643

is the sates!. basis tor every kind of success. Couitly and aris-tocratic cliques are losing much of their power; and the wantsor the merits which appeal to all, and do not fear to facelonestly universal criticism, are those which in the end com-nand the fullest recognition. The Queen’s Hospital now con-tains sixteen wards, with an average of not more than from sixto twelve beds in each ward. It is well situated at the westaid of the town, on the new red sandstone (a formation ad-nirably adapted for perfect drainage), 474 feet above the sea1’vel, and in a pure air frequently renewed by draughtsftom the Malvern and Clent hills. The wards are fittedvrith great care, and supplied with all modern comforts and

a?pliances. To the attainment of this end Mr. Sands Cox haslaboured with rare devotion, and the public testimony to hisservices is only a bare acknowledgment of the importantbenefits which he has conferred.

THE PHILANTHROPY OF THE TURF.

RICHES have been esteemed as amongst the baggage, or, asthe Romans had it, the impedimenta of virtue : they impededits march, and stayed it from the goal. So wagers have been

thought the obloquy of horseracing. The improvement of thebreed of horses, the public holiday, and all the other approvedarguments in favour of the great national pastime, are apt tobe overshadowed by the ugly features attending the system ofbetting on the course. But though the wagers may be the impe-diments to public favour, we fear that they act in this case asgolden spurs which hasten the winners to the goal, and aremever likely to be dissociated from the operations of the turf. £Hence the proposal of Mr. Bond, which he has now generouslyrenewed, is one which is pregnant with promise if this philan-thropic offer be accepted, and a precedent can be established.This gentleman made in September, 1860, a muniticent offer tothe stewards of the Jockey Club of contributing 1000 guineasto the London hospitals, providing the fortunate winners ofthe Derby and the O.1ks will kindly consent to an allocation often per cent. of their winnings; but should such a contributionbe deemed excessive, Mr. Bond will be happy to add an amountequal to a deduction of five per cent. upon their stakes respec-tively. This proposal is one which does honour to its author,and we sincerely trust that it may receive the assent of theJockey Club and of the fortunate winners. No doubt such a

disposition of a part of the sums thus won would be in accord-ance with that spirit of true philanthropy which makes theamusements of the rich subservient to the wants of the poor,and infuses an element of public spirit and patriotism into pur-suits of mere pleasure or selfish gain. Hitherto the Derby-day has contributed nothing but a large number of casualties toour hospitals. But it is evident that this proposition wouldmeet with greater success if the Jockey Club could adopt it inadvance of the race, and establish it as a preliminary regu-lation, so that all owners might start their horses with theknowledge that the stakes would be subject to this deduc-tion ; otherwise it would become a tax specially levied uponthe fortunate winners, and one to which many would not bedisposed to assent.

ST. THOMAS’S HOSPITAL.

ST. THOMAS’S HOSPITAL is not to be closed. It is not, at

present at least, to be transported into the country, whichwould be almost as bad as closing. Its immediate destination,after all the strife of conflicting interests, and the visions ofpseudo’ sanitarians, is p’ ecisely that spot which was firstindicated and insisted upon in this journal—namely, the

Royal Surrey Gardens. The opinions of all practical menacquainted with the wants of the labouring hosts south ofthe river, who pursue their callinns in the midst of all the con-ditions that endanger health and limb, have gradually gravi-

tate I towards this spot. Grauted that the old site near London-

bridge must be abandoned, the obvious necessity was to findthe nearest eligible site for reconstruction, so as to involve theleast dislocation in the numerous relations of the hospital to thewants of that community whose direst distress it had through-out three centuries relieved. The authorities of the institutionare already in possession of the ground, and workmen areactively employed in erecting temporary buildings for imme-diate occupation. The avowed object of the Governors is not

yet, however, we regret to say, definitely to occupy this sitefor the purposes of the hospital. The statements which havehitherto appeared in the public journals are, in this respect,inaccurate and too highly colonred. The site is leased for two

years and a half only. The Surrey Music Hall is being re-arranged to receive about 3 0 patients, and out-patients willalso be seen ; the school will be carried on in some of thenumerous buildings on the premises. Thus there will be no

break, no interruption in the beneficent ministrations of thisgreat charity. It is greatly to be desired that this temporaryhome may prove the final abiding-place of this institution, andthen as an hospital devoted to the relief of human suffering,and as a school for the diffusion of medical skill throughout theworld, St. Thomas’s will still hold her proud position amongstthe great hospitals of this metropolis. The new site offers

facilities for the adoption of all recent improvements in hospitalarrangement, and thus for the construction of such an hospitalas the world has not yet seen.

GREAT INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

VI.

CHEMICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS.

BESIDES the very complete collection of specimens illustra-ting the manufacture of the cinchona alkaloids to which wehave already referred, there is a good specimen of sulphate ofquinine among the alkaloids exhibited by Mr. Hulle (No. 533)in the eastern annex, ancl there are specimens exhibited byseveral foreign makers. Mr. Hulle’s specimen is remarkablefor its lightness, the bottle containing one ounce being largerthan that usually met with in commerce. Among foreign exhi.bitors of qninine are Dubosc and Co., of Paris; Armet de Lisle,the successor of Pelletier, the original’’discoverer of this alka-loid ; Bobringer and Son, of Stuttgart; several Italian makers;and Zimmer, of Frankfort, who exhibits a collection of upwardsof one hundred chemical products from the cinchona barks.Mr. Zimmer’s case will be found at the end of the south-

western transept, beneath the picture gallery. It contains

specimens of the alkaloids obtained from the cinchonas, thevarious salts of these alkaloids, the acids and other proximatebodies found associated with the alkaloids, and products whichare obtained as the results of chemical reactions from the proxi-mate constituents of the barks. This is altogether a very in-teresting collection, in which will be found many compoundsnot hitherto described in chemical books.

One of the most important of the preparations of quinine isthat in which the alkaloid is combined with citric acid andiron-citrate of iron and quinine-a preparation which hascome into very extensive use, and of which there are several

; exhibitors in the eastern annex, as well as elsewhere. There isL at present no authorized process for the preparation of this, valuable salt ; and althong’i it is generally assumed and oftenF represented that it contains twenty-five per cent. of citrate of

quinine, manufacturers are iefr, to a great extent to the exercise, of their own discretion as to the mode of making it, and much

difference exists i-i its composition. The best specimens con-

f tain about fifteen per cent. of their weight of the alkaloid,

‘ quinine, but in many commercial specimens the quantity is

- much less than this. As usually met with, it is in transparent