Protection against Malaria. The experiment of preventing malaria by plantations of eucalyptus trees at Tre Fontaine, near Rome, has failed. While the eucalyptus trees thrive the malaria continues. Fevers prevailed there in 1880, and even during the season of 1882, which was exceedingly healthy at Rome, and under circumstances which made the epidemic more largely local. A government commission has been appointed to examine into the matter. Dr. Tommasi Crudelli recommends arsenious acid and the alkaline arseniates as the • most efficacious protective agent against malaria. Surroundings During Gestation. For my part, I consider a woman's surroundings during the period of gestation by no means a matter of indifference, and no careful or loving husband would so regard it. Is it of no import to a refined, sensitive and emotional creature whether she be encompassed by all that is pure, and chaste, and lovely at this important crisis, or whether she be surrounded by objects gross, vulgar and repulsive? Doubtless to a dull, unappreciative and uncultivated mind, it matters little whether she gaze upon an Apollo or a pump, but not so with the more refined and gentle of her sex."-E. GARRAWAY, in Brit. Med. Journal. Some Forebodings of Incipient Insanity. 1. Irritability and tendency to take offence. 2. Moroseness and silence, or sometimes faultfinding with servants. 3. Suspicion and jealousy of best friends. of meals. To Prevent Burning of Clothes. Mr. John Marshall, F. R. S., of London, says in a lay newspaper: "The best course to pursue, in case of accidental ignition of a person's clothing, male or female, is only first to throw himself or herself flat on the ground, so that the flames, which always ascend, should not be capable of attacking the head and uppermost vital parts of the trunk. Simple as this is, it is always practicable, and would go far to save the parts by which the most serious injuries are usually sustained." A This is excellent advice, but parents would still further lessen the chances of fatal accidents by insisting on their daughters ball costumes.being made of substances that have been rendered fireproof. It can be done cheaply, easily and without injury to the material. starch was exhibited some years ago at the London exhibition, (1872) which possessed the property of rendering cambrics, muslins and all other inflammable dress materials absolutely uninflammable and, indeed, well-nigh incombustible. By means of some such application to dresses, many homes to-day would not be mourning the loss of their fairest children. Perhaps the best method for fortifying a garment against fire is to steep it in a solution of tungstate of sodium. After drying it will be quite indifferent to flames. Calomel as a Diuretic. The action of calomel in causing diuresis in morbid conditions with dropsy is not generally recognized. In health, indeed, it may be said that the drug has no such action. Dr. Jendrássic has found in cases of cardiac dropsy, that calomel in appropriate doses causes well-marked diuresis, "sort of diabetes insipidus," by which the results of want of cardiac compensation, dropsy and cedema, are dissipated. The effect comes on within twenty-four hours; one and a half of the drug being given three to five times a day. No diarrhoea is usually produced; but, in come cases, it had to be prevented by the administration of laudanum. Salivation and stomatitis were obviated by the prescription of a chlorate of potash gargle from the first. The result in all cases in which the treatment was adopted, was beneficial; no unfavorable depressing symptoms being noticed.-British Medical Journal. In our experience small repeated doses of calomel act almost invariably as a diuretic in the healthy. We have many times prescribed the tenth of a grain to be taken four or six times a day, with the constant result of greatly increased micturition, both in quantity and in frequency. H Proper Diet for Children Children under two years of age are generally best fed on milk and milk foods, and the less this is departed from, as a rule, the better. Under this age, they should never be taken to the table, for it only gives the child a fancy for articles of diet, which, if it never saw, it would never want. In the great majority of cases, children have not much desire for animal food of any sort until after the first dentition is over, unless the craving is fostered in them by their being given one thing and another to eat, and thus there is created what is almost an unnatural appetite. This, of course, is not intended to be an absolute rule, for many children want and seem to need, after the first year, a meal once or twice a day of something beside bread and milk. But no mother should feel uneasy if her child takes almost nothing but milk and bread and butter until after it is two years of age, if it only takes plenty of them, and continues well, and develops naturally. Children will often live thus until they are two years old or a little more, and then gradually begin to want and eat other things. No child ever yet grew up eating only milk and bread; so if parents and physicians will have patience and wait, the child will surely begin and eat like other people. [From Dr. Arthur V. Meigs, "On Milk Analysis and Infant Feeding."] Prof. Da Costa's Treatment of Diphtheria. The treatment is both general and local. In the former alimentation and stimulation are of the greatest importance given, as in typhoid, every two or three hours, day and night. Alcohol is given to the point of tolerance. Begin with 3 ss to 3j of brandy every hour; increase till heart and pulse are improved. The amount a patient suffering with diphtheria can take is incredible; a child, æt. 2 years, has been given a tablespoonful of brandy every hour, and 3j is quite common. There is present a condition comparable to that found in snake poisoning. Begin the stimulus early. As to medicines, one of the earliest and best treatments is by potassium chlorate, 3 to 3 iss per diem, in divided doses, well diluted. Next to this, either alone or combined with it, is tinctura ferri chloridi, gtt. x every hour or two, for a child, æt. 10 years. The rising treatment now is with calomel. It consists in giving large doses frequently, not minding the free movements from the bowels. Give one grain every hour till twelve doses have been taken, then the same amount every second hour. This has been often tried in the laryngeal form, in larger doses, and is of especial utility in this variety of the disease. Corrosive sublimate, gr. to every hour, is a similar, but hardly as effective, treatment. Jaborandi is a very new remedy in this trouble. The idea is that when the patient sweats well the membrane will loosen. As it is very depressing, it is not safe unless the patient is quite strong. Locally, strong caustics have been abandoned. Cleansing, disinfecting gargles are the modern treatment. Carbolic acid, with borax and soda, may be used. Thymol holds a high place, never weaker than ten grains to the ounce. & Thymol, Glycerini, Aquæ,.. .3j .f3 iij .fz iss. Mix. SIG.-Gargle. Dilute, if necessary. Permanganate of potassium, a favorite with the English, equal parts of lime water and glycerine, or two parts of the former to one of the latter, are very useful and grateful. When the patient is old enough, these are best used in the form of spray. Equal parts of Monsel's solution and glycerine may be used when the redness and swelling are very great. Do not scrape the membrane.-Col. and Clin. Rec. THE Philadelphia Ledger thinks that the regulation of the diet is the principal field for advance in the medical profession in the near future. It is evident, even to the surface observer, that foods, habits and other incidents of life, being daily and continuous, must have much more influence on constitutional tendencies than medicine and treatment, which is occasional or varied. Perhaps the clews to the two opprobia of the profession-consumption and cancer-are to be conquered after all by means of food.-Peoria Med. Mo. An Important Sanitary Step. A YOUNG Woman in Paris, having a medical education, has been appointed a medical inspector of girls in the Parisian schools. Her duties are to see that the girls are not overworked and that they perform their tasks under the best sanitary conditions possible. This is a good step forward in practical school sanitation. Since, in most localities, attendance upon school is enforced for certain periods, it seems to follow as a logical conclusion, that the state should, at least, turn out the children in as healthy a condition as they are received. That this cannot be done in the ordinary American school, under the conditions generally prevalent, will be readily conceded by nearly every one at all conversant with school life. It has been often argued that each board of education should have a medical officer, and it is a good sign to be able to record the appointment of one with specified duties.-Sanitary News. Of Dietetics in Disease. The advocacy of Dietetics in the Treatment of Disease is the absorbing topic with the writer at the present time. To him indeed, it is the great therapeutic matter of the day, and he feels in duty bound to lend it what aid he can. the necessity of some systematic teaching of dietetics in a course of medical education no one can entertain a doubt. It is surely as desirable that a medical man be taught how to feed a patient acutely ill as how to prescribe for him. If it be a pyrexia, surely it is as desirable to maintain the strength, and call as little as possible upon the body-reserves, as it is to keep down the body-temperature by antipyretics. To prevent exhaustion both matters must receive attention. Every sick person is more or less a dyspeptic, and dyspepsia requires appropriate and suitable food. Many dyspeptics can alone perform their daily toil by a watchful attention to their food and food-requirements. The writer believes his labors have not been without influence in advancing our acquaintance with the means of increasing the energy of the cardiac contractions, that our knowledge of the means of stimulating the respiratory centres owes something to his observations and experiments. He hopes to do something towards a more intimate familiarity with the kinds of food required by different morbid conditions, and to demonstrate that is within our power to improve the action of the liver when impaired, by reducing the demands upon it to the minimum of the bodyneeds, while raising its tone by certain remedial agents.-DR. J. MILNER FOTHERGILL, in PHILA. Med. Times. Glycosuria and Diabetes Mellitus. It is necessary to distinguish glycosuria from diabetes mellitus, the former being that condition in which sugar obtains in the urine, and it may be in other excretions, and also in secretions, and in the blood itself, there being no excess of urine, the latter (diabetes mellitus) being glycosuria plus a greatly increased urinary flow. In both there is the production of glucose or grape sugar, and its elimination or excretion from the blocd. Often the glycosuria is, so to speak, the first stage of the other, the very presence of the glucose in the blood creating irritation in the kidneys, and thereby an incessant action of their secretory function that in turn provokes the bladder to frequent ejection of its contents, the vesical irritation again reacting on the kidneys, and aggravating them to still greater excretory efforts. The frequency of micturition often begins at night, and, unless the disease be checked, becomes at length so frequent by day that the patient is harassed with incessant micturition, the amount of water passed being in excess of that imbibed. As much as fifty or more pints may for weeks and months be voided. In this way glycosuria will pass on to true diabetes mellitus. The complement passed over and above the amount drank is by some explained as being supplied by the absorption of water from the atmosphere, or the chemical combination in the body of hydrogen and oxygen; but it is doubtful if there be any excess of output over intake,' if both be carefully measured. This, however, is certain, that cutting off the intake or reducing it to any considerable extent is attended with the gravest results, and may occasion death through excessive exhaustion. Cocaine Tests. 1. Cocaine should be white, entirely soluble' in alcohol, ether, and the hydrocarbons. 2. It should be entirely soluble in twenty times its weight in water, acidulated with chloro-hydric acid at ten, and the solution of the chlorohydrate instilled into the eye should produce at the end of forty seconds complete anæsthesia. This experiment does not give rise to any pathological disturbance and may be tried upon anyone. It is without doubt the most convincing proof of the good quality of the product. -Prov. Med. Journal. Comforts for Medical Men. It is quite possible that medical men, who above any other professional class are subject to exposures and all the discomforts and dangers attending, do not provide as much as they might for their own comfort and safety. Medical fashions and habits control the physician to such a degree that he is liable to slip into the routine of his fathers, without thinking whether it might not be possible to effect improvements and alleviations in his lot. For example, it is, we believe, quite unheard of for the rural physician even to travel in anything but an open buggy or the regulation doctor's gig. This latter affords some protection from storm and wind, but not a very great deal, and the main reason for its universal use is that to the horse. it is light, and can be propelled at less expense to the horse. In England, brougham; and hansoms are very much employed, even outside the cities. These of course require a driver, but there are many physicians for whom it would be an economy to avoid the risks and hardship of winter exposure by hiring an extra servant. Medical Record. "THREE FACES WEARS THE DOCTOR; when first sought, An Angel's; and a God's, the cure half wrought; But when that cure complete, he seeks his fee, The Devil looks less terrible than he." Hutchinson's Views on Syphilis. Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, in his late lecture on syphilis, sums up as follows: Many of the phenomena of syphilis usually counted as tertiary really occur, as a rule, in its early periods, and there is no structure in the body that may not be attacked in the secondary stage. As instances of this fact, I have mentioned rupia, periostitis, and diseases of the viscera and of the nervous system. If my argument holds good, we must regard the terms secondary and tertiary as applicable to different periods of time, and not to different phenomena. At the same time, it has been fully admitted that syphilistic processes do display different tendencies in relation to the stage in which they occur. The position assigned to to the tertiary symptoms has been that of late relapses of morbid processes, in tissues previously damaged. In this way it has been suggested that syphilis may occupy an important part in predisposing to such maladies as locomotor ataxy, without actually causing them. Lastly, the relation of mercury to the natural evolution of syphilis has been discussed, and I have tried to claim for it the position of an antidote to the virus, asserting that not only can it cause symptoms to disappear, but, if used early enough, will entirely prevent them. Uses of Ichthyol. A thirty per cent. solution of ichthyol, applied locally, relieves the intolerable itching of senile prurigo; and a ten per cent. solution is equally efficacious in pruritus. Ichthyol is useful in gastric catarrh, administered internally, in tablespoonful doses of a one per cent. solution. Injections into the Lungs for Consumption. On M. Gougenheim, of Paris, has been treating pulmonary tuberculosis by making intraparenchymatous injection of mercury bichloride. the left side below the clavicle, through the first intercostle space, the injection passes easily and safely into the lung. On the right side, through the two first intercostal spaces, in order to avoid all accidents, it is necessary to make the injection at a distance from the sternum and the neighbouring rib, in order not to injure the intercostal and mammary vessels and nerves; neither should it be made too near the clavical, or the subclavain vein may be injured; the subcutaneous veins should be avoided. The injection should be given slowly, in order to avoid coughing and hæmoptysis, which some times result from a sudden irruption of fluid into the pulmonary tissues. Dr. Gougenheim believes that these precautions prevent the occurrence of accidents. At the necropsies of patients who had been thus treated, Dr. Gougenheim had never observed any muscular, pleural, or pulmonary lesions which could be attributed to these injections. The Pravaz's syringe used was cleaned antiseptically. This treatment was adopted with thirty-three patients, most of whom were in an advanced stage of phthisis. In twenty-one instances, improvement was quick and undeniable. Ten patients out of thirty died; among these, seven pre sented local modifications of lesions which were easily detected at the necropcies. The solutions injected were sometimes, sometimes Too sometimes. The injection-fluid was always previously heated to normal temperature, 37° Cent. (98.6° Fahr).—Brit. Med. Journal. Scarlatina. The following is a good formula in scarlatina, when there is suppression of urine, high fever and delirium: Wine of colchicum, 3 drachms; sweet spirits nitre, 2 drachms; acetate of potass, 2 drachms; water enough to make 4 ounces. Dose. One teaspoonful every four hours. I Scarlatinal Dropsy.-Tinct. digitalis, minim; tinct. hyoscyamus, 5 minims; syrup, 1⁄2 drachm; camphor water, 4 drachms. May be given every six hours to a child five years old. Scarlatinal Dropsy has been cured by the hot bath, subsequent hot packs by means of blankets, so as to produce copious perspiration. G. Smith, medical officer at Axbridge, Eng., speaks favorably of the treatment adopted by him in the disquamative stage of scarlet fever, occurring among the inmates of the workhouse, viz: Sponging the body twice daily with oatmeal scalded (not boiled), in the proportion of one ounce of oatmeal by weight to one pint of boiling water, the resulting mixture being used tepid. By this means the risk of spreading the disease is diminished, the skin is protected from the action of the air, and the risk of dropsy is lessened. Dr. J. T. Jamison reports two cases of scarlatinal albuminuria successfully treated with gallic acid, a teaspoonful of a saturated solution being given every two hours to a child twelve years old. Prophylaxis of Scarlet Fever: Dr. John C. Peters, of New York, regards the much vaunted belladonna as a prophylactic in this disease as unreliable and dangerous. For this purpose he relies entirely on the sweet spirits of nitre. It is a mild and safe remedy. Comparative experiments prove that it is more reliable than belladonna and far less dangerous. Dr. G. H. Herman extols the virtues of hyposulphite of soda as a remedy for the prevention and modification of scarlet fever. His rule is to put the affected child, as well as the whole family of children exposed to the disease, on hyposulphite of soda. He administers the drug in solution in syrup and water, the dose equalling about three-forths of a grain to each year of the child's age, four times a day to the well ones, and every three or four hours to the sick ones, for the first few days, when its frequency is diminished. In all cases a solution of chlorate of potash is used as a gargle, and where the throat takes on diphtheritic patches, carbolic acid and muriated tincture of iron are added. A correspondent of the Peoria Med. Monthly says: During the late epidemic of scarlet fever in this city, I used quinine to prevent its spread in a family after one member of that family had contracted the disease, and in no instance has it attacked any other member of the family unless the attack came on in a day or two after commencing the quinine. I gave two or three grains three times a day, according to the age of the child; then, after four or five days, the dose may be lessened; but the use of the quinine must be kept up for three weeks, or until the sick members of the family are fully recovered. I have practiced this in a number of cases with complete success. H. Goldsmith has prevented the spread of scarlatina in a house by annointing his patient with lard, and then dusting on salicylic acid. -L. H. WASHINGTON, M. D., in St. Louis Med. Jour. A New Local Anæsthetic. At a recent meeting of the Medical Society of Berlin, DR. LEWIN presented a most interesting series of observations upon the physiological effects of resinous extract obtained from the root piper Methysticum, which is soluble in alcohol, possesses a somewhat aromatic taste, and leaves upon the tongue a sensation of pricking and burning, soon lost in the supervening local insensibility. When the extract, even in very small amount, is instilled into the eye of an animal, a slight local irritation is evidenced by repeated blinking, which soon yields to a marked enduring, and complete insensibility of the conjunctiva and cornea. In guinea-pigs Lewin has seen this insensibility continue for more than an hour, normal sensation gradually returning. The iris retains without its reflex responsiveness to optic stimuli. No anatomical lesions of the cornea or conjunctiva were observed as the result of its application. When the solution of the extract is injected hypodermically, the tissues with which it comes in contact completely cease to respond to the application of thermic, electric, and chemical stimuli-a transitory condition which is followed by no symptoms of inflammation. In regard to the constitutional effects produced by the drug, upon man, much the same claims are put forward as in the case of coca. When used in moderate amounts, à feeling of comfort, contentment, and rest, with complete retention of consciousness and reason, is said to result. With large doses there is a sensation of dreamy happiness, with an intense desire for sleep; while in excess the infusion causes nausea, headache, paresis of the extremities, nervous trembling, and somnolence. The general effect upon birds, rabbits, and cats is analogous to that produced in man. It is evident that the drug is of considerable importance, and, if further experience shows that its effects in man the prolonged local anæsthesia that it induces in animals, it will be of great utility in very many operations in minor surgery.-Medical News. Special action of Strychnia on the Uterus. Added to ergot, in cases of parturition, strychnine greatly increases the efficacy of that drug, being specially useful when post partum hemorrhage is anticipated. It appears to have the power of increasing the tonic contraction of the uterine fibres, and of preventing their undue relaxation when the pain has subsided. It is specially valuable, administered in combination with ergot, in cases of menorrhagia depending on imperfect involution of the uterus. Its use. is contra-indicated in all cases where any inflam-' matory condition of the uterus or ovaries exists. Strychnine is also useful in many forms of amenorrhoea, where it seems desirable to stimulate the uterus and ovaries; and in such cases it is often prescribed with advantage, in combination with iron. It should be administered cautiously, commencing with three or four drops of the liquor strychnine, P. B., the dose to be gradually increased to eight or even ten three times a day.-DR. L. ATTHILL, Dublin. Man Ozoniferous Essences as Antiseptics. Listerine possesses essential properties analogous in their effects to the ozoniferous ethers so highly recommended by Dr. Benjamin Ward Richardson and other deodorizers and disinfectants for the sick-room, and should be used in the same way-sprinkled over handkerchiefs, garments, and bed-linen of fever cases. tegazza, "On the Action of Essences and Flowers in the Production of Atmospheric Ozone, and on their Hygienic Utility" (Rendiconti del Reale Instituto Lombardo, vol. iii., fasc. vi.), as quoted by Fox on Ozone, reports that the disciples of Empedocles were not in error when they planted aromatic and balsamic herbs as preventatives of pestilence. He L |