1393

by the use of a suitable belt, but this is not the ground onwhich this belt is advised. We should be interested to learnof cases in which bernise in boys have been obviously theresult of ordinary reasonable gymnastic exercises, for, as ourcorrespondent observes, if any of these exercises have sucha great tendency to cause hernia they should be avoided inthe athletic education of boys.

THE EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY CLUB DINNER.

THIS club held its quarterly dinner on the night of

Nov. 8th under the able and genial presidency of Dr.H. S. Stone of Reigate. The November meeting occurs ina dull month and it might be supposed to be small anddull. It was quite otherwise and the club thoroughlyenjoyed itself. The guests seemed equally happy and

included General Colclough, Major MacMahon, Mr.

Christopher Heath, Mr. F. C. Wallis, Rev. A. Ryde Bird,Dr. Max Huler, Dr. Colcott Fox, and Mr. Clarke, the

Attorney-General of the Gold Coast. The speaking wasgood and so was the music. A few very apt words byGeneral Colclough on the behaviour of our troops in

South Africa and especially on General Sir George Whitewere much appreciated.

--

"THE LAW AND THE SALE OF POISONS."

A WRITER in the Chemist and Druggist of Nov. 4thdirects attention to some extraordinary errors " which he ihas discovered in an annotation under the above heading (in THE LANCET of Oct. 28th (p. 1177). He takes ex- tception chiefly to the substitution of letters for figures Iin quoting from the schedule of poisons. Whatever Iadvantage our critic may feel himself entitled to on the tground of this trifling inadvertence we make him welcome rto. Our argument is unaffected, and with that he does not rattempt to deal seriously. We repeat that laudanum is "

sold by several ounces at a time over the druggist’s counter, rjand, if needful, we can prove the fact. In this kind of tpractice we see but the virtual evasion of a Poisons Act xin itself too lenient. We therefore assert once more, what Lno chemist or druggist who even moderately appreciates his 1

professional responsibility will deny, that with a view to the ëcorrection of its patent abuse the existing Sale of PoisonsAct stands in need of certain important alterations.

ANTHRAX.

WHILE so much has been done by our Legislature to

ameliorate the condition of those engaged in hazardous

occupations yet cases of death from anthrax not infrequentlyoccur among those employed in the preparation of horsehair.Russian and Chinesehair have an evil repute in this respectand the cases which occur are generally found to be associatedwith the opening of bales imported from those countries. It

is not only the workpeople, condemned as they are daily toface death in their struggle for life, who are exposed to manyunnecessary risks, but to a certain extent the general publicare also. The hair from animals, irrespectively of the causeof death, is imported in canvas bales, which are dumpedand rolled about on ship, wharf, truck, station, and van,to be finally dealt with in some factory situated ina densely populated distlict in one of our large towns.

Here the bales are opened and an opportunity isafforded for the dispersal of anthrax spores among theunfortunate employes and others who are resident in the im-mediate vicinity of the factory. Surely at or near the portof debarkation a piece of waste land might be foundwhere, fairly isolated from other buildings and withdiminished risk to those employed, the hair might be sub-mitted to some process of disinfection. In the case ofthe man Edward Brandon upon whom Mr. King Houchin

held an inquest last week there was no evidence to show that.he had actually handled Russian hair, though the same was-admittedly on the premises where he was working. As a.

matter of fact, two men in the same employ were attackedwith anthrax within a few days of each other. One was.

operated upon at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and is now in afair way of recovery, but Edward Brandon unfortunately diedfrom heart-failure upon the operating table at the London.Hospital. -

"MORPHINISM, DRINK, AND THE MEDICALPROFESSION."

THE Nem York Medical Record of Nov. 4th, 1899, has aleading article on the abovO question. The conclusion isarrived at that physicians are more addicted to the use ofmorphine and of strong drink than are the members of theother learned professions. Dr. T. D. Crothers at a recent

meeting of the New York State Medical Associationmaintained that 10 per cent. of all medical men used

morphine. The statistics seem to us insufficient as a

basis for such sweeping conclusions. The editor admits

that in Britain this habit is much less common among-physicians than in France, Germany, or the United

States, while strong drink is said to be used more byphysicians_in Great Britain, Denmark, and Russia than in theUnited States. Our contemporary does not apologise for thefact but he goes further than we should go in extenuatingit. The hard conditions of medical life, especially in thecountry and in island districts, are undoubtedly a strongtemptation to an educated man to abate the sensitiveness ofhis nature to its surroundings. But education, and especiallymedical education, should supply strength as well as sensi-tiveness, and whether in regard to his strictly professionalresponsibilities or to the influence of his example the medicalman should be above suspicion. That ignorant peopleshould drink excessively is not perhaps a matter for surprise.They know no better. But a medical man should knowthat indulgence is full of risk nQt only to his health and life,but to his character and his reputation. At any moment

under the influence of drink he may undo the reputation of alifetime and bring his profession as well as himself intodiscredit.

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THE NEW SYDENHAM SOCIETY.

WE would draw the attention of our readers to theannouncement in our advertisement columns that the11 lexicon of Medicine and the Allied Sciences," which hasbeen produced by the New Sydenham Society and which hasoccupied many years in its preparation, is now complete.This work is of immense value alike to medicalwriters and the profession generally and the Societyhas performed a useful service in undertaking its publica-tion. The fact that these labours are at an end will liberatethe funds of the Society considerably, and should lead to arenewed interest in its work which, we are afraid, has some-what waned during the last few years. The New SydenhamSociety is probably unique in its objects, which are mainlythe translating and editing of valuable foreign works

on medical science, and of important papers whichmay have recently appeared in foreign journals; also the

reproduction of British works, lectures, and papers whichwhilst of great practical value are out of print or difficultto obtain. Many works of the kinds mentioned above willprobably at once be remembered, but we may instance

Hebra on "Diseases of the Skin," Trousseau’s "ClinicalMedicine," Cbarcot’s "Diseases of the Nervous System,"Billroth’s "Surgery and Surgical Pathology," and SirWilliam Gall’s "Collected Papers." The Society has alsoundertaken the publication of an "Atlas of Illustrationsof Pathology " _ aud the publication of an "Atlas of