sented by this phosphorus disease, without being struck by its accurate resemblance to that of yellow fever; in both there is jaundice, black vomiting, hæmorrhage from various parts, extreme prostration of strength, and rapid death.

Phosphorus is, therefore, distinctly indicated in the treatment of this terrible disease, and it is quite possible that it may be found a powerful remedy or a valuable prophylactic in infinitesimal doses or simply small doses, or even in large doses in the form of red phosphorus. It would be desirable that our military authorities should make a trial of it with all needful precautions in our Mexican hospitals.

[The question as to the remedial powers of phosphorus in yellow fever has already been decided in the affirmative during the epidemic in Rio de Janeiro, of which Dr. Carvalho has given a good account in a monograph.]

Epidemic Icterus of Pregnant Females.

At the meeting of the Academy of Medicine in Paris on October 25th, M. Blot read a report on a memoir by M. Bardinet of Limoges, on epidemic icterus in pregnant females, and its influence in producing abortion and death. Apropos of this memoir, M. Blot related a case of severe sporadic icterus which had occurred under his care in the accouchement clinique. It agreed with the descriptions given by M. Bardinet. A young woman, æt. 20, had reached the middle of the fifth month of her first pregnancy. After a quarrel, she was seized with icterus, attended with extreme agitation and loss of consciousness. Her movements were disordered; she uttered acute cries; and vomited, in abundance and with suddenness, a greenish watery fluid. The os uteri was completely dilated; the membranes were ruptured artificially; and a dead foetus was removed. She now was in a state of somnolence, which was followed by extreme restlessness; the pulse became small and frequent; coma set in; and she died on the second day. At the post-mortem examination, numerous subcutaneous ecchymoses were found; the skin had an icteric tint. There was considerable vascularity of the cerebral meninges and of the cortical substance of the hemispheres. There were ecchymoses under the pericardium; the ventricles contained

black diffluent blood. The lungs were in a state of hypostatic congestion. Beneath the peritoneum were seen ecchymosed patches, especially over the stomach and bladder. The kidneys were rather large, and coloured yellow. The liver was small, of a deep-brown colour, and more firm than in the normal state. The biliary vessels were empty. Examined under the microscope; the tissue of the organ presented no appearance of hepatic cells; there were only abundant fat-globules mixed with biliary matter. M. Blot thinks that the peculiar severity of icterus in pregnancy is due to modifications produced by this process in the liverconsisting in hypertrophy and a more or less fatty condition. (Gazette Méd. de Paris, 29 Octobre, 1864.)

[This condition of liver is precisely that met with in cases of phosphorus poisoning when jaundice occurs. See the No. of this Journal for January, 1863.-EDS.]

Poisoning by Cantharides.

In the following case (which was tried at the autumn Surrey Sessions, 1862, when the prisoner was found guilty, and in consideration of his youth was sent to a reformatory for two years) the epileptic attacks apparently resulted from the administration of the Spanish fly, as there was no previous history of epilepsy either in the patient or her family, and there has been no return of the disease up to the present time.

A girl, æt. 13 years, went, on July 10, 1862, with her school companions on their annual excursion to Richmond, where she spent the day in feasting and sports. At 5.30 p.m., a short time before commencing the return journey, a schoolboy, who had been permitted to join the party, gave her a jam tart to eat, which contained a Spanish fly. About half an hour after eating it she was attacked with giddiness, pain between the shoulders, and a burning sensation in the throat. There was no time for her to complain to any one of these symptoms, as she had almost immediately afterwards to enter a railway carriage for the return journey, when she became insensible from having, it appears, fainted. She rallied before the train reached the Camden Town station so far as to permit of her being sent home in an omnibus, under the care of one of the older school-girls. On arriving

home, her mother gave her two compound rhubarb pills, and then put her to bed. She passed a restless night, and on the following morning it was noticed that the abdomen was much distended, and that there was swelling and irritation of the vulva. She complained of bearing-down pains, and suffered much from nausea, which was soon afterwards followed by vomiting of blood, to the extent of half a pint. The bowels were acted on by the pills, but it was not noticed whether any blood was passed from them. The urine was scanty and high-coloured, but she did not complain of strangury until the following morning, July 12, when this symptom was first noticed, and it soon afterwards became very painful and distressing; and, with the occurrence of this symptom, she complained of a strong and disagreeable smell in the nostrils. The nausea and occasional vomiting of blood lasted for three days, and she continued to suffer from most of the other symptoms mentioned, though in a less degree, till the 29th inst., when, at 2 p.m., seventeen days after swallowing the Spanish fly, she had a sudden attack of epilepsy, which lasted a very long time, and was very severe. At 10 p.m. on the same day she had a second fit of epilepsy, complicated with hysterical symptoms; and during the following two days the fits continued to return in quick succession, but they subsequently became less frequent. The treatment adopted was alkaline salines, mild aperients, and warm fomentations to the vulva.

In consequence, however, of the continuance of the hysterical epilepsy, accompanied by ischuria, which seemed to be for the most part also hysterical, the patient was removed to the St. Pancras Infirmary, where she remained five weeks, during which time warm water and hot air baths were employed with some benefit as regards the suppression of urine, which is said to have been suppressed on one occasion for four days. On leaving the St. Pancras Infirmary, she was admitted into the St. George's Hospital, where she remained a fortnight, leaving on October 8. The chief symptom noticed during her stay in the hospital appears to have been renal congestion.

The patient did not come under my notice again till October 15, when her face was observed to be very sallow and puffy; and a decided increase in her height and size was remarked. Menstruation had entirely ceased during the illness, although it had occurred on three occasions previously. The character of the urine had become normal, and it was passed without difficulty.

Her sleep was bad, and she was at all times restless and uncomfortable. After remaining at home two days she was sent off to a convalescent institution near London, where a general improvement in her health soon afterwards took place. The epilepsy entirely disappeared, and there was good sleep at night; but. menstruation was not re-established till seven months had elapsed.

In commenting on this case it may be noticed that, although various quantities of the powder and tincture of cantharides have not unfrequently been given with a felonious intent, yet neither Beck nor Taylor refer to any case in which one or more Spanish flies have been given whole. With regard to symptoms, it may be remarked that the disagreeable and nauseating smell in the nostrils, which was much complained of in this case, and which is referred to by Beck as one of the symptoms usually observed, is not even mentioned by Taylor. That the longcontinued arrest of menstruation in this case appears to be an exceptional symptom, as it is not referred to, so far as I am aware, by any other writer on the subject; although the indirect influence of the poison on the womb is mentioned in one instance, observed by Dr. Pereira, in which abortion was induced; "probably due (as Dr. Taylor remarks) to excitement of the uterus, from the severe affection of the bladder; for there is no proof that this substance acts directly on the uterus to induce abortion.” And lastly, that although when a case of this kind proves fatal, faintness and convulsions usually precede death, yet it is to be noted that the occurrence of these two symptoms in the above case possessed altogether a different signification; for the faintness was here almost the first symptom observed, instead of being a sequel to the more distinctive symptoms of poisoning by Spanish fly; whilst the convulsions, which presented the exceptional form of epilepsy associated with hysteria, did not occur till the patient had to a great extent recovered from the directly poisonous effects of the drug.-Medical Times and Gazette, Dec. 10th, 1864.

Anthelmintic Properties of Benzine.

Professor Mosler has continued his researches on the anthelmintic properties of benzine, which, according to him, takes the

first rank amongst all remedies of this kind, and is tolerated by the human system in considerable doses without unpleasant consequences. Large doses of benzine kill the trichinæ of the intestines, and thus prevent the immigration of their progeny into the muscles. Benzine would therefore appear to be the best remedy for the early stage of trichinosis. Professor Mosler has employed benzine largely in the epidemic of that disease which raged last spring in Quedlinburg. At first it was given in "capsules gélatineuses," but this soon proved too expensive and troublesome, and the following formula was therefore adopted: B Benzini, 3ij.; Succi Glycyrrh., Mucilag. Gummi. Arab. āā., 3j; Aq. Menth., 3iv; a tablespoonful every hour or two hours (shake the bottle). This preparation agreed very well with the patients. Many of them mentioned that they felt much better after it, that the muscular pains were less severe, &c. They took two drachms per diem for four or six days in succession, and yet, although there was violent fever, no unpleasant results occurred which could have been attributed to the medicine. It seems that the poisonous effects of benzine observed in the first experiments on animals were partly due to the method employed. In those cases benzine was poured into the mouths of the beasts, and part reached the trachea and the lungs, after which fatal pneumonia set in. If, on the contrary, the benzine was mixed with the food, the animals remained in good health. The general results of the administration of Benzine in the epidemic just mentioned will soon be published. Professor Mosler afterwards experimented on four pigs, which were fed with trichinous rabbits? flesh. Pig number one was then left without any medicine; number two took Sulphate of Soda, three and four took Benzine. In number one severe morbid symptoms set in about a fortnight after infection. The animal became much emaciated, and weak on its legs, the eyes were dim, the voice exceedingly hoarse, and it often screamed with pain. The pulse was fast, the skin very hot, the thirst considerable. All these symptoms were entirely wanting in numbers three and four, which had eaten the same quantity of trichinous meat, but had been treated with benzine a week after infection. From this it was justly concluded that a much larger number of trichinæ had immigrated in the muscles of number one than in those of numbers three and four. In order to be quite certain about this point, twenty days after infection a small piece of the pectoralis major muscle was excised