possible, I applied the Oleate of Mercury (10 per cent.) over the whole of the affected skin, gently rubbing it in with a piece of lint. About half a drachm was used altogether. The isolated patches on the face were similarly treated. Care was also taken to rub the hair above the diseased part with the Oleate. The patient was then ordered to wear a loose collar and not to wash his neck during the day. Some slight irritation followed the application, but this was trivial, and not for a moment to be compared with the pain produced by strong acids, &c. There was no staining of the skin, and, as the spots were in a prominent position on the face, this was no slight advantage.

On the 18th patient was again seen. There had been no fresh appearance of the disease, and the old spots had not extended themselves. There was still considerable redness over the old scars, and a few minute pustules produced by rubbing in the Oleate, but there were none of the small vesicles which had been so evident on the former occasion. The Oleate was reapplied over the places to ensure success. On the tenth day after the first application the disease appeared to be completely cured. There were several pale red patches showing where it had been, whilst the spots on the face and chin had quite disappeared. The hair had begun to grow again, and showed no trace of the spores. The sore produced by the Acetic acid before he came under my notice had scabbed over, and was now nearly well. A third application was made as a precaution where the hair had been affected.

When seen a short time afterwards, the skin appeared perfectly well, and there has since been no reappearance of the disease.

The advantages which Oleate of Mercury seems to possess over other remedies are:

1. It is a certain remedy if carefully applied.

2. It produces no staining or injury of the skin. In cases where the disease appears on the face, it is of great importance to avoid any disfigurement or staining.

3. It is painless in its application. This is not the case with the ordinary strong parasiticides, most of which produce vesication, &c.

4. It readily penetrates into the sebaceous glands, hair-follicles,

and even into the hairs themselves, the Mercury being in a state of solution in an oily medium, and it is therefore much more likely to destroy the fungus than the spirituous or aqueous solutions of Mercury, &c. This penetrating power of the Oleate may be increased by adding a small quantity of ether (one part to eight) to it.

In very sensitive skins the irritation sometimes produced by it may be avoided by using a weaker solution (5 per cent.), and by applying it with a camel's-hair brush. In slight cases this method is all that is necessary, but where the fungus has invaded the hair it is advisable to rub in the Oleate gently.Lancet.

Case of Diabetes Mellitus. Under the care of Mr. KENNEDY.

FOR the following notes we are indebted to Mr. R. J. Carey, house-surgeon.

Mary G, of Plasket, aged seventeen, who has never menstruated, came to the dispensary on Jan. 14th, 1874. Though previously healthy, for the last six weeks she had gradually become weak and inert. Her skin was harsh and dry, and her appetite voracious. There was great constipation, thirst and polyuria. She is a nervous subject, but there was no history of a fright or change of diet. The urine (sent that day week) showed much sugar by Trommer's test. She was given fifteen drops of tincture of perchloride of iron three times a day, and skim-milk ordered.

For the next fortnight she steadily got worse, and then the treatment was changed to ten drops of tincture of opium, and a week later fifteen drops, three times a day, with croton-oil pills. By this time she was so weak that she could not come to the dispensary herself. On Feb. 18th a sixth of a grain of Nitrate of Uranium, in water, was given three times a day, and gradually raised to the third of a grain. A week later she was much better. The week following, the bowels were regular, and the appetite and the quantity of urine no longer excessive; while on March 4th, and for a fortnight after, she had gone back to her usual

diet, and felt nothing wrong with herself save some muscular weakness.

From March 21st to April 8th she was not seen, but then she returned with a bad cold and out of sorts again. However, though she was weak and needed change of air, the bowels were regular, the appetite defective, polyuria not noticeable, and the urine showed no sugar by Trommer's test or by the fermentation and specific gravity test.

The following table shows the condition of the urine from March 11th:

Many may doubt if the Nitrate of Uranium had anything to do with the patient's recovery, but as some cases of rapid cure and many of permanent palliation of this disease by the use of this drug have been recorded, it is to be hoped that practitioners of large experience will properly test its value in cases of diabetes mellitus.-Lancet.

OBITUARY.

DR. GEORGE N. EPPS.

DR. GEORGE N. EPPS was born in 1815, but it was not until 1843 that he commenced the study of medicine. He took his diploma at the College of Surgeons in 1845, and ever since then he has been entirely engaged in practice according to the homœopathic system. Before he took his surgical qualification he had assisted his brother, the late Dr. John Epps, in the lectures given by the latter on Chemistry, Botany, and Materia Medica. He was appointed Surgeon to the Homœopathic Hospital in Hanover Square in 1845.

* [Where, except in homœopathic literature ?-EDS.]

In 1847 he was made Surgeon to Harrison's Spinal Institution. He showed a remarkable aptitude for the successful treatment of spinal curvatures and deformities, and was an ingenious mechanician. He invented a mechanical extender for the reduction of dislocations, which is said to be of great power and delicacy. He published several volumes on surgical, chiefly orthopedic, subjects. In 1849 one on 'Spinal Curvature,' in 1852 one 'On the Treatment of Accidents,' and in 1859 one' On Club Foot.' He enjoyed a large practice, to which he was extremely devoted, seldom or never taking a holiday; indeed, it used to be his boast that he had never slept out of his house for upwards of twenty years. He has left a widow with a large family, all grown up, and numerous friends, by whom he will be much regretted.

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editors of the British Journal of Homœopathy.' GENTLEMEN,-In my article on Madeira in the last number of the British Journal of Homœopathy, p. 222 (note), I stated, with reference to the celebrated "Brompton experiment," that 27 cases were sent out, of which 2 returned much improved, 7 slightly improved, 12 neither better nor worse, 5 made worse, and 1 died. So it certainly appeared from the passage whence I extracted the statistics; but having been led to feel some doubts on the subject, I wrote to the House-Physician of the Brompton Hospital, who kindly sent me the following corrected statistics by return of post:

576

BOOKS RECEIVED.

A System of Surgery. By WM. TOD HELMUTH, M.D. Carle and Grenen, New York. 1873. (Will be reviewed in our next.) Case of Stone in the Bladder and Oxaluria cured by Lithotrity and Hydrochloric Acid. By RICHARD EPPS, M.R.C.S. Epps, London.

British Narcotism. Fifth Annual Report of the British AntiTobacco Society.

On the Universality of the Homeopathic Law of Cure. By Dr. NEIDHARD. Boericke and Tafel, New York. 1874.

The Science of Homœopathy. By CHARLES J. HEMPEL, M.D. Boericke and Tafel, New York. 1874.

The Dublin Journal of Medical Science.

The Monthly Homœopathic Review.
The Hahnemannian Monthly.

The American Homœopathic Observer.

The Chicago Medical Investigator.

The North American Journal of Homœopathy.

United States Medical and Surgical Journal.

The New England Medical Gazette.

The American Journal of Homœopathic Materia Medica.
El Criterio Medico.

Bibliothèque Homœopathique.

The Calcutta Journal of Medicine.

The Chemist and Druggist.

Compendio di Materia Medica Pura. Par Dr. B. DADEA.