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the unanimous support of obstetricians and gynoaco-logists. A considerable number of eminent obstet-ricians have assured me that they are fully convincedof the disadvantageous influence of violent andstrenuous exercise from their point of view. From

my point of view there are other direct and indirectconsequences of the strain of intense competitionagainst which I particularly inveigh.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,ADOLPHE ABRAHAMS.

COLOUR PERCEPTION TESTS

To the Editor of THE LANCETSIR,-In a moderately illuminated spectrum the

number of colours seen by different people variesfrom six to two. The brightest portion of the

spectrum is between wave-lengths 57 and 6lA, andfrom there the brightness appears to shade into thedark red and violet constituting as it were two areasof brightness, a central very bright area within alarger bright area. The colours in the former are

pale greenish yellow, yellow and orange red, whereasthe green and red in the larger area are saturatedand distinct.

Trichromics and dichromics confuse red, green,yellow, and white signal lights. The only propertycommon to these colours is brightness and thedifference in brightness apparently enables colour-blind persons to differentiate colours from each other.If this is correct, then mistakes should start in thebrightest portion of the spectrum in the earliervarieties of colour-blindness and be more and morepronounced till total colour-blindness is reached-and this is exactly what occurs. The trichromic, thefirst stage of dangerous colour-blindness, when askedto map out the fullest extent of red will stop shortof orange and declare he can see yellow (or white),and when asked to do likewise with this colour willmap out an area extending from orange red into ayellow-green and declare it to be monochromaticyellow or white, whereas it contains pale red, orange,yellow, and pale green colours. This area correspondsto the brightest portion of the spectrum. He does,however, recognise the more pronounced red and greencolours of the spectrum on either side of his mono-chromatic area. With a lantern examination thesame person, if shown similar pale red, green, andyellow colours, will be unable to distinguish thembecause colours of this saturation and brightnesscome within his confusion area ; but he will notconfuse saturated reds and greens which are outsideit. This confusion of colour corresponds to the extentof altered colour perception, increasing to a pointwhere it reaches the stage of dichromatism.

Dichromics, when asked to map, out the fullestextent of red, will map out an area extending rightinto blue and consider it red or yellow, and this areawill be found to correspond to the larger area ofbrightness. As this area contains definite red andgreen colours with a lantern examination, they willmix up saturated red, green, and yellow colours. Tothe dichromic there is no difference between red andyellow ; he is apt to call a yellow-green red. Thetotally colour-blind see only a bright area of varyingshades of intensity. Looking at the full spectrum,dichromics see a white space of varying size betweenthe red and violet.

There is apparently a definite balance betweensaturation and brightness on which the recognitionof colour depends, and if this balance is upset thenbrightness gets the upper hand, bright red appearsas yellow and violet as blue, giving rise to the

so-called yellow and blue sensation. There is not

really an increased sense towards yellow and blue;these colours merely appear brighter. In all colourperception tests these facts should be borne in mind.When carrying out book tests care must be taken tomake the examination in a bright light to bring outthe confusion effect ; otherwise varying results will beobtained with the same person by different egaminers.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,C. E. R. NORMAN,

Chief Medical Officer, SouthIndian Railway.

THE ÆTIOLOGY OF PELLAGRA

To the Editor of THE LANCET

SIR,-May I call your attention to an error and amisconception in the report in your issue of April 3rd(p. 811) of my contribution to the discussion onnutrition and its effect on infectious diseases whichtook place on March 24th at the Royal Society ofMedicine. The experiments with pigs referred towere carried out in collaboration with Dr. T. A.Birch, not Bird, and Sir Charles Martin in thedepartment of animal pathology at Cambridge.They were devised to study the nutritive defects ofmaize in the hope of throwing light on the setiologyof pellagra. On a diet of maize supplemented withpure casein the pigs soon ceased to grow and sufferedfrom diarrhoea. This was apparently due to thecombined effect of an intestinal infection and thedefective diet, but it was not my intention to conveythat the " intestinal condition " resembled thatfound in human pellagra.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,HARRIETTE CHICK.

Lister Institute, London, S.W., April 5th.

IMMUNISATION OF MEN—AND ANIMALS

To the Editor of THE LANCET

SIR,-I read with considerable interest yourannotation in last week’s number on vaccination

against African horse-sickness, and as a HouyhnhnmI was touched by the solicitude shown by your racefor the less fortunate members of mine. This concernfor the welfare of beings other than themselves hasalways seemed to me to be one of the traits whichargues that the human race will some day emergefrom its present state to something like what we

Houyhnhnms would call civilisation. My brother,who has always taken a more cynical view than I ofhuman endeavour, made the remark that had thehorses been black instead of being of good Britishblood, African sickness could have done its worstwithout attracting much attention. But I pointedout to him that at any rate in large-scale commercialundertakings painstaking and praiseworthy effortsare made by the management to prevent tuberculosisand pneumonia from incapacitating or exterminatingthe native labour force. I had, indeed, beenreadingyour annotator’s comments with unqualified gratifica-tion until I came to the final paragraphs where afterdetailing the various dangers and mishaps to horses,which might attend vaccination with neurotropicvaccine, he casually remarked that " these considera-tions are of minor importance."

So much depends upon the point of view ! I confessthat both my mane and my tail bristled at yourannotator’s remark. I could have to some extentunderstood it had he been referring to the immunisa-tion of human children. I find modern human litera.ture too depressing to read extensively, but from what

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little I read and from what I hear from correspon-dents of my own people in different parts of theworld I gather that humankind has definitely madeup its mind that it is the State not the individualthat matters. Of this I have nothing to say. I amliberal enough to believe that the human species,and even such backward members of it as Russians,Germans, and Italians, know their own business best.But I should like to make it clear that the principlehas never been admitted in Houyhnhnm philosophyand to this we are inclined to ascribe the culture,peace, and happiness of our society. So far as horsesare concerned it must be allowed that their veryorigin was in the freedom of the unlimited steppeswhere the family rather than any larger socialcaucus was the fundamental unit. To an equine itwould never appear a sufficient justification of massimmunisation that some other equine’s offspring wassaved if it were at the expense of "unfortunateresults " of immunisation affecting his own offspring.

It may not be known to your readers that althoughimmunisation methods have been introduced to alimited extent among the Houyhnhnms, they are

only adopted after certain formal preliminaries. Ifa case has been made out in the laboratory for theprocedure, our doctors are permitted to make trialupon themselves. If this is satisfactory (and thereare any doctors left) volunteers who are told exactlyhow things stand are asked for and inoculated. Theresults on these are handed over to one of the mostresponsible officers of our State-the Lord ChiefStatistician. With us this dignitary’s opinions areas valued, his judgments are as binding, and hisjokes as highly appreciated as with your own Lord

Chief Justice. If his opinion is unfavourable theperpetrators of the false immunisation are severelypunished and this perhaps explains why immunisa-tion has never been so popular with us as with you.If, on the other hand, his opinion is favourable heaffixes his seal and the countersign" fiat" (anabbreviation for fiat experimentum not for fiat lex,as might be expected from human precedent). Thefiat, with the relevant data but without furtherremarks, is then promulgated throughout our

Commonwealth and any parents who choose maybring their foals to be injected. There is, of course,no compulsion and that essentially human activity-propaganda-is entirely unknown among us. It isone of the advantages of being a Houyhnhnm that thesteppes are wide and grass is cheap, and if we don’tlike society or its ways we can always lump it.Mark you, I am not denying the general principles

expressed in your annotation. I wish merely to

point out that though they may be applicable tomany species of beings, including yourselves, they arerepugnant to what I would with due modesty call" horse sense." The classical human historian of

my people (may his great soul rest in peace !) wrotealso, you will remember, a constructive little pam-phlet called " A Modest Proposal " for eating Irishchildren, which it has always seemed to me dealsadmirably with the human aspect of the case. But

you will say that " Ireland isn’t England and neverwas," and although I find myself unable to subscribeto many human opinions, I have, in this instance,to admit that you are probably right.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,April 4th. A HOUYHNHNM.

PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE

NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS

THE House of Commons reassembled on Tuesday,April 6th, after the Easter recess.The Special Areas (Amendment) Bill was read a

second time.

QUESTION TIME

TUESDAY, APRIL 6TH

The Duties of Coroners

Mr. EDWARDS asked the Home Secretary whether, inview of statements recently made by coroners whichseemed to be outside the function of a coroner, he wouldnow consider expediting action on the report of the

departmental committee which deplored the tendenbyof coroners to make animadversions on the character andconduct of individuals.-Sir JOHN SzMOrr replied : I amnot sure what particular statements the hon. Memberhas in mind, but I fear there is no prospect of an oppor-tunity being found during the present session for anylegislation on the subject of coroners. I do not thinkthere is any action which can conveniently be takenmeanwhile to deal with particular recommendationsincluded in the committee’s report : but I have no doubtcoroners have noted the recommendation in the reporton the point to which the hon. Member refers.

Viscountess AsTOR: Can the right hon. gentlemanassure us that some action will soon be taken ? Willhe bear in mind that it was because of the action ofcoroners that the committee was set up and that a goodmany people are beginning to think that the committeewas just so much eye-wash ? 2

Sir JOHN SIMON : I do not think that the hon. Membercan take that view. The committee reported earlier inthe year. It is not always possible to legislate immediatelywhen a committee reports. But I would certainly agreewith the committee in deprecating animadversionsunnecessarily made in the course of an inquest which

reflect on persons who are not in the court and who haveno means of reply.

Recruits Below Standard

Miss WARD asked the Minister of Labour whether he hadexamined the Aldershot experiment in connexion withrecruits below the required standard for acceptancein the Army ; and whether he could make use of the

satisfactory results in the sphere of unemployed menwho were in need of health services.-Mr. ERNEST BuowNreplied : The results of the experiment are now beingexamined by my department with a view to seeing whetherthey point to the need for any modifications in the treat.ment of unemployed men applying for a course of training.

Medicine Stamp DutiesSir ROBERT BIRD asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer

(1) whether he was aware of the great anxiety felt by thosemembers of the Pharmaceutical Society engaged in tradeover the recommendations in the report of the SelectCommittee on Medicine Stamp Duties; and whetherit was his intention to introduce legislation implementingthe recommendations wholly or in part; and (2) whatsteps he intended to take for terminating the loss to therevenue consequent upon the avoidance of the paymentof medicine stamp duties disclosed in the report of theSelect Committee on Medicine Stamp Duties.-Mr.CHAMBERLAIN, Chancellor of the Exchequer, replied:I can assure my hon. friend that due weight will be givento all relevant considerations in connexion with thecommittee’s report, but I regret I am unable, at present,to make any further statement on the matter.

CLATTERBRIDGE ISOLATION HOSPITAL. -A newnurses’ home and a cubicle block were opened on

March 22nd at this hospital by Major Green, chairmanof the Wirral Joint Hospital Board. The scheme cost over:E14,000 and the nurses’ home has accommodation for 26.