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the Medico-Chirurgical Society of this town, and described thegood effects which had resulted from it in my own case, it isonly, for reasons which it is unnecessary to mention, within thelast few weeks that I have recommended it to patients ; but inevery case in which this has been done, the result has beenmost gratifying and satisfactory. I am, therefore, encouraged- believing, as I do, that anything that could contribute to theprophylaxis of consumption would be gladly hailed and put tothe test by the profession-to ask you to give this note a placein your columns.

.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,Abcrdeen, October, 1860. WM. FRASER, M.R..C.S. ENG.

THE MARSHALL HALL METHOD OF TREAT-MENT IN ASPHYXIA.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—I feel great pleasure in sending you the acconnt ofanother ewse of recovery under the above method, and do so asa duty, thinking that the greatest tablet to the memory of ourfinest men will. be that long column inscribed with a, happychronicle of the much good done by their original and philoso.phical ideas.

0:1 Tuesday, the 9th inst., Mrs. T— was delivered by mypartner and ’myself after .9, lingering and protracted labour.The child was born to all appearance dead, but after assidu-ously employing the prone and postural Method for about

twenty-five minutes, we were delighted to observe the signs ofreturning life, and the child is now strong and healthy.

Trusting you will agree with me in thinking that by everyO::e recording his success he will thus be acknowledging theservices of the late great Marshall Hall, and that you willaccordingly deem this worthy of insertion in your journal,

I am. Sir. yours obediently.SAMUEL PRALL, M.R.C.S.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF FEVER.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)

IT ::s stated on good authority that a soldier, when completein every respect, costs the country 500. How many of these

are kept up is beside my present purpose to inquire; but thefact is enough by itself to show what a costly article a soldier is,and the importance which must ever Lelong to his efficient

maintenance and health. He is exposed to most, if not all, thediseases to which flesh is heir, and particularly to those influenceswhich generate the class of diseases known as fevers. It has beenestablished that the period or life during which these affectionsprevail most is the very period when the solaier is most eifeccive.His duties, too, take him to countries ’’.There fever prevails toa degree and intensity unknown amongst ourselves, and hence-no year passes in which accounts do not reach us of outbreaksof the disease, and consequent loss of life. Leaving the soldier,- however, out of the question, the community at large are

deeply interested in the subject. It is true that, within thela.g.t two or three years, fever has prevailed to a very slightextent, I believe I may say over Great Britain generally.But are we then to reckon ourselves free of it ? Or is it so verylong since an epidemic of a severe character broke out in thevery neighbourhood of Royalty itself?How does fever originate? By contagion, some will say;

others, by overcrowding, and living in close and bidly-venti-iated dwellings; others, by famine; whilst a fourth partyattribute to ill-constructed sewerage the outbreaks of the dis-ease. Now, I admit that these all, excepting the first, whichis a direct cause, are capable of predisposing to the disease;but whilst doing so, I consider that looking upon them otherthan as predisposing causes i3 going further than facts will war-rant. I will take the sewerage question as an example ofwhat I mean, because it has been the fashion of late to attri-bute to this cause more than I think it is entitled to, and, if Imistake not, several writers have set it down as a. direct causeof fever, and even of cholera. A case or cases of one or otherdisease appears, and forthwith a sewer is discovered, and at onceblamed for the occurrence, whilst it seems taken for granted. that it is the whole cause. There must surely be some inaccu-

rate reasoning here. The sewer had existed for years pre-viously, and yet no fever had appeared. That is, in otherwords, the cause was there, but not the result. Trifling asthis point appears, I believe it to be one of very great moment;and when correct views come to be held on it, I consider thata step in the right direction will have been gained.

I have glanced at some, and only some, of the predisposingcauses of fever. There is one, however, to which I do notventure to give a name, as to the class to which it belongs;and yet it is one which, it strikes me, is often overlooked, if,indeed, it be thought of at all. I speak of the disease as beinggenerated within the individuals themselves. Some, I haveno donbt, will question the possibility of such an occurrence;but there seem to be, or rather there are, some facts which.go far to establish the idea. Thus I may mention what occursin puerperal fever. Here there is every reason to suppose thedisease originates within the individuals themselves. Again,can there be any doubt of the cause of the secondary fever ofsmall-pox? 13 the disease known as typhoid pneumonia otherthan pneumonia to which typhus fever is superadded? For itis matter of observatiaaa tha.t, at the first go-off, the fever is oftennot of the typhus type. In surgical cases, too, the same order ofevents is to be observed. A man breaks the neck of hia thigh-bone, and in the course of a week or ten days exhibits all thesigns of typhus fever, of which he dies. Or a case of anthraxis going on to all appearance well, when suddenly the feverbecomes typhoid, and the patient is rapidly carried off. Thesame occurs sometimes in the progress of suppurating bursa, orerysipelas, or after amputations or other surgical operations.There is, in point of fact, ample proof that any shock to thesystem may be followed by fever, and this must have originatedfrom within. This is a cause of the disease which, I think,should never be forgotten; though I cannot just now call tomiud a single writer who has dwelt on it. From this idea some

very important conclasjons, as I imagine, follow. In the iirst

place, it is clear that, under at lea st many circumstances, itwill be necessary to pay strict attention to the state of theconstitution, and this with the direct object of preventingfever. Thus, knowing that, in the puerperal state, or withcaaes where there is a large suppurating surface, or after ope-rations, fever may arise, I think the physician or surgeonis bound to try and prevent it. I do not stop here to indicatethe best means for this purpose, but only to suggest the idea.Once this is got and set clearly forth, good results, I consider,must arise; and where the tendency to puerperal fever exists,I have no doubt benefit will ensue from acting on the idea.

it may be observed, in passing, that, in a somewhat differentpoint of view, the idea has been carried out; I mean the pre-vention of fever-!. Thus, in some of our colonies, where feveris ever rife, as the west coast of Africa, it has been, of late, thehabit to give the healthy men fixed though small doses ofquinine daily, and the results have been of a, very satisfactorynature. Now this principle it is which I would wish to seemere generally adopted amongst ourselves, and for the reasonsalready given; for I have ever thought that legitimate reason-ing—particularly when there are facts to go on-is amongstthe very best wavs of advancing medicine.A second conclusion which follows the recognition of the

fact that fever may originate from causes within the individual,is that it affords some explanation of the varieties which feverpresents, and is ever presenting. It is scarcely in the natureof things but that an affection like fever must take its hue-ifI may so speak—from the constitution through which it is

passing. In many cases this is very obvious. Thus drinkinghabits notoriously modify a fever, Again, the disease is evenmore serious, man for man, amongst the middle and upperranks than the lower. Different reasons have been advancedfor this. The most conclusive appears to me to be the much

greater employment of the mind in the one grade than in theother. Again, the temperaments change fever; nor do I knowa more important principle in the treatment of the disease thanascertaining, as far as may be, the temperament or peculiarconstitution of the case with which we have to deal.

I have said that fever exhibits varieties, some more and othersless marked; and the vast number of works published on thesubject prove this. But how, then, are we to read, or ratherunderstand them ? Is it because these varieties have receiveddifferent names that we must therefore consider them differentfevers, and arising from different poisons? I am aware of the

difficulty which surrounds this part of the subject; and par-ticularly the question of the identity of typhus and typhoidfevers, about which so much has, within these few years, beenadvanced. For myself, I will not venture to give any decided

I opinion on the point. So long as the impression prevailed

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that but one variety of fever existed in France, I confess it didappear to me there were grounds for supposing that it was adifferent poison which caused the disease. Now, however, weknow that the two varieties exist there; and that, in otherparts of the continent, the two have been found united in away which made it a very difficult matter to separate them.With such facts before me, and aware that good observers arestill engaged on the point in different quarters of the globe,who hold different views from those current in London, I thinkit matter of common prudence to wait longer before committingmyself to either one side or other.

Medical News.ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.—The following gentle-

men, having undergone the necessary examinations for the

diploma, were admitted Members of the College at a meetingof the Court of Examiners on the 26th ult. :-

Cook, Robert Foreman, Gateshead.Dinham, George Joseph, Mile-end.Eyeley, Joseph Frederick, Llanymynech, North Wales.Hammond, Edward Charles, Cambridge.Sterling, Hauteville Hone John, Deal, Kent.

At the same meeting of the Court, Mr. Walter FrederickCope Bartlett, late of the Royal Naval Hospital, Hong Kong,passed his examination as Naval Surgeon. This gentlemanhad previously besn admitted a member of the College, hisdiploma bearing date August Sth, 1856.APOTHECARIES’ HALL.—The following gentlemen passed

their examination in the science and practice of medicine, andreceived certificates to practise, on

Thursday, October 25th, 1860.Batho, William, Amesbury, Wilts.Coward, Christopher Thomas, Stepney Green, Stepney.Dalton, Frederick George, Westerham, Kent.Phillips, George Griffith, Newcastle Emlyn, Cardiganshire.Williams, Eliezer, Llandilo, Carmarthenshire.

The following gentlemen also on the same day passed theirfirst examination :-

Cribb, William, Chambers-terrace, Camden-town.Rawson, Edwin, Wilsden, near Bingley.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, EDINBURGH.—EdwinSwinfen Bellyse, M.D., L.R.C.S., & L.A.C., Nantwich, waselected a Fellow of this College on the 17th ult.

. ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS.—It has been remittedto the Council of the College to arrange the scheme for carryinginto effect the new powers conferred upon the Fellows by therecent Act of electing a president.LONDON HOSPITAL.—Mr- Critchett has resigned his

share of the Chair of Surgery at this hospital. He will, how-ever, continue to give his annual course of lectures on Ophthal-mic Surgery.STAFF-SURGEON T. N. SUNTER, M.D., who had been

committed for trial at Honduras, on a charge of manslaughter,on the death of Lieutenant Lewis, 2nd West India Regiment,has been honourably acquitted.MEDICAL STATISTICS OF PRUSSIA. - The " Elberfeld

Gazette" states that in Prussia, in a population of 17,739,913souls, there are 358 district physicians; 4327 having their

grades; 996 surgeons, first class, and 643 second class; 1026veterinary surgeons; 1529 apothecaries; and 11,411 midwives.MEDICAL SESSION AT PARIS. ^ The lectures of the

Faculty of Medicine of Paris commenced on the 2nd inst.; butthe registers of inscriptions for the first quarter will be keptopen till the 20th inst.

DEATH OF A CENTENARIAN.-On Sunday week, Mr. D.Muirhead, of Tynecastle, near Edinburgh, died at the veryadvanced age of 106 years.

GIFTS To GARIBALDL-An Englishman, Mr. Briggs,merchant, of Manchester, has sent to General Garibaldi 400knapsacks, tents, and other valuable material, asking only inreturn an autograph of the General. Lady Panmure sent,some time since, 500 oz. of quinine.A CHIRURGICAL BEQUEST. - M. Lenoir, an eminent

French surgeon, who died lately at Paris, has directed, by hiswill, that all his surgical instruments should be given to thathouse-surgeon of the Paris Hospital who shall, this year, standfirst in the examinations for that office.

APPOINTMENTS.—Mr. Geo. L. Cooper, Surgeon to theBloomsbury Dispensary, has been appointed Teacher of Vacci-nation, under the new regulations of the Medical School of Uni-versity College, at Caledonian-place, King’s-Cross.

Dr. Wm. P. Kirkman has been appointed Medical Super-intendent of the New Lunatic Asylum for the United Countiesof Cumberland and Westmoreland, situated at Garlands, nearCarlisle.

THE LATE LEROY D’ETIOLLES. - A biographical sketchof the late lithotritist has been offered to the Medical Societyof the department of the Seine by its Secretary. In this essaywe find that Leroy d’Etiolles, at the early age of twenty-two,had already struck into the path that led him to fame, and,strange to say, almost at the same time with Amussat andCiviale-all three working at the solution of the same problemat the same epoch, and unaware of the coincidence. The re-markable improvements successively introduced by Leroy inthe structure of his instruments is carefully dwelt upon, andparticular stress is laid on the fact that he was not a merespecialist, as he engaged with great vigour in various investi.gations, amongst which may be named electricity, muscularcontractility, transfusion of blood, the effects of air in the veins,the reproduction of the crystalline lens, the ligature of polypiof the larynx, the operation for vesico-vaginal fistula, thetreatment of aneurism by coagulating injections, researches oncancer, &c. &c. His taste for mechanical science made himpropose various improvements in agriculture and railroads, andhad led him, as far back as 1831, to advocate the use of rifledcannon.

DEAF-MUTISM.—ADMINISTRATION OF CHLOROFORM,-At the last sitting of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, Dr.Baudelocque presented a patient of his to the members - asoldier, named Charles Freschelle, who having been seizedwith typhus fever in the Crimea lost the power of speech inconsequenee. On the 1st of September last, having been dumbfor four years, he placed himself under the guidance of Dr.Baudelocque, who succeeded in gradually curing him. Dr.Baudelocque also produced a young boy, born deaf and dumb,and who now can speak and also hear a little. Dr. Jeancourtsent in a paper on the employment of chloroform. He consi-ders that whenever the act of breathing is continued regularlyduring inhalation, chloroformation presents no danger; butthat when this continuity is interrupted, either by the fault ofthe operator or the patient, there may be danger. Hence heestablishes the general maxim: that, to avoid all accidents inproducing anaesthesia, great care must be taken to cause anincessant renewal of the air in the lungs until the sleep hasbegun. Afterwards it will continue without intermission.

STATISTICS OF LUNACY.—Late statistical returns showthat in Belgium there are at present 51 lunatic asylums: 6 inthe province of Antwerp (one of them the colony of Gheel), 11in the Brabant, 6 in Western Flanders, 16 in Eastern Flanders,6 in Hainaut, 4 in Liege, and 2 in Limburg. The number of’

lunatics in Belgium is 4907, which is 1 in every 920 of thepopulation.VIOLENT DEATH OF DR. GILMOUR, OF LiVERPOOL.—

The body of Dr. Gilmour, residing at 19, Upper Parliament-street, was, on Saturday last, found floating in the Trafford-dock, at the south end of the town. The face bore marks ofill-treatment, being much cut and bruised; otherwise the bodywas generally unscathed, and appeared to have been but ashort time in the water.

TEMPLE GARDENS.—The crysanthemums are daily pro.gressing towards their greatest perfection; one named Cas-sandra, a flower of marvellous beauty, wins the admiration ofall. Visitors are respectfully solicited not to omit an inspectionof the Pompones, a dwarf variety (bearing a minute blossom)of this charming autumn flower in the large circular beds ofthe Middle Temple Garden, near Essex-street. The exhibitionis free, without the trouble of obtaining tickets or orders, andis open daily from nine till dusk.A RESUSCITATED MURDERER.—The following strange

story appears in an American paper :-‘° There is now no usein concealing the fact that Albert W. Hicks, who was osten-sibly executed for piracy on Bedloe’s Island on the 12th of lastJuly, is still living, though in a dangerous state, but likely to

’ recover the full use of his faculties and limbs. The sight ofhis left eye is gone, and his left leg continues paralysed; but,! apart from these injuries, he would appear to have suffered. nothing, and his residence at his sister’s house in Poughkeepsie

has proved everv wav beneficiaL It will be remembered that