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of pregnancy, syphilis must be in activity in one parent. Mr.

Hutchinson expresses his conviction that the semen of a manwho has had syphilis, even years before, can sometimes infecthis children, and through them his wife.

Mr. Hutchinson described those forms of keratitis and irre-

gular growth of the teeth which he first, amongst surgeons,attributed to inherited syphilis. Mr. Paget, Mr. Bowman,and one or two others, are inclined to agree with him. Other

witnesses-among them Mr. Tomes-think these affectionsmore dependent upon defective nutrition, scrofula, &c., than

syphilis.Gonorrhœa.-Some witnesses are questioned about gonor-

rhcea. Their evidence, however, is general, and need notdetain us. No one questioned about it was disposed to dis-tinguish gonorrhœal very widely from ordinary rheumatism,as is just now the fashion with our brethren across the channel.Therefore we pass at once to the next division of our analvsis.

EXPERIMENTS WITH HEMLOCK.

OUR knowledge of the medicinal properties of hemlock ischiefly derived from the traditional accounts of the effects ofpoisonous doses of the drug so well depicted by Plato in his"Phædo," in the account of the death of Socrates. Hemlock,which was the active ingredient in the poison draft given bythe Areopagites to those whom they sentenced to death, inthe cup drunk by the old men of Coos, and the contents ofthe cauldron of Shakespeare’s witches-was especially laudedas a medicine by Baron Stoerck, of Vienna, about the year1760 ; and though vaunted at different times, its title to beconsidered as a valuable addition to our Pharmacopoeia, has notbeen very clearly made out. Dr. John Harley is doing goodservice to medicine by patiently experimentalizing with conium,with a view to obtaining some definite knowledge of its reputedvirtues. He has already shown that the Tinctura conii fructus(P.B.) and the Tinctura conii (P.L.) may be taken with impu-nity in two fluid ounce doses, and that the only apparenteffects resulting from the exhibition of so large a quantity arethose of stimulation by the alcohol.As a general consequence of his latest investigations, Dr.

Harley condemns the use of any part of the dried plant inmedicine, and does so without hesitation, since, from experi-ments upon himself and others, he has been able to show thatthe Succus conii of the British Pharmacopoeia is in all respects amost efficient preparation, and one which possesses in a power-ful degree the poisonous properties of hemlock. He described at a recent meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society the follow- ’;ing effects of the Succus, prepared by Mr. C. F. Buckle, ofGray’s-inn-road, upon himself :--"Dec. 10th, at half-past eleven A.M., I took two fluid

drachms with a little water, and remained quiet. No effectfollowed.

"Dec. llth, at half-past ten, took three fluid drachms.Three-quarters of an hour afterwards a heavy clogging sensa-tion in the heels was suddenly experienced. This effect becamevery decided, and was clearly due to direct impairment ofmuscular power. On putting a foot upon the scraper at thedoor of the hospital the other leg felt almost too weak to sup-port the body. A sensible exertion was required to effect themuscular movements, and they seemed to be heavily and clum-sily performed. Giddiness was induced by looking at a blazingfire at the distant end of the ward, and this appeared to be dueto want of power in the muscular apparatus of the eye to fixthe gaze firmly enough to get a good dennition. Two hoursand a half after taking the drug the effects had totally passedoff, and I walked away briskly a distance of two miles. Themaximum effect was apparent about one hour and a quarterafter taking the dose."Dec. 17th, at a quarter to eleven, I took five drachms and

a half of the Succus. Three-quarters of an hour afterwardsdisorder of vision suddenly came on : it was a feeling of giddi-ness, induced by shifting the eyes from one object to another.So long as the eyes were fixed upon an object, the capacity of

vision for and definition of the minutest objects were unim-paired, but the instant the eyes were directed to another

bject all was haze and confusion, and in order to remove ethese effects it was necessary to arrest the eyes upon a givenobject, and there retain them with fixed gaze. It was clear to me that the adjusting muscular apparatus of the eye was en.feebled, and that its contractions were so sluggishly performedthat they could no longer keep pace with those of the externalmuscles of the eye. At a quarter to twelve the derangementof the muscular apparatus of the eye was much increased, andthe implication of the third nerve was still further indicatedby great dilatation of the pupils and approaching paralysis ofthe levator palpebræ muscles. It now required considerableeffort to raise the eyelids, and a general muscular lethargyrapidly spread over the body. At twelve at noon I first feltweakness in the legs, especially apparent in the hamstringmuscles. At this time I was cold, pale, and tottering, andafraid to retain the sitting posture lest the muscular lethargy,hould get the better of me, and result in general paralysis.I therefore walked about, and tested the strength of my tot-tering legs. The mind remained perfectly clear and calm, andthe brain active, while the body seemed heavy and well-nighasleep. There was, in fact, a direct diminution of power in allthe voluntary muscles, almost amounting to paralysis ; and ofall the motor nerves, the third was the earliest and most deeplyaffected. At one time it required the greatest effort to raisethe eyelids. On the first sudden approach of the above-men.tioned effects, the action of the heart was, most probably froma feeling of alarm, considerably excited, and the pulse wassmall. Tranquil action was restored in a few minutes, and thepulse remained regular, and numbered 68. At two P.M. alleffects of the conium had passed off, and the rest of the daywas employed in active mental and bodily occupations."The author stated that he was still engaged in the investiga=

tion of the medicinal value of the ordinary extract of conium,and of a succus and extract prepared from the fresh root.That so far as his inquiries went, he found that the extract--even that which had been most carefully prepared from thepowerful succus employed in the above described experiments- contained but a trace of conia, and appeared to be destituteof active properties in ordinary doses. Having distinguishedthe useless from the useful preparations of conium, the authorconcluded by expressing a hope that the former would beexcluded from the Materia Medica, and that practitionerswould rely upon the succus alone ; which, in the smallness ofthe dose, in almost complete absence of taste and colour, andin certainty of action, combines all the requisites of a usefuland valuable medicine. Such experiments as these are mostvaluable. Nothing is more needed now-a-days than a criticalre-examination of the properties of vaunted remedies,

GULSTONIAN LECTURES AT THE ROYALCOLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS.

I:N his second lecture Dr. Southey showed how curiously thelatest observers who recognised a likeness between tubercle anda well-developed lymph-gland had confirmed the opinion of oldpathologists who imagined the former to be a lymphous product.He then described what constituted tubercle a lymphomatoustumour. The solitary follicles of the intestine are examplesof the simplest single form of a lymphatic apparatus ; and inthem exactly the same elements, lymph-cells developed out ofconnective tissue, nuclei, and free granules, are to be foundas are forthcoming in the tubercle growth, only the componentparts are differently combined and arranged upon a slightlydifferent plan. An ordinary lymph-gland might be taken asthe type or model upon which the compound form of lym-phomatous tumours is built. Tumours of this lymphoid typefall into two distinct sub-classes-the one are hyperplastic en-largements of structures that normally pre-existed; the otherare new growths or heteroplastic formations. In the one groupare comprehended the leukemic lymphoma of leucocythemia,the typhoid lymphoma of typhoid fever, scrofulous and lympho-sarcomatous glands ; and in the other, tubercle and the pearl-

distemper of ruminating animals, as stated by Virchow. Theinter-relationship and kinship of all these forms of growth tntubercle were carefully traced out, and this was finally appo:.. ; ed