NATHANIEL A. RANDOLPH, M. D., of Philadelphia, professor of hygiene in the University of Pennsylvania, and one of the editors and publishers of the "Medical and Surgical Reporter," of Philadelphia, was drowned while bathing at Atlantic City, N. J., on Sunday, the 21st ultt. The deceased was about thirty years of age, and was a man of much promise.

SUDDEN DEATH OF DR. WILLIAM A BYRD.-Dr. William A. Byrd, of Quincy, Ill., died on August 14, 1887, of sunstroke. He was fortyfour years of age, and one of the most active and well known surgeons in that section of the State.

PERSONAL.-Dr. Lane, jr., and his students Morehead and Bradford, of Sago, O., will attend the lectures at Cincinnati this winter.

G. C. Watson and D. B. Best, students of Dr. Chisholm, New Concord, O., will attend lectures at the Starling, Columbus, O., the coming session.

G. W. Roller, a student of Dr. Chisholm, is rusticating in the South for the benefit of his health.

A NOVEL DEPARTURE IN ADVERTISING.-Believing that the adver. tising of medicinal preparations often fails of its purpose, viz. : to clearly and intelligently present to physicians their special advantages, pharmacal or therapeutic, on account of the fragmentary and imperfect manner in which the facts are usually conveyed in such advertisements, Parke, Davis & Co. propose to inaugurate rather a novel departure in advertising.

It is their intention to publish in the advertising pages they occupy in medical journals a series of what they term plain talks to physicians, in each issue taking up a certain class of preparations and pointing out the reasons why they deserve to be prescribed, until all their preparations shall have thus been presented.

The excellence of the products of this house are well known, and it is to be presumed that their long experience in the manufacture of medicines will enable them to say in these informal talks something of real interest and benefit to their medical friends.

BROMIDIA.-Messrs. Battle & Co., the manufacturers of this preparation, announce a decree by the Circuit Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, enjoining the firm of D. W. Gross & Son from "manufacturing, selling, or offering for sale, directly or in

directly, any medical preparation or compound manufactured by them or any other person than complainant, having affixed thereupon, or upon the bottles and packages containing the same, in any manner, the word 'bromidia,' or by affixing to bottles or packages containing any medical preparation not manufactured by complainant, any word which is a colorable imitation of the word 'bromidia.'"

COMPOUND TABLET TRITURATES.—We have received a package of the above, representing several remedies, from Messrs. John Wyeth & Bro., of Philadelphia. In making these Triturates, the drug is reduced to a most minute subdivision, and then simply compressed into little tablets. Thus complete accuracy of dose is secured, with an easy mode of administration and immediate solubility in the stomach. Should any of our readers desire to test them, samples will be sent gratis by writing to Messrs. Wyeth & Bro.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

A System of Gynecology by American Authors. Edited by Matthew D. Mann, A. M., M.D, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Medical Department of the University of Buffalo, N. Y. Vol. 1. Illustrated with three colored plates and 201 engravings on wood. Royal 8vo.; leather; pp. 789. Philadelphia: Lea Brothers & Co. 1887.

If there is any one field of medical practice that is distinctively American, it is that of Gynecology, for it is here that American skill and ingenuity have won their noblest triumphs. It is, therefore, peculiarly fitting that this work should be by American authors.

The contributors to the present volume are: Henry C. Coe, of New York; E. C. Dudley, of Chicago; H. J. Garrigues, of New York; E. H. Grandin, of New York; A. Reeves Jackson, of Chicago; E. W. Jenks, of Detroit; M. D. Mann, of Buffalo; R. B. Maury, of Memphis; C. D. Palmer, of Cincinnati; T. A. Reamy, of Cincinnati; A. D. Rockwell, of New York; A. J. C. Skene, of Brooklyn; E. Van de Warker, of Syracuse, and W. Gill Wylie, of New York. All these names are those of men universally recognized as competent to speak with authority.

A critical review of the volume is entirely uncalled for. Suffice it to say that it contains an historical sketch of American Gynecology; the

development, anatomy and malformations of the female genitals; diagnosis; general considerations of Gynecological surgery; general therapeutics; electricity; menstruation and its disorders; sterility; diseases of the vulva; uterine inflammations; subinvolution; periuterine inflammation, and pelvic hematocele and hematomata.

The Practitioner's Handbook of Treatment; or, The Principles of Therapeutics. By J. Milner Fothergill, M. D., Physician to the City of London Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, Victoria Park, etc. Third American, from the third English edition. Philadelphia: Lea Brothers & Co., 1887; Columbus: Geo. H. Twiss. 8vo., pp. 660. Cloth, $3.75; leather, $4.75.

The author is undoubtedly one of the most attractive writers with which medical readers are familiar, his writings being marked rather by tact and shrewdness than by profundity.

"This work is not an imperfect original character to explain the

In his preface to this book he says: Practice of Physic, but an attempt of an rationale of our therapeutic measures. First, the physiology of each subject is given, and then the pathology is reviewed, so far as they bear upon the treatment; next the action of the remedies is examined, after which their practical application in concrete prescriptions is furnished." "It is designed to furnish to the practitioner reasons for the faith that is in him; and is a work on medical tactics for the bedside, rather than for the examination table."

Two or three new chapters have been added in this edition, and serve to render it, if possible, even more valuable than its predecessor.

A Practical Treatise on Renal Diseases and Urinary Analysis. By William Henry Porter, M. D., Professor of Clinical Medicine and Pathology in the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital; Curator to the Presbyterian Hospital. One volume, 360 pages, 100 illustrations. New York. William Wood & Company. The past few months have been unusually prolific in the production of books on diseases of the kidneys and urinary analysis. We are, therefore, inclined to question the propriety of the entrance into the field of a new candidate. But on examination we find abundant cause for welcoming Dr. Porter's modest work, as we find it based on autopsies of over one thousand subjects, where the kidneys were the main point of investigation.

The author regards what is commonly called "chronic parenchymatous nephritis" as non-inflammatory in origin, and hence terms it "parenchymatous metamorphosis," and thinks it results from too much work being thrown upon the kidneys, which undergo this metamorphosis through their efforts to relieve the system."

The portions of the book which are not so distinctly original, are well arranged and expressed, and the whole is a valuable addition to renal literature.

Practical Treatise on Impotency, Sterility and Allied Disorders of Male Sexual Orgams. By Samuel W. Gross, A. M., M. D., LL. D., Professor Principles of Surgery and Clinical Surgery, Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, etc. Third edition, thoroughly revised, with 16 illustrations. Philadelphia: Lea Brothers & Co., 1887. Cloth, 8vo., pp. 172. $1.50. Columbus: Geo. H. Twiss.

The rapid exhaustion of two large editions of this work, the favorable comments which it has received from the periodical press, its translation into the Russian language, and the fact that it has been out of print for several months, constitute valid evidence that it has filled the void for which it was originally designed.

Sterility is considered in all its forms. In cases of unfruitful marriages he has found the husband at fault in at least one instance in every six. Latter statistics which we have seen make him at fault in one-third

of the cases. Unless, therefore, there is some very apparent cause manifest in the woman, the husband should be investigated before instituting active measures against his better half.

The work is excellent is all respects, and should be widely studied.

Diseases of the Female Urethra and Bladder. By F. Winckel, M. D., of the Royal University, Munich; and, Diseases of the Vagina, by A. Breisky, M. D., of the Royal University, Vienna. Edited by Egbert H. Grandin, M. D., of New York. These two treatises constitute Vol. X. of "A Cyclopedia of Obstetrics and Gynecology" (12 volumes, price $16.50), issued monthly during 1887. New York: William Wood & Company.

In order to avoid delay in getting the volumes out during the current year, the publishers have found it necessary to issue them as the copy comes to hand from the authors, without much regard to their proper order.

These two volumes, like the others of the series, are welcomed as valuable additions to the library of the gynecologist and physician.

A Manual of Treatment by Massage and Methodical Muscle Exercise. By Joseph Schreiber, M.D., member of K. K. Gesellschaft der Aertze, Vienna; formerly Docent in the University of Vienna, etc. Translated with the author's permission by Walter Mendelson, M.D., of New York. Philadelphia: Lea Brothers & Co. 1887. 8vo.; pp. 285; illustrated; cloth; $2.75

This book contains a history of massage, a description of the manipulations, a scientific explanation of its physiological effects, and a list of diseases in which it is applicable.

Massage, formerly in the hands of empirics exclusively, is now coming to be recognized as a valuable means of treatment. Its proper employment implies a fair knowledge of anatomy and physiology, without which the most energetic manipulator will likely do harm. The difficulty of securing a massageur who has the proper qualifications has been the chief obstacle to its general adoption. A study of the work before us will, however, enable the physician to give to an attendant or nurse such instructions as will meet the requirements of most cases.

Diseases of the Heart, Volume I. By Dujardin Beaumetz, M. D. Translated by E. P. Hurd, M. D.

The Treatment of Hemorrhoids, with General Rules as to the Examination of Rectal Diseases. By Chas. B. Kelsey, M. D., Surgeon to St. Paul's Infirmary for Diseases of the Rectum.

A Sketch of the Management of Pregnancy, Parturition and the Puerperal State, Normal and Abnormal. By Paul F. Munde, M. D., Professor of Gynecology at the New York Polyclinic.

Practical Bacteriology. A Guide for Students and General Practitioners. By Thos. E. Satterthwaite, M. D., Professor of Pathology and General Medicine in the U. S. Post Graduate Medical School.

These are four volumes of the "Leisure Library" series, being published monthly by Geo. S. Davis, of Detroit, Mich., at $2.50 per annum, or 25 cents each number.

The books are small octavos, of about one hundred pages each, bound in paper, and are offered at any extremely low price.

On the Pathology and Treatment of Gonorrhea and Spermatorrhea. By J. L. Milton, Senior Surgeon to St. John's Hospital for Diseases of the Skin, London. Octavo, 484 pages. Illustrated. Price, bound in extra muslin, $4.00. New York: William Wood & Company. Many of our readers are already familiar with the first part of this book-that pertaining to the pathology and treatment of gonorrhea-as it forms a part of Wood's "Library." The second part is more essentially new.