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modify the therapeutic action of the preparation. Referringto the bibliography of the subject he thought that the

first pharmacopoeia was issued at Nuremberg, althoughsome held that drugs and their preparations were

codified for the first time at Florence. Mr. H. G.

Howse acknowledged that the medical profession was

greatly indebted to pharmacists for the extraordinaryadvances which they had made in regard to the purityand preparations of drugs and to their standardisation

and accuracy of dosage. The dinner was very well attendedand amongst those at the President’s table were Sir FrederickAbel, Dr. J. Attneld, F.R.S., Sir J. Crichton Browne, Pro-fessor Norman Collie, Sir William Church, President of theRoyal College of Physicians of London, Sir Dyce Duckworth,Mr. H. G. Howse, President of the Royal College of Surgeonsof England, Dr. W. H. Allchin, Dr. Donald McAlister,Sir William Turner (President of the General Medical

Council), and Professor W. A. Tilden, F. R. S.

DYED MILK.

EVIDENCE is accruing that the practice of addingartificial colouring matter to milk is increasing. Samplesare commonly met with thus coloured to give them a richbut false creamy aspect. The natural colour of milk bearsno relation necessarily to the amount of cream present.It is very desirable that this practice should be stopped.The recommendation of the Departmental Committee on

Preservatives and Colouring Matter in Food that the use ofany preservative or colouring matter whatever in milk offeredfor sale in the United Kingdom should be constituted anoffence under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act should speedilybe put into force. We believe that annatto is the dyecommonly employed and it is fortunate that it is harmless,though that fact does not justify the device. Certain coal- ’Itar dyes have, however, been detected in milk and amongstthem methyl-orange or, in chemical nomenclature, the ’,sodium salt of dimethylaniline-azobenzene-sulphonic acid. ’

POISONING FROM THE APPLICATION OF CARBOLICACID TO THE UNBROKEN SKIN.

WE have published some cases of poisoning by carbolic acidfrom application of compresses to the unbroken skin. 1 In

the following case, which is recorded in the Boston Medicaland S1l1’gical Journal of April 3rd by Dr. J. W. Wainwright,the same result was produced by the simple application ofcarbolic lotion to the skin. A vigorous man, aged 50 yeais,used a 2 per cent. solution of carbolic acid as an appli-cation for pruritus with temporary relief and without ill-

results. One day at noon, after taking a hot bath, he used (a 4 per cent. solution. He applied it to the abdomen,the thighs, and the lumbar region with the usual relief.

At 7.30 next morning while dressing he suddenly felt apeculiar pain which he referred to the bladder. It in-

creased and radiated through the abdomen. He could notfinish his toilet and the administration of morphine becamenecessary. A quarter of a grain was injected without reliefand the dose was repeated in half an hour. There were

frequent rigors, each of which lasted for a few minutes,profuse cold perspiration, vomiting, and a desire to defecate.The eyes were prominent and fixed. There were vertigo and

Iweakness of the lower limbs. After one and a half hoursanother quarter of a grain of morphine was injected. For 18hours no urine was secreted. Appendicitis, renal calculus, andptomaine poisoning suggested themselves. Four and a halfhours after the onset of symptoms he became drowsy andwould doze for a few minutes to be awakened by the recur-r :ng pains. The pulse was frequent and at times barelyperceptible and the skin was moist and cold. Relief from

pain began about four hours after the onset of the symptoms1 THE LANCET, April 6th, 1901, p. 1011.

and at midnight he was comparatively comfortable. Exa-

mination of the urine revealed the characteristic smoky

appearance of carboluria. For three days there were greatdepression and symptoms of acute nephritis. there were was, depression and symptoms of acute nephritis. Recovery wascomplete in 10 days. -

THE PREVALENCE OF SMALL-POX.

Ox Saturday, May 24th, 50 cases of small-pox were

admitted to the institutions of the Metropolitan AsylumsBoard ; on Sunday, May 25th, 43 cases were admitted ; onMonday, May 26th, 58 cases were received ; on Tuesday,May 27th, 32 cases were accepted; and on Wednesday,May 28th, 35 cases passed through the hands of the

authorities. In the county of Essex the small-pox casesnotified for the week ending May 24th numbered 50.

AN ANALYSIS OF 155 CASES OF TABES DORSALIS,WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO CAUSATION,

SYMPTOMS, AND LENGTH OF LIFE.

Ix the Spring Number of Brain, 1902, Dr. ByromBramwell publishes a, lengthy and interesting article basedon an analysis of 155 cases of tabes dorsalis met with inhospital and private practice. In a considerable proportionof the cases the course of the disease was followed duringperiods of several years and in most of the fatal cases thetotal duration of the disease and the immediate cause ofdeath were ascertained. Of the total number of cases 140,or 90 3 per cent., were males, and 15, or 9 6 per cent., werefemales, a proportion which agrees closely with that of

Growers—viz.. 10 males to one female. The ages at whichthe first symptoms of disease developed were noted in 151cases, and in 112 of these, or 74.1 per cent., the diseasecommenced between the ages of 30 and 50 years. As

regards etiology, syphilis was ascertained to have existedin 59’8 per cent., in the remaining cases its existence wasdoubtful or denied or not ascertained. The percentage ofcases in which a definite history of syphilis was obtainedwas, however, higher in the last than in the first moiety ofcases, probably because, as Dr. Bramwell thinks, the

inquiries made were more stringent. In three at least ofthe syphilitic cases the patient had been treated very

thoroughly for long periods of time with mercury and yetdeveloped tabes, showing, says Dr. Bramwell, that prolongedand thorough mercurial treatment did not, in all cases,

prevent the subsequent appearance of tabes-an importantpractical point as regards life insurance. The length of

time between syphilitic infection and the development of

tabes was less than 20 years in the vast majority (91 percent.) of cases, the second, third, and fourth quinquenniumafter infection claiming each nearly a fourth of the victims.As regards general physique it was noted that many of the

patients were robust and strong men of fine muscular

development. Dr. Bramwell regards syphilis as the most

important, but not the sole, cause of tabes dorsalis. The

toxins produced by the syphilitic virus, says Dr. Bramwell,have a widespread effect upon the nervous system, renderingit liable to be affected injuriously by other conditions such asvarious forms of strain and irritation (including exposureand alcoholic or sexual excesses) which are probably theexciting. causes. The commonest initial symptoms were’’lightning pains " in 53 per cent. of the cases, diplopiaand ataxia in 86 per cent. each, loss of vision in 6 per cent.,derangements of urination in 4 per cent., gastric crises in

33 per cent., and numbness in the feet in 2 per cent.

Lightning pains were also the commonest symptoms inthe course of the disease. They were present in 148 out ofthe 155 cases, or 95’4 per cent., and were in every case feltin the legs and less often in the trunk, arms, and head. Inseveral cases in which optic atrophy developed the severityof the lightning pains lessened with the loss of sight. The

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relative frequency of the other symptoms was as follows :loss of knee-jerk was present in 82 per cent. of the cases,ataxic gait or ataxia in standing with the eyes closed in77 ’5 per cent., derangements of the bladder in 74 per cent.,and Argyll-Robertson pupil in 72 per cent. Mental symptomsin the form of general paralysis developed in 16 cases,

impairment of memory was noted in five cases, and mental

depression in four cases. In the great majority of cases,

however, mental activity was unimpaired, even in the laterstages of the disease. As regards prognosis it appeared that31 of the 155 patients were dead, 75 were alive, and 49 couldnot be traced at the time of writing the article. Of the 31fatal cases the average duration of the illness was 8’3 years,the longest being 22 years and the shortest one and a halfyears.

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THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

THE annual conversazione of the Medical Society of London ‘

was held on May 26th. After a reception by the President, 7

Dr. W. H. Allchin, the annual oration was delivered by <

Dr. Stephen Mackenzie on the Powers of Natural Resist- ;)ance or the Personal Factor in Disease of Microbic Origin. <

This excellent address is published in full at page 1513 i

of our present issue. A vote of thanks to the orator was (

proposed by Dr. Sidney Coupland and seconded by Mr.J. Bland-Sutton. Music was provided in the hall and in (an adjoining room there was exhibited a collection of etch-ings and drawings of Old London and its vicinity belongingto Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, jun., who was himself in several ]

instances the artist. The collection included certain of jWhistler’s "Set of Thames Etchings," among others the tfamous " Limeburner" " and " Rotherhithe " (the largest plate tin the set), a fine impression of Sir F. Seymour Haden’s i

magnificent etching, "The Breaking up of the Agamemnon," 1

"The Guardship at the Nore" by J. M. W. Turner (a 1

beautiful rendering of sea-scape), and Mr. D. Y. Cameron’s 1"London Set." Among the miscellaneous etchings anddrawings from Mr. Hutchinson’s pen we may choosefor particular commendation " South wark Bridge from St. Paul’s Wharf Pier." The collection was a remarkable oneand its contemplation formed an agreeable change to theordinary routine of these functions. ’

SUPPURATIVE PERIODONTITIS-PYORRH&OElig;AALVEOLARIS.

IN the last issue of the Transactions of the OdontologicalSociety of Great Britain Mr. Kenneth Goadby publishes apreliminary account of his investigations into the pathologyof suppurative periodontitis. One point of some interestwould seem to be that cultural examinations have demoD-strated in many cases the presence of members of the yeastfamily in the discharge from the sockets of the teeth. Mr.

Goadby has, moreover, found yeast in the small masses oftissue adhering to the apices of teeth extracted in cases

of suppurative periodontitis, and culturally he finds theyappear to correspond to the yeasts found in the so-called

chronic abscesses. From direct examinations of the pus hefinds a marked difference in the species of bacteria

morphologically represented in early and late cases,it being rare to find many cocci present in thelater stages, the field being, as a rule, occupiedby bacilli of various kinds and a good number

of threads, the latter showing a tendency to stain

irregularly and in patches. In discussing the question of thecausal relation of certain bacteria to suppurative periodon-titis he refers to an organism, a coccus hitherto not

described. This organism is frequently present in cases ofdento-alveolar abscess and appears to have some relation

to the curious thick viscid pus found in some cases of

suppurative periodontitis. The coccus is also found in

septic pulpless teeth associated with abscesses. It producesa marked stringy viscous growth upon solid media and isextremely difficult to remove from the agar slant. The-

broth cultures also form stringy viscous growths, which at.times adhere to the sides of the tube in the form of a cloudof colonies about 0’5 millimetre’ in diameter that’ are

strongly adherent to the glass. Mr. Goadby considers it

highly improbable that the ordinary pus organisms have anydirect share in the production of suppurative periodontitis.

CANCER IN INDIA.

THE subject of cancer in India is exciting some interest atthe present time in connexion with the scheme -which has beenlaunched in this country for the organised investigation of thatand other allied forms of malignant disease. The IndianMedical Gazette for the month of May contains two excellentpapers having a direct and special bearing on the subject.The first is by Captain W. J. Niblock, I. M.S., of the GeneralHospital, Madras, embodying the results of the experienceobtained at that hospital, for which purpose the hospitalregisters for the past 10 years have been carefully gonethrough. All cases of carcinoma, sarcoma, and rodent ulcer-using the term malignant disease as synonymous with thatof cancer in its broader sense-which have been admittedinto that institution have been extracted, tabulated, andanalysed. The other paper, by Dr. Ernest F. Neve, brieflysummarises the history and results of "A Decade of TumourSurgery in the Kashmir Mission Hospital." While there areno published statistics showing the frequency cf admissionsfor cancer in the various hospitals throughout India,together with the regions of the body affected, cancer seemsto be in Madras, at any rate, by no means rarely met

with, and the same may be said of Kashmir. In looking overthe tables compiled from the Madras Hospital registers one ofthe first things to strike us is the enormous number of native-patients admitted for carcinoma of the cheek and jaws-afact which is stated, and apparently on strong grounds,to be accounted for by the habit prevalent among Hindusand Mahomedans of both sexes of the chewing of betel.In Dr. Neve’s paper it is stated that the total number oftumours operated upon between the years 1890 and 1899 was,2020, more than 50 per cent. of these being malignant.

ASSOCIATION OF ASYLUM WORKERS.

THE annual meeting of this association, formed in 1895 to,

promote the interests of asylum workers by improving theirstatus and enlisting public sympathy in their work, was heldon May 22nd at 11, Chandos-street, London, W., Sir James,Crichton Browne presiding. There was a large attendance ofmedical officers of asylums and the Commissioners in Lunacywere represented by Dr. Sidney Coupland. A considerable

number of nurses and attendants were also present. After

the election of the officers and executive committee the

President (Sir J. Crichton Browne) moved the adoptionof the report (which was presented by the honorarysecretary, Dr. G. E. Shuttleworth) in an interesting speechin which he reviewed the work of the association. The

membership had increased from 2868 in 1900 to 4116 in

1901, and several additional asylums in all parts of thekingdom were now represented on the roll. The monthlyorgan of the association, Asylum News, had been from timeto time enlarged, and its present size demanded. for freedistribution among members, an increase of the annual

subscription from Is. to ls. 6d., which had been cheerfullyconceded. In addition to intelligence of special interestto asylum workers the journal had contained valuablearticles upon nursing the insane and upon other matters ofan educational character. Sir J. Crichton Browne advocatedthe culture of the literary faculty amongst asylum workers,specially recommending the reading of sound novels, "free