158 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION.

which is to be exercised by the various sanitary authorities inconsequence of the reappearance of cases of cholera in RussianToland and in outlying districts of Galicia, where the diseasehas been spreading and has reached the town and district ofCracow. The Galician town of Zaleszczyski, in whichnumerous cases of cholera have appeared, has been officially- declared an infective centre ; it is situated on the Dniester-close to the Russian frontier. The correspondent of theTimes reports that active measures, in the way of sanitarysupervision, provision of medical aid, hospitals and meansof disinfection are being, or have already been, adopted inAustria and Hungary at the instigation of the respective31inisters of the Interior of those countries. The latest.reports, according to the correspondent of the Standard, donot show that there is any great increase in the number ofattacks in Galicia and Bakowina, but the epidemic is never-.theless said to be spreading in districts and communities- hitherto free from it. The warm and moist weather of the

present season has not only revived cholera in Russia andseveral contiguous countries, but the disease has appeared,:,s we have already reported, in Sweden, on the Hague, atLiege in Belgium, and has been present for some time pastin Brittany, although we have heard very little about it. Itwill be remembered, however, that we heard little of theo-emarkable localisation and development of cholera in andaround Paris in 1892, where the exact cause and origin ofthe disease was never satisfactorily accounted for, althoughcholera succeeded in getting a foothold there even prior tothe advance of the epidemic coming from the East throughRussia, and its subsequent extension to Hamburg.

Coincidently with this increased activity of the epidemic inEurope we learn from Vancouver, by steamers arriving therewith the mails from China and Japan, that cholera is spread-ing with amazing rapidity throughout the Chinese empire.’In addition to the present outbreak of plague in that countrydt is stated that there have been 40, 000 deaths from cholerain Canton alone. The Chinese Government is, however, veryreticent, and as there are no means of arriving at the fullextent of the scourge it is very possible that these rumoursare exaggerated expressions of the facts. From what weknow of the filthy and insanitary conditions prevalent in

<!China we may safely assume that the permanent local con-ditions of that country furnish a favourable environment tothe cholera cause, and that epidemic outbreaks may be simply-dependent on the presence or not of certain factors and oncertain widely diffused influences.

There is a considerable amount of activity in Indiaapparently in regard to hygienic regulations and provisionsrelating to cholera. The sanitary commissioner for thePunjab, Surgeon-Colonel Roe, has submitted a scheme bywhich the experience gained at the gatherings at Hurdwar.may be utilised at other periodical fairs and big nativegatherings. Among the points dwelt upon are the selection:and apportioning off beforehand of the general site in sections s’or district camping grounds for the pilgrims coming from.different parts of India, with a due regard to proper accommo-dation and the prevention of overcrowding ; the provision ofwater-supply, latrine accommodation, and surface cleanli-mess ; the erection of a general hospital and the setting apart.of special hospital huts for choleraic disease ; the provision,of medical officers and medical aid ; the inspection of pilgrimtrains and the warning by telegraph of all district officers inthe event of a fair being broken up by the outbreak of any’epidemic sickness. M. Haffkine is energetically engaged inpushing forward his anti-choleraic inoculation method of

i_orophylagis with a certain measure of success so far as hisexperiments have extended up to the present time. In a

country like India opportunities for testing the value of thisanethod will not be wanting, but it is necessary to be very.cautious in drawing conclusions prematurely from insufficient’data. At the present time, however, Russia seems to afford asample opportunities and facilities for a trial of M. Haffkine’s.method as India. During the week ending June 9th therewere only 15 deaths from cholera registered at Calcutta,against 15 and 15 in the two preceding weeks, the numbeIbeing somewhat lower than the average of the past quin-.uennium.

As regards our own country, the Local Government Boardhas issued a circular to the clerks of the sanitary authoritieein England and Wales urging that the utmost vigilance shallbe exercised to control any suspicious forms of illness ; and,in view of facilitating action in this direction, the Boarcintimates that it would give favourable consideration to an3applications to add diarrhoea to the list of notifiable disease.ontil the termination of the present quarter.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ST. JOHNAMBULANCE ASSOCIATION.

THE Central Executive Committee of the St. John Ambu-lance Association are to be congratulated upon issuing theirreport for 1892-3 so soon after their last report. and in

bringing. their proceedings more up to date than has latterlybeen the case.

In the year which this report covers there has been anincrease of over 2000 certificates issued on any previous year.The dilettante or drawing-room class has disappeared, andthe more solid educational class has taken its place. Amongstpolicemen, firemen, and railway employes a knowledge ofhow to render first aid to the injured has been madeobligatory and one of the necessary steps to promotion.Comparing the report with that of 1890 we find that since

that year seventeen new country centres have been formed,and six new foreign and colonial centres ; whilst the increasein detached female classes has been 123, and in detachedmale classes 125. Much of this increase is due to the adop-tion of ambulance instruction by the technical educationcommittees of the county councils.I The London School Board and the authorities of our largepublic schools do not give this matter of ambulance trainingthe attention it deserves. Winchester, Harrow, and Rugbyare all conspicuous by their absence and Eton is repre-sented by only five students who have obtained certificatesin the year.

This report contains an account of the excellent work doneby the metropolitan corps of the St. John AmbulanceBrigade, of whose excellent services the London public arefully aware. Colonel Thackeray, C.B., V.C., has beenappointed commissioner of this brigade, and he adds a

very satisfactory report of their work. At the opening ofthe Imperial Institute, and on the occasion of the marriageof their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York,the unprecedented good service done by the metropolitancorps in the streets of London is therein stated. On thelatter occasion over 1500 cases of illness and accidents weretreated by the surgeons and ambulance attendants.

THE METHOD OF DESTROYING THECARCASES OF DISEASED ANIMALS

AT HAMBURG.(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

PERSONS interested in the management of slaughter-housesknow that the disposal of the carcases of condemned animalsis a matter of great difficulty. There is always the fearthat some of the unwholesome meat may be stolen and sold ;and, in any case, the carcases themselves are cumbersome,rapidly decompose, and give rise to serious nuisance. At

Hamburg, however, there is a destructor now in use whichrapidly converts the carcases into valuable manure andthis without occasioning any inconvenience. I am indebtedto Police-Commissioner Fnlchtnicht for my knowledge ofthis important invention. With great courtesy the policecommissioner conducted me to the destructor works, situatedsome distance outside Hamburg, and gave me all the

necessary explanations. The machine consists of a largeiron cylinder or drum. It is placed horizontally and a smalltwo-horse-power engine makes the cylinder revolve. Thecylinder is approached from above and there is an openingin the side through which the matter to be destroyed isintroduced. When full the opening is closed tightly by boltand nuts. In the centre of this plate opening there is amuch smaller aperture, which is also firmly secured, butwhich can be opened so as to extract samples from time totime and thus determine whether the process is completed.All round the cylinder there is a steam jacket. A pressureof steam is produced equal to two or three atmospheres,though the cylinder has been tested for a pressure of s’xatmospheres. By plates obliquely placed within the cylinderthe mass inside, as the destructor revolves, is thrown towardsthe centre. This facilitates the mixing during the opera-tion and afterwards the emptying. These plates act as afunnel towards the aperture in voiding the apparatus, the

159UNITED HOSPITALS’ ATHLETIC SPORTS.

material falling out on the floor below the cylinder by the sameopening which, when turned uppermost, serves for loading.The working capacity of the cylinder, which is the largestactually in use, is made for the treatment of about threetons of matter at each operation. At both extremities ofthe cylinder there are tubes which serve as inlet and outletfor steam &c. Once the cylinder is filled with the carcases&c. that have to be destroyed the material is first subjectedfor two and a half hours to the direct action of steam underpressure. Then the steam is closed off and only admittedinto the steam jacket. The cylinder is made to revolve forfive minutes after a pause of half an hour’s duration, andthis is repeated three or four times. When the fat has beenfully dissolved and detached from the meat it is drawn outin a very simple but ingenious manner. Through one of thepipes water is introduced into the cylinder, and as it fills thelower portion the fat, in a heated and fluid state, rises to thetop of the cylinder. Here the exit pipe, which is bent so asto act as a syphon, draws the fats off into an adjoining vat, iwhere they are subjected to a process of clearing. This isachieved by means of a cold water douche, but this sectionof the work is not as yet fully organised and will be perfectedshortly. The amount of fats obtained varies according to thematerial treated, and the proportion of fat drawn off is equal tofrom 83 to 90 per cent. of the whole. The water which hasserved to expel the fat from the cylinder is now got rid off byevaporation. For this purpose steam is admitted only intothe surrounding steam jacket. This, the drying process, lastsfrom seven and a half to fourteen hours, according to thematerial treated. The odorous gases generated in the

cylinder pass out by the syphon tube and go through ametallic spiral, where they are cooled and the water theycontain condensed, the rest passing into the chimney. It is

proposed to use this distilled water for the boilers. Thematerial, when the process is completed, comes out as a drybrown powder. It is thrown on to a sieve and any largeparticles remaining, such as bits of bone, are returned to thedestructor and go through the process a second time. Onthe day of my visit three tons of condemned anchovies werebeing thus converted into manure. A few days previouslytwenty-three pigs had been destroyed in one single operation.Owing, however, to the large amount of fat in pigs andvarying component parts of different animals it has beenfound expedient whenever possible to mix the several materialsand thus secure a more uniform manure.Formerly the destruction of condemned carcases cost the

city of Hamburg a considerable sum of money. With theaid of the destructor just described this loss has beenconverted into a profit amounting in one year to 10, 000 marks,from which, however, must be deducted the salary of thesuperintendent and the cost of the buildings. The destructoris known as the Podewils patent, and is manufactured byL. A. Riedinger at Augsburg. The manure sells in themarket for from twelve to thirteen marks the hundred kilo-grammes and the fat for from forty to forty-three marksthe kilogramme. The latter is used for the manufac-ture of the better qualities of soap. The dried manureproduced by the destruction of the carcases contains from5’6 to 7.2 per cent. of nitrogen and from 5.7 to 0.8 percent. of phosphoric acid. On one occasion the propor-tion of phosphoric acid was as much as 12’9 per cent., butthis was due to the destruction of a large quantity of saltedpork that had arrived from America. It should also benoted that the property in the neighbourhood of thedestructor has greatly improved, as all bad odours have beenpractically eliminated. The town is now constructing specialcarts made of iron, which can be securely locked, to bringcarcases from the slaughter-house or from the town to thedestructor. As a rule, free incisions are made in condemnedmeat and it is sprinkled with petroleum. Being very volatile,the petroleum renders the meat uneatable. It is proposednow, however, to use crude carbolic acid. The faecal matterfrom the intestines of the horses, cows, &c. is gathered anddried in a room where the walls and floor are carefullycemented, and, when dry, it is used as manure. By the sideof the destructor there is a shed where the larger animalsare cut up into pieces small enough to pass through theaperture of the cylinder. Two more cylinders have beenordered of a larger size and with apertures large enough toadmit a quarter of an ox without cutting it up. There is alsoto be a special apparatus, a digester, for the destruction ofanimals that have died from anthrax. These will be

destroyed without being cut to pieces or touched. Thenthere is also a project for so laying the floor of the knacker’s

shed that all the blood and refuse may be drained and suckedup and delivered directly inside the cylinder of the destructor..It only remains to add that the poudrette manure producedis altogether devoid of unpleasant odour and is of undoubted’commercial value. The odour at the destructor works is.somewhat similar to that of heating glue, but a few yardsoutside the building it can scarcely be noticed. Taking all.’these results into consideration the town of Hamburgdeserves considerable praise for being in the vanguard,among the towns of Europe in respect to this importantdetail of municipal administration. Nowhere have I seen,

the difficult question of dealing with the carcases of diseasedanimals and with condemned fish and meat more satisfactorilysolved.

UNITED HOSPITALS’ ATHLETIC SPORTS.

THE annual inter-hospital competition for the Challenge-Shield took place on Saturday, July 14th, on the grounds of’the London Athletic Club at Stamford Bridge. The weatherwas unfortunately showery, and this, no doubt, accounted forthe attendance being smaller than in previous years, althoughthere was no lack of enthusiasm. The preliminary heats hadbeen run ofE on the previous Wednesday, and there was a.

good programme of events for competition. St. Bartholo-mew’s Hospital created somewhat of a surprise by beatingGuy’s Hospital by six points to five, thus regaining possessionof the shield, a result largely due to the efforts of C. Vo.Cornish. During the afternoon three hospital records werelowered in the Half-mile, Three Miles, and Hurdles. A newfeature in the afternoon’s events was a Five Miles BicycleRace for members of the newly formed Hospitals’ BicyclingClub.

It had been hoped that it would have been possible te,arrange a match with the Yale University athletes duringtheir stay in England, but owing to their being unable to-remain longer in this country the contest had to be reluctantly abandoned, to the great disappointment of all con-cerned. The medals were distributed by Mrs. Victor HorsleyMessrs. A. F. Voelcker, M.D. (University College, London),G. R. Turner, F.R.C.S. (St. George’s), and A. A. Bowlby,F.R. C.S. (St. Bartholomew’s), acted as judges, and Mr. P. R.-Lowe (Guy’s) acted as secretary.Appended are the results :-100 yards, Final heat : H. T. Bell (Guy’s). Time, 10? sec. Half-mile-

Challenge Cup: A. Hay (St. Bartholomew’s), 1 ; S. Mason (St. Bartholo-mew’s), 2. Time, 2 min. 1 sec. Putting the Shot: F. W. Bennett (St-Bartholomew’s), 34 ft. 5 in. 120 yards Hurdle Race : J. Johnston (St.-Bartholomew’s), 16 9 sec. 220 yards : C. V Cornish (St. Bartholomew’s)..Time, 23 1/5 sec. Five Miles Bicycle Race: A. Woods (Guy’s), 1; H. Jo-Millbank Smith.(Guy’s), 2. Time, 15 min. 241- sec. High Jump : S. F.Smith (St. Bartholomew’s). Heiglit, 5 ft. 6! in. Throwing the Hammer :E. N. Scott (Guy’s). Distance, 85 ft. 1 in. One Mile Challenge Cup :_H. A. Munro (Guy’s), 1; R. C. Leaming (St. Mary’s) 2. Time, 4 min-33 3/5 sec. Long Jump : H. T. Bell (Guy’s), 20 ft. 7 in. Quarter-mile-Challenge Cup: C. V. Cornish (St. Bartholomew’s). Time, 52&iuml; sec..Three Miles Challenge Cup: H. A. Munro (Guy’s). Time, 15min.-16 sec.

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ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OFENGLAND.

A QUARTERLY MEETING of the Council was held on the

12th inst., the President, Mr. J. W. Hulke, F.R.S., in the-chair.The President reported the result of the election for three-

members of Council on the 5th inst., and Mr. Howard-Marsh, Mr. Reginald Harrison, and Mr. James Hardie werewintroduced, and made a declaration in the terms of the oathprescribed by the Charter of 1800, and took their seats a&

members of the Council.The Committee on By-laws presented a fifth report, in.,

which they recommend to the Council that the fee to be paidfor the Licence in Dental Surgery should be increased from.ten to twenty guineas, but that all persons duly registered)as dental students on or before Oct. 1st, 1894, shall be.-

, enabled to obtain the licence at the present fee of ten,guineas. The report was approved and adopted. The

: Council then proceeded to elect the professors and lecturers.for the ensuing year, and the following appointments were-

i made :-; Professors of Surgery and Pathology, Mr. C. B. Lockwooc3