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accommodation as far as possible of prisoners in gaol.Notwithstanding his advice and the lessons of experience,however, the " gang system " is still adhered to, and theallotment of one cell to several prisoners is a common thing.In one prison almost all the inmates are in association,and here the result has been a marked excess in the

reported number of disgusting immoralities. Sometimes a

glaring wrong brings back the memory of past conditions-as, for instance, in the case of a man who, while confinedin one room with five others and a warder, was during a whole night literally pummelled and smashed to death, yetthe crime was not brought home to anyone. As the resultof a trial conducted, be it observed, before the prisonauthorities, a manifest and suggestive peculiarity in legalprocedure, and of several questions asked in Parliament,we only know that no one was found guilty, and that twoof the subordinate prison officials will not be again employed.A case more thoroughly unsatisfactory could hardly be imagined. What explanations of it we have are due tothe persistent efforts of the Howard Society. These facts, ]

and others which we cannot now discuss, will prove that there are still defects enough in our penal system to justify the existence of the Society. Its claims on public support ]we would once more heartily commend to our readers, along ]with its latest publication. -

SUICIDE AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN INPRUSSIA.

IN our annotation upon this subject, which appeared inTHE LANCET of Sept. 20th, p. 630, it is stated that of thewhole of the 289 suicides 240 were boys and 49 were

girls. The causes assigned were fear of punishment,insanity and mental depression, excessive ambition, andfear of the examinations. In addition to the reasonshere given, we believe that two others might fairlyhave been enumerated-viz., over-taxation of the youthfulbrain in the amount of work expected of the ahildren,and, especially in the larger towns and centres of education,insufficient out-door physical exercise. In these respects,if the educational system were ameliorated, there can belittle doubt that the large proportion of juvenile suicideswould be reduced. Innate tendencies to insanity andmental weakness ought also to be considered by the schoolauthorities We do not mean that the hereditary nature ofthe mental defects need always be traced back for this pur-pose ; but that for weaknesses that show themselves to benatural in individual children every allowance ought to bemade. A disposition to mental irritability, or weariness,or absolute depression shows itself long before the wakeful-ness, the apprehensiveness, or the dull torpidity, as thecase may be, which characterises the onset of active

insanity sets in. And it would be well if attention were

paid to the fact that it is possible to recognise theseearlier departures from the normal state of mental health,and to the obvious benefits arising from a timely relaxationof discipline and mental strain under the circumstances.

THE SUCCINIMIDE OF MERCURY IN SYPHILIS.

DR. SELENEW, who has made comparative trials of theadvantages of several mercurial salts for hypodermicuse in the skin and syphilitic clinic at Kieff, whichis under the direction of Professor Stukovenkow, has

recently obtained considerable success by using the succini-mide, a salt which was originally recommended for the

purpose by Dr. Vollert and was used in Professor Wolff’ssyphilitic clinic in Strassburg two years ago in doses ofabout one-sixth of a grain. Dr. Selenew employed largerdoses (one-quarter to one-third of a grain) in a solution ofthe strength of 1 per cent. The injections, of which nearlya thousand were given altogether, were usually made into

the cellular tissue of the back or buttocks. In some casesa daily injection for twenty-four days sufficed to cause allthe syphilitic appearances to disappear; in most of the casesthe treatment had to be carried on for about a month, andin one case for forty days. Thirty-three patients in all weretreated. In six the gums became affected. In only one wasthe pain at the seat of puncture at all severe; usually therewas no pain at all. In one case there was abdominal pain anddiarrhoea, which lasted for five days. Out of twenty-fourcases of primary syphilis which remained under observationfor seven months only three developed secondary symptoms,and one of these was that of a man addicted to drink. Com-

paring the results in preventing secondary symptoms withthose obtained by the injection of other mercurial prepara.tions, the succinimide appears to be about as efficacious asthe yellow oxide, and very much more so than the alaninate,the salicylate, or the so-called grey oil. Dr. Selenew looks

upon the succinimide as a mild and valuable preparation,which may be very useful in primary and secondary cases ofno great severity, especially in women and children, becauseof its slight tendency to cause local irritation. In severecases a more active preparation, as the yellow oxide, theperchloride, the salicylate, or the oxybenzoate, should bepreferred. -

ANATOMICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAINAND IRELAND.

1HE committee ot investigation appointed by this Societyhave issued circulars to the various teachers of anatomy,with a view to obtaining information on the followingquestions :-1. Mode of origin of the following vessels,usually described as branches of the thyroid axis,-viz.,infeiior thyroid, suprascapular, ascending cervical, andtransverse cervical arteries. 2. Mode of distribution of thelast dorsal and first lumbar nerves. 3. Observation in each

subject of the distance of the lower margin of the kidney oneach side from the iliac crest. The sex of the subject to bestated, and any naked-eye evidence of disease of the organsto be recorded. 4. The distribution of the cutaneousnerves on the dorsum of the foot and toes. 5. Notes onthe occurrence of a diverticulum ilei (Meckel’s), in each casegiving details of its position and connexions. It is particu-larly requested that the number of subjects examined berecorded, whether the diverticulum be present or not. Thecommittee express the hope that the next report issued bythem may more fully represent the various schools of

anatomy in this country. Reports on the above questions,along with a statement of the number of bodies examined,should be forwarded to the Secretary, Mr. Arthur Thomson,anatomical Department, Museum, Oxford, not later thanApril 15th, 1891.

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INDIAN WOMEN AND LADY DOCTORS.

IT has long been supposed that, whatever the considera-tion accorded to it in this or other European countries, thefemale medical element has found its proper sphere of

activity among the women of the East, notably in India,The male practitioner, excluded alike by his sex and hisreligion, had there no opportunity for the exercise of hisart. Quite recently, however, we learn that native opinionas regards this question has undergone a change. In the

hospital at Lucknow, for example, it is usually found thatnative female patients decidedly prefer to be treated bygentlemen in the civil or military medical service, and thisnotwithstanding that the women’s ward is under the care of afemale practitioner. It is worthy of remark that the casestreated by operation-most of them by the gentlemen abovementioned-have not been connected with the sexual

system. Further, we must remember that women of thisclass are likely to be of inferior caste and of low social

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status. The fact, however, is a significant one, and shows,even if at a somewhat low level, a healthy reaction of

opinion in the direction of rational usage and simple,sensible modesty. It is not to be expected that the highercaste women will share these advanced views, at all eventsfor some time to come ; but the progress made so far isnevertheless encouraging. It betokens, at least, the

development of a spirit of liberality, the one thinglacking for the intelligent and effective treatment

of disease among Indian women. Without prejudice to thezeal, skill, and good work done by lady practitioners, wehave always maintained that their sex does not as a rulequite reach the level of efficiency attained by their mascu-line fellow workers. Their position in the profession hasnot therefore the commendation of necessity, except this befounded, as hitherto in India, on the preference of indi-viduals. For some kinds of service, indeed, for examplethat of a campaign, they are distinctly ill-suited. In the

home, and in all the tender and responsible care of nursingduty, they are simply indispensable, and their scope of use-fulness is unlimited. Perhaps, therefore, the changing pre-ference of Eastern women may effect this good-namely, to Idirect their energies to other functions as honourable aseven the practice of medicine.

APPLICATION OF MINERAL ACIDS IN NECROSIS.

ACCORDING to Dr. Ole Bull, who writes in a Norwegianmedical journal, the suggestion of an English surgeonto employ sulphuric acid containing :t certain amount of

sulphurous acid to loosen necrosed portions of bone is notaltogether good, inasmuch as sulphuric acid forms sulphateof calcium, which is insoluble and opaque, and so pre-vents the acid from acting on the deeper layers, besidesobstructing the view. He finds, however, that some ofthe other mineral acids act very much more satisfactorily.After a good many trials he has come to the conclusion thatthe most suitable application is a 4 per cent. solution ofhydrochloric acid, which he has used very successfully fornecrosis and caries of the temporal bone. This forms asoluble salt of lime, and is well tolerated by the externalmeatus, and even by the cavity of the tympanum. Incases where polypi had been removed by means of galvano-cautery or by chromic acid, treatment of the stump byhydrochloric acid was very successful, but it was necessaryto continue the applications for about three months.

CHINA MEDICAL REPORTS.

THE medical reports issued through the InspectorateGeneral of Customs in China generally contain valuableinformation, and the volume for the half-year endingMarch, 1888, is no exception to the rule. Dr. Alexander

Jamieson, in reporting from Shanghai, deals largely withthe question of cholera, and, recalling the position taken byPettenkofer, to the effect that whatever may be the specificgerm of that disease it is inoperative for mischief apart fromlocal conditions favourable to its spread, he gives someaccount of the sanitary circumstances of Shanghai. Theseare deplorable in the extreme, and the only efforts made tocontend with them seem limited to such processes as dis-infection. Public sanitation in Shanghai, he states, cannevci become effectual until it is popular, and to be popularit must be simple and intelligible. If only the side streets,and the alleys and yards, in the Chinese quarter couldbe effectually flushed, a great amount of good would result,and he urges that the money new devoted to disinfectantsshould be expended in improving the water-supply and inmaking it available for this purpose. Contemporaneouslywith the adoption of similar measures by the sanitaryboard in Hong-Kong there has been a decrease of more than

100 per cent. in the death-rate from diseases usuallyasso-ciated with insanitary surroundings. Mr. W. A. Henderson,reporting from Chefoo, gives details as to leprosy; and hestates that, as far as his experience goes, he has failed toobtain any positive evidence of its contagion. He adds,however, that he has been forced to the conclusion that noreliance whatever can be placed on the statements made byleper patients as to their histories and antecedents, andthat it is difficult, under such circumstances, for him tothrow light on the problem of the propagation of this disease.Other reports are embodied in the volume from Mr. R. G.White of Chinkiang, on general medical considerations; fromDr. G. R. Underwood of Kinkiang, who quotes some in-teresting cases of serious mischief from exposure to sun,and certain proceedings taken in a Chinese case of insanity;and from Dr. J. F. Wales of Canton; a special chapterbeing given on the subject of heat stroke or "ardent fever,"the conditions favouring which are held to be, above allothers, the saturation of air with moisture and lack ofventilation.

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THE BACILLUS OF TYPHOID FEVER.

THE existence of a pathogenic micro- organism in entericfever is strongly upheld by some bacteriologists, especiallyon the Continent. Most English observers consider the pointnot yet proved. In sections of the intestines in cases of

typhoid fever numerous bacilli areconstantlyfound; they aregrouped together into well-marked colonies, and are notdistributed throughout the superficial tissues as in dysentery.They are best demonstrated by staining the sections in asolution of methylene blue, and then washing out the excessof stain in water containing a few drops of acetic acid. Thecolonies are then seen as small dark-blue masses, the rest ofthe tissue being a lighter colour. In drinking-water, soil, orfaeees, it is almost impossible to recognise them, owing tothe presence of large masses of bacteria which are of nopractical import. M. Holzl publishes some of his investiga-tions with regard to these organisms. He states that theycan only be recognised by comparing their appearancesand properties with pure cultures. In order to rendertheir detection more easy, Chantemasse and Vidal added tothe gelatine on which they were to be cultivated a solutionof carbolic acid, ’25 per cent. On this nutrient materialthe typhoid bacilli flourished, whilst the growth of theothers was retarded by the carbolic acid. For the examina-tion of drinking water Holz recommends the followingmethod :-To the water to be tested is added a ’25 percent.solution of carbolic acid. This mixture is allowed to standfor three hours, and inoculations on nutrient gelatine arethen made. If a free growth of colonies takes place, theseare composed of typhoid bacilli, all bacteria growing in asimilar manner being destroyed. Grauscher and Deschampshave introduced another test. They mixed with the sus-pected liquid a solution of aniline gentian violet, andthen inoculated gelatine plates with the coloured solution.The colonies of typhoid bacilli were then stained violet,whilst the general mass of the gelatine remainedcolourless. Holz found that this reaction occurred most

readily in a slightly acid medium. The most reliable test,according to the same observer, is a combination of the firstof the above methods with potato gelatine. For the

preparation of this material raw peeled potatoes are wellmashed, and then squeezed in linen, the resulting juicebeing filtered until a clear brown liquid is obtained; to

this is added 10 per cent. of gelatine. The reaction of thisnutrient fluid is acid. On this the typhoid bacilli grow in

a. very characteristic manner, and especially remarkable isthe transparency of the colonies, so that they can be easilydistinguished by their mode of formation from all other

1 Zeitschrift für Hygiene, viii., 1890.