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4. If a remarkable storm of thunder and rain is to succeed,for some days before it lodges almost continually without thewater, and discovers uncommon uneasiness in violent throesand convulsive motions.- 5. In the frost, as in the clear and summer weather, it liesconstantly at the bottom; and in snow, as in rainy weather, itpitches its dwelling upon the mouth of the phial.

6. Perhaps it may not be amiss to note, lest any of thecurious should try the experiment, that the leech was kept ina common two-ounce phial, about three-fourths filled withwater, and covered with a bit of linen rag. In the summerthe water is changed once -a week, and in the winter once afortnight. This is a weather-glass which may be purchasedat a very trifling expense.These observations have hitherto been confined to the

weather. It has occurred to me, however, that epidemics-cholera, influenza, fevers-may be pre-indicated by theinstincts of this curiously sensitive creature; and I am nowarranging a series of experiments which will test the instinc-tive powers of the leech in so desirable a prognosis.

I do not pretend to offer any theory or explanation of thecurious facts above stated. I only cast them upon the waters,in the hope that some naturalist, with more leisure and -in-genuity than myself, will perhaps, after many days, enlargeand apply them to some beneficial purpose. One suggestiononly will I offer in explanation: Is it the electrical conditionof the atmosphere that produces these curious habits in - theIppeh 2 T am Sir. your nhRdifnt servant. I

W. HOOPER ATTREE,Formerly House-Surgeon to the

Middlesex Hospital.

MEDICAL FEES AT ASSURANCE OFFICES.To the Editor of THE LANOET.

SIR,—I beg to relate, through the medium of your widelycirculated journal, a transaction between the Union AssuranceOffice and myself, which, I trust, will be borne in mind byprofessional men when they are consulted by patients aboutoffices for life assurance.The circumstances are as follow:—I received the other day,

a paper from that office, with the usual questions put to themedical attendant of a person wishing to assure his life, andas it contained no hint of a fee, I wrote to the secretary toknow what I might expect for furnishing the directors withthe information they required, and received no answer; butmy patient was examined by the medical gentleman of theoffice, and rejected, the reason not being stated, though mynote to the secretary was inclosed to him, thereby leaving itto be inferred that I was the occasion of it, and giving -riseto much soreness of feeling.This unhandsome conduct has compelled me to explain,.to

some near friends of the party, reasons which no doubt causedhis rejection on medical grounds, and, as may be supposed,has caused them much anxiety which might well have beenspared; so I have thought it right to warn the profession ofthe treatment they may look for if they fall into the handsof the Union Assurance Office. I

.

I am. Sir. vour obedient servant. ITHOMAS DYER, M.R.C.S.

THE LICENCE OF LICENTIATE PHYSICIAN ATSWANSEA.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—My attention has been attracted to your leading

article of the 21st of April, relating to the contemplated re-forms of the College of Physicians.

I will not now question or discuss the wisdom or justice ofa proposed law, by which it is contemplated to tax countryphysicians, and to scrutinize or analyze the conduct andmorals of the licentiates (extra-llrbem).

It must by all be conceded, that the college should havethe power of exercising a just, effectual, and prompt controlover the professional conduct and proceedings of its membersand licentiates.For instance :-when the licentiates (extra-urbem) of the

Royal College of Physicians, or any one of them, advertise inprovincial newspapers to attend patients for three shillings Iper visit, it were high time the college interfered. I’.Again :-when a licentiate (extra-urbem) becomes a com-petitor with general practitioners for the situation, and under-takes the charge of a benefit club, and to supply the members

and their families with medicines, attendance, &c., for lessthan a penny farthing per week, or five-pence per month permember!-this is another case, in which justice to the pro-fession, and due conventional propriety, call loudly forinterference.Both these things have occurred in this place, within a

recent period; and, in both instances, the individuals whohave so condescended were, at the time, and still remain, licen-tiates extra-urbem of the College of Physicians!

I will not make any comment on these proceedings, save toask-How- can the profession go on harmoniously, and themembers of its various departments feel confidence in eachother ?-how can its dignity, or its proper position, be main-tained, whilst such behaviour is. out of the-reach.of control orremedy? To the general practitioner, and the juniors espe-cially, such things are most galling in their tendency, if notinjurious in their effects, and no less- so to the college and itsmembers, than to the whole body of the-profession.Such acts as above stated, it is true, like the perfect mor-

dants of animal and vegetable colours, "fix indelibly the dye,"so far as such practitioners are concerned;. yet the proceed-ings themselves, if unremedied, go on unchecked. It is to behoped, the college will have a retrospective eye, as well asfuture regard,-to the conduct of practitioners so acting,,in re-modelling the rules for the future governance of its countrylicentiates; and compel men who act thus to take up theirmore appropriate name and position, whatever that may be.

I am, Sir, your obedient, humble servant,Swansea, 1849. A COUNTRY PRACTITIONER.

P.S. - The following paragraphs appeared in the twoweekly newspapers published at Swansea during the pastspring; it may be by way of coup’ de grace to the club dodge.In the Cambrian of April 20th, 1849, will be found the,following:-

" ODDFELLOWSHIP.—On Monday last, Thomas Williams, Esq.M.D., was elected medical adviser to the Loyal Unity Lodge,in the room of H. Wiglesworth, Esq., resigned. A vote oftharrks was unanimously passed to the latter gentleman forhis uniform kindness and attention to the members and theirfamilies who required his professional services during theperiod he held the office. We congratulate this respectablebody of men on their choice. At the same time we may state,that the Order -is rapidly increasing in numbers as well asrespectability, many of the most influential tradesmen of,,ourtown and neighbourhood having lately become members. Of theimportance of the Order we leave our readers to judge, whenwe state, that, during the last twelve months, the sum of£598 13s. 2d. has been paid, by the Swansea district alone,(about 600 members,) for funerals, sickness, &c. This weconsider a very important fact, and one which justly en-

titles Oddfellowship to the serious attention of. everyTHINKING mechanic and tradesman, who probably may, sooneror later,-feel the inconvenience of not having provided againstsickness."

In the Swansea and Glamorgan Herald of April 25th, 1849,occurs the below annexed:-

" Dr. T. Williams has been elected medical adviser to theLoyal Unity Lodge of Oddfellows, in the room of Mr.Wigles-worth, resigned. This respectable body has- recently gained,alarge acquisition to its numbers, several of the leading trades- .

men of the town, we are informed, having joined the Order."The words in italics are so treated, in the quotation herein

’

adduced, because they are ostensibly intended in the originalsto give a particular complexion to the affair. But the question [may be fairly asked, if the allegation, as regards the "mostinfluential" or leading tradesmen" of the town, is, in its ap- ;

parently implied sense, true ?-that is, do they belong to thepenny-farthing class of patients? î There is not, in all proba-bility, one of that "live-and-Iet-live" and highly honourableclass here, who would not spurn such an imputation. Theyconstitute a very different body of people to that implied orinsinuated.

t

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

SIR,—Asa member of the medical profession, I take particu-lar interest in the war which is now waging between the As-sistant-surgeons in the Navy and the Lords of the Admiralty- a war carried on by the assistants in defence of their justrights, and resisted by the lords from prejudice. Having wit-nessed with pleasure the able manner in which you havefought the battle of your professional brethren, I should, ne-vertheless, have scarcely ventured into the arena, had I not

53

felt capable of strengthening the cause -which you have sonobly advocated. I happen, however, to huve commenced myeareer as a midshipman in the navy, and am therefore able toafford you some information respecting the situation of navalassistants of which you do not seem aware. Having fought myway to the top of my school, never having lost a battle, andhaving read of the daring of Nelson, whose funeral I witnessed,I felt anxious for some more extended field in which I couldexercise my pugnacity, and therefore selected the navy as aprofession. The first vessel I joined was a sloop of war lyingat Sheerness; and during the time we remained in harbour,the principal amusement we had was kicking up rows withthe dock-yard matys, the soubriquet by which the workmenin the dock-yards were at that time distinguished, and in theserows, not only the midshipmen, but the lieutenants, and some-times even the captains, took part. This was in 1806, and Ihave no doubt matters have improved since then; but at thattime, the situation of an assistant-surgeon was most miserable.I, Sir, in common with the other middies, had a decided spite(which Captain Berkeley seems to share) against them, andconsidered it a point of honour to annoy them as much aspossible, which we had constant opportunities of doing. Onlooking back, it is to me a matter of surprise how men of edu-cation could have submitted to such treatment. Not theslightest comfort had they at command; a chest to sit upon,and a biscuit to eat on, were the only luxuries they couldboast. Plates and dishes, or a glass to drink out of, were notto be had; but worse than all was the ribaldry their ears wereregaled with-I am quite sure the language of a brothel ischaste in comparison; and when they retired to rest, fourteeninches by six feet six inches was all the space allowed them.After serving in two sloops, I was at length removed to a

first-class frigate, and here you would expect a little more re-finement ; but the difference was small indeed. It is true, onentering, we had to subscribe a handsome sum for outfit,which was expended in plates, dishes, glass, &c. &c., and asufficient stock of crockery &c. was provided; but in a very fewdays, such was our recklessness, not a single article remainedunbroken-a biscuit becoming the substitute for a plate, anda tin mug serving for a drinking utensil. I-leave you to ima-

gine what must be the state of feeling of a studious, quiet manin such company; moreover, when he was constantly liable tobe bullied and insulted by a set of ruffianly boys, of which Ifear (a row being the delight of my heart) I was one of theworst. Not content with insult, personal violence was in someinstances mnicted upon the unhappy victim. On one occasion,we had reason to suspect our assistant had made some com-plaint of our conduct to the officers in the gun-room-and !,what was our revenge ? We watched our opportunity, seizedhim, and, laying him across a chest, we colted him with a boot-jack until we nearly killed him, he at the time suffering fromnumerous boils in the nates; and for all this he obtained noredress !The above description will afford you an accurate idea of

the position of an assistant-surgeon in 1806; but I am anxiousto do more than this, by adding some facts which have beenomitted by you, and, still more strangely, by the naval mem-bers of the profession who have used your columns in vindica-tion of their claims. You urge, and with justice, that whilethe engineer and the schoolmaster are provided with cabins,the assistant-surgeon is allowed no such luxury; but you donot appear to be aware that the gunner, the carpenter, andthe boatswain, enjoy the same privilege. Assistant-surgeonsmust not be content with having cabins awarded to them; no-thing short of messing in the ward-room ought to satisfy theirdemands. And why not grant them this privilege, to whichtheir profession, their education, fully entitles them ? The

purser, who messes in the ward-room, holds the rank, I be- Jlieve, of lieutenant: why, I have never been able to under-stand, as he is neither more nor less than a shop-keeper afloat,making from his dealings a greater or less income, accordingto the number of men on board. In a first-rate, I have beeninformed a purser will make his £ 1000 per annum. The mas-ter also, who has in most instances served his time in the mer-chant-service, and is in general promoted from before themast, and who, you may suppose, has but little pretension tothe character of a gentleman, holds the same rank, andmesses in the ward-room.

It would seem that, according to some comparatively recentregulations, naval assistants rank with, but always aftermates. Why after them, I would ask ? The mates, when Iwas in the navy, were generally an older class of midshipmen,men who were good seamen, but who were uneducated-tooold to remain as middies, and too coarse and vulgar to enter theward-room as lieutenants—very useful men in their way, but

by no means entitled to rank with gentlemen; there were,however, many exceptions, but this description would applygenerally.

I feel quite assured no difficulty will deter you from vindi-cating the just claims of your professional brethren, in what-ever position they may be placed; and I think the collegeswould be only performing their duty were they to aid you inyour endeavours; but there is a singular apathy and indif-ference, not only in the colleges, but in the medical professiongenerally, respecting the interests of their brethren.Were we animated by a proper esprit de corps, we should

establish an influence which must be felt throughout the ra-mifications of society, and acquire a degree of power whichwould protect us from insult, and secure to us those privilegesto which our usefulness and- our acquirements justly entitle us.We have the power of -helping ourselves, and if we will notavail ourselves of it, we must be content to suffer the obloquyand oppression due to our pusillanimity.

I am Sir. vour obedient servant.ONCE A JOLLY REEFER.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE STATE OF THE MEDICALPROFESSION IN THE RURAL DISTRICTS.

A " Country Practitioner of Forty Years’ Standing" makesthe following remarks :- -

The new poor-law has done very much to degrade andinjure the medical practitioner, by pauperizing the whole ofthe labouring classes. Previously to its coming into operation,the receipts of the -country practitioner were something con-siderable from those classes; they are now next to nothing. Itis no longer considered a disgrace to apply to the Union formedical aid; and which, I have very strong reason for be-lieving, is now never refused to any one who applies for it.Next comes the club-system, which is now being attemptedto be carried out very generally by the nobility, and greatlanded proprietors in the country; who state that their objectis to diminish pauperism, and establish a spirit of independenceamongst the labouring classes. If it be asked, at whoseexpense this is being done, I think the question is veryreadily answered-at that of medical men. I believe I amcorrect in stating -that the pay of the medical practitioner inno instance exceeds 3s. 2d. per head per annum, for which hehas to attend from one to five miles distant, as the case maybe. I have no hesitation in stating that a very large majorityof the patients of the general practitioner in the country areeither Clubor Union patients.-When the Unions -were first established, I undertook the

medical attendance of a district at a distance of from six toseven- miles -from my residence, at a salary of X27 10s. perannum, believing that I should have much less to do than,under the old system, and that I should only be requiredto attend -those paupers who were actually upon the parishbooks. But I soon found that I was expected to attendnearly every labourer, his wife and family, residing withinthe district. Now, although the number of paupers averagedabout fifteen per week, I was only paid for thirteen midwiferycases during the eight years I held the appointment; and forthose, only 10s. 6d. per case. For the accommodation of thepoor, I established a station as nearly as possible in the centreof the district, and at the distance of six miles from my resi-dence, where I regularly attended once a week during theeight years. The expenses that I incurred, exclusive ofmedicines, amounted to about £7 10s. per annum. It was nouncommon thing for me -to be detained at the station for acouple of hours; and I frequently had to visit patients at theirown homes, at the distance of from two to three miles fromthe station; in addition to which, I frequently had to makefrom two to three journeys in the course of the week, to visitpatients at their own homes. After holding this appointment,I applied to the guardians, for an increase of salary, whichthey positively refused; when I gave up the appointment,disgusted with the treatment I received. Situated, then, asthe general practitioner is in the country, I cannot but con-sider the standard of qualification required by the Apothe-caries’ Company much too high. I believe I am correct in

stating that there are very few men at the present time who,after having received a liberal education, ever think of pre-senting themselves for examination at the Hall withoutgrinding for two or three months previously. I should liketo ask, of what benefit does this prove either to the practi-tioner or the public ? My opinion is, there must be variousgrades in the profession; and the public should be made ac-quainted with the qualification of each individual practisingany department of the profession. It seems to me that the