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very safe and serviceable. I have, myself, with by nomeans inconsiderable opportunities of surgical practice, beenaccustomed to rely upon it. I have found, however, a veryserious disadvantage in connexion with the set of apparatusas usually sold by instrument makers. Three Neville’s splintsare commonly supplied. It is comparatively seldom thatthe small and medium sizes are required. As most cases ofserious fracture occur in adults, practically only the largestsplint of the set is available for use. Now, in order to set afracture accurately, it is most important that the splintshould perfectly correspond with the heel and bend of theknee of the sound leg. It is obvious that, as legs vary somuch in length, with only one splint for adults, you have avery poor chance of properly fitting any given case. Ofcourse in a hospital it may be possible to keep a large num-ber of these splints of different lengths, but it is not to beexpected that surgeons in private practice should be ableto keep a great many, or burden themselves in carryingthem about. In order to meet this difficulty, I have longwished to have a splint with some simple arrangement for

altering the length between the heel and the bend of theknee, without any loss of strength or rigidity. Havingasked my friend, Mr. Charles Pilkington, a mining engineer,to aid me in devising such a splint, he has kindly had madefor me, at some local engineering works which he superin-tends, a splint which in simplicity and efficiency most per-fectly meets all the requirements of the case. This splint,which the accompanying woodcut will sufficiently explain,I venture to bring before the notice of the profession in thehope that it may be of use to some of my brethren. I can

hardly think that so very simple a contrivance can beentirely original; therefore, in anticipatory apology to anyrightful claimant for precedence, I can only say that I amignorant that any such splint has been previously described.

Messrs. Arnold and Sons, to whom I have sent the model,have undertaken to supply these splints to any gentlemenwho may wish to possess them.

T. ERNEST HAYWARD, M.B., F.R.C.S.Haydock, near St. Helens, Lancashire.

CONCERNING CHOLERA.

PROFESSOR GIMENO ON CHOLERA INOCULATION.

PROFESSOR D. AMALio GIlBIENO, in a paper read before aliterary and scientific institution in Madrid, defends Dr.Ferran.’s system of anti-cholera inoculation from the variousattacks which have been made upon it both on account of its

danger and its uselessness as a prophylactic. As to the first,he says that hypodermic injections of all kinds are rarelyfollowed by abscess or troublesome local consequences,and that out of the many thousands of injections it isnot wonderful if a few cases of this kind have occurred.As to the assertion that the inoculation is liable to

give cholera it self to a healthy person, he says it is

quite impossible. The dejections of people who have haddiap-rlicea after inoculation have been frequently examined,and in no case have " commas " been found. The microbes

which are injected into the cellular tissue never pass intothe blood, and it is therefore impossible for them two get intothe intestinal canal. Concerning the second charge-viz.,that of uselessness-he remarks that, in order to supportthis accusation, reliance has been placed on the publishedstatistics of deaths, which are most untrustworthy -e.g.,on one day there were stated to have been only 144 deathsin Valencia, but there were 235 burials registered in thecemetery books. He then goes on to mention the case oftwo small towns, of which the statistics are verified bymedical men. In one of these, Cheste, with a total popula-tion of 5227, 3117 persons were inoculated between June 30thand July 3rd. From July 1st to 5th there were seized of thenon-inoculated 54, of whom 18 died; of the inoculated 13,of whom 7 died. On July 6th and 7th, 10 of the non-inoculated were seized, of whom 8 died, but not one of theinoculated. Now, as the inoculation is not supposed to takeeffect for five days, this immunity of those protected on the6th and 7th, and again on the 8th, is, according to the Pro-fessor, a proof of the prophylactic power of the remedy.

FERRAN’S INOCULATION FLUID IN NAPLES.Professor Rummo having brought to Naples four flasks

containing Dr. Ferran’s anti-cholera injection with the inten-tion of experimenting for himself with it, the municipalauthorities very quickly heard of it and sent an officialto the Professor’s laboratory to confiscate the flasks withtheir contents, being fully determined to prevent anysuch questionable investigations from taking place withinthe limits of their jurisdiction.

MEDICAL SERVICES IN CHOLERA DISTRICTS.

The towns in the province of Logrono, Spain, have beenreduced to a most deplorable condition by the cholera.There is such a want of medical aid that the ProvincialCommission has offered fifty francs a day to any medicalmen who may be willing to give their services. The Sara-gossa authorities, too, propose to reward medical men whoserve during the epidemic with a life annuity of 1500 francs,which, in case of death in the performance of their duty, isto pass to their parents, widows, or orphans.The publication of a verbati1n report of the Conference on

Cholera held at Berlin in May last, in which ProfessorsKoch and Pettenkofer took part, is now being made insupplementary issues of the two leading Berlin journals-viz., the Berliner Kliraischer Wockenschrift and the DeutscheMedicinische Wochenschrift. Our readers will find an

abstract of the proceedings in THE LANCET, 1885, vol.i.,pp. 911 and 961 ; but those interested in the question willdo well to consult the detailed reports above mentioned.

THE PROGRESS OF CHOLERA IN SOUTHERNEUROPE.

IN so far as Spain and France are concerned, the choleramortality has continued during the past two weeks to exhibita steady fall. In Spain the daily cases and deaths numberedover 3000 and 1000 respectively at the beginning of the month,and they have now fallen to but little over 1000 and 350. AtMarseilles and Toulon the deaths have also been so far re-duced that a daily record is no longer maintained, and therehas been no material extension of the disease furtherinland, unless the reported occurrence of twenty cases inParis should prove to be true. The outbreak of the diseaseat Gibraltar has also apparently subsided. But cholera tn-evidently been imported from France into Italy, and it hJ;obtained some footing both in the province and city 01Parma and in Palermo. These occurrences have led to suchan amount of local agitation that the Italian Governmenthave, apparently with much unwillingness, allowed quaran-tine measures to be imposed by Naples and Palermo. icsiy.being infected, objects to receive anything from Nap’ie’s,because a few cases of cholera appear to have occurred atGaeta and in certain Neapolitan suburbs; and Naples, t11u"having the disease at her own door on the mainland, object’to allow anything to come from Palermo. Hence quarannr-measures are adopted by both places against each other. I:is alleged, as regards several of the importations into Itj’.v.that they have been due to infected clothing. It is 11’ ’"

hoped that this point will be cleared up, for it is a ma"-:’of importance to learn how far this alleged method cf

infection has actually been in operation.