nected animals may have been only coincidental in the one case, for it is certainly difficult to find philosophy to explain why the intermittent and irregular heart beats of a dog should become synchronous with the regular pulsations of the heart of a man, and we have something new to study if the widely different temperatures of two animals are found to approach a mean line when the two animals are grafted together.

In the Gethius case the engrafted soft tissues have thus far retained their identity of character, but we have sufficient testimony as a result of previous experimentation, to lead us to believe that a gradual replacement process will substitute plain connective tissue for the dog muscle and nerve that the boy now carries. If this supposition can be disproven, we shall be pleased, but in the meantime we must believe that grafting in the hope of retaining dermal appendages upon the transplanted skin at least is likely to prove less successful than bone grafting.

We hope that Dr. Phelps will continue his experiments undismayed by the clamor that always hoots ideas that are new to the masses; for he has shown us that there is hope for the patient with ununited fractures, and a large new field for experimentation has been opened by him.

lecture was then as now, in favor, and however happily the subjects might have been presented and however faithfully the notes might have been transcribed, there was withal a classic accuracy and a certain cold, scholarly air about the whole thing that failed to arouse the interest of the student, and led him to think that he might just as well have read up the various subjects in his text books, at home.

Many there are to-day who feel harrassed and perplexed in their medical work by reason of a system which furnishes the theory but neglects so completely the practice of medicine. The present era is becoming a thoroughly practical one. Pure learning, as such,

is at a discount.

In the arts and sciences and in most learned professions, the application of knowledge to daily needs is the aim and study. The question is not, "How much do you know?" but "what can you do?" He who shows, therefore, the most thorough familiarity with applied therapeutics is destined to win the prizes -not of the schools, which are sometimes of doubtful value, but rather those of fame and success.

While in our opinion the clinical lecture is worth a half-dozen didactic ones we do not advise the total abolition of the latter. We have their uses and should perhaps always hold a certain position in the college course; yet in

AN

STRUCTION.

N EFFORT now being made to substitute clinical for didactic lectures will no doubt meet with general approbation. The practitioner of to-day, looking back over his course of instruction in the college, can readily appreciate its faults and deficiencies. The didactic

sion, if it is anything, the preliminary training should naturally be of a similar character, and therefore clinical lectures and investigations, demonstrations and laboratory work, together with frequent examinations, should form the greater portion of the medical curriculum.

The didactic lecture must go, and in

its place must come something more practical, more tangible and better adapted to the daily needs of the general practitioner.

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BOOK NOTICES.

LIBRARY OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS, JANUARY, 1891. Tribune Almanac, a Political Register.

This book is worth its weight in gold to all persons interested in the politics of the day. It is full of valuable information of every kind and description as to elections and election laws, as well as lots of other information which cannot be found between any other two covers.

A COMPEND OF GYNECOLOGY. By Henry Morris, M. D., with forty-five illustrations. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston Son & Co., 1012 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 1891.

This is another of the successful series of quiz compends which have been issued by this enterprising publishing house. The little book before us seems to be well up to the times and will prove a useful manual for the purpose for which it is intended.

TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane, of the State of Connecticut, with the Superintendent's and Treasurer's Reports for the Biennial Period ending June 30th, 1890. By order of the General Assembly. Middletown, Pelton & King, printers, 1890.

Connecticut may well be proud of her insane asylums and their efficient management, and the results of the treatment of the unfortunate inmates who are compelled to enter them. The Hartford retreat, at Hartford, under the management of that able scholar and talented author, Dr. A. P. Stearns, and the other, whose report is before us, under the efficient superintendency of Dr. James Olmstead, are most excellent and

well conducted institutions. This report makes a most flattering showing of its work during the last two years and must be a source of gratification to the efficient staff of physicians in attendance. MEDICAL EDUCATION. MEDICAL COL

LEGES and the Regulation of Medicine in the United States and Canada, 1865 to 1891. Medical Education and the Regulation of the Practice of Medicine in Foreign Countries. By John H. Rauch, M. D., Secretary of the Illinois State Board of Health.

It is indeed a labor of love to compile this wonderful volume, and no one could do it so well as the able and energetic Secretary, Dr. Rauch. God bless him! His work will live long after he is called to his Father's, and the medical profession will rise up and call him blessed. We wish every member of the medical profession could have a copy.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOArd of Health of the City of Baltimore to the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31st, 1880. Baltimore. John Cox, city printer, 1891.

The Health Department of the City of Baltimore shows a degree of vitality and interest in its work, which is indeed commendable as the report before us gives abundant evidence, and which we do not doubt is due in a great measure to the fact that the President is the high authority on hygiene, Dr. George H. Rohe, the author and scholar. The report is full of instructive matter and will well repay perusal.

HEREDITY HEALTH AND PERSONAL Beauty. By John V. Shoemaker, A. M., M. D. F. A. Davis, Philadelphia and London, publisher.

This is a well written book for popular use among the laity, but within its covers there is much that will interest and instruct the general practitioner, as it covers a broad field and contains many useful formulæ for keeping the skin free from blemishes and in a healthy condition. The skin is one of the most im

portant organs of the whole body, and the healthful condition of the rest of the body oftentimes depends upon its proper care. Professor Shoemaker is well-known as a versatile as well as instructive writer, and this book, though in a different field than any of his other writings, has a fascination for the reader which holds him to the last line. We can with safety predict for it a large sale, not alone from the intrinsic value of the book itself, but from the high position which the author holds as an authority on matters pertaining to the skin. The publishers have presented it in an attractive form.

PRINCIPLES OF SURGERY. BY N. SENN, M. D., Ph. D. Milwaukee, Wis. Illustrated with one hundred and nine wood engravings. F. A. Davis, Philadelphia and London, publisher. It was apparent to the keen observer a long time ago, if he has watched the progress of surgery in the United States, that sooner or later Dr. Senn would

write a book on this important topic, for he has evinced an aptitude for this kind of work by his daring as an operator, his success as such, his deep methods of study and his original investigations in unexplored fields; and his brilliant writings, have all made it manifest that he would soon hold a most commanding position in surgery, and a book is the legitimate outcome of such a reputation.

Hence the book is before us and it is one which we can most heartily recommend to our readers. Succinct, well written in a clear and easy style, filled with well made and suggestive. illustrations, with carefully prepared text, it is bound to command a great deal of attention from the members of the surgical part of our profession. We congratulate the author on his complete success and bespeak for him a large and intelligent audience of readers.

The following papers appear in the January and February numbers of Wood's Medical and Surgical Mono

graphs: "Advances in Bacteriology," by R. Koch, M. D. "Formulary of New Remedies and Medicinal Preparations," by H. Bocquillon Limousin. "Anæsthetics," a discussion by Drs. Macewen and others. "The Clinical use of Prisms and the Decentring of Lenses," by E. E. Maddock, M. D. "Electricity in the Treatment of Uterine Tumors," by Thomas Keith, M. D., Edin., and Skene Keith, F. R. C. S., Edin. "Ether Drinking, its Prevalence and Results," by Ernest Hart.

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT-P. Blakiston, Son & Co., the medical publishers, of Philadelphia, announce for cal Therapeutics," being a practical deearly publication, "A Handbook of Loscription of all those agents used in the local treatment of disease, such as ointment, plasters, powders, lotions, inhalations, suppositories, bougies, tampons, etc., and the proper methods of preparing and applying them.

The diseases which chiefly require local treatment are those of the repository passages, ear, eye, skin, together with diseases of women. In order, therefore, certain surgical affections, including the that the various uses of each remedy may be thoroughly set forth, the following gentlemen have assumed the authorship: Harrison Allen, M. D., Emeritus Professor of Physiology in the University of Penna; Laryngologist to the Rush Hospital for Consumption; late Surgeon to the Philadelphia and St. Joseph's Hospitals. George C. Harlan, M. D., late Professor of Diseases of the

Eye in the Philadelphia Polyclinic and College of Graduates in Medicine; Surgeon to the Wills Eye Hospital, and Eye and Ear Department of the PennM. D., Surgeon to the German Hospital; sylvania Hospital. Charles B. Penrose, Instructor in Clinical Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, and Arthur Van Harlingen, M. D., Professor of Diseases. of the Skin in the Philadelphia Polyclinic and College for Graduates of Medicine; late Clinical Lecturer on

Dermatology in Jefferson Medical College; Dermatologist to the Howard Hospital.

Each remedy will be taken up in alphabetical order, and after a succinct description of their pharmaceutical properties, by Dr. George I. McKelway, will be considered with reference to the local treatment of the affections above outlined. The authors believe that the information contained in this work will not be found elsewhere. The activity in the various lines of special medicine is one of the most striking phases of the times, and has materially changed many of the older methods of treating diseases by local means. The greater part of the literature which has appeared is not accessible to most physicians. The Handbook, it is believed, will be of value to general practitioners as well as to those who, like themselves, are especially interested in sub-division of the clinical field.

The work will form a compact volume of about 400 pages, arranged in a manner to facilitate reference and containing, besides the usual index, a complete index of diseases, that will greatly enhance its usefulness.

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CURRENT LITERATURE.

"Gynecological Memorandum," by John R. Haynes, M. D. Reprint from the Southern California Practitioner.

"Annual Report on the Laws Regulating Medical Practice," by Richard Dunglinson, M. D., of Philadelphia.

"A Further Study of Anodal Diffusion as a Therapeutic Agent," by Fred. Peterson, M. D. Reprinted from the Medical Record.

"Abdominal Surgery," by John R. Haynes, M. D., of Los Angelos, Cal. Reprinted from the Southern California Medical Journal.

"Treatment for the Radical Cure of Polypi of the Nose," by E. Harrison Griffin, M. D. Reprinted from the Medical Record.

"Sixth Annual Report of the Library Committee of the New York State Medical Association." Reprinted from The Transactions.

"Non-Uniformity in the Principles of Treating Pott's Disease," by Milton J. Roberts, M. D. Reprinted from the

New York Medical Journal.

"On Three Cases of Pylorectomy with Gastro Enterostomy," by William T. Bull, M. D. Reprinted from the Medical Record.

"On the Radical Cure of Hernia, with

"Detroit Emergency Hospital Reports." A Quarterly Journal of Medicine and Surgery.

"Does Alcohol Conserve Tissue," by E. Chenery, M. D. Reprinted from the Journal of the American Med. Association.

"Koch's Method of Treating Tubercu losis," by Samuel G. Dixon, M. D. Reprinted from the Medical News.

"Surgical Relief for Biliary Obstruction," by Henry O. Marey, M. D. Reprinted from the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Four Operations," by William T. Bull, M. D. Reprint from the Med. News.

"In What Class of Wounds shall we Use Drainage," by Henry O. Marcy, M. D. Reprinted from the Transactions of the American Association of Obstetri titions and Gynecologists.

"The Franklinic Interrupted Current, or My New System of Therapeutic Administration of Static Electricity," by W. J. Morton, M. D. Reprinted from the New York Medical Record.

"A Case of Intra-Cranial Neoplasm with Localizing Eye Symptoms, Position

of Tumor Verified by Autopsy," by Charles A. Oliver, M. D., Philadelphia. Reprint from Archives of Ophthalmology. "The Surgical Treatment of NonPedunculated Abdominal Tumours," by Henry O. Marcy, A. M., M. D. by Henry O. Marcy, A. M., M. D. Reprinted from the Journal of the Amer

ican Medical Association.

"Removal of a Large Exostosis of the Orbit, with Preservation of the Eye," by Thomas R. Pooley, M. D. Reprint from the Proceedings of the Transactions of the Ophthalmological Society.

"The Rational Treatment of Uterine Displacements, Based on a Consideration of Pathological Conditions Present." Reprinted from the American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children.

"Fundamental Anatomico-Mechanical Considerations Underlying the Successful Treatment of Deformities, Diseases, and Weaknesses of the Spine by Means of a New, Efficient, Comfortable, Inconspicuous and Elegant Corset," by Milton Josiah Roberts, M. D.

"The Report of a Case of a Large Interstitial Fibroid of the Uterus, Removed by Abdominal Section, with some Observations in Relation to the most Rational Methods of Dealing with Neoplastic Formations which Originate in the Muscular Fibre of the Uterus."

In April the First Number of the Journal of Gynecology will be issued. Dr. C. N. Smith, of Toledo, Ohio, will

be the Editor.

The Century for March. The March Century has a third instalment of the famous Talleyrand Memoirs. This instalment deals with Napoleon Bonaparte, Josephine, and the Emperor Alexander. The California series this month takes up the Frémont explorations, first with a brief paper giving a résumé of the five explorations, second, with a paper by Mrs. Frémont on the "Origin of the Frémont Explorations"; and third,

with a posthumous narrative of the terrible experiences of the fourth expedition under the title of "Rough Times in Rough Places," it being a personal record of Micajah McGehee of Mississippi. Included are portraits of Thomas H. Benton, the late George Bancroft, from a daguerreotype, Mrs. Frémont from a miniature, and a drawing of Frémont's address to the Indians at Fort Laramie, also portraits of Jim Bridger, Alexis Godey, and Charles Preuss, besides other illustrative material. Mrs. Frémont tells how she disobeyed orders of the War Department sent to her husband, and the McGehee narrative gives a graphic account of starvation experiences of the ill-fated fourth expedition.

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SOCIETY REPORTS.

MEDICAL AND SURGICAL SOCIETY OF BALTIMORE.

STATED MEETING HELD JAN. 8th, 1891. The 718th regular meeting was called to order by the president Dr. H. T. Rennolds; Dr. Arthur D. Mansfield was elected to membership.

Dr. Geo. J. Preston read a paper on the differential diagnosis and treatment of peripheral neuritis.

Dr.F. C.Bresson said he had seen a few cases. The first case was that of a woman who was brought into the city hospital in 1885. She was thought to be drunk at the time she was brought in. She had the wrist drop and foot drop, had pain in the ankle and along the tibia. The muscles were atrophied, and at the time a diagnosis of poliomyelitis in the adult was made. She staid at the hospital for one month when she was sent to Bay View. Another case, of Dr. Spicknall's, of a saleswoman, who all at once, was attacked by wasting of the hands, arms and shoulders. Under massage and strychnia she has recovered. In regard to children, he saw a girl of 7 years who