1809

the use of amyl alcohol. Small quantities of invert sugar,however, do not appear to make any serious difference.Mr. Thompson finds, in conclusion, that by using 25 cubiccentimetres of beer as recommended by the committeeand completely destroying the organic matter a veryfaint mirror is produced when 1/100 th of a grain ofarsenic per gallon is present, but when the beer isused diract with amyl alcohol no mirror at all is pro-duced and therefore this direct method would appear to

fail to detect an amount decidedly greater than that whichthe committee regards as sufficient to condemn the sample.These results are therefore of obvious importance. The

classic Marsh-Berzelius result seems after all to be the mostdelicate process but then the greatest care must be taken toinsure that the zinc employed is absolutely free fromarsenic.

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SAFETY IN THE NOISE OF THE MOTOR CAR.

THE opinion is very commonly expressed that a decidedimprovement in motor vehicles would be gained if the noiseof the motor could be reduced or suppressed altogether.The enormous number of small explosions which take placein the engine of the motor car or bicycle create a noisewhich is undoubtedly at all times offensive to the ear butwhich is far worse when the chauffeur or rider is not a

master of his engine, for then the explosions are often

irregular. Rhythm makes even the noise of a motor lessdisagreeable to the ear than an ill-timed succession of

reports. It is debateable, however, whether, after all, it

would be desirable to reduce the present loudly palpi.tating machine to an absolutely noiseless vehicle. The

noise of the engine in the present motor gives amplewarn-ing of its approach on the road, a warning which, consider-ing the comparatively high speed oftentimes attained by thecar, might be sounded by the horn too late. It is

common on the highways to find coachmen who are drivingrestive horses on the alert long before the car comes up tothem, warned by the distant sound of the regular beating ofthe engines. A motor car proceeding, say, at 20 miles anhour in perfect silence would almost be certain to be a sourceof terror and disaster. Even in the case of the ordinarybicycle there is danger in its silence of action and when thenoiseless rubber-tyres first came upon the scene a con-

tinuously jingling bell accompanied them. In the same

way other rubber-tyred vehicles carry a similar signal,although the clatter of the horses’ hoofs upon the road

conveys some sort of warning. We doubt whether a bell

continuously ringing on a motor car or bicycle can ever beas effective or timely a warning as the penetrating beat ofthe motor engine. The shrieking whistle of an expresstrain is often too late to enable danger to be avoided andit is appalling to think what would happen if an expresswere designed which could travel at the rate of 60miles an hour without the slightest warning noise beinggiven by its wheels rotating or by its intermittent escapeof steam. The same holds god for motor vehicles and

though as it is they add to the dangers of locomotion on

our roads these dangers would be considerably accentuatedif it were not for the perpetual and penetrating beat of theengine.

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THE INCORPORATED SOCIETY OF MEDICALOFFICERS OF HEALTH.

THE provincial meeting of this ,ociety will be held inthe town hall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on Saturday, July 2nd,at 11 A.M., under the presidency of Dr. Joseph Groves.

Visitors, either ladies or gentlemen, are invited to be presentat the general meeting of the society and at the subsequentluncheon and excursions. There will be seven candidates

proposed for election as Fellows and two for election as

Associates. Dr. John J. Boyd, medical officer of health ofthe county borough of South Shields, will read a paperon the Incidence of Sca.rlet Fever in Different Districtsof the Same Town. Those who desire an advance proofof Dr. Boyd’s paper should send a stamped and addressedenvelope to the honorary secretaries before June 29th. At2 P.M. a party will proceed by train from the Central Rail-way Station to the Newcastle Isolation Hospital, where Mr.H E Armstrong will show the Newcastle excreta steriliser,and at 3.15 P.M. by train from Walker Gate Railway Stationto Tynemouth. Railway tickets will in both cases be takenby the secretary. At 5 30 P.M. the party will return bysteam launch from Tynemouth, arriving at Newcastle about6.30 P.M. Arrangements have been made with a number ofrailway companies to issue return tickets to Newcastle upon-Tyne at a single fare and a quarter. Those who intend to be

present at the meeting should apply to the honorary secre-

taries, 9, Adelphi-terrace, Strand, London, W.O., for thecertificates to enable them to obtain reduced fares.

THE PATHOLOGY OF A CASE OF MALEHYSTERIA.

HYSTERIA, especially in its profounder developments, israre in the male subject and though little is known as toits pathology and morbid anatomy in those who have diedfrom its severer forms (some female subjects) still less

is known regarding the pathology of male hysteria. At

the recent annual meeting of the Association of AmericanPhysicians held at Washington in May Dr. S Weir Mitchelland Dr. W. G. Spiller contributed a paper on the subjectwhich is published in American Medioine of May 28th. The

case is one of unusual interest and is that of a man ofmiddle age who had suffered from hysteria and had beenmore or less constantly under Dr. Weir Mitchell’s observa-tion and care during 30 years. The first symptomsappeared at the age of puberty and consisted of the usualattacks’ known as hysterical "fits" which occurred fromtime to time. The boy was at this time seen to beof a "nervous" and excitable disposition. There were

no grave symptoms during this period. To the aboveattacks of simple hysteria a few years later there were

superadded peculiar muscular movements-movements ofthe hands, the face, and the limbs of an apparentlypurposive but really involuntary character. The patient,under Dr. Weir Mitchell’s advice, was treated with hypnotismwith some degree of benefit, the movements ceasing underits influence for short periods of time but recurring withina few days. The mental phase of the hysteria was notmarked in this case: there was no profound disorder or

tendency to doubling or "disaggregation" of the sense ofpersonality. The muscular disturbances, however, increasedin intensity and caused the patient much discomfort. Theywere uncontrollable by the patient except by the greatesteffort on his part or with the aid of hypnotism. The patientrequested that after his death a necropsy should be per-formed under Dr. Weir Mitchell’s direction and this was done

recently on the occaiion of his death by Dr. Spiller. A

most careful examination of the brain and spinal cord dis-closed absolutely no lesion to the naked eye or to the methodsadopted at a necropsy and microscopical examination of

parts of the brain also failed to disclose any characteristicor distinct lesions. There were not the signs of fatigue of thecerebral motor cells which, in accordance with experimentalphysiology, he had expected to find. Dr. Weir Mitchellhence concluded from this case and from the recordedevidences of a few cases of hysteria (in the female) studiedpost mortem that the disease must still be regarded as afunctional disorder (associated in some cases with a develop-mental anomaly) of the brain. In the discussion which

followed the communication of this paper at the meeting