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officers placed in charge of them, many of them young men, freshfrom the schools.

5. Bell, in his eloquent " Memoir on the Present State of Navaland Military Surgery," addressed, in 1798, to Earl Spencer, says- Ever since I have been capable of thought, I have struggledfor objects far beyond my reach to obtain;" and this was one ofthem.

6. Such, howevor, was the fate of Jackson on numerous im-portant occasiona, and such will it continue, until, to quote his ownwords, "medical officers have the place in councils of com-manders that is due to science;" and it will be so likewise incivil life till medical bodies are represented, directly or indirectly,in the councils of the state. Of this we may be quite assured.

7. Having offered these general remarks, I will present, in themost brief manner, the heads of subjects that ought to be taughtby professors of military surgery ; and I will venture, once forall, to anticipate the feeling of regret of every candid medicalofficer who may have served abroad, that instruction upon suchmatters had not been afforded him before entering upon the dutiesof the public service. The subject, according to Jackson, "com-prehends a wide range of general and practical knowledge ofmilitary service, as well as a correct acquaintance with the his-tory, causes, and consequences of the diseases to which troops aremost liable, in the field or in quarters." "The surgeon of a

reganent," says Mr. Guthrie, "learns the duty of a soldier inaddition to that of a doctor, and a military surgeon ought to knowthe one just as well as the other."

8. In civil life, when the youthful and inexperienced surgeonfinds himself at fault, there is no difficulty in obtaining the assist-ance of the experienced. But when the superior officers aredestroyed by the casualties of active service, where then is the

assistant-surgeon of the ship of war, or of the detached battalion,to find the same relief? It is nowhere to be found. If not com-

petent in himself, the sick and wounded must perish.GENERAL HEADS.

Of the heads of subjects upon which instruction is required, thefollowing appear to be the principal:-

1. Description of the various climates, temperate and other, inwhich troops are liable to serve.

2. Directions for choosing the best localities for temporary en-campments, as well as for permanent cantonments, in the variousclimates. ,

3. Instructions for the management of troops on long voyages;for the selection of ships; the classification of the sick and thehealthy; the ordering of diet; clothing, exercise, bathing, amuse-ments. &c., during the voyage.

4. The preventive measures required on debarkation, especiallyin unhealthy countries. These are above all important.

5. Description of the diseases of foreign climates, and of thosetropical climates, and especially with a reference to the bestwriters upon them.

6 The most appropriate modes of treating them, and of classingthe sick.

7. The management of convalescence; the establishment ofdepots for sick, wounded, and convalescent soldiers.

8. The influence of change of air in the latter stages of tropicaldisease.

9. The transportation of sick, wounded, and convalescentsoldiers.

10. The statistics of the troops in the various colonies, noticingespecially the influence of climate, of season, and of locality, onmilitary health ; the influence of mountain ranges, as comparedto the plains, the shores of bays, and of harbours.

11. Instruction on feigned and factitious diseases.12. Military punishments, and their results on health and

morals.13. The proper construction of hospital returns, so as to ex-

hibit, on an uniform plan, the results of medical arrangement,preventive and curative.

14. The principles of hospital finance, and a knowledge ofhospital purveyance.

15. The principles of conduct contained in the medical regula-tions of the army.

16. The proportions and quality of medical and surgical storesfor brigades, divisions, and for entire armies, on the peace as wellas on the war establishment.

PARTICULAR HEADS.

1. Selection and examination of army recruits.2. Barrack and hospital accommodation ; quarters in peace

and on active service.3. Diet, clothing, bedding, fuel.4. Military exercises.5. Diseases peculiar to seamen and soldiers. -

6. Scorbutic diseases.7. Wounds of all kindg-gunshot and other.8. Gunshot and other wounds of the different parts of the body,.

especially of the head, thorax, and abdomen.I 9. Wounds of the arteries and nerves. ,-

10. Tetanus. -

11. Wounds and fractures of the extremities.12. The surgical operations more common to the field and the

military hospital.13. Ophthalmia.14. Syphilitic and syphiloid diseases.15. Gonorrhoea and its consequences.16. Strictures of the urethra.These are some of the most important of the matters that ought

to be taught in a school of military medicine; and truly did JohnBell declare, that without this knowledge no man is entitled toserve. How few," he said, (in 1798,) " are thus taught? How feware fit for service ? How few are there who are not conscious ofthose blurs and blots in their general education which no dili-gence of their own can ever do away ?"

It is the painful consciousness here expressed that has inducedevery surgeon of eminence, up to this day, whether in the Frenchor British army, to urge the necessity of special instruction foryoung men about to enter the army or navy. Their very namesought to be sufficient to settle a question of this sort. Here are afew of them: Baron Larrey, John Bell, Sir James Macgregor,Robert Jackson, Ballingall, Guthrie, Hennen, Henry Marshall.Surely such testimony ought to satisfy the authorities ; but, wereit necessary, a hundred competent witnesses could be added.

Sept. 1845. AN ARMY SURGEON.

THE FISH CALLED PAR, THE TRUE OFFSPRINGOF THE SALMON.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SiR,—Being fond of natural history, and somewhat interestedin the arguments, pro and con, whether the par be in reality thelawful and truly begotten offspring of the salmon, or a crossbetween the salmon and the trout, my attention was called to anarticle in THE LANCET of last week, written by a gentleman ofBerwick-on-Tweed.

Sir, I am not a professed naturalist, but I am so impressed withthe truthfulness of the description which Mr. Shaw has given ofthe characteristics of the par, that I think he will still be believed,unless Mr. Johnson can produce more cogent arguments againsthim than those which he has already educed.The investigations which Mr. Shaw, of Drumlanrig, com-

municated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, are so interesting,that I trust, sir, I shall not occupy too much of your valuablespace by briefly describing them.

In the first trial, he removed a number of pars from theirnative stream to a pond, when he found that all of them assumedthe perfect appearance of salmon fry or smolts, at the end ofperiods of time proportioned to their bulk when placed in the

pond. He also satisfied himself that the change from the state ofpar to that of smolt, which is marked by the appearance of silveryscales over the blue bars, always takes place about the age of twoyears, and that then, for the first time, the metamorphosed frytake their departure for the sea.

These conclusions were objected to, because it was thoughtthat the experimenter might in the first instance have mistakenyoung salmon for pars. To clear up the mystery, Mr. Shaw

. renewed his experiments, and commenced with the ova of thesalmon, which he placed in ponds so constructed as to guardagainst any interference on the part of other fishes. By express-

ling a quantity of ova from the female, and of the milt from hercompanion, he was enabled to transfer fertilized ova to his ponds

. on the 27th of January, 1837. Fifty-four days afterwards, the, embryo fish were visible to the naked eye, and on the 7th of May,

they had burst the envelop, and were found among the shingtein the stream. After the lapse of two months, they exhibited in

miniature much of the form and proportions of a mature fish.- At the age of four months, the characteristic marks of the par

were clearly developed. Two months later, no marked differencewas perceptible between the pond specimens and the par of theriver. On the lOth of May, 1838, a fish twelve months old wastaken from the pond, and was found to have exchanged its duskyautumnal and winter coating for that which Mr. Shaw calls itssummer dress. It measured three inches and three quarters inlength, and corresponded intimately with those in the riv(-rknown as the May par, or pink of some. These are the little fishwhich afford the angler in salmon rivers so much amusementwith the rod. They remain over the second winter in the river,during which time also they bear all the external markings ofthe par.

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At the age of eighteen months," Mr. Shaw says, " the malesof the several broods attained a most important corroborativestage-viz., that of showing a breeding state, by having maturedthe milt, which could be made to flow freely from their bodiesby the slightest pressure of the hand. The females of the samebroods, however, although in equal health and condition, did notexhibit a corresponding appearance in regard to the maturity ofthe roe. The male and female pars in the river, of a similar age,were found respectively in precisely a corresponding stage, whichmay surely be admitted as most important evidence in support of thefact, that all these individuals were, in truth, specifically the same.

’’ A specimen, two years old, was taken out of the pond (May20th, 1839) after it had assumed its migratory dress. The com- Imencement of the change was first observed about the middle ofthe previous April, by the caudal, pectoral, and dorsal fins assuming a dusky margin, while, at the same time, the whole of ’,the fish exhibited indications of a silvery exterior, as well asan increased elegance of form. The specimen in question, sorecently a par, presented a very perfect example of the salmonfry or smolt."

These experiments, so carefully conducted, were confirmed byother observations. To satisfy himself that the par never

migrated to the sea until the age of two years, and the changefrom par to smolt had taken place, Mr. Shaw examined, in theriver, three descending shoals. He says: " I was able deliberatelyto inspect them as the several shoals arrived behind the sluices ofa salmon cruive, and while they were swimming in a particulardirection, indistinct transverse lateral bars might still be seen,but as they changed their position, these became as it were lostin the silvery lustre." The actual existence of the barred mark-ings he proved by removing some of the scales. A few of thefish taken from the third descending shoal were compared withthose which had been confined two years in the pond, and thelatter were found to have assumed the corresponding silveryaspect of the salmon fry.Having proceeded thus far, I really should like to know by

what means Mr. Johnson is enabled to upset the conclusionsarrived at by Mr. Shaw; at all events, before the statements ofthe former will be received, something more will be required ofhim than positive assertions, unbacked by the evidence of care-fully conducted experiment. As to Mr. Johnson’s learned expla-nation of the use of the viscid fluid secreted by fish, it may ormay not be true. I am, sir, your obedient servant,

Hereford, Sept. 10, 1845. BETA.

DR. BIRKBECK NEVIUS’ TEST FOR ASCERTAININGTHE PURITY OF DISULPHATE OF QUININE.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,-The following test has been suggested by Dr. BirkbeckNevius, (see LANCET, Aug. 16,) as appropriate for readily ascer-taining the purity of disulphate of quinine:-

" To one or two grains of the suspected salt* add three or fourdrops of sulphuric acid, in a white evaporating dish, and twice asmany drops of water; if the salt contains either starch or fattymatters, they will remain, whilst if they are absent, the whole willbe dissolved. Let heat be next applied to the solution, and as itbecomes concentrated, the acid will clear any sugar which may bepresent, which will be indicated by a black stain round the edge ofthe solution, and the whole will speedily assume the same colour."

Allow me to submit that this test is perfectly valueless, and forthe following reasons:-Dr. Nevius appears to have overlooked afact, well known to chemists whose investigations have beendirected to organic compounds, that salts may be readily recognisedas belonging either to the organic or inorganic class, by heatingon platina; if the compound under examination, after heating,yields a carbonaceous residue, then it belongs to the former class;if a whitish ash be left after ignition, then an inorganic compoundhas been operated upon. Now, Dr. Nevius directs us to addsulphuric acid to the disulphate; the effect of this is to convertthe salt into the soluble sulphate, and on the application of heat,this soluble sulphate, in common with all organic salts, is decom-posed, yielding a carbonaceous residue. Could Dr. Nevius haveshown that which is opposed to all experimental results withorganic compounds, that in the presence of sulphuric acid, quinineis not readily carbonized,-and the reverse of this is the fact, asmay readily be ascertained by heating a crystal of the soluble sul-phate by the side of a sample of sulphate of quinine purposelyadulterated with sugar or gum,-his test might be so far admissible;but as Dr. Nevius has not shown this, and it cannot be shownwithal, therefore his test is fallacious. I remain, Sir, &c.,Paternoster-row, 1845. G. M. MOWBRAY.

’ If the acid be added first, the quinine will not be dissolved by the sub-sequent addition of water; the water should first be added and then theacid, as many dispensing chemists have found to their cost.

MEDICAL FACTS, REMARKS, ANDCRITICISMS.

FEIGNED INSENSIBILITY.-I have often been amusedby the result of an experiment occasionally practised by Dr.O’Ferrall for the purpose of diagnosis ; a patient, apparently inprofound coma, is first sprinkled over the face with cold water bymeans of a brush suddenly shaken above her, the muscles of theface contract, but this may be the effect of a reflex action ; a drybrush is then, unknown to the patient, substituted, and the samejerking action which, in the former case, produced a shower ofcold drops, is repeated, when instinctively the muscles of theface again contract, thus betraying the existence of that con-sciousness, the absence of which was feigned. In other instances,fits of apparently violent and suicidal mania, and which had beenrestrained only by constant watchfulness, and occasionally, theemployment of considerable force, are found very suddenly to becured by the simple expedient of leaving the patient, and givingher a seeming permission to act as she pleases.-Dr. Aldridge.Dublin Hospital Reports, August.THE FOURTH GRADE OF THE PROFESSION.-At the

commencement of this week, four young men were returningfrom Debenham, in a double-seated conveyance. One of them,perceiving that the pocket of his companion contained a pistol,drew it forth, unperceived, incautiously pulled the trigger, andlodged a ball in the back of Mr. Thomas Mudd, of Thorndon, toodeep to be extracted. They immediately returned to Debenham,where " every attention was afforded him by Mr. Charles Smith,DRUGGIST. As no vital part appeared to be affected, a speedy re-covery is anticipated."-Suffolk Chronicle.

KING’S COLLEGE HOSPITAL, August 27th.-A courtof governors was summoned for 3 o’clock in the afternoon, toreceive the report of the general committee. The secretary pre-sented the report, which gave the subjoined account of the pro-gress of the institution:-Patients in the hospital on the 31st ofDecember, 106 ; admitted during the half-year ending the 24th ofJune last, by letters of recommendation, 198; urgent cases, with-out letters, 322; accidents, 40; making a total of 666. Of these,513 had been discharged, either cured or relieved ; 44 had died,11 incurable or disorderly, and 98 remained in the house. Thenumber of out-patients for the half-year was 8359, exclusive of 173poor married women attended during confinement at their ownhomes. Since the foundation of the hospital, the total number of

in-patients was 6210; out-patients, including poor marriedwomen under the midwifery department, 56,825 ; making a grosstotal of 63,035. Although the governors have the privilege ofrecommending patients, the greater number have been relievedwithout letters, thus practically giving to the public all the ad-vantages of a free hospital.’ SCHOOLS OF CHEMISTRY.-Practical instruction in! the laboratory of the Pharmaceutical Society has been institutedfor the purpose of enabling young men to become fully ac-quainted with the theory and practice of pharmacy ; and the pro-gress which has been made by the pupils during the first year ofthe undertaking has demonstrated the benefit to be expected fromits continuance on a more extended scale. The value of practicalinstruction in chemistry is now so generally appreciated, thatseveral institutions are about to be brought into active operationfor this especial purpose. The discoveries recently emanatingfrom the Giessen laboratory, and the progress which has beenmade by many continental chemists, more especially in theabstruse department of organic chemistry, have extended farand wide the public curiosity and desire for enlightenment on thesubject, and we are glad to find that an establishment similar tothat of Professor Liebig, at Giessen, is about to be opened atUniversity College, under the superintendence of Professors Gra-ham and Fownes. The object of this school is to give practicalinstruction to pupils in the highest branches of chemistry, in-cluding ultimate analysis and the most abstruse researches in re-ference to the constitution of organic bodies. We have heardthat similar arrangements are in progress at King’s College, buthave not yet seen a prospectus. Another institution-namely,the College of Chemistry,-has been announced as about to com-mence operations in Hanover-square ; and we are informed thatProfessor Hoffman, a German chemist, has been appointedsuperintendent. A fourth establishment of this kind is said to bein contemplation, under the superintendence of Dr. Playfair. Ifall the practical schools above enumerated should come into im-mediate and active operation, very extensive accommodation willexist in this metropolis for the prosecution of chemical researchesand education ; and provided the supply of pupils should be inproportion, we may expect shortly to become a nation of scientificchemists. A certain amount of competition is highly desirable.-Pharm. Journ. Sept.