747

an abuse of our hospitals. I thought, for my own satis-faction, I was justified in asking if the certificate wasgiven before or after a post mortem, and on this point I- should feel very deeply indebted to you if you will give meyour valuable opinion. Apologising for this long letter,

I remain, Sirs, your obedient servant. ....

ERNEST SNAPE, L.R.C.P.Lond. &c.,Resident Medical Officer, St. Marylebone General

Dispensary.J

Welbeck-street, W., Sept. 26th, 1890.

B* We think our correspondent has been treated withscant courtesy. He might at least have been referred tothe physician under whose care the case was treated andcertified. It is possible that the diagnosis might admitof being made absolute or with reasonable certainty ; butsuch cases should not be certified by a hospital otlicial onhe strength of a few hours’ observation. The mere exist-ence of tubercle does not determine the propriety of a medicalman giving a certificate in a case brought to him in articuloonortis. There should be communication first with themedical man in previous attendance. Without care, hos-

pitals may easily facilitate bad forms of insurance, especiallyof children’s lives.-Ed. L.

THE INTERNATIONAL CONSUMPTIONOF MEAT.

To the Editors of THE LANCET.SIRS,-The letters on the above 2subject have opened up

a very interesting discussion on the therapeutic value ofmeat in the treatment of diseased conditions. I believe itis high time that obsolete ideas now in vogue as to theinjurious effects of meat and fish taken in large quantities’should be modified, and I question if sugar and starch inthe manifold ways they are consumed are not accountablefor much of the liver derangement, dyspepsia, gout, andrheumatism now so common. I quite endorse the opinions:set forth in Mr. Yorke-Davies’ letter. For especially noticewhat a hardy race are the fisher folk of our seacoast towns,and they live largely on fish. As Mr. Yorke-Davies,says: " In no other class than in that of fishers do wesee larger families, handsomer women, or more robustand active men." The Canadians are a marvellously hardypeople, and vegetable food forms but a small part oftheir daily diet. The Indian horsemen of the Pampas live-entirely on the flesh of horses, and eat neither bread, fruit,nor vegetables, and what extraordinary endurance do theypossess. Do we not for our climate use too great a propor-tion of vegetables containing starch and sugar in our dailydietary ? I think we do; hence the proverbial corpulencemf all classes in England, amusingly typified by the well-known figure of "John Bull" in the pages of Punch. Ameat diet is undoubtedly the best for work, mental ormanual, as it does not encumber the system, and is’easier eliminated. I observe that Mr. Towers Smithtouches on the usefulness of meat in the treatment of

’obesity. May I say a word from personal knowledge infavour of Mr. Yorke-Davies’ system? We are indebtedto him for simplifying the process of treating corpu-lency and making it far pleasanter and easier to carry outthan that of Mr. Towers Smith, as the former gentlemansupplements the meat from the first with harmless vegetableproducts free from sugar and starch. This prevents theclisgust that arises from taking undiluted large quantitiesof meat and fish, and admits of the loss of fat beingregulated according to age, habit, and constitutionalrequirements. Mr. Towers Smith’s system is almost identicalwith that of Dr. Salisbury, an American physician. Of- course he is highly successful, but, unless he takes a leaffrom Mr. Yorke-Davies’ book, his system will not find the- same favour with the victims of obesity as the lattergentleman’s does. I am, Sirs, yours faithfully,

Sept. 23rd, 1890. M.D.

ANOTHER RECREATION GROUND IN THE CITY.-The churchyard adjoining St. Mary the Virgin, Alderman-bury, has been adapted as a recreation ground, and wasopened to the public last week. Seats have been provided by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association, and Mr. Deputy Rogers is about to present to the parish a drinking- Ifountain to be placed at the side of the churchyard.

NORTHERN COUNTIES NOTES.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The late Disasters in Newcastle- on-Tyne.I AM glad to be able to say that there have been no further

fatal cases arising out of the late disastrous nitric acidaccident at Messrs. Mawson and Swan’s chemical establish-ment, by which two firemen lost their lives from the fumes.The superintendent (Matthews) and his men are slowlyrecovering. The Mayor of Newcastle held a meeting lastweek to promote a relief fund for the widows and orphans,and it at once received popular and influential support,Messrs. Mawson and Swan heading the list with thedonation of 250 guineas. In connexion with the acci-dent, it has been overlooked that nine of their assistantssuffered from the fumes severely. Many of them, however,returned to work the next day, but it was seen that theywere not in a fit condition to work, and were at once senthome.-The Elswick workmen injured on board the war-ship in the Tyne are also progressing satisfactorily towardsrecovery. It appears now that there was no boiler explo-sion, but, from some defect about the funnel, flames andvapour with ashes and hot coals were driven out of thefurnaces amongst the men.

Public Health Society.A Public Health Society has been formed at Newcastle,

on the lines of those existing in Manchester and Edinburgh.The first meeting was held to-day, under the auspices of theMayor and other prominent citizens. Mr. V. W. Rutherfordand Dr. V. H. Rutherford are hon. sees.

Lectures.’ The lecture season opened last week with two very ablediscourses. The first was by Mr. P. Hawkridge, M.A., B.Sc.,on Spontaneous Combustion. The lecturer showed veryclearly how certain compounds-requiring, as a rule,ignition-would at some temperatures and conditionsignite of their own accord, such as the ignition of tur-pentine and nitric acid. It is curious that the fatalaccident in Mosley-street from nitric acid fumes followedso soon upon this lecture. The lecture of Professor Stroud,delivered upon the opening night of the session of theNewcastle Microscopical Society, on " Polarised Light,"was also a valuable and instructive address, with experi-mental illustrations as to the value of polarisation in theestimation of oils, crystals, and many other substancesused in the arts and medicine.

Typhoid Fever on Teeside.Dr. Barry, the Local Government Commissioner, has

commenced an inquiry at Stockton, Middlesbrough, andDarlington, as to the prevalence of typhoid fever in thesedistricts. It appears that there have been, to Sept. 20th,fifty-eiglit cases in Darlington, eighty-three at Middles-brough, fifty-five at Stockton, as well as numerous othercases in the rural districts of Middlesbrough and North andSouth Stockton. Dr. Barry, who is about to make a

thorough examination of the districts, recommended carein the use of water and milk, and thorough flushing ofdrains and disinfection of waterclosets. He pointed outthat where there was an outbreak of that nature so evenlydivided according to the population that a common cause,such as defects in the milk or water, might be suspected,all should endeavour to discover this cause.

Alnu7ick-.Mr. C. Clark Burman, surgeon, of Alnwick, has received

a handsome testimonial, in the form of a splendid marbledining-room clock chiming the hours, and accompaniedwith suitable bronze ornaments &c. The presents are fromhis old friends and patients at Belford, where he practisedfor several years.

Sunderland: Suspected Poisoning by Tinned Sahiaon.A serious case of poisoning through, it is supposed, par-

taking of tinned salmon has just been reported in Sunder-land. The persons affected were an hotel landlord, his wifeand family, and a barman employed at the house. Theyappear to have all become ill after their tea one eveninglast week. The landlord was most seriously affected, and

,

all who partook of the tinned salmon suffered severely, buthave now recovered.

Bequests to Northern Charities.Under the will of the late Dr. Straughan of Great