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it the fullest weight possible, we still are face to face withthe anomaly that a special circumstance is made to ex-plain a very general feature of the figures given. It is

probable that the truth lies deeper still in the nature of

things and men, and must await for its full disclosure themore complete analysis of the relations between mentalstates and pathological conditions, and again between theselatter and the season of the year. In the meantime theseseasonal figures, being among the most reliable, presumably,that our contemporary has put together, are of sufficientinterest to warrant reproduction.

Dist-ribaction in seasons Qf S.’,126 American Suicides.Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter.

March ... 649 ...... June ... 833 ...... Sept.... 781 ...... Dee.... 627

April ... 687 ...... July ... 746 ...... Oct.... 681 ...... Jan.... 538

May......706 ...... Aug.... 80i 1 ...... Nov....600 ...... Feb.... 571

Total, 2042 Total, 2386 Total, 2062 Total, 1736

Of the suicides brought under review, nearly 6000 havebeen classified under causes. The results thus brought outagree more nearly with one’s expectations. Insanity, ofcourse, heads the list. Family trouble comes next, whilebusiness trouble, dissipation, and disappointed love rankalmost together for the third place. So far all is common-

place, but the list contains, as would be supposed, someeccentricities. The refusal of a pension might easily sug-gest suicide to a severely logical mind, but it is passingstrange that self-destruction should be chosen as arefuge fromassassination, yet two such cases are recorded; while in oneinstance a source of trouble is assigned so utterly trivial as apimple on the nose! But more striking, upon the whole, are theresults brought out by classifying according to occupations.Strangely enough, farmers contribute by far the largestquota. Possibly the number is not disproportionate to thenumerical strength of the farmer class in America-forthese proportions are not worked out,-but it is singular tofind them outnumbering the saloon-keepers, merchants,labourers, and clerks put together. Yet so it is. Amongother classes, that of courtesans is sadly and suggestivelyconspicuous. For the rest, the list, though long and varied-for no condition is free from the occasional temptation tosuicide,-contains nothing of special interest or in any waypeculiarly noteworthy. The problem of the seasonal varia-tion, however, appears likely to reward careful examination.

THE PHYSICALLY DETERIORATING INFLUENCESOF CIVILISATION.

AT the meeting of the Anthropological Institute on the24th ult. (Mr. Francis Galton in the chair), Dr. GeorgeHarley, F.R.S., gave a discourse on the " Relative Recupera-tive Bodily Powers of Man living in a rude, and Man livingin a highly civilised, state," in which he brought forwarda number of hitherto unpublished, though mostly wellknown facts in support of his contention that the refininginfluences of civilisation had not been altogether an un-alloyed boon. Cases were cited by the speaker in supportof his view that, while man’s physique as well as hismental powers had increased during his evolution froma barbaric condition into one of bienseance (his stature

and his strength, as well as his length of days, havingbeen increased pari passu with this improvement gra-dually), he has deteriorated in his bodily power, eitherto resist the lethal effects of injuries, or to recover

from them as rapidly and as well as his less favouredbarbaric ancestors. Nay, more: the cited illustrative casesshowed it apparently to be a fact that all the appliances ofcivilised life which most potently minister to human com-fort and human enjoyments have a deleterious enervatingeffect on the animal frame, as was demonstrated (saidDr. Harley) both by striking examples drawn from gipsy

and tramp life, and also from domesticated animals, such asthe sheep, the ox, the horse, and the dog, in all of which

species high breeding was shown to conduce to a markeddiminution in the bodily recuperative capacity. The speakerfurther maintained that man universally had naturally a highstandard of bodily recuperative power inherent in his consti-tution, and that the present higher bodily recuperativecapacity shown to be possessed by all men living in a rudestate, whether in the form of savages, like the South AfricanKaffir or the North American Red Indian, or the gipsy ortramp wanderer among ourselves, arises from the fact thatthe refining influences of a higher civilisation materiallydiminish the animal recuperative capacity ; and further that,although all men are of the same flesh and blood, theirdifferent modes of life and different social habits haveinduced in them very varied degrees of nerve sensibility,as well as of recuperative bodily power. I

EXTREMES OF TEMPERATURE.

IT is not without cause that Englishmen so ceaselesslygrumble at the weather. There is no stability, no modera-tion about our climate. It is either very cold or very hot; orif the general atmosphere be fairly comfortable the bitternorth-east wind makes us miserable. At this moment thedelicate have barely recovered from the sufferings inflictedupon them by a cruel season, which had no legitimateclaims to be called Spring, when they are assailed with theplague of summer heat. There is really no rest or peace for

,

any save the strongest in this " tight but ungenial" little: island" of ours. It is vain to preach caution. How can, the most careful of mortals avoid draughts when thej ordinary temperature in-doors is between 70° and 80° F. ?Windows must be thrown open, and the air will rush in, whichis relatively, if not absolutely, of such lower temperature as

’ to give the sensation and do the deadly work of cold, draughts. So with clothing. In the sweltering heat it is: impossible to wear wraps which are nevertheless necessary tor

protect the susceptible from those currents of air that rush-

up side streets and round corners. If, regardless of comfort,) the weakly consent to endure these wraps, they cannot dor

more than in a very moderate way defend themselves against’

exceptional perils. Perhaps the wisest - certainly the. happiest-are those who have never, by pampering their sus-

ceptibility, rendered themselves the creatures of conditionsin the presence of which it seems impossible to be eithercontented or safe.

___

SANITARY WORK IN PETERBOROUGH.

A REPORT which was presented to the Town Council ofthis city by the inspector of nuisances in March last showsa very discreditable state of things as regards refuseremoval. We are informed that house refuse is periodicallyremoved from 332 houses in a city which in 1881 had apopulation of 21,212, and it is added that great difficultyis experienced with occupiers of small tenements who allowtheir ashpits to be filled to overflowing before they willhave them emptied. We are bound to infer that the

inspector is here speaking of houses other than the 332 asto which periodic removal is in force; and we can onlywonder what else could be expected than the grave resultwhich he deplores, and which ensues "in the thicklypopulated and poorer parts of the borough." It is a primaryduty of a sanitary authority to see that such refuse is

periodically removed from the neighbourhood of all dwellingswithin their jurisdiction, and this at very short intervals.Occupiers should never be held to have a voice in determin-ing the frequency of such removal unless they have a pieceof garden ground on which such refuse can be properlydeposited at least once in every week. Where, as in Peter-,borough, this is not possible, it is the obvious duty of the

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sanitary authority to undertake this duty themselves; and itshould be remembered that it is precisely the poor (who canneither pay nor arrange for the frequent visit of a scavenger,and who prefer to wait until there is a good load of stuff toremove) who most need the intervention of the authority insuch a matter. Whatever the system or want of system isthat prevails in Peterborough, it is evidently one that

favours the retention in the vicinity of dwellings of thevery materials which a sanitary authority should aim atgetting rid of at the shortest practicable periods.

COCAINE AND ITS USE AS A LOCAL ANÆS-THETIC IN DENTAL SURGERY.

COCAINE having now taken a place in the Dental Pharma-copoeia for various uses, it was desirable that some résu1né ofthe literature of the subject, especially with reference to theinjection of the drug for producing anaesthesia, should bemade, and Messrs. Cunningham and Hern are to be congra tu-lated upon the exhaustive character of their respectivecommunications to the Odontological Society. Both paperscover much the same ground, and the conclusions arrivedat are very similar. With regard to the physiological action ofcocaine, much experimental research has been performed byvon Anrep, Mays, Biggs, Hughes Bennett, and others; andalthough the results recorded are not quite uniform, yetthese discrepancies are readily explained by the differentmethods of investigation, and the varying degree of suscep-tibility to the drug of the individual animal or person.Generally, it may be concluded that cocaine produces thefollowing effects :-On respiration it first increases thenumber of respirations, then decreases them; in largerdoses death ensues from paralysis of respiration. Onthe heart it has a depressant action, reducing the forceand frequency of the pulsation, finally arresting theauricles and ventricles in diastole. In small and largedoses it produces at first constriction of the blood-

vessels, with a rise of blood pressure, succeeded by aconsiderable fall. Locally applied, cocaine also producescontraction of the small arteries. On the nervous system,small doses increase the reiiex irritability of the cord; largedoses reduce it considerably. On nerves, small doses

heighten the irritability of the sensory fibres, but exert noeffect on the motor fibres ; larger doses completely paralysesensory filaments and greatly diminish the irritability ofmotor. Salivary secretion is markedly deficient in many,and the temperature raised in some cases. A carefulexamination of the very large number of cases of cocaineinjection now collected has led both Mr. George Cunning-ham and Mr. Hern to express very much the same views,which we quote in the latter’s words. "In judging of thepracticability of the employment of cocaine as an anoesthe-tic for extractions, one has to weigh the advantages anddisadvantages of its employment, and compare it withthose agents for the production of general anaesthesia nowin use. After doing so, I am led to the following con-clusion-viz., that as an agent for general use in extrac-tions1. The physical barrier to injection which the bony- alveolus interposes. 2. The pain, however slight, dueto the puncture of the syringe. 3. The mental suspensedue to the necessity of waiting several minutes-betweenthe injection and operation. 4. The full consciousnessunder which the operation is performed. 5. The varyingidiosyncrasy of patients with reference to the drug. 6. The

inconstancy of production of complete anesthesia. 7. The

necessity of limiting the dose, so that only one part of themouth can be safely anaesthetised for the same patient at agiven time, and that only such as to allow of one, or atmost two, teeth being removed. These all combine to

relegate the drug to a subordinate and secondary position,leaving nitrous oxide in the possession of the field as

facile princeps for the vast majority of such operations.Other than for extraction there are various operations inwhich cocaine can be beneficially employed."

THE HEALTH OF THE CROWN PRINCE OFGERMANY.

ON Wednesday, June 8th, Dr. 3,lorell Mackenzie, in thepresence of the Crown Princess and Dr. W. Wegner, removeda second piece from the growth in the left vocal cord ofHis Imperial Highness. At a consultation held the followingFriday Professor Virchow read a most fully detailed reportof his examination of the growth, which he described as a"pachydermia verrucosa." He stated that the portion sub-mitted to him showed a great increase in the number andsize of the epithelial cells, some of which were empty,whilst others contained colloid matter, also that the papillaewere larger and more numerous than in normal mucousmembrane. Numerous bloodvessels and nerves were foundin the growth, but we believe no morbid products werepresent in the submucous areolar tissue. Professor Virchowgave a most favourable prognosis. In view of ProfessorVirchow’s statement there is reason to hope that the CrownPrince will in time be entirely cured, though it must notbe forgotten that recurrence is a characteristic feature ofthese papillary growths. At the urgent request of Dr.Mackenzie the Crown Prince has ordered a detailed reportof Professor Virchow’s examination to be published, and Dr.Virchow has informed us that this report will appear in fullin this week’s issue of the Berliner Klinisclw Wochenselirift.

DEATH FROM OVERCROWDING.

ALTHOUGH overcrowding is pretty general in manu-

facturing towns, we seldom hear of a death from this cause.A case has been recently investigated by Afr. Bowbottom,the coroner for Wigan. It transpired at the inquest thatthe deceased, a young man of twenty-two years of age, wasa labourer at some ironworks in the neighbourhood, and re-tired to rest on the night of the 6th inst. in his usual health.He was called early next morning to go to his work, butstated he would not go that day. The other occupants of theroom (lodgers) went to their work, and he was left alone. At9.30 A.M. he complained to the landlady that his throat wassore, and she applied a poultice. At 12.30 noon she sent forDr. Brady, who at once went to the man, and found theatmosphere of the room in which he was overpowering. Thewindow was opened, and, after examining the man, he cameto the conclusion that he was suffering from the effects ofmephitic gases ; his throat was of an intense purple colour,the neck slightly swollen, his general appearance indicatedinefficient aeration of blood, and there were spasms at timesof laryngismus stridulus. Dr. Brady gave directions as totreatment and left the house. The man died shortly after-wards. He made an attempt to vomit, fell back in bed,and died as if choking. Dr. Brady refused a certificate andcommunicat6d with the coroner, desiring a second medicalman at the post-mortem. The coroner ordered a post-mortem, and asked Mr. Berry to be present with

Dr. Brady. The post-mortem appearances were thoseof poisoning by carbonic acid gas. The trachea was

intensely congested, as were also the bronchial tubes.

The right side of the heart was filled with verydark fluid blood ; the lungs and kidneys were congested,and dark in colour. The mucous coat of the stomach wasin appearance as if stained with port wine lees. All the

organs were healthy, with the exception of this venous con-gestion. There was nothing else to account for death. Itwas shown at the inquest that in this house, with tworooms above and two below (and these small rooms),eleven persons lived-a man, his wife, five children, and