1336 ITALY.-VIENNA.

diffused and prolonged far beyond the scene of the Association when the reports, revised and officially issued in theform of "Atti" " or "Transazioni," shall have been madipublici juris. For the present I have but to add that the

place of meeting for the Association next autumn will biPadua-the great Venetian seat of learning which will havespecial attraction for medical men from the British Isles athe school at which so many of their compatriots studied an(qualified-compatriots whose name in the sixteenth an(seventeenth centuries was Legion and among whom towered-

" Quantum lenta solent inter viburna cupressi "-the discoverer of the circulation, William Harvey.

Evangelista Torricelli.From the sittings of the Association many of the Con

gressisti " proceeded by special train from Florence t(

Faenza, there to assist at the third centenary of the birth oithe great mathematician, physicist, and practical mechan.ician, the inventor of the barometer, Evangelista Torricelli.In previous correspondence I have traced in outlinEthe life-work of this consummate man of science, or

whom the mantle of Galileo had so worthily fallen, sc

I may hold myself absolved from dwelling once more onthe momenta" of a career so honourable to its hero, sofraught with benefit to humanity. The celebration itself was

brought to a close with all the picturesque and movingeffect characteristic of such occasions in Italy, where climatecooperates with external surroundings, and both of thesewith oratorical fervour and skill to insure success. A pre-liminary promenade through the hall of the I I EsposizioneTorricelliana " and a visit to the local picture gallery-thePinacoteca Comunale-prepared the "Congressisti" " for theevent of the day, the discourse of Professor Angelo Battelliwho holds the chair of experimental physics in the Universityof Pisa. Fortified by sympathetic dispatches or communica-tions from seats of learning in all parts of the world, from theUniversity of London to that of Moscow, from, in fact,the chief European to the leading transatlantic schools,Professor Battelli portrayed in glowing colours and withthe few strokes of an artist the first meeting of the youngTorricelli with the old Galileo, by this time blind and

infirm, and the affection that was at once establishedbetween them. Short was their intercourse, broken by thedeath of the aged master, but long enough to insure forthe youthful disciple the cordial patronage of the formerwhich fructified in his promotion to the chair of mathe-matics in Florence and in the favour bestowed on him bythe Grand-ducal court. Then followed a rapid but admirablyclear and cogent review of Torricelli’s contributions to science,with reference to his pioneers and to his successors in the samepath, a review replete with lessons as to the interdependenceof the sciences and as to the futility of claims to " priority

"

and originality," so often advanced by the Dii MinorumGentium of inductive research. Then came the peroration :" Citizens of Faenza I You could have found no worthiermethod of honouring the third centenary of Torricelli’s birththan that of projecting a full edition of his works, publishedand unpublished, intrusting it to the hands of an able fellow-townsman, and thereby gratifying the wish so often expressedby the nature student and the man of science. You havethus rendered to the manes of the master the tribute most

grateful to himself, foreseeing as he did in the completepublication of his writings a vindication of his life-work andthe founding of a coign of vantage from which to achievefurther conquests in the interests of mankind."

" Votes ofthanks to the orator succeeded the prolonged cheering amidwhich he resumed his seat, and the vast assembly broke upto meet again at a reunion given by the Municipio and atthe inevitable banquet which closes all such celebrations.

Oct. 26th. _________________

VIENNA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Sporadic Cases of Bubonic Plague.IN Trieste, the main port of Austria, two cases of bubonic

plague were discovered a short time ago on board a vesselunloading a cargo of coffee from the East Indies. The

stringent measures adopted to prevent an outbreak proved :efficacious. In this case, as in similar sporadic cases,

- rats inhabiting the ship were proved, by microscopic and3 bacteriological examinations, to be the carriers of the3 disease. Both patients (sailors) succumbed to the disease and

no fresh case has occurred since then. As a precaution part of3 the cargo was destroyed, the rest being thoroughly disinfected.3 The further destination of the shipped goods is being kepts under observation.I Unveiling of a Bust of Professor von Krafft-Ebing.

During the Congress on the Care of the Insane a bust of the-

late Professor von Krafft-Ebing was unveiled in the presenceof the members of his family, the Senate of the Universityof Vienna, representatives of several neurological societies,and a deputation from the Congress. The bust has beenerected by the subscriptions of friends, pupils, and former

- patients of the celebrated physician, the Vienna Neurological) Society contributing a large sum. Professor von Krafft-, Ebing was born in 1840 and he was the first man on. the continent to point out the necessity of scientific, care for the insane, and when he was appointed toB the chair of psychiatrics in the Vienna University Hos-ipital (1889), which he held until his retirement in’ 1902, he made the Vienna Clinic a school of modern

psychology. His works on forensic psychology, on correla-, tions between psychopathology and sexual pathology, and his: well-known essays on moral insanity have been translated into

several languages. The bust has been placed in the " Aula"of the University, a spacious promenade corridor which isthe repository of numerous busts and monuments of eminentprofessors of all the faculties.

The Opening of the New Clinic of Professor Schauta.At last various obstacles in the shape of " red tape " and

prejudice have been overcome and a few days ago the newclinic was formally opened by Professor Schauta who willbe in charge of it. He delivered the opening addressbefore a large gathering of students in the presence of thewhole medical faculty and many representatives of theGovernment and municipality. After rehearsing the reasonswhich led to the foundation of the new institute, the

speaker paid a tribute to the memory of Dr. Semmel-weis who in 1847 discovered the etiology of puer-peral sepsis without any knowledge of bacteriology.Long before Lord Lister’s first publication of his im-mortal experiments on antisepsis Dr. Semmelweis, assistantat the gynæcologic-obstetric school in Vienna, had broughtdown the death-rate in the obstetric wards from the appallingfigure of from 16 to 20 per cent., at which it had stood fora few years, to 1 per cent. and less, by simply ordering thatno medical man or student should examine a pregnant womanor attend a labour without first scrupulously cleansing hishands by washing. He had observed that the rise in the

mortality had coincided with the institution of the study ofanatomy, and concluded that the students were the infectiveagents. Consequently he stopped students from attendingthe labour wards if they had anything to do withdead bodies. Dr. Semmelweis did not succeed in con-

vincing his confrères of the correctness of his ideas, but hisdiscovery and achievement are nevertheless most important,and Professor Schauta and Professor Chrobak have only paiddue honour to Dr. Semmelweis in insisting upon the erectionof a monument to him on the new premises. After hisaddress was finished Professor Schauta unveiled the monu-ment and then the company inspected the magnificentmodern clinic with great satisfaction. On the same dayProfessor von Rosthorn, who has taken over the charge of thesecond new clinic, gave an inaugural address on the Signifi-cance of Pain in Gynaecology.

Juvenile Workers in Austria.It is very dissatisfying in an age which has been styled

the child’s era" to find that no less than 6000 out of18,000 school children (in one district only) are employed inregular work for which they are not fit, figures which rest onthe authority of the statistical department of the Ministryof Commerce and which accordingly may be consideredcorrect. The majority of the juvenile workers in questionare employed in agricultural duties ; even children betweenfive and seven years of age are employed in the fields, andboys or girls between 12 and 14 years are often hired out.Examination of such children proved that their developmentsuffered from the amount of work entailed upon them:retardation of growth, disorders of the heart, nervousnessfrom insuflicient sleep, and general debility from inadequate

1337VIENNA.-BUDAPEST.

nourishment were met with especially often. The effect ofan open-air life was more than counterbalanced by theseunfavourable factors. These children readily acquire a tastefor alcohol as their grown-up workmates let them partakeof their drink. The poor condition of the peasant populationin some parts of the Empire causes also a high infantmortality, and the physical deterioration prevalent in thesedistricts is well known to the recruiting officers of the army.General indignation has been roused by the publication ofthis report, and a committee has been formed to inquire intothe conditions and to suggest remedial measures. No hopeseems to lie in legislation alone, as the poverty of a largepercentage of the rural population is an almost insurmount-able obstacle.

A Hospital Boycott.At radical measure has been taken by the Association

of Young Austrian Practitioners in consequence of the per-sistent neglect of the just demands of the medical staff ofone of the Vienna hospitals. Economy had been practised inthis hospital chiefly at the expense of the medical officers tosuch a degree that the food supplied to them became too badand insufficient for their needs. They were also expected todo the administrative work in spite of the enormous range oftheir professional duties. Several complaints were madeto the managing board and the superintending officer ofthe Government but met with no result whatever. Threemonths ago the staff delivered an ultimatum demanding thattheir wishes should be complied with by Oct. 23rd. As thismet with no response the whole staff sent in their resigna-tions and the association proclaimed a boycott against thehospital, so that now the board has to manage as best it canwith only one medical man, the director, at its disposal.Several cases of illness occurring among the physicians weretraced to the hospital food and finally decided them on theiraction. It must be added, however, that the disgracefulconditions in this hospital do not reflect in any way upon themanagement of the other Vienna institutions ; the case is anexceptional one and is caused by exceptional officials who arecheeseparing in their zeal for economy.

Inereczse of Venereal Affections.The experience of general practitioners, as was remarkedat I one of the recent meetings of the Medical Society inVienna, tends to prove that affections of the sexual organshave been increasing progressively during about the last 25years. This is especially the case amongst factory labourerswho suffer now to the extent of some 16 per 1000. About 33

per 1000 amongst artisans and auxiliary hands are affected.The proportion is also remarkably high amongst cabdrivers,farriers, hairdressers, bakers, and printers. Some of these

occupations render persons so affected dangerous to the

public, therefore the Bureau of the Inspector of Labour hasbeen made aware of the prevailing conditions in order toenforce stricter supervision of persons liable to becomecarriers of infection.Oct. 24th.

BUDAPEST.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Annual Report of the Budapest Hospitals.OF the hospitals lying on the left side of the Danube the

St. Rochus Hospital, the old and new workhouse hospital,and the St. Ladislaus Hospital have between them 1381beds. The St. Stephen Hospital alone can accommodate1062 patients. The number of nurses, both male and female,amounts to 184. 60 assistant medical officers are em-

ploved. The annual report for 1907 gives the followingstatistics of patients. At the beginning of the year therewere 2243 in-patients and during the year 33,741 wereadmitted. Of these patients 50’ 27 per cent. were

dismissed cured, 33 - 38 per cent. were dismissed im-proved, 2 10 per cent. were dismissed uncured, 7’ 73 percent. died, and 6-52 per cent. remained for 1908. Thenumber of attendances amounted to 847,921 and thuseach patient was attended on an average on 23’ 56 days.Of individual diseases 1053 cases of tuberculosis were attendedwith a mortality of 847. There were 2934 venereal cases,including gonorrhcea 1762, and soft chancre 1172. The numberof syphilitic cases amounted to 2080. The great number of

infective cases was disquieting. There were 2959 acuteinfective cases of which 757 were scarlet fever, with 407deaths. The cases of acute poisoning which were admittedmay be summarised as follows :-

A careful investigation of these data shows at once

that different poisons are chosen according to thesex. While women prefer caustic soda, phosphorus(matches), and carbon monoxide, men turn first to alcohol.Professor Pertik’s report on 954 post-mortem ex-

aminations is most interesting from a scientific point ofview. These included 80 cases of malignant tumours, 55 oftuberculosis, 49 of chronic heart diseases, 47 of septicailments, 35 of croupous pneumonia, 32 of chronic nephritis,23 of peritonitis, 22 of apoplexy, and finally, 21 of arterio-sclerosis. Of the malignant tumours 67 were carcinoma and13 sarcoma. Of the 67 cases of cancer 32 were in males and35 in females. Professor Pertik states that of the 67 cases ofcancer in 36 only simple primary foci were found. It is note-

worthy that out of 79 cases of tumour visceral tuberculosisonly occurred in four and in these the lesions were healed orimproved, although tuberculosis occurs in 11-2 per cent. ofall the cases observed. It is also surprising to note that,although cancer occurs chiefly in subjects of advanced years,in a very small number of such cases has arterio-sclerosisbeen observed. This fact seems to strengthen the viewthat the growth of a tumour presupposes a good arterialsystem. The section of the report dealing with tuberculosisproves that there is no stage of human life exempt from theravages of the disease. There is a particularly interestingdescription of the septic affections. This includes the follow-ing post-mortem diagnosis in a young subject aged 27 years :"Urethritis purulenta, partim diphteritica ex irritationechemicali (Zn2S04) orta. Abscessus paraurethralis et peri-urethralis. Abscessus metastaticus myocardii cum pro-pagatione ad endocardium veli valvulae bicuspidalis etexulceratione eiusdem." "

A New Industrial Disease.Two years ago an artificial" silk" factory was erected

in Hungary. The "silk" " is made of cellulose. In the

process of manufacture carbon disulphide is freely used, andthe vapour, being heavier than air, accumulates in thelower parts of the workroom. The inhaling of this gascauses various symptoms which at first puzzled the factorysurgeons. Only later when symptoms pointing to the centralnervous system became prominent did the surgeons geton the right track and diagnose the gas intoxication. Thefirst symptoms of the intoxication are headache and generalmalaise. These prodromal symptoms vary not only inintensity but also in duration. The headache is generallysevere and continuous. The patients complain of faintingand their gait becomes ataxic. At the same time alsogastric symptoms occur, such as loss of appetite, retching,and sometimes anorexia. Later if the workman continuesin his employment in spite of these symptoms generalprostration and weakness of the limbs set in. The surgeonsalso noted the lack of mental attention of the sick work-

men, who walk aimlessly about the factory. They also

complain of impaired sight. These visual disturbances