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cessful for themselves and their publisher as Mr. CoopER;none have contributed so much to the education of the

members of his profession. For the long period of seven-teen years Mr. COOPER filled the office of Professor of Surgeryin University College; and he was Surgeon and Consulting-surgeon to the Hospital from the period of its foundationuntil he withdrew from both institutions in April last. It is

not our intention, on this melancholy occasion, to refer to thelatter painful subject, with which the readers of THE LANCEThave been made sufficiently familiar. Suffice it to say, that a

very general impression now exists, that the irritation and

annoyance to which his sensitive and honourable feelingswere then subjected have not been without their effect intending to produce the unhappy result which we this dayhave to record. This must ever be a sad reflection for those

with whom he had served so long and ably, and whom he ac-cused of that selfishness and intrigue which caused his resig-nation ; and more sad must it be for the Council of the College,who participated in the insulting and iniquitous proceedingswhich led to his retirement. Mr. COOPER lived to see the re-

sult of these proceedings in the ruined character and dimi-nished means of the institution. As a teacher, Mr. COOPERwas greatly esteemed; as a friend and counsellors-he wasloved. No student ever left his class who did;not look up tohim with the affection of a son, and in many cases a corre-

sponding feeling was returned. As a surgeon, Mr. COOPER

was much distinguished. He brought his profound learning,combined with his practical experience, to bear on all doubt-ful and difficult cases. He was never at a loss for an illustra-

tion, a reference, or a precedent. His services to his patientswere invaluable. We have known him obtain, by a fewassuring and kind words, conveyed with his peculiar benevolent expression, all those happy results which a powerfulanodyne cannot always procure. We hope, on a future occa-sion, to include in a memoir some striking events in the life ofthis eminent man. To the grave he bears with him the most

sincere regards of all who knew him; in every relation of lifehis character was the same. Thus, in one short year Englishsurgery has lost two of its brightest ornaments—ROBERTLISTON, and SAMUEL COOPER.

Correspondence.

ON THE ACTION OF PROTO-SULPHATE OF IRONIN THE TREATMENT OF CHANCRE, GONOR-RHŒA. &c.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—The whole class of caustic agents, when applied to

the Hunterian chancre, (though the potassafusa cum calce beused, till the ulcer be " punched out" as recommended by M.Ricord,) form an eschar with pus still secreting; in fact, themorbid cells have not been destroyed. The alkaloids andhydro-carbons are equally inefficacious.

If a chancre be perfectly freed from its eschar and theenclosed pus, at the bottom of the excavation may be observedminute white points or germs, secreting, slowly, the morbidvirus. If, now, the proto-sulphate of iron, minutely pulverized,be dropped into this excavation, the parts will instantlyassume a charred appearance, the metal is absorbed into thetissue, the morbid cells or germs will instantly cease to secretepus, the cleared cavity will shortly granulate, and a smoothsurface, without induration, will be the result of the use of theproto-sulphate of iron. The chancre is destroyed.

It is known to chemists, that the proto-sulphate of iron ab-sorbs large volumes of oxygen and nitrous oxide gases.The proto-sulphate of iron, I have observed to be the most

powerful agent for arresting decomposition in animal andvegetable substances. Inflammation and decomposition inthe living tissue is likewise arrested by it.

In gonorrhcea, we have now an agent arresting the morbidcellular action in the salts which should be used in solutionsuper-saturated.

In leucorrhosa, and in simple ulcers, the morbid action isarrested or peroxidized by this metallic salt.

Large doses of this salt have been exhibited in obstinatediarrhoea, with great benefit.The action of this salt will produce a great change in super-

seding mercury in the treatment of diseases of specific origin.I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

Cornhill, Nov. 22, 1848. ’ CHEMICUS.

NAVAL ASSISTANT-SURGEONS.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—Will you kindly allow me, through the medium ofyour columns, to inform an " Assistant-Surgeon R.N." thatmemorials, originating with the assistant-surgeons of theMediterranean Squadron, have been prepared for presentationto the different colleges, requesting them to appeal to theAdmiralty, in furtherance of our claims. The council of theDublin College having discussed the question, have resolved tomemoralize the Lords of the Admiralty in favour of theirjunior brethren.

Let us hope that, as union is strength, the three collegeswill unite in pressing our claims on the Admiralty; by so act-ing, they will be only doing what their alumni have a right toexpect from them.-I am, Sir, your obliged servant,

‘

M.R.C.S.; R.N.

THE PROPOSED INCORPORATION OF THE GREATBODY OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION WITHTHE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,— If all digressions be excluded from the communica-tions of the " Physician who Thinks" &c., and " P. X.," theremarks made upon my last letter which could lay any claimto reply are reducible to a comparatively small number, thegist of these being, not the advantage or disadvantage whichmight result to the profession or the University of London bythe entire or partial adoption of the suggestion, but the pre-sumed interference with the dignities of these two gentlemen.As this is not the question which has been mooted, I have noreply to give to it.With respect to the opprobrious epithets, "absurdity,"

"insanity," " of the many insane propositions, the most mad,"ibid. genus omne, I have no remark further to make than this,that I trust, if the respective writers should chance to livetwenty years longer, they will be so additionally advanced in

’ the Christian graces of charity and forbearance, as themselvesto feel towards them a contempt equivalent to the indifferencewith which the individual upon whom they are bestowedreceives them. They will then be both "wiser and bettermen."Not having read anything which proves the " absurdity" of

the suggestion which I have made, and feeling thoroughlyconvinced that any one who reads my communication, un-influenced by prejudice, will absolve me from the charge ofusing " insane" language in the advocacy of my opinions; andupon mature reflection seeing no reason to make any changein my sentiments on the subject, I beg again to submit myformer " absurd" letter and " insane" proposal, in its entirety,to the renewed favourable consideration of yourself, and tothe judgment of the profession.To a body of men standing so deservedly high in scientific

and professional estimation as the senate of the Universityof London, I should have been ashamed to make any sugges-tion otherwise than in language of the greatest courtesy andrespect. This I trust I have used, both when speaking ofthem collectively, and of the institution, the best interests ofwhich they have so well maintained. If the suggestion itselfbe that of an " insane" man, and

" of the many insane pro-positions of the last few years, the most mad," nevertheless,the terms in which it is couched cannot be charged with thecharacter of impertinence. Whether they approve or dis-

approve, the language itself is that of "truth and soberness.’To call in question the transcendent abilities of my psycho-

logical jurors would almost be wicked. How admirablyadapted must they be to fulfil the duties of their self-assumedoffice! Upon their own solemn asseverations, one is a "Phy-

pician who Thinks," (monstr. horrend !) and the other holds

"Audi alteram partem."

648

no less a position than " the first medical degree of the Uni-versity of London."

Whilst, Mr. Editor, I am prepared to pay the most pro-found deference to the intellectual armour of the " Physicianwho Thinks," and of his confrere, " P. X.," they will perhapsexcuse my having the boldness to remind them of a very earlyexpressed opinion, and one which for ages has been usuallyadmitted to be true, "Ingenuas didicissefideliter artes emollitmores." (The fideliter may, perchance, have been accidentallyomitted from their special curricula.) Nevertheless, if theobtaining of the "highest degree of medicine in the Uni-versity of London" invariably conferred upon its possessor thepower of personally exemplifying the conclusion of the quota-tion, "nee sinit esse feros," infinitely would its value, asexhibited in the Physician who Thinks," and " P. X.," beenhanced in the eyes of, Sir, your very obedient servant,November 20, 1848.

_____

X. P.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—As every medical man ought, I have for many years

taken a strong interest in the subject of "medical reform,"but from the apparent impossibility of reconciling so large anumber of persons as belong to our profession to any par-ticular plan, or to bring them to think alike, ithaslong appearedto me hopeless, and the whole question to be reduced ad ab-surdum, with small chance of its ever emerging from chaos.

I cannot, therefore, help expressing to you my gratificationat the publication of the letter signed " X. P.," for I am sureevery one must see, that by adopting its suggestion, the Gor-dian knot would be cut, the enigma solved. I think that allpersons holding the double qualification, and of ten years’standing, should be admitted to the M.B. degree; and to doaway with the semblance of injustice, that all others whohave it at the time of the charter becoming a law, should begradually admitted as they complete the period of ten years.All other persons should of course be subjected to examina-tion.

I believe that if an appeal were made to the profession atonce, through the columns of THE LANCET, every individualpossessing the double qualification would send in his adhesion,and vote immediately; and by getting it done before parlia-ment assembles, something like substance may be presentedto the committee, on which their recommendation to theHouse can be based, for after such an examination of the sub-ject as they have had, some recommendation must go forth.

I am, &c.,Penzance, November, 1848. MACHAON.

ON THE USE OF ARSENIC IN AGRICULTURE.—POISONING BY ARSENIC, AND SYMPTOMS OFCHOLERA.—THE POSSIBLE EFFECT OF THEGAME LAWS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—In these days of alarm respecting cholera, any facts

suggesting an occasional and hitherto unsuspected source ofgastric irritation cannot fail to prove interesting to the medicalpractitioner; and as the circumstances I am about to com-municate have an important bearing, not only upon the sani-tary condition of our population, but upon the whole questionof poisoning by arsenic, I need make no apology for layingthem at once before the profession.For some months past, in certain parts of Hampshire, par.

tridges have been found dead in the fields, presenting a veryremarkable appearance. Instead of lying prostrate on theirside, as is usually the case with dead birds, they have beenfound sitting with their heads erect and their eyes open, pre-senting all the semblance of life. This peculiarity, which forsome time had attracted considerable attention among sports-men in the neighbourhood, led to no practical result untilabout ten days ago, when a covey of ten birds having been foundnestled together in this condition, two of the birds, togetherwith the seeds taken from the crops of the remaining eight,were sent up to London for examination. I was requested toundertake the investigation, and the result of my experimentsI will now briefly detail.

I first examined the seeds taken from the crops of the birds,and detected, as I anticipated, a large quantity of arsenic. Iwill not take up your valuable space by detailing the varioussteps of my analysis; suffice it to say, that by Reinsch’s pro-cess I speedily obtained a very thick incrustation of metallicarsenic; that I then applied the reduction test, and sub-sequently Marsh’s test, and the tests of the ammonio-nitrateof silver and the ammonio-sulphate of copper, each of whichgave its characteristic result.

Having thus ascertained the presence of arsenic in the foodof the partridges, I proceeded to examine the birds them-selves. They were plump and in good condition, but the œso-

phagus was in both cases highly inflamed" throughout. Theintestines were not inflamed, and presented no trace of ulcera-tion, but they were remarkably empty and clean, almost as ifthey had been washed with water. May not this have beenthe result of diarrhoea ?

I now, at the suggestion of my friend, Mr. Stone, proceededto ascertain whether the flesh of birds so poisoned might notitself prove poisonous when eaten, and with this view I care-fully cut the flesh off the breast and legs of one of the birds,and gave it, together with the liver, to a fine healthy cat.She ate it with avidity, but in about half an hour she beganto vomit, and vomited almost incessantly for nearly twelve. hours, during the whole of which time she evidently sufferedexcessive pain. After this, nothing would induce her to eat anymore partridge. I kept her without food for twenty-fourhours, but in vain; she resolutely refused to touch an atommore of the bird. This being the case, I gave her some beefand some milk, which she eagerly swallowed, proving beyond

doubt that her instinct, and not her want of appetite, inducedher to forego the dainty meal which had just been offeredher.

I now felt satisfied, from my observation of the symptoms °induced in the cat, borne out as they were by many facts weare acquainted with respecting the action of poisons, that thearsenic which the partridges had swallowed had been absorbedin sufficient quantity into the system to render the flesh ofthe birds poisonous, and to induce poisonous effects in any onepartaking of it. However, I was anxious to leave nothing tohypothesis, and as the cat had so soon rejected by vomitingthe greater part of the bird she had eaten, and pertinaciouslyrefused to repeat the experiment by again partaking of thepoisoned food, I was obliged to have recourse to chemicalanalysis, with the view of ascertaining with certainty the ex-istence or non-existence of arsenic in the flesh itself. Itherefore cut the flesh off one side of the breast of the otherpartridge, and after about an hour’s boiling, I obtained byReinsch’s process a thin incrustation of metallic arsenic, thusdemonstrating beyond question that the previous experimentshad left little room for doubting. I was now anxious toascertain the source of the poison, and a very little inquiryserved to satisfy me on this point. I will not stop to go intomany details which, though in themselves exceedinglyinteresting, have no direct bearing upon the question atissue. I will simply mention the leading facts-viz.,, thatin Hampshire, Lincolnshire, and many other parts of thecountry, the farmers are now in the habit of steeping theirwheat in a strong solution of arsenic previous to sowing it,with the view of preventing the ravages of the wire-worm onthe seed, and of the smut on the plant when grown; that thisprocess is found to be eminently successful, and is thereforedaily becoming more and more generally adopted; that, evennow, many hundreds weight of arsenic are yearly sold to agri-culturists for this express purpose; that although the seed ispoisonous when sown, its fruit is in no degree effected by thepoison: that wherever this plan has been extensively carriedout,* pheasants and partridges have been poisoned by eatingthe seed, and the partridges have been almost universally foundsitting in the position I have already described; and lastly,that the men employed in sowing the poisonous seed, not un-frequently present the earlier symptoms which occur in themilder cases of poisoning by arsenic. This last fact I give onthe authority of Dr. Heale, who up to the last two or threeyears practised at Staines, and has repeatedly had menunder his care, suffering from symptoms due to this cause.Now the facts just enumerated suggest several most im-

portant points for consideration. It is notorious that many ofthe dealers in game are supplied through the agency ofpoachers and others who have a direct pecuniary interest insupplying them with the largest possible number of birds. Itis certain, moreover, that if men of this sort were to find acovey of partridges in a field, dead, but fresh and in good con-dition, they would not hesitate to send them with the re-mainder of their booty to the poulterer, who would as cer-tainly, without suspicion, sell them to his customers. Andafter the experiments above detailed, there can be no reason-

* In a review on Mr. Taylor’s work on Poisons, in the last Octobervolume of the British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review, the reviewerstates, that "in the spring of 1846, a greatnumherofpheasants baring* beenfound dead in their preserve, their crops were removed and sent to us foranalysis, and with them some young wheat, about six inches high, whichhad been grown from poisoned corn, and on which it was suspected thatthe birds had fed. The earth about the roots of the plants yielded distincttraces of arsenic, but the leaves were perfectly free from it."