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Almost all the trained mountaineers are unfavourable to theuse of alcohol in any form or at any time on the mountain,one notable exception being Mr. W. B. Coolidge. But even

he only says that a small quantity of wine is a better resto-rative than tea or coffee and that cognac is indispensable as areserve in case of exhaustion. Mr. Coolidge is an accom-plished mountaineer and not a medical man, but his

experience agrees closely with that given by Mr. ClintonT. Dent, who rarely takes alcohol with him, but says that thechief value of alcohol lies in its stimulating- power to the.appetite. ’’ Let the man who can eat without alcohol notuse it ! But in the case of one who has no desire for foodalcohol can stimulate that desire; and, what is more

important, improve the power of assimilation at the same.time." This action of alcohol was noticed in particular, weremember, during the Ashanti war of 1874. It was then

found that alcohol on the march, though it gave rise to

temporary stimulation, yet produced greater fatigue after thestimulation had passed off. On reaching camp at night theolder men found that a small ration of rum increased their

appetite and made it possible for them to enjoy their food.Beef tea was found to be a better stimulant for marchingthan alcohol, while it was not followed by secondarydepression. Dr. Schnyder comes to the conclusion that alcoholis harmful during the climb, that it may be used to enablethe climber to overcome the last obstacle as a final stimulus,and that it is useful as an aid to appetite and digestion.He suggests as a substitute for alcohol some substance con-taining caffeine, and has devised the following powder :kola and cocoa of each 5 grammes ; sugar, 10 grammes; tobe taken in a little water.

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JONNESCO’S METHOD OF SPINAL ANAESTHESIA.

Professor Thomas Jonnesco has been visiting the principalEuropean capitals and America to demonstrate his

views. In reporting his demonstration in London westated that the results did not bear out all his claims,for in two out of the three cases the anaesthesia was farfrom satisfactory. However, it was thought possible thatthis was due to the fact that the stovaine was sterilised,which is contrary to Professor Jonnesco’s directions. In the

Montreal Medical Journal for February Dr. W. W. Chapmanreports a demonstration given by Professor Jonnesco at theMount Sinai Hospital, New York, which confirms our

criticisms. The operating theatre, it seems, was crowded bythe New York profession. Professor Jonnesco was accom-

panied by his own assistant, who carried an ordinary Pravazexploring syringe with a needle about 4 inches long, and twosealed bottles of strychnine solution of different strengths, atube of stovaine crystals, and mixing tube. In the first

case a man, aged 25 years, had his right breast removed forchrenic mastitis. The patient was placed in the sittingposture with the chin flexed on the sternum. Havingsterilised the skin and prepared the solution, ProfessorJonnesco plunged the needle between the first two dorsalvertebrate to a depth of 3 inches, but no cerebro-spinal fluidappeared, even after aspiration, only blood. The needle waswithdrawn and introduced a second time. Aspiration againyielded only blood, but afterwards a drop of clear fluid

appeared and the solution was injected. After ten minutesthe incision was made. The patient bitterly complained ofthe pain and begged for ether. Encouraged by the surgeonhe allowed the operation to be completed. He afterwardsshated that he felt every cut but one. An operation for

inguinal hernia was performed under satisfactory anaesthesia,but after the operation the face was pale and there was somesweating. In a case of operation for tuberculous cervical

1 THE LANCET, Nov. 27th, 1909, p. 1607.

glands upper dorsal puncture was performed, but after

three attempts the spinal canal could not be found and

spinal anaesthesia was abandoned. In an operation for

appendicitis the anaesthesia was satisfactory, but the patientalmost at once began to complain of headache. It is note-

worthy that Professor Jonnesco considered the anesthesia inthe first case satisfactory. This appears to show that hissuccess may be partly due to the fact that his Roumanian

patients are more stolid than those in English-speakingcountries. His other claim for his method-perfect safety-also requires more support. In the Indian Medical Gazette forFebruary the death is reported of a native, aged 41 years,who was anæsthetised for removal of a large elephantiasis ofthe scrotum. The patient seemed to be in good healthotherwise, though he was very stout. Three cubic centimetresof distilled water containing 1 milligramme of strychninehydrochloride and 1 decigramme of novocaine were injectedbetween the last two dorsal vertebras and ana3sthesia was

rapidly induced. During the operation the patient com-plained of difficulty of breathing, which was attributed tothe weight of the tumour which was turned up on the

abdomen. When the operation was almost completed andthe pedicle about to be severed respiration stopped and allattempts at resuscitation failed. In performing artificial

respiration it. was noticed that the arms were rigid. Thiswas thought to indicate that death was due to the actionof the strychnine on the medulla. A death has also been

reported from the General Hospital, Birmingham.

THE CENTENARY OF BENEDIKT STILLING’SBIRTH.

ON Feb. 22nd, 1810, Benedikt Stilling was born at

Kirchhain, near Marburg, of Jewish parents. In memory ofthe centenary of his birth the Münchener Medizinische

Wochenschrift of March 29th publishes a brief notice of hiscareer, together with his portrait. According to Dr. L.

Strauss of Biebrich, who contributes his memorial notice,the remarkable researches of this great worker, whom

Kussmaul described as " the pioneer and Columbus of a newworld," have not received sufficient recognition even in

Germany, although his name survives in the sacral nucleusof Stilling of the spinal cord. He was educated in the

Gymnasium at Marburg and graduated in the university ofthe same town, shortly afterwards being appointed provincialsurgeon at Cassel. Here he appears to have obtaineddistinction as an operating surgeon and soon to have

acquired an European reputation. In spite of thedemands made upon him by a very large practice,he was assiduous in research, for, as he himself said,there glowed hot within him the desire for scientific

knowledge. His best known work is that dealing with thestructure of the brain and spinal cord, at which he workedfor nearly 40 years. He was the first to prepare completeserial sections and to trace groups of fibres in the nervous

system by this means. He also demonstrated the cranialnerve nuclei situated between the corpora quadrigemina andthe medulla oblongata, and in particular he described thenuclei of the hypoglossal, the vagus, and the facial nerves, themotor nucleus of the fifth, the nuclei of the fourth and thethird nerves, and the upper nucleus of the spinal accessory.He established by experiment the nature of the vaso-motormechanism and its relation to the sympathetic system. He

also showed that an active dilatation of the blood-vessels aswell as an active contraction occurred. His observa.tions on conduction in the spinal cord were for the most

part confirmed by later observers. Great as were Stilling’scontributions to scientific medicine he did not neglectthe practical side. He was one of the early ovariotomists,performing his first operation of that kind in 1837. He