At a meeting of the Military Service Institution sulted in conspicuous failure; the combined result of held at Governor's Island April 10th, Gen. Egbert cheapness, bad contractors, and of too little knowledge Viele, Commissioner of the New York Park Depart- of the true principles involved in the construction on ment, read a paper on Camp and Garrison Sanitation. the part of those charged with the duty of their He began by showing from official statistics the enor- erection. mous disproportion in a number of great wars between those killed in battle and those who died of disease. Thus, in the war between the United States and Mexico there were killed in battle 120 officers and 1429 soldiers, and died of disease 101 officers and 10,885 soldiers, to which if 9749, discharged for disability, were added, it would make an invalid loss of 20,634 out of the aggregate of 104,454 men engaged in the war; while during the late Civil War the Federal army lost 93,969 men who were killed in battle or died of wounds, and 210,400 who died of disease. Afterwards he spoke of the Walcheren expedition, sent out by the British Government in 1809 to take Antwerp, where more than 40,000 soldiers and a magnificently equipped fleet accomplished nothing on account of the disabling of the troops by disease, and in contrast to this described the building of forts on malarious islands at the mouth of the Savannah River during the late war, where the soldiers by the observance of strict sanitary discipline were enabled to withstand the injurious effects of their surroundings. A critical examination into the barrack life of the British army made a few years ago, he went on to say, showed that over-crowding, bad ventilation, bad drainage, and bad water were the rule, and not the exception; but great improvements had been made in foreign camp sanitation, and he mentioned particularly the hygienic corps, thoroughly organized and educated in sanitary principles, which was one of the features of the military organization of Switzerland. He then proceeded to show how badly the United States army was quartered. Of all the 187 forts and barracks, he said, no two were alike in plan, profile, or perspective, and if there was any similarity, it was in the discomforts and inconveniences by which they were nearly all surrounded. Some of them had been constructed in such places and in such a manner that it would seem as if human ingenuity had been exercised to the utmost in order to achieve the climax of human stupidity, and the condition of the sea-board forts and harbor stations, he said, was particularly bad. In this connection he quoted the following from Surgeon Bill's report of experiments on atmospheric impurities of soldiers' quarters: "I made no examination of the barracks of Governor's Island, nor of the As well make an excasemate quarters of the men. amination of a pig-stye. They disregard every modern notion of hygiene; they are dark, damp, cold, and may or may not contain excess of carbonic anhydride; probably they do not, and hence analytical results would merely mislead." Having described particularly the sanitary defects existing at Fort Adams, Newport, Fort McHenry, Baltimore, and Fort Hamilton, New York Harbor, he went on to say that the evils complained of were found in all the sea-board forts, and, what was worse, the most recent attempts which had been made at improved quarters had re To remedy the errors of years, General Viele said in conclusion, would not be easy, but the principles of sanitation could at least be learned. A porous soil, with good natural drainage, should be selected for a camp. There should be good drinking water, which should never be polluted. The direction of the prevailing wind and sunshine should be considered. Shade trees were an essential element. The drainage should be made perfect. The disposal of refuse matter should be carefully arranged. No subject was less understood in garrisons than ventilation. Every man ought to have eight hundred cubic feet of space to himself, and this should have direct or indirect channels to the outer atmosphere. Disinfectants should be constantly used, and sulphate of iron was especially recommended for this purpose. A bad cook was declared to be the men's worst enemy, and the cooking should be daily inspected. Personal cleanliness should be systematically required, and all the conveniences for securing this provided. The paper was discussed by a number of army surgeons and other gentlemen present, and on motion of General Tower, who said that this important subject was now stirring up the whole medical corps of the army, it was voted that it should be published. The State Senate has passed the bill prohibiting the manufacture or sale of oleomargarine or other im itations of butter, and the Adirondack bill, entitled An Act to Create a Forest Commission for the State of New York, and making an Appropriation therefor, which provides for the appointment of three commissioners, with salaries of $2500, to lay out and locate the lands belonging to the State and protect them against trespassers, and for the appropriation of $15,000. The health authorities, in investigating the cause of a recent outbreak of typhus fever among the Polish Jews on the East Side, have found that the disease was imported. The first case reported was that of an immigrant child, who arrived here on the steamship Nebraska on the 22d of March and afterwards died of the fever, which she contracted on the vessel. Some of the other cases reported were among immigrants who arrived on the steamer Moravia on March 26th. In the death of Mrs. Oswald Ottendorfer, wife of the proprietor of the New Yorker Staats Zeitung, New York has lost one of its most liberal benefactresses. In addition to many other charities during her life she built the Isabella Home for Aged Women, at Astoria, in memory of a deceased daughter, at a cost of over $100,000, erected and furnished a wing of the German Hospital (the woman's pavilion) at a like cost, and expended over $150,000 for the German Dispensary Free Reading Rooms, now in course of construction. In her will, besides many other charitable bequests, she left $10,000 to the German Hospital and Dispensary of New York, and $5,000 to the German Hospital at Newark, New Jersey. The death of the oldest son of Mr. Joseph H. Choate, a member of the freshman class of Harvard College, who died at his father's residence in New York on the 5th of April, was due to apoplexy, although he was but nineteen years of age. Miscellany. MALARIA AND DIPHTHERIA IN CONNECTICUT. THE secretary of the Board of Health reports for the month of February in Connecticut that the month does not present as good a record as it should for a short one. The total mortalities are too high, and the ratios are higher than those for the same month in previous years. The most noticeable event is the return of acute tertian ague. For some time past reports have been made of this recurrence, now here, now there, until it has extended over nearly all the region that has been invaded by malaria, where dumb ague and the like and the continued type of disease had been the rule. The last new start is reported from Middlesex County, from Durham, and adjacent towns, thus completing the whole area except here and there localities that have not yet showed the movement. It has been irregular both as to time and space, and at first suggests a renewed onslaught of malaria as it first appeared, but there is no increase in the periodic type, and, as a rule, after the appearance of quite a number of cases the frequency diminishes, and scattering cases continue to be encountered. As clearly defined cases of tertian ague had rarely been seen over a large area, where the decline of the periodic type and the decrease in malarial cases indicated an entire disappearance of the disease, the reappearance excites attention, and the developments will be closely watched to learn what the prospects are that the malarial type has become a permanent one. As typho-malaria fever still lingers in England we may expect the same result here, but whether acute ague is to be a regular affliction is another question. may be regarded as more or less equivalent. As to a longer duration of the menstrual hæmorrhage a corresponding ovarian activity can be supposed; so, also, the hypothesis may be justified of a more easy rupture of more ovisacs, and a greater probability of multiple pregnancy. From the analysis of very numerous observations Professor Cuzzi thinks himself justified in formulating the following conclusions: (1.) The weight and length of the foetus at term are in direct relation with the number of days menstruation occupied. The longer the usual period of menstruation the heavier and larger the foetus. (2.) There is a direct relation between multiple pregnancy and the duration of the menstrual period. That is, multiple pregnancy is most frequent in women in whom the period is long and the loss free. INTERNATIONAL HEALTH EXHIBITION. this year will be the establishment of a Library and Reading A SOMEWHAT novel feature in connection with the exhibition Room, a home for which the Executive Council have assigned in a large double room in the Albert Hall, overlooking the Conservatory. Steps have been taken to secure a representative collection of works on vital statistics, of reports and regula tions relating to public health, of regulations with reference to injurious trades, and of works thereon, and of reports, statistics, and other works on the science of education. Foreign powers have been invited to lend their coöperation in this effort to create an international library of works of reference bearing on the two divisions of the Exhibition, and several responses have already been received. India and the Colonies have also been asked to contribute towards the same end. Publishers and authors have likewise been invited to forward copies of their works. In addition to the Library of Reference there will be a Reading Room, to which the current numbers of periodical publications of a sanitary or educational character will be admitted. All books and periodicals sent to the library and reading room will, under certain regulations, be arranged for the use of visitors, and not merely for exhibition. The books will be submitted to the jurors, and a full catalogue will be issued. All parcels for the Library and Reading Room should be addressed, carriage paid, to the Secretary of the Library Sub Committee, Royal Albert Hall, London, S. W. April 2, 1884. ICAL OFFICERS UNITED STATES NAVY FOR THE TWO WEEKS ENDING APRIL 12, 1884. The epidemic of diphtheria continued unabated dur- LIST OF CHANGES IN THE STATIONS OF MEDing February. In Hartford the death-rate is even higher than in January, and the number from zymotic diseases and the infantile deaths are slightly increased over those of January. The total mortality since January, 1883, from croup and diphtheria is 295, a condition unprecedented in the sanitary history of the State. DURATION OF THE MENSTRUAL HÆMORRHAGE IN RELATION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FETUS AT TERM, AND TO MULTIPLE PREGNANCY. THE London Medical Record summarizes a paper by Cuzzi (Rivista Clinica and Annali Univ. di Med., July, 1883), in which the author seeks to establish his conclusions on the basis of much statistical material collected in the clinics of Modena, Milan, and Turin. He was led to this research by the idea that by the amenorrhoea of pregnancy a so much greater quantity of maternal nourishment was retained for the benefit of the foetus, as the sanguineous loss was greater in menstruation. Not being able to determine exactly the quantity lost at each period he took its duration as a guide which, considering the number of his observations, WALES, P. S., medical director, granted one year's leave of absence from March 28th, with permission to leave United States. BATES, N. L., medical inspector, ordered to Washington to attend sick officers. BRADLEY, M., medical inspector, ordered to continue duty at League Island Navy Yard. WHITAKER, H. W., assistant surgeon, ordered to Naval Rendezvous at Philadelphia, Pa. GUNNELL, F. M., surgeon-general, appointed Chief of Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and Surgeon-General of the Navy, with the relative rank of commodore, from March 27th. RUSH, C. W., passed assistant surgeon, ordered to Naval Academy. Philadelphia, and to await orders for duty at Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. MCMURTRIE, D., surgeon, detached from Naval Rendezvous, NELSON, H. C., medical inspector, ordered before Retiring Board. GORG AS, A. C., medical director, to be medical director from 4th March on the active list. BATTLE, S. W., passed assistant surgeon, ordered before Retiring Board. WELLS, H. M., surgeon, detached from Naval Hospital, New York, to report at Bureau for special duty. HIBBETT, C. T., passed assistant surgeon, placed on waiting orders. STEWART, H., surgeon, placed on retired list from April 10th. Deaths reported 2640 (no reports from Buffalo, Milwaukee, and Providence): under five years of age, 981 principal infectious diseases (small-pox, measles, diphtheria and croup, whooping-cough, erysipelas, fevers, and diarrhoeal diseases) 377, consumption 465, lung diseases 397, diphtheria and croup 111, scarlet fever 60, diarrhoeal diseases 43, typhoid fever 34, measles 35, whooping-cough 21, erysipelas 17, puerperal fever 14, smallpox 16, malarial fevers 13, cerebro-spinal meningitis 10, typhus fever three. From diarrheal diseases, Chicago 11, New York 10, Cincinnati six, Philadelphia and Malden three each, Boston, St. Louis, and District of Columbia two each, Brooklyn, Baltimore, New Orleans, Charleston, New Bedford, and Milford one each. From measles, New York 12, Baltimore 10, New Orleans seven, Chicago four, Brooklyn two. From whooping-cough, New York nine, Brooklyn, Boston, Baltimore, and Cincinnati two each, Chicago, New Orleans, Marblehead, and Lee one each. From erysipelas New York five, Boston three, Brooklyn and Chicago two each, Baltimore, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Brooklyn one each. From small-pox, New Orleans 12, Cincinnati two, Pittsburg and Nashville one each. From puerperal fever, Boston four, Chicago three, Brooklyn and Nashville two each, Baltimore, St. Louis, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Fitchburg one each. From malarial fevers, Brooklyn three, Chicago and Baltimore two each, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Charleston one each. From cerebrospinal meningitis, New York five, Philadelphia two, Chicago, Boston, and St. Louis one each. From typhus fever, New York three. were killed during the riot. Six cases of small-pox were reported in St. Louis, Cincinnati one; scarlet fever 44, diphtheria 17, typhoid fever four, and measles one, in Boston. In 96 cities and towns of Massachusetts, with an estimated population of 1,352,159 (estimated population of the State 1,955,104), the total death-rate for the week was 16.77 against 18.21 and 22.61 for the previous two weeks. In the 28 greater towns of England and Wales, with an estimated population of 8,762,354, for the week ending March 22d, the death-rate was 22.1. Deaths reported 3709: acute diseases of the respiratory organs (London) 373, whooping-cough 143, measles 141, scarlet fever 86, diarrhoea 42, fever 35, diphtheria 28, small-pox (Birmingham four, London, Liverpool, and Sunderland three each) 13. The death-rates ranged from 15.2 in Plymouth to 31.5 in Preston; Birkenhead 18.9; Leicester 19.6; Sunderland 19.9; London 20.6; Sheffield 21; Huddersfield 21.8; Birmingham 21.9; Liverpool 27; Manchester 27.9; Leeds 28.2. In Edinburgh 18.6; Glasgow 25.8; Dublin 27.5. For the week ending March 22d, in the Swiss towns, there were 36 deaths from consumption, lung diseases 27, typhoid fever 35, diarrhoeal diseases 24, whooping-cough seven, diphtheria and croup six, scarlet fever five, measies one. The death-rates were, at Geneva 40.8; Zurich 19.7; Basle 25.6; Berne 28.9. The meteorological record for the week ending April 5th, in Boston, was as follows, according to observations furnished by Sergeant O. B. Cole, of the U. S. Signal Corps: 1 O., cloudy; C., clear; F., fair; G., fog; H., sleet; S., snow; R., rain; T., threatening. OFFICIAL LIST OF CHANGES IN THE STATIONS AND DUTIES OF OFFICERS SERVING IN THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT UNITED STATES ARMY FROM MARCH 29, 1884, TO APRIL 11, 1884. WOODHULL, ALFRED A., major and surgeon. Granted leave of absence for twenty-two days, to take effect about April 6, 1884. Paragraph 13, S. O. 72, A. G. O., March 28, 1884. WHITE, ROBERT H., captain and assistant surgeon. To be relieved from duty at U. S. Military Academy, West Point, N. Y., August 28, 1884. Paragraph 7, S. O. 74, A. G. O., March 31, 1884. MEARNS, EDGAR A., first lieutenant and assistant surgeon. Assigned to duty at Fort Verde, A. T. Paragraph 1, S. U. 22, headquarters Department of Arizona, March 19, 1874. To be reSUTHERLAND, CHARLES, colonel and surgeon. lieved from duty in Division of the Pacific and to report to the commanding general, Division of the Atlantic, for duty as medical director of that Division and of the Department of the East. Paragraph 4, S. O. 78, A. G. O., April 4, 1884. BAILY, ELISHA J., colonel and surgeon, ordered to report to the commanding general, Division of the Pacific, for duty as medical director of that division and of the Department of California. Paragraph 4, S. O. 78, A. G. O., April 4, 1884. STERNBERG, GEORGE M., major and surgeon. Ordered to be relieved from duty in Department of California, and to report to commanding general, Department of the East, for assignment to duty. MOSELEY, EDWARD B., captain and assistant surgeon. Or dered to be relieved from duty in Department of the East and to report to the commanding general, Department of the Columbia, for assignment to duty. Paragraph 4, S. O. 78, A. G. O., April 4, 1884. SMITH, JOSEPH R., major and surgeon. Directed to represent the Medical Department of the Army at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association, to be held in Washington, D. C., on the 6th of May, 1884, and on the adjournment of the Association to return to his proper station (San Antonio, Texas). Paragraph 7, S. O. 81, A. G. O., April 8, 1884. WILCOX, TIMOTHY E., captain and assistant surgeon. Ordered to be relieved from duty in Department of the Columbia and to report to the commanding general, Department of the East, for assignment to duty. Paragraph 4, S. O. 78, A. G. O., April 4, 1884. OBITUARY. DR. PLINY A. JEWETT, a prominent practitioner of New Haven, and well known as having been an expert witness in a number of important medico-legal cases, died April 10th in Providence. He went to Providence a week before to testify, as an expert, in a murder case, and was taken with pneumonia. He was a life director in the Connecticut General Hospital, and during the war was in charge of the military hospital in New Haven. He graduated from Trinity College in 1837, and was appointed Professor of Obstetrics in Yale College in 1856. He leaves two sons and one daughter. 56.00 1.86 SUFFOLK DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETY. - The annual meet ing of the Suffolk District Medical Society will be held on Sat urday, April 26th, at 7.45 P. M. Dr. A. Day will present a paper entitled Popular Medical Delusions. Other papers will also be presented. Business: Election of officers. The following is the ticket reported by the nominating committee: For President, James C. White. For Vice-President, George B. Shattuck. For Secretary, C. M. Green. For Treasurer, E. M. Buckingham. For Librarian, B. J. Jeffries. For Commissioner of Trials, Charles W. Swan. For District Nominating Committee, George C. Shattuck. For Committee of Supervision, Benjamin S. Shaw, Samuel A. Green. For Committee on Social Meetings, Calvin Stevens, H. I. Bowditch, George W. Gay. For Censors, A. N. Blodgett, E. G. Cutler, T. M. Rotch, F. C. Shattuck, F. H. Williams. For Councilors, S. L. Abbot, James Ayer, H. H. A. Beach, H. J. Bigelow, C. J. Blake, J. G. Blake, H. I. Bowditch, S. Cabot, D. W. Cheever, Hall Curtis, H. Derby, O. W. Doe, F. W. Draper, Thomas Dwight, W. H. Thorndike, R. H. Fitz, C. F. Folsom, J. O. Green, S. A. Green, F. B. Greenough, W. H. H. Hastings, J. R. Draper, R. M. Hodges, C. D. Homans, John Homans, W. Ingalls, B. J. Jeffries, F. I. Knight, S. W. Langmaid, G. H. Lyman, F. Minot, C. B. Porter, John P. Reynolds, W. L. Richardson, G. C. Shattuck, B. S. Shaw, A. D. Sinclair, D. H. Storer, A. M. Sumner, C. W. Swan, G. G. Tarbell, O. F. Wadsworth, J. C. Warren, Thomas Waterman, James C. White, E. N. Whittier, W. G. Wheeler, H. W. Williams. Supper at the usual hour. H. C. HAVEN, Secretary. THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. SECTION OF PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. The chairman, Dr. John V. Shoemaker, of Philadelphia, Penn., submits the official programme for the meetings of the Section of Practice of Medicine, to be held in Washington, D. C., Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons, May 6, 7, and 8, 1884. The following special subjects have been promised, and those who are announced to enter into the discussions have accepted and will be present: (1.) Discussion on A Contribution to the Clinical Study of Epilepsy, will be opened by Prof. William Pepper, of Pennsylvania. (2.) A discussion on the Clinical Study of the Heart Sounds, will be opened by Prof. Austin Flint, Sr., of New York. (3.) A discussion on Tuberculosis, will be opened by Dr. Henry F. For mad, of Pennsylvania. No less than twenty-one papers on various medical subjects are also promised, and have been accepted. BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS Received. - The Pathology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Diseases of the Rectum and Anus. By Charles B. Kelsey, M. D., Surgeon to St. Paul's Infirmary for Diseases of the Rectum, etc. With two Chromo-Lithographs and nearly 100 Illustrations. New York: William Wood & Co. 1884. Moral (Affective) Insanity, Psycho-Sensory Insanity. By C. H. Hughes, M. D., St. Louis. (Reprint.) Shakspeare as a Physician. Comprising every Word which in any Way relates to Medicine, Surgery, or Obstetrics found in the Complete Works of that Writer, with Criticisms and Comparison of the Same with the Medical Thoughts of ToDay. By J. Portman Chesney, M. D. St. Louis: J. H. Chambers & Co. 1884. BRAIN AND NERVE FOOD. CROSBY'S VITALIZED PHOS-PHITES, From the Nerve-Giving Principles of the Ox-Brain and the Embryo of the Wheat and Oat, standard preparation with all Physicians who treat Nervous or Mental Disorders. Formula on every label. It is useful in all forms of Imed Vitality, Mental Exhaustion, or Nervous Indigestion. It aids in the bodily and wonderfully in the mental growth of children. As it is a 1 to the nerves, the teeth become sounder, the hair more glossy, the skin finer and smoother, the nails more handsome and less brittle. By Druggists or Mail, $1.00. BRAIN WORKERS NEED BRAIN FOOD. F. CROSBY CO., 56 West 25th Street, New York City. DUCRO'S ALIMENTARY ELIXIR, A Combination uniting the Properties of ALCOHOLIC STIMULANTS AND RAW MEAT. This preparation, which has been used with great success in the hospitals of Paris since 1868, is adapted to the treatment dl diseases requiring the administration, in a small volume, of a tonic able to stimulate and support the vital forces, as PULNARY PHTHISIS, DEPRESSION AND NERVOUS DEBILITY, ADYNAMIA, MALARIOUS CACHEXIA, etc. Prepared by EMILE DURIEZ & CO., Successors to DUCRO & CIE., Paris. be sent by registered mail, with directions for use, on receipt of $3, or 6 for $16. For brush or circular apply to Discount to Physicians.) SUPPORTER CUP STEM DR. WADSWORTH'S Uterine Elevator. Made of India Rubber, without lead, is the most complete, alebe adapted, affords more relief, gives better results, es of Prolapsus Uteri, and Displacements of the omb, than all other Pessaries and Supporters combined. say thousands of Physicians from Canada to Texas. Pamphlets describing the Instrument, also Price List, sent 1application. H. II. BURRINGTON, Chemist & Druggist, Sole Proprietor, Providence, R. I. for sale by dealers in Surgical Instruments generally. N.B.-The public are cautioned against using the above rade Marks. FISK & ARNOLD, MANUFACTURERS OF ARTIFICIAL LIMBS, G. F. WATERS, 8 Beacon Street, Boston. Mass. IN WAR TIME, A Striking SERIAL STORY, By S. WEIR MITCHELL, M. D., Began in January Atlantic. INDEX TO ADVERTISEMENTS. PAGE ANGLO-SWISS COND. MILK Co... Anglo-Swiss Milk Food 18 BOSTON DENTAL COLLEGE.. .....House Officers 2 12 |