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in 1864, and after serving in the war against Italybecame assistant in the physiological department ofthe Josepho-Akademie, later succeeding ProfessorEwald von Hering as its director. In 1869 Toldtbegan to specialise in histology, became professorof anatomy, with charge of histological teachingin Vienna and later in Prague, eventually retuin-ing to Vienna in 1884 as professor of descriptiveand topographical anatomy, an appointment whichhe retained for 24 years. His most famous workis connected with the mandible and its surroundingstructures and his best-known publication, at leastoutside his own country, is the Anatomical Atlas, whichappeared in 1896-1900. Since his retirement ProfessorToldt had been chiefly concerned in anthropometricalinvestigations and the study of prehistoric forms ofman, and his observations in this region of knowledgewere no less sincere and important than his contribu-tions to descriptive anatomy.

MEMORIAL TO THE LATE DR. A. J. CHALMERSOF KHARTOUM.

THE late Dr. A. J. Chalmers, the well-known authorityon tropical diseases, and joint author with Dr. Castellani,of " Tropical Medicine," whose sudden death on his wayhome on leave in April last was a great loss to the pro-fession and his numerous friends, left a splendid collec-tion of medical books, mainly on tropical diseases, andincluding some almost priceless incunabula. The wholeof these, with the exception of a small number presentedto the Royal College of Physicians of London, have beengiven by Mrs. Chalmers to the Royal Society of Medicine.The Society has wisely decided that the collection shallbe kept together and be known as the "ChalmersCollection," and now we are informed that Mrs.Chalmers has presented the Society with the sum of£ 500 for the shelving and furnishing of a room in whichthe books will be kept as a memorial of her husband.It is hoped that the collection will be added to fromtime to time, and the room chosen for the ChalmersLibrary is well adapted for the purpose.

This admirable donation coincides happily with thereconstruction of the new Section of Tropical Medicineand Parasitology. The Section was formed in 1912, butwas suspended during the war, and has only this sessionbeen formally constituted, and among the first nomi-nated officers are Lieutenant-Colonel Sir LeonardRogers as President, and as Vice-Presidents, ProfessorLeonard S. Dudgeon, Lieutenant-General Sir JohnGoodwin, Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Hill, and Pro-fessor G. H. F. Nuttall. That all these at once

accepted office is a good omen for the success

of the new Section. Sir Leonard Rogers recentlypresided over the first meeting of the new Section,when an exceptionally interesting programme wasprovided, and we are now able to congratulate it on

starting with a library of its own, which is probably thefinest collection of books on tropical medicine to be Iffound.

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BY an Order in Council, dated Dec. 21st, 1920, it isenacted that the Order of Jan. 7th, 1915, shall berevoked without prejudice to the right of any personswhose names have been already entered on the

Register. The Kingdom of Belgium no longer affordsto the medical practitioners of the United Kingdomsuch privileges of practising in Belgium as were offeredduring the late war. Practitioners possessing Belgianqualifications are, therefore, no longer entitled to

registration in the Medical Register of the UnitedKingdom. _

1 THE LANCET, Dec. 11th, 1920 (p. 1198).

THE King Edward Hospital Fund has made agrant of ,sE1130 to the Devon and Cornwall Sanatorium forConsumptives, Didworthy, on condition that eight beds arereserved for the use of King’s College Hospital, Guy’sHospital, and the City of London Hospital.

THE FUTURE OF THE DROITWICHBRINE BATHS.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL COMMISSIONER.)

Droitwich, December, 1920.THOUGH the statistics might have been more care-

fully kept and more extensive there can be no doubt asto the excellent results often obtained from the brinebaths of Droitwich. The nearest approach to a recordon an extensive scale will be found at the St. John’sBrine Bath Hospital, a charitable institution supportedby voluntary contributions and erected in 1892. Herethere is room for 24 male and 17 female patients. Tillrecently the treatment was, with some exceptions,limited to two weeks, and under these conditions thefigures for ten years show that an average of 650 patientshave been treated per annum. The secretary of this hos-pital has informed me that, after 25 years of personalexperience, and on records keptlrom time to time,the result would show that 75 per cent. of the patientsobtained permanent benefit. But it should be notedthat of the 25 per cent. who received no benefit severalreceived no treatment. In the course of a day or twoit was discovered they were afflicted in a mannerwhich the treatment could not alleviate-malignantgrowths or certain forms of skin disease-and they weretherefore at once sent away. The hospital is onlyintended for the treatment of gout, sciatica, rheu-matism, and kindred complaints. During the war, andas a result of the hardships endured in the trenches,many soldiers suffered in these ways, and no less than50,000 baths, free of cost, were given to officers andmen serving mostly in the army, but occasionallyin the navy. Mr. Hollyer, the general manager,converted his private house into a convalescent homefor 20 officers. Then a hospital with 40 beds for

private and discharged soldiers was opened, and the WarOffice expressed the thanks of the Army Council forthis generous and whole-hearted attention, which provedof great practical value.

Opporhmities and How to Meet T3ae7rz.Evidence and statistics might have been collected on

a much larger scale, giving more conclusive figures asto the benefits of the brine-bath treatment. Not thatthere is any lack of such evidence. Piles of letters areforthcoming from grateful patients, but there has beenno centralised and systematic effort to group the factsand give a summary of the results. In this, as in otherrespects, Droitwich has trusted too much to individuals,and has somewhat neglected to organise collectiveeffort for the common good. As a consequence magni-ficent opportunities were lost. None could have beenmore evident than that created by the war when somany patients were unable to go to the continentalthermal stations they were in the habit of frequent-ing. That was the moment when all the citizens ofDroitwich should have gathered together and insistedon organised action, and when, it might be thought,medical men would have seized the opportunity for

study afforded by a large number of patients, more orless belonging to the same class, suffering under con-ditions brought about by circumstances common tothem all. The stress caused by the war, the need tounite every effort to relieve the wounded, and theacknowledged services, in so many cases, which thebrine baths at Droitwich had been proved to render-these things would have rallied both Government andpublic to the support of some practical scheme toconvert Droitwich into a national asset, if such ascheme had been brought forward. In this spirit =

Droitwich fully participated by giving free baths, freehospital treatment, and friendly sympathetic hospitalityto the war victims. But there the movement seemedto stop; yet there was so much to follow. The warhas ceased, but the consequences of the war are onlybeginning to be fully understood, and will only be metby broad national efforts such as those which wonthe war.So far well-to-do private patients, who can pay for

all they require, are generally able to take sufficient

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care of themselves. Nevertheless, they are fullyentitled to ask why a place like Droitwich cannot bebrought up to the level in ordinary amenities whichmany continental spas have attained. In such places thehotel manager participates in the actual treatment. Thepatient’s medical adviser sends his prescriptions roundnot only to the dispensing chemist but also to the hotelmanager, who has to be prepared willingly to provideany special diet considered desirable. Indeed, allthe hotel and lodging-house keepers should be groupedtogether and periodical lectures given to explain howthey can best second the efforts of the medicalprofession to cure the patients and thus contribute toimprove national health and local prosperity. If hotelmanagers consider patients who need special diet toomuch trouble and strive to get rid of them, they mustnot be surprised to find that preference is shown forcontinental spas. British hotel-keepers, especially ina place which has legitimate aspirations to be con-sidered a health resort, have got to learn that they areengaged in a national work, and that the resources ofthis country ought to be developed for the sake of all.Incidentally they would put money in their pockets.More baths, more houses, more enterprise, are wanted.It is not because some enterprises are paying concernsthat nothing further is to be done. By all means letthose engaged in the business earn good profits; butthe first consideration is that the nation should be ableto avail itself of the healing qualities of the Droitwichwaters. As matters now stand, striking cures are

effected, but the advantages of such cases to thereputation of Droitwich are often lost because the factsare insufficiently known, and there is not the necessaryaccommodation for a large increase of patients.

The Housing Difficnlty.The main or the most immediate problem is the

housing problem. It presents the same aspects here aseverywhere, but I may be excused for setting it out, asit shows how in numberless other places, as well as atDroitwich, the obvious needs of development cannot beimmediately met. More houses and more baths are

urgently wanted at Droitwich ; but at the present costof building it is difficult to find anyone ready to risk thenecessary outlay. There is a Government scheme forthe construction of 56 houses, which have to be com-pleted by June, 1922. Of these 16 have already beenerected. They are all to be working-class cottages andnone are to be let at a higher rent than 8s. a week,which, it is calculated, will not represent more than2 per cent. on the capital outlay, if estimated at thepresent cost of building. Also these houses must notbe rated at more than M. in the .6. So that the Statestands to be a heavy loser, while it is thought thatthis will not increase, but will more probably check,speculative building. In any case these 56 cottages areto be let for less than half the rent that should be paidto cover the cost, and the question is asked who are tobe the privileged tenants. Yet and whatever the answermaybe to this question, it is but a detail, for somethingon a much larger scale is needed.

It is a matter of national importance to preserve thehealth and strength of all those who by productivework are helping to rebuild British prosperity. Curingthe sick is but a small part of the problem before theMinistry of Health, though newspaper critics are clearlyblind to the fact. The prevention of sickness and itsremedy in early stages are the great desiderata. Oneof the real benefits of the compulsory system ofinsurance is that it enables the poorest sections of thecommunity to seek medical advice at a much earlierstage of the disease. At Droitwich local practitionersexpressed the opinion that anyone who has sufferedfrom some rheumatic complaint of sufficient severity tobe laid up for two or three weeks should take a course ofbrine baths as a preventive against other and moresevere attacks of a similar nature. Certain it is thatmany patients would have given themselves a muchgreater chance of complete cure had they commencedthe treatment at an earlier stage. It is not as a lasthope that patients should come to Droitwich, butrather as the first form of treatment, and this will only

be largely available when building, reconstruction, andcöoperative organisation are set going.

Spa Treatment on (c National ,5’cale.These considerations open out a gigantic problem for

so small a place as Droitwich to handle.. There were11,500,000 persons entitled to medical benefit under theInsurance Act in 1919, and it will probably be foundthat the number has been increased by about a millionin 1920. There were, in 1919, in England and Wales,20 million weeks of unfitness for work among insuredpersons. If only a very small proportion of these20 million weeks of sickness were spent at Droitwichwhat a colossal undertaking this would represent for sosmall a place. Yet there is nothing new or out of theway in such a suggestion. It has been done, done foryears and very successfully, but, of course, only on asmall scale. Still, shall it be said that what a fewworkmen have been able to achieve for their ownbenefit cannot be accomplished on a much larger scaleby the united forces of the entire nation? In bothcases the position is identical ; the only differenceis in the number of persons involved. This iswhat happened. When the St. John’s Brine Bath

Hospital was first started every person who subscribeda guinea per annum had the right to send a patient,who was admitted in his turn. The patient had to pay10s. a week for his maintenance, and received medicaladvice, complete board, and the necessary baths for afortnight. These rules have now and quite recentlybeen altered. The voluntary subscription has beenraised to 3 guineas, and the time of treatment to threeweeks. But these are only details that do not affectthe principle, for this depends not so much on theamount paid, but on who it was who paid. Now, inthis respect, the remarkable fact, that cannot be toocarefully noted, is that the hospital, in the earlier stagesof its existence, owed its success mainly to the Heartsof Oak Friendly Society. Here, then, we have,on a smaller scale, conditions similar to those thatobtain under the Insurance Act. A sick fund is createdby small weekly subscriptions, when experience demon-strates that, by sending some of the patients toDroitwich, they were sooner able to return to work. Thusthe amount of sickness and the drain on the sick fundis reduced-a double saving, which other similar insti-tutions soon learnt to appreciate. Sick funds establishedin large works or factories began to send some of theirpatients. This was notably the case at Coventry.The Birmingham Saturday Hospital Fund has now abeautiful convalescent home at Droitwich with some60 beds. The benefit societies have found it cheaperin the long run to send their patients here. Then whatabout the panel patients ? Is there not a saving to beeffected with them on what might be called a nationalscale ? This would undoubtedly be the case, especially ifa large number of patients could be sent sooner. Hereare the means of economising health and money; allthat is needed is the power of organising and the initialoutlay, to be ultimately refunded. It is not a questionof spending money, but, by reducing the prevalence andduration of sickness, of saving money. What the Heartsof Oak Club has satisfactorily demonstrated on a smallscale it should be for the Government and the public toassist in realising on a national scale.I The waters of Droitwich are recognised as thestrongest natural brine in Europe. They contain morethan 20,000 gr. of chloride of sodium per gallon. Theyalso give off radio emanations, which the patients inhalewhile bathing. The curative and tonic properties of thesewaters have been proclaimed by numerous competentauthorities. Such a source of health and wealth shouldbe developed to the uttermost, and not be allowed tolanguish for want of enterprise. Droitwich deserves toacquire popularity equal to that of the best continentalbalneological resorts.

MANCHESTER ROYAL INFIRMARY.-A tablet to thememory of resident surgeons of the Manchester RoyalInfirmary who were killed during the war is to be placed inthe main entrance of the building. The cost, about .;1;100, willbe defrayed out of the Medical Board Fund.