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and after settling in Wales he was appointed Poor-lawmedical officer and medical officer of health of Llandovery.The fountain is a granite structure and cost about £600. Itis the gift of the Rev. T. Evans and Mrs. Evans, who wereclose personal friends of Mr. Lewis. -

Anti-vaccination Tactics.The anti-vaccinationists have discovered still another

method of delaying the vaccination of children. At the police-court held at Abertillery in December there were down forhearing six cases of neglect to have children vaccinated, butas the representative of the local anti-vaccination societyobjected to a medical man sitting on the bench Mr. W. E.Williams retired and the cases were adjourned for a month.At the adjourned hearing in January the same objection wastaken and a further adjournment was made. The clerk tothe magistrates very properly ruled that Mr. Williams wasnot disqualified from hearing the case. It is reported thatthere have been granted in Monmouthshire 407 certificatesof exemption from vaccination since the passing of theVaccination Act in 1898.

Notification of Measles.At the last meeting of the Neath Rural District Council it

was decided to delete measles from the list of notifiablediseases in spite of the strong protests of Mr. T. P.

Whittington, the medical officer of health, and of Mr. JamesElias, a medical member of the council and who is also themedical officer of health of the borough of Neath. Theonly districts in Glamorganshire in which this disease is nownotified are Swansea and Neath borough.

Bequests to Medical Charities.The late Mr. Richard Lewis of Hereford has bequeathed

300 to the Cardiff Infirmary and .f:150 to the Porthcawlrest.

Sanitation at Oystervr,o2ctlt.The Oystermouth District Council, which includes within

the area of its administration the popular Welsh healthresorts known as the Mumbles and Langland Bay, has neverdisplayed very conspicuous energy in carrying out its dutiesas a sanitary authority; indeed, upon more than one occa-sion members of the council have resented what they havebeen pleased to call the unnecessary interference of themedical officer of health of the county of Glamorgan. It is

hoped that the appointment of Mr. A. Lloyd Jones, whoholds the Diploma in Public Health of the University ofCambridge, to the vacant post of medical officer of health,is an indication that the council has at last become aliveto its responsibilities.

Quack Literature.The high wages prevailing in the colliery districts of Mon-

mouthshire and of South Wales are being taken advantageof by the vendors of quack medicines. The " stomach pills "and the cough lozenges which are disposed of in largequantities on market days probably do little harm if they dono good. This cannot be said, however, of certain literaturewhich is now being distributed broadcast throughout themost populous parts of the country. The vicious characterof the publication may be gathered from the use of suchexpressions in a column headed " How to be happy thoughmarried " as " cures obstinate cases " and " regulator of themonthly courses," in connexion with certain lotions andsuppositories the mode of application of which is describedin considerable detail. Since every right-minded person isagreed that such broadsheets can only do harm there oughtnot to be much difficulty in securing their suppression.

Aberystwith Rural District Council.The election of an inspector of nuisances by the Aberyst-

with Rural District Council was the occasion of some ratherunusual proceedings. There were 40 candidates for theappointment, the salary of which is £105 per annum, andincluded in the number of applicants were the chairman andthe vice-chairman of the council. These two gentlemenhaving been out-voted returned to their places in the councilwhere one proposed and the other seconded the resolutionappointing the successful candidate.

Lunacy in Wales.Dr. R. S. Stewart, the deputy medical superintendent of

the Glamorganshire County Asylum at Bridgend, has recentlygiven some interesting details relating to the prevalence oflunacy in Wales. The Welsh counties having the largestproportionate number of lunatics are Brecknockshire, Radnor.shire, Montgomerysbire, and Cardiganshire. In Glamorgan-shire the rate of lunacy is low and in the several unions of

that county the rate per 10,000 of the population is in Neath,24; Swansea, 22 ; Merthyr, 21 ; Cardiff, 20; Bridgend, 18 ;Cowbridge, 18 ; and Pontypridd, 10.

Newport and Monmouthshire Hospital.The Newport and Monmouthshire Hospital has received a

donation from an unusual source. It appears that theowner of a licensed house, the lease of which is expiring,offered to pay .c2000 to the hospital funds in addition to aground rent of Z50 per annum for the lease of a block ofbuildings on land belonging to the Newport Corporation oncondition that he should be allowed to erect a licensedhouse upon the land. The licensing magistrates havingsanctioned the transfer the amount was formally voted tothe hospital at the last meeting of the Newport Council,.although some of the members protested and urged that itshould be paid over to the borough fund or given to thetechnical instruction committee.

Pembrokeshire and Haverfordwest. Infirmary.This infirmary, an institution containing 34 beds, has been

closed in order that the drainage system may be overhauledand reconstructed. The occurrence of a case of diphtheria.among the patients led’ to an examination of the drains,resulting in the discovery of certain defects.Jan. 14th.

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SCOTLAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

-Dietaries of the Poor in Edinburgh.UNDER the auspices of the Scottish Society of Economists-

Dr. D. Noel Paton delivered a lecture on the evening ofJan. 9th in the Accountants’ Hall, Queen-street, Edinburgh,on "Dietaries of the Poor in Edinburgh." Dr. Paton haslately been conducting investigations on somewhat similarlines to those so largely carried on in America with the

object of ascertaining the energy-producing power of thefood used among the people and also the proper amountof food for the average working man. Dr. Paton atthis meeting gave an account of the researches whichhe had conducted. The conclusion which he arrived atwas that the poorer classes of working people in the

city of Edinburgh did not receive the food necessaryfor what bad been estimated as the amount - of energywhich an ordinary labourer should be able to expendon his work. In the daily diet of some of the poorestclasses whose wages were irregular it had even been foundthat the free labourers did not receive so much energy-producing food as did the inmates of asylums, hospitals, andprisons in this country. Oatmeal, that maker of Scots’ bonesand brains, came far down the list of articles of food in thedietaries which Dr. Paton had investigated. Bread, potatoes,milk, vegetables, and beef preceded it. In concluding hislecture Dr. Paton suggested that a first step towards remedy-ing this state of matters might be taken by distributingsimple tables among the people showing the amount of work-producing power which could be got for a pennyworth of thevarious ordinary articles of diet. Some discussion followedDr. Paton’s paper, after which a cordial vote of thanks wasgiven to the lecturer.

S’cottish Natural History Society.At a meeting of the Scottish Natural History Society held

on Jan. lOth Dr. David Hepburn delivered a lecture on" The Skull as a Basis for Race Classification." There werevarious methods of classifying the human race, such a,the colour of the skin, the character of the hair, geoga-phical distribution, &c., and Dr. Hepburn showed that theinformation derived from careful examination of the skullmight be similarly utilised. He described the method of

obtaining the measurement of the cranial box and showedhow a classification of skulls might be made on the figuresso obtained. He also pointed out the differences betweenthe human skull and that of apes in that particular. Hedescribed the method of measurement by tapes and callipersand the system of calculating "indices." Subsequently hediscussed the signification of the various results derivedfrom skull measurements apart from their value as aids to asystem of classification. He showed that at the time ofbirth a human infant had a distinctly human brain, while inthe rest of its body, notably in its joints and bones, it pre-sented striking resemblances to the anthropoid apes. Fromthe fact that the brain was so clearly in advance of the rest

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of the body he argued that the growth of the brain was the Iprimary factor determining the growth of the skull. The c

lecture was illustrated by limelight illustrations from photo- graphs and also by specimens of various types of skulls. I

Cremation in Scotland. t

The report of the directors of the Scottish Burial Reform and fCremation Society, Limited, for 1900 states that the number vof cremations shows a steady increase every year. Every (

satisfaction continues to be expressed with the arrangementsat the crematorium. The progress of the cremation move-ment is, however, slow in Scotland, only 75 cremations having taken place since the opening of the crematorium. Theoperation of the Act which was passed in 1900 granting tolocal authorities in England power to expend public moneys in erecting crematoriums has not yet been extended to Scotland. Various municipal authorities in England propose to exercisethe powers thus given them, and at Hull a municipal crema-torium has lately been opened. The directors regret that in spite of the express desire of the health authority the bodiesof those who died from plague in the recent outbreak inGlasgow were not cremated, it is believed mainly owing tothe opposition of the Roman Catholic clergy. The reportgoes on to urge that, as the wishes of many persons withregard to cremation have been disregarded after dea<:h, theforms of request issued by the society be signed in

duplicate.University of Edinburgh : Annaual Report.

The annual report of the University of Edinburgh whichhas just been published shows that the total number ofmatriculated students for the past year was 2754. Thisincludes 252 women. Of the total number 842 (including215 women) were enrolled in the faculty of arts, 161(including three women) in the faculty of science, 40 inthe faculty of divinity, 348 in the faculty of law, 1338(including 13 women) in the faculty of medicine, and 25(including 21 women) in the faculty of music. Of thestudents of medicine 592. or 44 per cent., belonged to

Scotland ; 332, or nearly 25 per cent., were from Englandand Wales ; 111 were from Ireland ; 68 were from India;209, or 1St per cent., were from the British colonies ;.and 26 were from foreign countries. The number ofwomen attending extra-academical lectures with a viewto graduation in medicine in the University was 92.The following degrees were granted during 1900:-Master of Arts (M.A.), 125 (including 25 women);Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.), 1 ; Bachelor of Science(B.Sc.), 26; Doctor of Science (D.Sc.), 3; Bachelor ofDivinity (B.D.), 3 ; Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), 7 ; Bachelorof Medicine and Master in Surgery (M.B., C.M.), 15;Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B., Ch.B.),180 (including 18 women) ; and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.),

.,53. The General Council of the University now numbers 8883.The schoolmasters’ diploma was conferred on 14 candidates.For the first time in the history of the University thehonorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D ) was conferredon a woman, Miss E. A. Ormerod, F.R.Nat.Soc., F.E.S., ofSt. Albans. The local examinations were to be discontinuedafter the examinations in June, 1901. The totalannual value of the University Fellowships, scholar-ships, bursaries, and prizes now amounted to about&pound;17,820. The first ordinance of the University Courtwhich related to the separation of the teaching of forensicmedicine and public health had been approved by the Queenin Council and arrangements were being made to bring itsprovisions into operation at an early date. The re-cataloguingof the University library for which a portion of Sir WilliamFraser’s bequest had been set apart, was now being carriedout under supervision by a special staff of eight cataloguers.By the end of November over 106,000 volumes had beencatalogued in more than 90,000 entries and 11,000 crossreferences. This is believed to be about half the contentsof the library. A large special fund for the purchase ofstandard works was a pressing necessity, it being at presentalmost impossible to purchase expensive volumes in manybranches of science which a well-equipped university libraryought to possess. The want of funds was also much felt inconnexion with the increasingly large number of works andperiodicals connected with scientific research. Threevacancies in the professoriate had occurred during the yearthrough the death of Sir Thomas Grainger Stewart, for 24years professor of medicine and of clinical medicine ; thedeath of Mr. George Frederick Armstrong, M.A., C.E., pro-fessor of engineering and the resignation of Professor John

’hilip Wood, W.S., of the chair of Conveyancing. The chairf Medicine had been filled by the appointment of Dr. JohnVyilie, and Mr. John’ Little Mounsey, W S., had succeeded’rofessor Wood. The chair of Engineering had not veteen filled up. Sir John Batty Tnke had been elected asnember of Parliament for the universities of Edinburghmd St. Andrews, in room of Sir W. 0. Priestley,vhose death had occurred in April. The construction)f " The John Usher Institute of Public Health," forvhich the University was indebted to the munificence of Sirfohn Usher of Norton, Bart., had during the year made}onsiderable progress. In connexion with the war in SouthAfrica the University had accepted the invitation of theSecretary of State for War to nominate candidates for com-missions in various branches of the military service.rhe Senatus had granted special privileges to studentswho volunteered for active service and proposed tosrect a memorial tablet in the M’Ewan Hall tothose who fell in the war. Professor John Chiene hadbeen given leave of absence to enable him to proceed toSouth Africa as consulting surgeon to Her Majesty’s forcesand a number of graduates and undergraduates of theUniversity had been on the staff of the Edinburgh and Eastof Scotland Hospital which had been stationed at Norval’sPont.

Glasgow Royal Infirmary.The decision of the committee concerned with the re-

building of the infirmary in reference to the selection of aplan not advised by the assessor continues to excite somecomment in the city, but the affair must now be regardedas a chose jug&eacute;e. At a meeting held on Jan. llth a reportfrom the newly-appointed architect regarding the order andmethod of reconstruction was received and adopted. Thisinvolves the postponement of the re-erection of the front ofthe infirmary in the form of a Jubilee memorial until afterthe main part of the new hospital has been built, a decisiondemanded by the necessity for providing accommodationfor patients, though certainly to be regretted on sentimentalgrounds. Concerning the financial aspect of the new under-taking it was stated that the committee had already nearly&pound;100,000, and that with this they proposed to proceed withthe erection of the north or surgical block. This it is cal-culated will occupy fully two years, after which a furtherappeal for funds will be necessary. Before the entirescheme is completed it is calculated that some eight or 10years will have elapsed, and thus the claim upon the charit-able public will assume a less severe front than if an

attempt were made to raise the entire &pound;240,000 at one time.

Glasgow Samaritan Hospital,It has been decided by the medical staff, with the approval

of the directors, to further develop the clinical teachingopportunities of the hospital by the institution of courses oflectures on gynaecology. ’rhe first course is to be given byMr. J. Stuart Nairne, F.R.C.S. Edin., and is to commenceon Jan. 23rd. The lectures are open to all medical practi-tioners.

Glasgow Sewage DisPosccl.The town council of Glasgow, with a view to cultivate

public interest in municipal undertakings, has instituted acourse of popular lectures on the work of the several

corporation departments and the fifth lecture of the serieswas delivered on Jan. 13th by Mr. A. B. M’Donald, cityengineer. The subject dealt with was the disposal of thecity sewage. Amongst other interesting items it was statedthat there are at present 297 miles of subterranean sewers inthe city, the greater part of which discharge into the harbour.The volume of sewage amounts to 55,000,000 gallons eachday and it is calculated that each million gallons contribute40 tons of pollution to the river. The sewage works con-structed six years ago at Dalmarnock deal with some

16,000,000 gallons of sewage daily and in this proportiondiminish the objectionable matter introduced into the Clyde,which still, however, receives daily some 1560 tons of sewagesludge. It has now been decided by the construction of30 miles of river sewers to intercept the whole drainage whichat present enters the river and to carry it beyond the cityboundary where it is to be purified by the precipitation andfiltration method now in operation at Dalmarnock. Theworks designed to effect this will, with the sole exception ofthe London main drainage area, be the largest in the world,and will serve an area of 29 square miles, which is to includenot only Glasgow but a number of neighbouring towns. The

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volumes to be dealt with, including rainfall, are estimatedat 160,000,000 gallons daily.

Glasgow University.The memorial window to the late Principal Caird which

has been placed in the Bute Hall was unveiled on Jan. 12thin the presence of a large company. Among those

taking part in the ceremony were Principal Story, theMaster of Baliol (Dr. Edward Caird), Sir William T.Gairdner, K.C.B., and Mr. James A. Campbell, M.P. Thescheme for the extension and better equipment of the Uni-versity is about to take definite shape and the public willshortly have an opportunity of sending in their subscrip-tions. It is announced that a sum of .f:21 000 has alreadybeen promised. The executive committee has beenappointed and includes the names of Professor J. G.McKendrick, Professor J. Glaister, and Professor R. Stock-man as representatives of the medical faculty. On the motionof Dr. D. C. McVail the University Court has approved ofthe principle of the institation of a summer session in thefaculty of arts and has requested the Senate to consider andadvise on the question.-Professor De Burgh Birch, of theYorkshire College, Leeds, has been appointed an examinerin physiology and Dr. James Ritchie, of Oxford University,an examiner in pathology. The Gifford lectures on NaturalReligion during the present session are being delivered byDr. Edward Caird, formerly professor of moral philosophy inthe University.Jan. 14th.

PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Noxious Gases in Dwelling- houses.THE simultaneous deaths of two persons well known in

the fashionable world of Paris from some cause whichremains as yet undiscovered (I will say at once that eithersuicide or homicide is out of the question) has turned theattention of hygienists to the escape of toxic gases eitherfrom a stove in the house itself or in that of a neighbour.Oases of asphyxiation by carbonic oxide, which were verycommon when slow-combustion stoves of the Chouberskytype were so much in use, have of late become less frequentsince this kind of stove has been less in use. But theyprobably throw a light on the decease of certain personsfound dead and cold in bed whose deaths might easily beput down to a ruptured aneurysm or some such cause butwhich medical men too often recognised as due to carbonicoxide coming from a stove in the room or, more treacherouslystill, through faults in the chimney of a neighbour’s housewho used this method of warming. It is true that the

experts have not so far irrefutably demonstrated thatthe deaths of Monsieur and Madame T- were due tocarbonic oxide poisoning, and experiments are still beingmade with animals placed in the room with the suspectedstove alight. But owing to the position of the victims wide-spread excitement has been aroused, and the fatality hasdone more to cause the subject to be threshed out than allthe reports of engineers for 20 years. As a matter of fact Imay say that a scandal of any kind does more to bring aboutadministrative or moral improvement than anything else.The Prefect of Police has accordingly just nominated a com-mittee composed of engineers, hygienists, and architectswhose duties are altogether novel. If any tenant complainsof noxious smells from the chimney and the landlord main-tains that these are quite usual, that everything is in perfectorder, and that no alteration is necessary, the committee willexamine into the tenant’s case, and if they find his complaintustified the landlord will have to carry out the necessaryrepairs. If he refuses the committee will order the work tobe done and will charge the expense to the landlord.

The Association of Medical Men of the &ine and Hospital. Reform.

The last meeting of the Association of Medical Men of theSeine was extremely interesting and some very importantdecisions were arrived at. After an admirable paper byM. Jamin, the President, entitled " Optima MedicorumConcordia," had been read, M. Philippeau, the treasurer,read his report, which, among other things, showed that theassociation had a balance in hand of 10,000 francs. Theassociation then elected 125 new members and alsonominated its council for 1901. The yearly subscription

was reduced from 15 to 10 francs, and it was agreed thatfresh blood should be introduced into the council, onlymembers of the managing committee being eligible forre-election. The sitting then became very animatedover the discussion on. the report of M. Thiery on-

hospital abuse and gratuitous medical advice, and inreference to these questions M. Dorison presented the-demands of the medical men attached to the Bureaux deBienfaisance. These were as follows. The Medical Societyof the Bureaux de Bienfaisance. considering that the systemof out-patient hospital relief (1) does not practise a propersorting out of the persons who apply for relief so that only-the poor, who alone have the right to gratuitous advice andmedicine, are selected ; (2) is not now justified as formerlyby the presence of the senior medical officers ; and (3) is-simply since the creation of the dispensaries a replica(double emploi) of the work carried on by the Bureaux deBienfaisance, except that it does not supply medicine (a factwhich is equivalent to saying that the hospital out-patientsystem only provides for persons who can pay for their medi-cine and therefore for those very people for whom gratuitousadvice was not provided)-the association, taking all this intoconsideration, resolves: (a) that the out-patient depart--ments of hospitals should be done away with ; and (b) thatadmission orders for the hospitals should only be provided bythe medical officers of the Bureaux de Bienfaisance, exceptof course in cases of urgency as laid down in the regula-tions. M. Dorison was unable to be present and so cfuldnot defend the views brought forward by him or reply toquestions, while the members of the association not havingall the facts before them could not discuss the matter withfull knowledge. These questions of charitable relief are diffi-cult for anyone who has not studied them carefully andmuch more so when they are suddenly sprung upon anaudience. Some of the members present had but thescantiest knowledge of the questions at issue; others wentoff into the discussion of parallel questions such as

the right of the Assistance Publique to sell or buysites, sanatoria, &c., all questions excellent in them-selves but beside the mark on this occasion. Finally,however, the meeting, asked for its opinion upon the reportof M. Dorison, unanimously passed the following motion :-The Association of Medical Men of the Seine hereby resolves that

the out-patient department of the hospitals should be done away with.,The question of admission to the hospitals, which was some-what more delicate, gave rise to a long debate. Finally, thefollowing motion, standing in the names of M. Mabec andM. Le Baron, was carried:-The Association of Medical Men of the Seine assembled in general

meeting resolves, that hospital treatment should be reserved solelyfor the poor and needy, and should be absolutely gratuitous.A special committee was appointed to consider ways andmeans for bringing about this result.

Total Gastrectomy ; Recovery.At a meeting of the Academy of Medicine held on

Jan. 8th, M. Boeckel read a paper upon the case of awoman, aged 38 years, upon whom he had performed totalgastrectomy some months ago for a malignant growth super-vening upon an old ulcer. This is the first operation of thekind which has been performed in France, and M. Boeckelremarked that the operation was not only compatible withlife, but it brought about a great improvement in thecondition of the patient. If the new growth were

well defined and the neighbouring organs were healthy theoperation might well be successful. Whether absolutelyso M. Boeckel could not at present say, but that it would besuccessful for a certain time the three cases which had beenreported in other countries and that by M. Boeckel himselfshowed without doubt. After the opening of the abdomenthe operation was divided into five stages, as follows : (1) thefreeing of the greater curvature by division of the gastro-colic ligament; (2) the freeing of the upper pole of thestomach by dividing the cardiac end when clamped betweentwo pairs of forceps ; (3) the freeing of the lesser curvatureby division of the gastro-hepatic ligament; (4) the freeing ofthe lower pole of the stomach by dividing the first part ofthe duodenum clamped in the same way as the cardiac end ;(5) the union of the cardiac end with the duodenum.Stitching the abdominal wall, no drainage being employed,finished the operation. M. Boeckel’s patient made an un-interrupted recovery. The wound united by first intention, nofistula resulted, and the patient got up on the twenty-secondday and left the hospital on the thirty-third day. The-