the cicatrices, then recently formed, that a coronet of hairs had sprung up, which at first thin and bony, soon increased in length, substance and color. So they continued without any tendency to fall or decrease, and when M. Diday saw them four months after the vaccination, they offered the curious spectacle of double and triple uninterrupted ranges of hairs surrounding each of the still reddened cicatrices, from six to eight millimetres in length. In color they resembled those of a red cow, contrasting with the child's smooth and delicate skin. On examining the plates between which the lymph had arrived, three or four small hairs were discovered adhering to them.-Lyon Medical.

TENDON REFLEXES.-At the Ninth Congress of Internal Medicine, Dr. Sternberg, of Vienna, read a paper on this subject, based on observations made on 1,500 patients, in the clinics of Prof. Meynert and Dr. Redtenbacker. The object of the experiments was to determine the "components" constituting the tendon reflexes, that is, the effect produced by shaking of the muscle, the tendons, the bone, etc., and to separate these various phenomena from each other. In this way he succeeded in showing that the so-called tendon reflexes consist of two phenomena, namely, a bone reflex and a pure muscle phenomenon, which, most probably, is also a reflex. The bone reflex consists in the fact that a shock to the bone, particularly in the direction of its longitudinal axis, irritates the nerves of the periosteum and the articular surfaces, and this produces a contraction of all the muscles belonging to the bone. The muscle reflex consists in the fact that a stretched muscle becomes contracted when a shock is transmitted to it in the longitudinal direction. The tendon only plays a mechanical part. No reflexes originate from the nerves of the tendon. The existence of reflexes of the

fascia cannot be proved. In contractures occurring after localized cerebral affections in various diseases of the spinal cord and in articular processes, the tendon reflexes are invariably increased. In contractures which occur in large cerebral hemorrhages, cerebral tumors and abscesses, uramia and meningitis, and paralysis agitans, the tendon reflexes are never increased, and very frequently are diminished. These two forms of contracture can occasionally be distinguished by the tendon reflexes.-Brit. Med. Jour.

MAGNESIUM SULPHATE AS AN ENEMA. Dr. J. T. Watkins, in his inaugural thesis presented to the Gynecological Society of Chicago, after reviewing the literature, and reporting a number of cases in which the concentrated solution of magnesium sulphate as an enema had been used, sums up its advantages as follows: (1) Its action is local. (2) It seldom fails, and produces copious stools. (3) The time of action is short. (4) The bulk is small, causing but very little, if any, discomfort to the patient. (5) It is unirritating as a simple enema. Its certainty of action has become so well recognized in the New York Woman's Hospital, that it has been used in nearly all the operative cases, as the cathartic preparatory to operation, for the last six months. It is best administered with the patient in Sim's position, the hips being elevated by a pillow; and when much tenderness exists, it should be given through a large rubber catheter passed well up into the bowel. The patient is to be instructed to allow the abdominal muscles to remain lax, and, if necessary, the nurse is to keep up pressure over the anus, to cause it to be retained for at least fifteen or twenty minutes. If the bowel should fail to expel the exuded liquid, a rectal tube should be inserted to allow its escape. Two ounces have been retained, without bad results, but Christison reports a

to

Treatment of BUBO.-Dr. L. Brocq, says that according to Dr. Cordier, of Lyons, the procedure which has given him the best results in the treatment of bubo is as follows: As soon as the oedema of the skin shows the presence of pus, he makes a puncture with a straight bistoury. There is discharged along with the blood some streaks of pus. No pressure is made but the cavity is injected with about 15 drops of a solution of nitrate of silver (1:50). Without paying any attention whether the solution flows out again or not, the wound and groin are dressed with iodoform and a spica bandage is applied. When this slight operation is done soon enough, Dr. Cordier says no purulent discharge follows, and the bubo disappears rapidly, leaving behind a sort of indurated nodule. When the puncture is made in a bubo much more advanced and in full suppuration, the pus must be carefully washed out. A first injection of the solution is made to cleanse the parts, and the second injection is left in. A decided inflammatory reaction is then established and free suppuration occurs, which lasts for 3 or 4 days and then becomes serous. Heal ing takes place rapidly, and the opening closes without leaving a cicatrix. Dr. Cordier has had the same results

whether the bubo was specific or simply inflammatory.-Journal of Cutaneous and Genito Urinary Diseases.

PERMANGANATE OF POTASSIUM IN

DIPHTHERIA. In the St. Petersburg semi-weekly Meditzina, No. 44, 1890, p. 364, Dr. V. Netzetzky writes that his 22 years' practice convinced him that the best treatment of faucial diphtheria consists in an energetic external use of permanganate of potassium. The drug should be administered in the shape of paintings and gargle. The following strong solution should be employed:

R. Potassii permanganatis, 3j.
Aquæ destillatæ, 3j.

M. Sig. To paint the affected surface every three hours.

For gargling, which is to be repeated as often, a teaspoonful of the same solution should be mixed with a tumblerful of boiled water. In such cases where the child is unable to gargle, the following mixture should be given internally:

R.

Solutionis hydroginis superoxyd-
ati 2%, 3ij.
Glycerinæ, zij.

M. Sig. A teaspoonful every two hours.

When resorted to sufficiently early, the simple treatment is said to act almost "as if by magic"-more especially so in cases of scarlatinal diphtheria.

A SIMPLE METHOD OF CURING OBESITY.-In a French journal is announced the discovery of a means, as simple as it is strange for curing obesity, which is attributed to a medical officer in the army. Thanks to this means, a colonel, who was threatened to be obliged to retire trom the army, as he was so heavy that it required two men to lift him into the saddle, became thin in a few weeks,

and to such an extent that he had to take means to recover, in a measure, what he had lost. It was to his doctor that he was indebted to have become a general. The means consisted simply in never eating more than one dish at each meal, no matter what that dish may be, and a person may consume as much as stomach may bear, and satisfy the appetite without the least reserve. Nevertheless, nothing but the one dish should be taken; no condiments, nor soups, nor supplementary desserts should be allowed. This system was recommended by the author of a note to a lady who was slightly obese, and who put it into practice with the best results. The lady observed that she suffered no inconvenience whatever from this diet, and the result obtained by the medical officer may be well understood, as she found by her own experience that the partaking of only one dish, whether it be meat, fish or vegetables, brought on a sense of satiety much sooner than if she had partaken of a variety of dishes, whence the

effect of relative abstinence.

TREATMENT OF EPITHELIOMA OF THE FACE WITH ACETIC ACID.-At a recent session of the French Society for Dermatology and Syphilis, Arnozan reported eight cases of epithelioma of the face, commencing in the sebaceous glands, treated locally with acetic acid. The applications were made either with a piece of wood or a glass rod, or, where the disease was very extensive, with a brush, every second day, or daily, or even several times a day. During the first sittings, crystallized acetic acid, diluted either one-half or two-thirds

with water, was used; later on, the pure acetic acid was applied. The treatment causes pretty lively burning, which, however, lasts but a short time. The crusts adhere at first closely, and afterwards begin to loosen up at the edges. The treatment must be discontinued till the

crusts fall off, and a rosy granulating surface is left. The ulcerating area grows smaller after each application, until finally a smooth, white scar is left. The patient can carry out the treatment himself, and no very elaborate dressing or bandage need be worn. Arnozan has not tried this method in deeply ulcerating epitheliomata with swelling of the lymphatic glands, and therefore cannot say whether, in such cases, it would be efficacious. In the above mentioned cases the treatment was successful.-Therapeutische Monatshefte.

:0:

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The average age at death of the Jews is said to be forty-nine years, while that of the Christian is but thirty-seven.

After a year's silence, Dr. BrownSeqaurd re-affirms his belief in the therapeutic efficiency of testicular liquid.

Twenty-five thousand people die yearly from typhoid fever in the United States.-The N. Y. Med. Times.

Stern has collected one hundred and seventeen cases of diabetes in children, and he believes the disease is not rare in early life.

A pharmaceutical chemist of Woronesh, in Russia, has been condemned to six months' imprisonment for selling adulterated quinine.

Martin, of Paris, says that the Cæsarean operation should be performed after dilation of the cervix and prior to rupture of the amniotic sac.

Dr. J. L. M. Willis, of Eliot, Me.,

will give 25 cents for a copy of the NEW ENGLAND MEDICAL MONTHLY for February, 1890. Drop him a postal card in reference to it.

A new innovation at funerals recently is a silk skull cap, to be worn by the

TO REMOVE WARTS.-Castor oil constantly applied for two to four or six weeks-that is, once a day has not failed in any case of any size or long standing.-Therapeutic Gazette.

A SUGGESTION.—"Ahm awf'ly tired," said a youth. "I went and had mah haiah cut this mawning, and it was dweadfully fatiguing."

"You should have taken ether," said Maude.

It is said to be possible to restore one who is helplessly intoxicated to the almost complete use of his faculties in a very short time, by administering to him a half teaspoonful of ammonium chloride in a tumbler of water.

A new sanitarium of the air-cure, socalled the first of the kind in Francehas been opened, with some ceremony a Vernet, in the Pyrenees. The site is said to combine the advantages of a mountain and of the Mediterranean climate.

What wonderful progress is made in medicine nowadays? In the Bulletin Medical, a prescription is given of sulphur and cream of tartar for constipation; while, in the Indian Medical Gazette, a contributor gravely indites a formula for calomel and jalap for the same purpose.-Times and Register.

AN IDEAL BACTERICIDE.-Professor Stilling, of Strasburg, claims to have discovered antiseptics strong enough to kill bacteria in a concentration not injurious to the human body, and at the same time diffusive enough to spread wherever, on a wounded surface, suppurative microorganisms exist. The National Druggist.

THE NEW YORK POLYCLINIC.The curators of the New York Polyclinic announce, that hereafter they will refuse to matriculate all persons who have not been graduated by some recognized medical college, or who have not obtained a legal permit to practice medicine, after two full years at such college. -Medical Review.

AN EARLY SYMPTOM OF LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA.-Dr. Heinrich Weiss describes the case of a book-keeper, whose first symptom was an uncertainty in stepping backward, in whom characteristic manifestations of locomotor ataxia subsequently developed. The importance of this initial symptom was pointed out by Althaus in 1884, in reporting the case of a painter, who noticed it in himself as he backed away from his easel. - Wiener Medicinische Presse.

Professor Léon Le Fort strongly combats the idea that the air can transmit

disease germs. He believes that such germs are only carried from one patient to another by contact with instruments, fingers, etc. To put his belief to a practical test, he has for some months exposed freely to the air the wounds. caused by his operations, among which are included ten amputations and resections. All these and many others have healed by the first intention.

GARGLE FOR TONSILITIS.-The following has been a very useful gargle in the treatment of tonsilitis, and is highly recommended:

R. Tr. guaiac. ammoniat.,
Tr. cinchonæ comp.,

the Berlin theaters. This young woman retired to bed as usual one night, after taking part in the performance, apparently in good health, but she was found dead in her bed in the morning. She practiced tight lacing to an extreme degree, and her premature demise was undoubtedly referable to a cardiac syncope brought on by that injurious habit.

-Lancet.

SUING THE WRONG PARTY.-A young woman, in Summit County, Ohio, was supposed to be suffering from an ovarian tumor coming on, it was alleged, as a result of injuries sustained in a railroad accident. Her suit for damages was still pending against the railroad company when an operation was deemed imperative. The surgeon was somewhat surprised on opening the abdomen to discover a dead full term fœtus. The railroad company now disclaims all responsibility for the tumor.-Med. Rec.

The late Dr. George M. Beard devised a mixture which he employed successfully in headaches of all kinds, and which has lately received the endorsment of Dr. E. P. Hurd in his monograph on Neuralgia (St. Louis Med. and Surg. Journal). The prescription is as follows:

R. Caffein. citrat., Ammonii carb.,

aa 9j. Elixir guaranæ, f3j. M. Sig. A tablespoonful every hour till the pain is relieved.

The continuous use of the drug does not seem to produce any harm.

flow of gas. They may be repeated every fifteen minutes.—Chicago Medical Times.

THE GLYCERINE TAMPON IN THE VOMITING OF PREGNANCY.-Dr. S. B. Kirkpatrick blistered the cervix in an obstinate case of vomiting in a preg nant patient, and observing that the patient was not relieved until the serum was formed and discharged, conceived the idea of procuring a watery discharge by the use of glycerine. He accordingly inserted into the vagina, a tampon saturated with glycerine. The distressing symptom was at once removed and on its return, at intervals, was always relieved by the glycerine tampon.Texas Com. Rec.

The extent to which superstition prevails, even at the present day, is marvelous. a man who consulted him for impotence, with which he believed his wife had affected him as he was setting out for a trip to New York. She had given him a peculiar glance as he left the house; he felt a thrill pass down his spine to his testicles, and henceforth erection was impossible. If that woman will impart the secret of that "peculiar glance," there's big money for her in any town within reach of New York. -Times and Register.

Hammond relates the case of

ERROR OF A HOSPITAL ATTENDANT

Dr. L., passing through the military hospital, perceived the belly of Major K. to be tremendously swollen. "Ah!" exclaimed the doctor, "you are very ill, Major. Your abdomen is swollen to

excess.

You appear to have dropsy." To which the major retorted: "No wonder after that nurse gave me twelve one-quart injections successively." The physician proceeded to inquire into the case, and discovered that the nurse, in place of writing down one injection for number twelve, had written down twelve injections for number one.-Montreal Med. Journal.