagna will be the means of relievingmuch suffering and of saving many lives. To the samehumane object the series of experiments which the

Society for the Study of Malaria are again inaugu-rating in Latium for the malarial season now com-

mencing will no doubt likewise contribute. These experi-ments will be of a similar kind to those carried out lastsummer along the Mediterranean and Adriatic railwayswith such encouraging results. Some 26 of the houses ofthe employes along the same lines of railway, all in locali-ties known to be highly malarious, will be selected, and thedoors and windows will be closed with wire gauze to preventthe entrance of anopheles. The men on night duty will wearspecial coverings for the head and hands to protect them fromthe bites of mosquitoes. and will have preventive medicines ad-ministered to them. Similar measures will be adopted by theAcqua Marcia and the Rome-Tivoli Electric Traction Com-panies for their stations and workpeople, and an attempt willbe made to induce the peasantry in the most malarial zones,such as Cervelletta, Castella di Velletri, the Pontine Marshes,&c., to adopt like precautions, wire gauze for the windows oftheir houses and huts being supplied to them. The Caetanifamily have had a moveable shelter constructed furnished withmosquito nets and all the necessary protective paraphernalia,which will be sent with the workpeople to the various placeswhere the mowing, ploughing, and reaping are successivelycarried on thus to afford them a safe sleeping-place duringthe night-time. While these experiments are going on in theAgro Romano other series of a similar nature will be prose-cuted in the Tuscan Maremma and in the provinces ofSalerno and Bari. All the results will be collected and com-ared in the hope of gaining information and devising

practical measures which may prove helpful in protecting thelabouring classes against the ravages of malaria.

Small-pox in Piedmont. There appears to have been no recrudescence of the out-

break of small-pox with which Italy was threatened last Aprilthrough the landing at Naples of a number of infected

persons belonging to a large party of American tourists, buttwo cases of hæmorrhagic small-pox imported from Toulonand Marseilles are reported at Cuneo in Piedmont. Onecase has proved fatal and in the other the patient is not

expected to recover. Prompt measures werel.taken to pre-vent any spread of the infection.July 3rd.

NEW YORK.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Ice Trust in New York.MUCH indignation has been aroused among the inhabitants

of New York by the action of the trust which controls thesale of ice in the city in raising the price of that indispens-able commodity during hot weather to a figure almost pro-hibitive to the poor. Owing, however, to the stand taken bysome of the New York daily journals, notably by the NemYork Journal and by the Wor.d, the prosecution of thisobnoxious scheme has been frustrated, and, furthermore, itspromoters and the more influential of the shareholders inthe company, among whom were the Mayor of New Yorkand other city officials, have been publicly pilloried andsharply brought to book. If the project had been’ carriedout much suffering would have been entailed on theresidents of the poorer districts of New York, where inthe summer the heat is often oppressive to a degreeand where ice is a necessity for the preservationof food. Dr. Dwight Chapin, writing on the matterin the Nerv York Medical Beeord of June 9th, says:-" It is estimated that there are 146,600 children under theage of three years in the boroughs of Manhattan and Broux,or 6’72 per cent. of the whole population. This immensenumber subsists principally upon milk. Recent studies showthat if cow’s milk can be properly cooled it will keep a con-siderable time and is much better than relying too largelyupon superheating. Here is where the subject of ice comesproperly under the physician’s notice. Any difficulty in thefree procuring of ice during the heated months, whetherfrom a natural scarcity of this article or from a cornering ofthis staple by commercial greed, is a public calamity."

Plague in San Francisoo.The plague in San Francisco, owing doubtless to the

vigorous measures taken for its suppression by the UnitedStates Marine Hospital Service and by the San FranciscoBoard of Health, has apparently been, if not completelyeradicated, at least kept well under control, Dr. Kinyoun,of the Marine Hospital Service, San Francisco, states that fromMarch 7th to June 2nd there have occurred 11 deaths fromplague in San Francisco. In 10 of these the diagnosis hasbeen confirmed by bacteriological examination. There wereat the time of the despatch of the report three suspected casesunder investigation. In order to prevent dissemination of thedisease strict measures of inter-State inspection are in vogue.The Chinese and Japanese object very strongly to the cordonplaced around their quarters as well as to the inoculationwith Haffkine’s serum, to which they are compelled to

submit, arguing that they are being subjected to an unfairdiscrimination. So strong is this feeling among the membersof the yellow race in San Francisco that a suit has been

brought by them to test the validity of the existing law andto procure an injunction against the local authorities tocause the abandonment of the cordon around the Chinesequarter. Dr. Kinyoun, in his report to Surgeon-GeneralWyman, says that the local press is still attacking the Boardof Health in every way it can, and is fully and cordially sup-ported by one of the mercantile associations of the city. Theyhave issued a circular which is now being scatteredbroadcast over the city and, I presume, over parts of theUnited States in which it is stated that the Federal authorities joined with the State and local authorities have statedthat no plague exists in San Francisco. Dr. Kinyoun hag.contradicted this assertion and declared that plague infec-tion does exist in the Chinese quarter and will exist until astrong, determined, and concerted effort is made to eradicateit.

Death of Dr. Paul Gibier.Dr. Paul Gibier, the head of the Pasteur Institute in the

United States, died from injuries received in a runawayaccident at Suppern, New York, on June 9th. He was bornl in France in 1851 and after graduating at the medical side