Dr. J. D. Ely, in The Medical Age, of Oct. 11, recommended phytolacca in the treatment. of bronchocele and reported a case illustrating its use. In the same journal for the following July, he says: "Give the phytolacca a fair trial, and I am confident it will prove all that I have claimed for it as a superior remedy for bronchocele. "There are few agents in the materia medica that I prescribe with more confidence, or that give more prompt and satisfrctory evidence of therapeutical value. It has long been a favorite remedy for subduing inflammation and preventing suppuration of the mammary gland; and so certain in its effects that it has well earned the reputation of being a specific for that troublesome condition." He commonly combines it with tr. aconlte root, with a view to allaying the febrile excitement manifested, but remarks that "phytolacca has been tested. singly, and proved its efficacy in many cases of this character." Internally, he orders: Tinct. phytolaccæ decan.... gtt. x 3 iv M. S. One teaspoonful every hour, and have applied to the gland equal parts of tinct. phytolacca and water every three hours. A case of metastasis of mumps to the testicle, and one of chronic follicular pharyngitis were cured with prescriptions "not materially dif ferent from the above." A tincture from the fresh roots only should be used; that made from old, dry material, is comparatively worthless. Editor MEDICAL WORLD: You may consider me a life subscriber to THE MED. ICAL WORLD. I like it better than any other medical journal, or than any medical society I ever attended. am now sixty years of age, and, after graduation from Jefferson Medical College, and practicing thirty-eight years, think I am entitled to an opinion. Mooresville, N. C. J. R. MCCORKLE, M. D. Scientific Temperance. The effect of the alcohol habit vary enormously with the amount consumed and with the form in which it is taken, but they are always bad. Alcohol should not be regarded either as a poison or a food. It is strictly a drug. It belongs to that class of substances which, like opium, Indian hemp, and tobacco, produce effects which habit renders agreeable, but which are followed by constant increase in increasing dependence upon alcohol is one of the craving for larger doses of the drug. This the worst effects of its habitual use, and with most persons it is inseparable from its use even in small amounts. It is true that nearly all can digest without apparent damage a small quantity of alcohol, in sufficiently dilute form, if taken only occasionally. It is certain that the highest possible health may be enjoyed without the use of alcohol. This being so, its use, even occasionally and under the restrictions above stated, is attended with risk both physical and moral. But when alcohol is taken in large amounts, or in stronger forms, or is used habitually even in moderation, it does positive harm; and this harm increases rapidly as the habit strengthens. In its lightest degree there is some irritation of the stomach and impairment of digestion, with slight disorders of circulation and secretion and intellection. Often enough these cause a false feeling of weakness which leads to larger excess, and of course to great harm. Perfect health can scarcely ever be enjoyed continuously by one who uses alcohol even in strict moderation. I make an exception in favor of some elderly persons with slow and feeble digestions and with weak circulation; for in them small quantities of dilute alcohol taken daily with their principal meal improve their health. When once we pass the lesser degrees of the use of alcohol the effects of its habitual employment are striking and disastrous. The mucous membrane of the stomach becomes the seat of chronic catarrh. The function of the liver is disordered and the most importont processes of nutrition are disturbed. The nervous system suffers, and mind and character alike deteriorate. It is not only the injury which comes directly from alcohol which we note in such cases; there are associated with it neglect of proper diet and of proper hours of rest, and avoidance of exposure, which contribute to the sum of damage wrought upon the system. The alcohol habit if at all excessive causes organic disease directly and ruins body and mind. Its habitual use, even in very moderate amounts, renders health unstable and increases the liability to disease, and the danger of disease when it occurs. The true use of alcohol is in the treatment of disease. There, when prescribed judiciously, it does great good and is at times indispensable. But even there it should never be prescribed unnecessarily, nor without a clear recognition of the fact that the tendency to the alcohol habit is great, and that this habit when formed is destructive.-Dr. William Pepper, in the Chautauquan for December. Creasote in Phthisis. Flint, in the N. Y. Med. Journal, gives the histories of ten patients treated by creasote internally and by inhalation. The results which the author considers fairly attributable to the treatment were as follows: 1. Weight. Increase from 2 to 20 lbs., in nine cases. None in one case. 2. Temperature. Became normal in a few days, in seven cases; in one was not taken, and in two there was no fever. 3. Sweats. Stopped in three cases, diminished in six, not affected in one. 4. Cough and Expectoration. Almost disappeared in three cases; improved in all. 5. Physical Signs. Improved in seven cases. In one case examinations for bacilli were made, and in that their number was diminished. 6. General Condition. Three cases said they were well. All showed improvement in strength. Sculptor's White Clay in Mastitis. BY DR. E. L. MAISEL (RUSSIA). Sculptor's white clay, having been used with success in epididymitis, Dr. E. L. Maisel has followed the same plan of treatment in 12 cases of mastitis. In 7 of them, parenchymatous mastitis (3 in the stage of suppuration) was present, and in 5 phlegmon (in 4 of which resolution, and in I suppurtation took place). Having prepared a homogeneous (lumpless) paste by mixing clay with water, he spread it in a thick, even layer over a circular piece of calico or soft gauze, sufficiently large to cover the whole mamma, and containing a hole in its centre for the nipple. Then, having sponged off the breast and covered it with a piece of soft gauze, he placed above it the clay cake to fit it firmly and accurately all over the parts. The dressing was fixed by a handkerchief passing over the opposite shoulder and across the axilla of 'the affected side. It was changed twice a day-in the morning and evening. The results were said to be excellent. Pain was relieved very rapidly, and the heat and tension strikingly decreased. When the treatment was resorted to at an early stage, no suppuration, but a steady resolution ensued. In the case of suppuration, the dressing promoted a speedy healing of the incision, as well as a rapid resolution of indurated nodi. White clay is a favorite remedy with the Russian peasantry. It is very cheap. Its method of application is easy, simple, and very much liked by the patients. Its therapeutic properties are thought to be very considerable. White clay possesses a mighty heat-absorbing power, and hence can be employed as a most effective and convenient substitute for ice-bags and cold compresses, which are rather disliked by patients, and, at all events, involve far more trouble and time. By virtue of its producing an equal continuous pressure on the whole breast, the clay dressing promotes absorption of morbid products. In conclusion Dr. Maisel draws attention to the fact that sculptor's clay, used in the same way, renders the best possible service as a milk inhibiting means in irritable and nervous or weak women who are unable to suckle their babies. Pain, tenderness and swelling of breasts disappear, under a clay cake in about 24 hours.— Vratch, No 21, 1888.-Annals of Surgery. The Prevention of Mammary Abscess. Miall says that when mammary abscess is on the point of forming, he has frequently seen all the symptoms disappear in a few hours under the influence of fomentations with hot water and carbonate of ammonia. He uses an ounce of the carbonate in a pint of water, and, when solution is accomplished, the temperature of the fluid will be hardly too high for fomentation to be commenced with cloths dipped in the liquid. He applies them from half an hour to two hours, at the same time protecting the nipples. He has often had immediate relief, and seldom requires more than three applications.-Medical News. THE MEDICAL WORLD. "Bill Nye," the famous wit, acted as brevetumpire in a game of base-ball between the "regular" and homoepathic doctors of MinneHe says that apolis, one day last week. the common.error seemed to be the same as that made in the Garfield case-an incorrect diagnosis as to the course and location of the ball." Strophanthus as a Cholera Specific. According to a report published in the Indian Medical Gazette at Calcutta (Oct. 1887), Dr. Sanders presented to the Calcutta Medical Society an abstract of 17 cases of Asiatic cholera successfully treated by him with tinturia strophanthi, in the Mago Hospital. The abstract gives the following symtomatic outline: "Quick recovery from the stage of collapse; a gradual and slow rise of temperature; quick return of pulse at the wrist; quick stoppage of the vomit; the return of normal urination, were so remarkable that Dr. Jones, who at first was very sceptical, became fully convinced of the efficacy of the remedy," etc., etc. "Adults were given repeated doses of 10 drops each. Children of 22 years were given three drops. A boy of 8 got four drops. In one case of profound collapse, the dosing was continued for four hours at the rare of one drop every five minutes, and then at the rate of a drop every ten minutes; no other application was used: the recovery was complete.' Vomiting of Pregnancy. Lying with the shoulders low and the hips elevated will give quick relief. A linen comprese, saturated with French brandy, strapped tightly over the gastric region with adhesive plaster, acts mechanically in holding the muscles quiet, and will sometimes do wonders in these cases.-N. Y. Med. Times. Therapeutics of Bright's Disease. The Revue generale de clinique et de therapeutique gives the following summary of the therapeutics of Bright's Disease. Classic Regimen: Climatic precautions consist in avoiding humidity and rapid changes of temperature. In dietetics the patient is told to avoid highly spiced and irritant foods; avoid eggs, wines, liquors and beer and to confine himself to the milk diet, either absolute or mixed. Senator's Regimen: This permits the use of white meats, including pork, starchy and herIt also baceous foods, fruits, fats and milk. allows wine diluted with water. red meats. It forbids all This amount suffices for 24 hours, and is to be taken at convenient intervals. Bamberger's Regimen: This prescribes the Its author recommends rigid adherence to the milk diet, and assists it with tonics and iron. the following: 1. Pills of perchloride of iron after the following formula, from 3 to 6 to be taken during the 24 hours: B Perchloride of iron... Extract of taraxacum, sufficient. ....3 ss . iv For these Bam 2. Pills of sulphate of iron. berger prefers Wiethe's formula as follows: R Sulphate of iron.... Sodium bicarbonate.. Div . iv Extract of taraxacum, sufficient. 3 are Mix and make into 60 pills, of which to be taken in the morning and a similar number on going to bed. 3. Infusion of cinchona bark, made by exhausting 300 grains of the contused bark with 6 ounces of boiling water, and sweetening with half an ounce of syrup of orange peel. A tablespoonful of this infusion is to be taken every two hours.-St. Louis Med. and Surg. Jour. Ergot in Labor. Antipyrin for After-Pains. Ipecacuanha in Labor. (Extract from letter from France, by E. S. McKee, M.D., in the Medical Register.) Does ergot of rye increase or decrease uterine contraction? was the object of the clinical researches of Blanc, of Paris, on one hundred women. He gave hypodermic injections of ergot to forty women for the first five days after their confinement; to twenty women he gave ergot on the tenth day after their confinement; to forty he gave no ergot. External measurements were made every day, and at different times intra-uterine catheterism was employed. He reaches the following conclusions. That the employment of ergot during the first five days exercises no favorable influence on the uterine contractions, but, on the contrary, numerous observations tend to show that it is, to a certain extent, unfavorable to the regular retraction of the uterus. This fact militates against the use Antipyrin for after-pains is the subject of a memoire by Riviere (Gazette Hebdomadaire). The author shows the advantages of antipyrin for diminishing the pain without modifying the contractions of the uterus, and, in consequence, relieve the after-pains. It possesses a real superiority to opium, which calms the pains and suppresses the contractions. The author has administered antipyrin via the stomach in doses of one gramme, and in this manner has, in many cases, decidedly calmed the after pains. He, in some cases, increases the dose to two grammes, but that is the maximum, and it is rarely necessary to pass it. When given in this dose the antipyrin is administered in divided doses, the one separated from the other by an interval of one hour. are more frequent and some less so than afterwards, but as a rule their proportionate mortality is less. There are special differences in the action of drugs, the most important of which is the greater influence of alcohol for good and evil. Finally, children respond to treatment, as they often succumb to disease, more readily than do older patients, so that with them our responsibility is the greater.The Polyclinic. The oxycyanide of mercury is a very reliable salt; soluble, not acid; does not precipitate the albuminoids as the sublimate does, and scarcely acts on metals. It is better borne than the bichloride, and is more active than this upon the micrococcus aureus. Chibret employes a solution of this salt in, and gives it in the form of prolonged baths, as its effects are more powerful when contact with the mucous membrane is more prolonged. He also washes the anterior chamber after the operation for cataract, and leaves his instruments immersed in the solution many hours before operation. Ipecacuanha in labor is used by Carigel (Revue de Médecine) in doses of from one and one-half to three grains as an oxytocic. He was led to this use of this drug by its remarkable influence over uterine hemorrhage. He found that it stimulated the uterus and at the same time Hirschberg, of Berlin, employs a solution facilitate dilatation of the rigid os. Under its of the sublimate in Too in the operation for use uterine contractions, hitherto very painful, cataract; and Mayer a sublimate solution, but without effect on the os, become changed, in the same operation. so that they have an active expulsive character and cause less suffering. Practice Among Children. Dr. Dickinson, lecturing on the differences between children and adults in regard to morbid action and the effects of treatment, thus summarizes his results: Children differ from grown people in their greater susceptibility both to exhaustive and recuperative influences. Such of their diseases as are of the nature of growths partake of the rate of progress which belongs to the period of development. This applies to the fibroses as well as to the isolated tumors, though the fibroses are far more infrequent than afterwards. Many inflammatory disorders, particularly of the brain, are more common in childhood than later, but with regard to many inflammations the power of recovery is greater. Those of the lungs are more frequent and cause more deaths, but in the individual the prospect is better. Acute rheumatism is comparatively infrequent, but when it occurs it brings greater danger to the heart. Some febrile complaints -Bul. Gen. de Thér. Examine the Urine Before Operating. MORTON Says: "I make it an invariable rule to examine the urine of every patient on whom I am going to operate, except, of course, in cases of extreme emergency. The presence of albumen of sugar largely influences my prognosis. Rules for Incisions in Teale's Amputation. "Ist. Select the place where you are going to cut the bone. 2d. Take circumference of limb at that point. Half that will be the length and breath of the long flap. 3d. One.fourth the length of the long flap will be the length of the short flap. -Morton. In the Weekly Med. Review, Love advises the use of melted vaseline, injected into each nostril several times a day. In some cases the addition of carbolic acid and alum, or the use of ointment of red oxide of mercury diluted with sixteen parts of zinc-ointment is recommended. In a recent case of coryza, we tried the effect of the local application of vaseline oil. The result was unexpectedly gratifying. This encouraged us to prescribe the same remedy for a catarrhal pharyngitis, in teaspoonful doses. The patient reported that two doses gave the quickest and most perfect relief she had ever experienced in similar attacks; but the taste of the remedy was disagreeable. Medical Treatment of Uterine Fibroids. In an exchange, Dr. Bedford Brown details his experience in the treatment of uterine fibroids. He speaks highly of the calcic phosphites; the prolonged use of which in some cases was attended with a steady diminution in the size of the tumors. Local means were used to control the hemorrhage. In some cases hydrastis and phytolacca were also employed. The author lays great stress upon the rapid and thorough saturation of the circulation with the phosphates of lime and soda, as a means of restoring the lost equilibrium of nutrition, arresting increased cell proliferation and exudation, and promoting their absorption. The most interesting part of the paper is where the author details the results in three cases of cervical adenitis with eruptive fevers. The lactophosphate and hypophosphate of lime produced a speedy amelioration. Original Communications. Short articles on the treatment of diseases and experience with new remedies are solicited from the profession for this lepartment; also difficult cases for diagnosis and treatment. Articles accepted must be contributed to this journal only. The editors are not responsible for views expressed by conributors. Unused Manuscript cannot be returned. Certainly it is excellent discipline for an author to feel that he sust say all he has to say in the fewest possible words, or his eader is sure to skip them and in the plainest possible words, r his reader will certainly misunderstand them. Generally, ale, a downright fact may be told in a plain way; and we want Townright facts at present more than anything else.-RUSKIN. In these columns, ▲ is frequently used instead of 3. Uterine Displacements and Flexions-Their Mechanical and Clinical Treatment. Editor MEDICAL WORLD: The question may here arise, What holds the uterus mainly in situ ? I quote from Dr. Hart, anatomy of the female pelvis, whose work has thrown a valuable light on the mechanism of uterine dislocation; indeed his investigation has supplied an essential link in the chain of causation. He says: "Two layers or planes of fasciæ, which form a sort of pelvic diaphragm, are mainly concerned in maintaining the womb in situ. The anterior or pubic is roughly triangular in shape, with its base stretching across the pelvis, meeting the anterior edge of the squareshaped posterior or sacral plane and sustaining the uterus between them. The uterus inclines forward, the pubic layer is thinner, and naturally looser, on the attachments, than the sacral, and permits the amount of uterine mobility rendered necessary by the varying conditions of the bladder and rectum, and the enlargement of the organ during pregnancy; but, it is to be observed, that this normal mobility is provided for to a certain extent forwards and backwards, and upwards, but not downwards. Relaxation or rupture of these layers of fascia will favor uterine displacement; but the direction of that displacement will depend upon which layer is most involved. If the pubic layer has suffered, anteversion will result; if the sacral layer has yielded, retroversion will occur. Such, then, is the mechanism of uterine dislocation, which results entirely from alterations in the condition of its attachments and supports. Increased bulk and weight of the uterus might help to produce displacement, and subsequently exaggerate it, but it could not alone imitate the movement. The causation of distortion or flexion on the other hand, while undoubtedly favored by displacement or version, is more immediately dependent, as we would expect, on changes in the tissues of the uterus. These altered conditions are chiefly two, namely: atony, which may proceed from deficient ennervation, from enemia or other deterioration of general health; or, secondly, actual tissue degeneration, the effect |