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1. To introduce the catheter. Fix it on a long stilette,well oil it, and remove stilette when the instrument is fairlyin the bladder. 2. To retain it. Draw the string at thehandle, fix the knot behind the slot, and use plug or not atyour discretion. The effect of this is to reduplicate theterminal portion (three-fourths of an inch) of the catheter,so that No. 12 in the urethra becomes No. 24 in the bladder.3. To withdraw it. Slip the string out of the slot; the elas-ticity of the tube restores the end to its original straightposition, and withdrawal is painless.To render these two last-named acts (Nos. 2 and 3) dis-

tinct by an anatomical simile. Suppose the end of thecatheter to be a finger, then the string is the flexor tendon,and the elasticity of the tube the extensor.Any surgeon may now easily make his French catheters

self-retentive, or they may be purchased at a small cost ofMM. Mayer and Meltzer, 59, Great Portland-street, W.

I have the honour to be your obedient servant,Welbeck-street, W., April 4th, 1870. RICHARD DAVY.RICHARD DAVY.

NITRITE OF AMYLE IN TETANUS.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,— The treatment of traumatic tetanus is so empirical,and the favourable results of any medicine are so pro-blematical, that it appears legitimate practice to use anylikel,y remedy. In a practice of thirty-four years I have seenseven cases, all of which proved fatal, until this time I pre-scribed nitrite of amyle inhalation. I was induced to tryit from its supposed property of alleviating the spasm ofangina pectoris, and for which I had previously secured asupply.

J. B-, aged fifty-two, publican, smashed the thirdfinger of his right hand on Dec. llth, 1869. He was ex-

posed to much wet and cold on the 20th; felt himself veryill on the 22nd, complaining of stiffness of the jaws. Mypartner, Mr. Lucas, saw him on the 23rd, when tetanus wassetting in fast. I saw him on Christmas-day. At thistime his jaws were fixed, and on the recurrence, very fre-quently, of tetanic spasms, his body was rolled up into arigid ball. I gave him five drops of the nitrite on a hand-kerchief. The inhaling of it had an immediate effect inlessening the spasms. Directions were left to administerthe same on each return of the spasms. This was assidu-

ously done by his wife. From that time onwards the spasmswere held in check until the ninth day, when he had inhaledan ounce, and the case might be said to be reduced to asemi-chronic state, with a fair prospect of recovery. Hewas most thoroughly supplied with nutrients, a few sti-mulants, tonics, and aperients. He gradually improveduntil the end of the month, when he was convalescent.His perfect recovery to health has been retarded by some

attacks of catarrh and congestion of the lungs; otherwisehe is well.

I know it is foolish and rash to pronounce any treatment

satisfactory upon a single case, such as this ; and it is forthe profession to try its influence, for good or otherwise, inother cases, as they may arise.

, I am, Sir, your obedient servant,Huntingdon, March 25th, 1870. M. FOSTER, F.R.C.S.M. FOSTER, F.R.C.S.

MEDICAL REFORM UNION FOR THE AMEND-MENT OF THE MEDICAL ACTS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—Since my letter of the 22nd ult., which you havefavoured with insertion, I have received 256 additionalletters, enclcsing cheques, post-office orders, and stamps tothe amount of =660 Os. 8ct., making the gross receiptstowards oi-i-- expenses &322 11s. 8d., leaving a present in-debtedness of about £128. Of those who have signed theMemorial, 1348 have contributed towards the expenses ofthe movement; 8376 have not yet done so. Hoping thatthey are not labouring under the impression that Acts ofParliament, in the face of opposition, are to be obtained bymerely signing a petition,

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,ARTHUR OAKES,

9, The Square, Birmingham, Treasurer of the Medical ReformMarch 29th, 1870. Union.

ARTHUR OAKES,Treasurer of the Medical Reform

Union.

Obituary.HENRY NORRIS, F.R.C.S.

A SURGEON of high professional character, and a "gentle-man and scholar " of the good old type, Mr. Norris, died atSouth Petherton, Somerset, on the 20th ult., in his eighty-first year. He was of honourable parentage, and born atTaunton in 1789. His professional acquirements were firstmade at the London Hospital, and then at St. Bartholo-mew’s, where he attended the lectures of Sir WilliamBlizard and John Abernethy. He became Member of theRoyal College of Surgeons in 1813, shortly after which hecommenced practice in South Petherton, where he continuedto labour with much skill and acceptance for forty-fouryears. In 1844 he became Senior Examined Fellow of theRoyal College of Surgeons; while his professional know-ledge and practice kept pace with all that was most soundin modern research and opinion. Owing to increasing at-tacks of heart disease, he retired from active duty in 1856,when his friends, in testimony of their esteem for his pri-vate and professional character, presented him with a

handsome silver inkstand and a purse of gold. Numis-matics and palæontology formed the recreation of his man-hood and the solace of his declining years-subjects inwhich he manifested the versatile tastes of his family, ofwhich Mr. E. Norris, of the Asiatic Society, the eminentAssyrian scholar and decipherer of cuneiform inscriptions,is the nearest surviving member of his own generation.

AUGUSTUS WARD ALLINSON, M.R.C.S.WOOLWICH has lost an able and efficient surgeon, and the

4th Kent Volunteers a highly popular medical officer, in theperson of Augustus Ward Allinson, Esq., who died on the3rd instant at Beresford-square. The deceased gentlemanwas the youngest son of the late John Hiram Allinson, Esq.,of Inglewood House, Penrith, Cumberland. He prosecutedhis professional studies chiefly at Guy’s, and became in1855 Licentiate of the Apothecaries’ Company, and in thefollowing year Member of the Royal College of Surgeons ofEngland. He was medical officer of health to the Plum-stead District, and was in the full discharge of the dutiesconnected with that, and with other fields of general prac-tice, when he was cut down, to the regret of all whoknew him, at the early age of thirty-seven.

WE have to record the death of several foreign confreres:in Spain of Dr. Mariano Martinez, who died from anattack of typhus contracted amidst his professional duties;in France of Dr. Morpain, an elegant writer, and thetranslator of several foreign medical works; at Baltimore(United States) of Dr. Roberts, Emeritus Professor ofObstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children, in Wash-ington University, Baltimore.

Medical News.ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND.-The

following gentlemen passed the primary examination inAnatomy and Physiology at meetings of the Court ofExaminers held on Tuesctay and Wednesday last :-W. S. Greenfield, W. G. D. Glanville, F. A. Gray, W. B. Wall, G. R.

Shemilt, G. M. Briggs, and T. S. Parry, of University College; JamesUtting, G. E. Power, H. 0. Taylor, Robert Dunstan, George Turner,G. F. K. Smith, John Marshall, Frank Langley, H. S. Branfoot, R. H.Paterson, T. D. Harries, H. G. Cartwright, Thomas Eastes, C. D. Fenn,and T. R. Edmundson, of Guy’s Hospital; F. C. Hewett, MalcolmPoignand, A. C. Horner, E. H. Klien, A. L. Salmon, Matthias Groves,W. Fumer, W. H. Hatfield, Frederic Skaife, and Thomas Strafford, ofSt. Bartholomew’s Hospital; William W. Wilson, W. E. Parkes,E. H. J. Hogg, B. Neal, and G. B. White, of the Birmingham School;J. F. Wright, William Stamford, Richard Frean, and E. H. Fenn, of theMiddlesex Hospital; Mark Robinson and S. J. Goldsmith, of St. George’sHospital; W. A. Mawson, James Brown, and S. Snell, of the LeedsSchool; E. Morris, W. L. Morgan, and Lewis Mackenzie, of the LondonHospital; H. J. Molyneaux and J. B. Lyth, of the Liverpool Infirmary ;C. E. Monro, of St. Thomas’s Hospital; James Hindle, of the Man-chester School; G. Hartridge and R. B. Morrell, of King’s College;Thomas Procter and W. H. Williams, of St. Mary’s Hospital; William