twitching of the right eyebrow, and both eyes jerking to the right side. Then the muscles of the right hand and right leg became implicated, there being about four or five spasmodic contractions to the minute and synchronous with the jerking of the eyes. None of the muscles on the left side were affected. I kept the patient partially under the influence of chloroform for over an hour, when the spasms became relaxed. I then administered an enema of warm water, which brought away a large quantity of extremely offensive fæces; then gave an enema of beef-tea. The child by this time was quite conscious and extremely thirsty. I gave it a little milk with yelk of egg. A second attack came on about an hour afterwards, but was subdued by the chloroform in a quarter of an hour. I gave it another hypodermic injection of morphia (nd of a grain), after which it fell asleep for a couple of hours, and had no return of the muscular contraction. The pupils were regaining their normal state, though the eyes were occasionally turned to the right side. There was no delirium in this case, as is usually observed in cases of poisoning by belladonna; and the unilateral muscular contraction was rather an unusual symptom. The child has now (three days after) quite recovered except for some slight aphonia."

The writer in introducing the case said it might be interesting from the fact of the poisoning having been produced by what many people imagine to be quite harmless remedies.

We should like to know a little more about these "pilules." It is possible the anxious uncle may have been deluded by some of the spurious imitations of homoeopathic pilules, now in the market otherwise known by the name of " parvules," "granules," &c. In any case it is refreshing to have a complaint of homœopathic pilules as being too strong. Complaints from the quarter whence this emanates are usually to the effect that there is nothing in them. Either complaint is good enough to serve its turn and to excuse the complainers from taking the trouble to see if there is anything in homœopathy.

Poisoning by Belladonna.

SOME time ago (Lancet, August 20th, 1881) I reported to you a case of Stramonium poisoning, in which the inhalation of

chloroform was very successful. Last week I was called to a boy, aged seven years, who had swallowed part of half a drachm of extract of belladonna six hours before. He had become drowsy at first, but was now wildly delirious, biting and kicking those who approached him. Mustard emetics had proved powerless, and the boy appeared to be getting worse. Thinking it now too late to employ emetics, I administered chloroform for about a quarter of an hour, and left the boy in a quiet slumber. On calling next morning I found my patient at play, and learned that he had awakened quite recovered, after a quiet sleep of seven and a half hours.-ERNEST RAWSON, M.R.C.S.E.-Lancet, February 24th, 1883.

Poisoning by Eau de Javelle (Hypochlorite of Potassium).

In the course of the year 1838 Dr. Boulateur and M. Barbet were called to a young woman who had poisoned herself in consequence of a disappointment in love. On entering the chamber they were struck with the smell of Chlorine which filled it. The patient, aged about eighteen, of strong constitution, lay stretched on her bed in a state of extreme agitation. The countenance was slightly injected, the eyes full of tears, the jaws feebly clenched. Her mouth gave out the smell of Chlorine. A whitish frothy saliva surrounded her lips. She experienced a sense of constriction of the fauces and right across the œsophagus, and complained of intolerable suffering in the region of the epigastrium. On placing the hand on that region the stomach was felt violently convulsed. The pulse was full and frequent, heat developed but equally distributed, the forehead covered with sweat. The people of the house gave the physician a bottle, of the capacity of 750 grammes, labelled Eau de Javelle, and containing about thirty to forty grammes of a liquid which they recognised at once as Chloride of Potash. been returned to her full a few hours before. the rest as she formally confessed. The patient refusing to allow the stomach-tube to be inserted, M. Barbet proposed to administer calcined Magnesia; 20 grammes of it were sus

This bottle had She had drunk all

pended in 200 grammes of sweetened water, and they prevailed on the patient to drink about half at several times. A quarter of an hour had scarcely passed before an abundant vomiting occurred, expelling about two glassfuls of a liquid strongly smelling of Chlorine, containing flakes of the Magnesia floating about in it. Two fresh doses of the Magnesia mixture brought on fresh vomiting, and were continued till the vomited matter had no longer the smell of Chlorine. Then the Magnesia was stopped and replaced by mucilaginous drinks. At length the symptoms subsided, the pain in the stomach grew less, and after twenty-four hours the patient could resume her usual occupation.

CASE 2.-A young woman, æt. 20, about the same time, sought for the same cause to end her days by drinking a glass of Eau de Javelle. Called ten minutes after the ingestion of the poison M. Barbet lost no time in prescribing calcined Magnesia, of which she took eight grammes suspended in sweetened water. Vomiting soon occurred as in the preceding case, and all ended without the least accident, owing to the short time the poison had remained in the stomach.-Bull. de Therap., xxv, 468.

Pilocarpin and Jaborandi in Cataract.

THE value of Pilocarpin and Jaborandi in the treatment of affections of the eye has been investigated by Dr. Sandesberg. He states that in certain diseases they are useful, but he has met with some facts which suggest that their use may cause cataract. In four cases of detachment of the retina and one of serous choroiditis, in which the crystalline lens was perfectly transparent up to the commencement of the treatment, it afterwards rapidly became opaque. He also treated a horse for irido-choroiditis, and large opacities of the vitreous, giving infusions of Jaborandi leaves and injecting Pilocarpin beneath the skin. The morbid process was rapidly arrested, and the vitreous body became entirely transparent; but during the fourth week of treatment the crystalline lens was observed to become opaque. It is, of course, possible that the development of the cataract

and the preceding treatment were simply coincident by chance, but the facts are at least suspicious.-Lancet, November 25th,

1882.

Pilocarpin in the Night Sweats of Phthisis.
By Dr. WINDELBAND.

THE following article in the Allg. med. Centralzeitung, No. 97, 1881, is an example of so-called homœopathia involuntaria, as we are accustomed to term the employment by allopaths of medicines in small doses, whose action is explicable on the homœopathic principle. Dr. G. Dulacska published in the Pester Med. Chir. Presse, No. 48, 1881, an essay in which he says that he learned from English sources that Pilocarpin had been employed with success in the night sweats of phthisical patients. He regards the sweats of phthisis as a state of irritation of the vagus from various causes, and hence he gives Pilocarpin as sedative of irritation, which, according to his own experience, and that of Ringer, Pancoast, Werkel and Murrell, is the most · suitable remedy. The last-named practitioner gave Pilocarpin in thirty-three unselected cases in Westminster Hospital with good results. From his own experience of twenty cases he is able to testify to its successful use. He says that in order to diminish the perspiration it must be given internally and in small doses. He prescribes usually: Pilocarp. muriat., centigr. 3; Ext. gentian, q. s., ut fiant pil. x=3 milligr. Pilocarpin in each pill. The patient takes one pill between 8 and 9 p.m. If that does not suffice two to three pills at three hours' interval. More than three pills were never required in order to diminish the sweats to such a degree that the patient had only a very slight transpiration. He further observed in two cases after taking the Pilocarpin the temperature sank from 38-4° to the normal. Further observations are required in order to determine if Pilocarpin really causes a lowering of the temperature. It is, however, indisputable that Pilocarpin in small doses is able to check the copious sweating of phthisical patients. With these words the article closes, and the reader is left to explain

the physiological process by which such a powerful diaphoretic remedy, which must have a specific influence on the vagus, cures, or at least relieves, in small doses a condition which it produces in larger doses. The author omits to point out that this curative effect of Pilocarpin is a confirmation of the truth of the homœopathic law, and yet it is impossible to think that he is ignorant of the principle similia similibus curentur.-Zeitsch. des Berliner Ver. hom. Aerzte, i, pt. v, p. 383.

Urticaria from eating Rabbit.

I HAD the opportunity of witnessing the most interesting case. of acute urticaria and spasmodic asthma I have ever seen the other evening whilst dining, showing how idiosyncrasy in certain articles of food affects certain individuals. A young lady was sitting at dinner, apparently in perfect health. She partook, amongst other things, of some rabbit, and in about ten minutes or so after she had eaten of it she was attacked with acute urticaria, showing large erythematous patches and wheals very prominent on face and neck. She then was seized with violent attacks of spasmodic asthma, which obliged her to leave the table. I inquired if she had ever suffered this before, and she informed me she had after eating hare. I have seen several instances of urticaria, and one case in conjunction with spasmodic asthma, after eating hare, showing this peculiar idiosyncrasy in individuals to certain articles of food.-JAMES STARTIN.-Lancet, February 24th, 1883. [We have seen the same symptoms caused by eating sole.]

Regular Medicine :-Wanted, the Rule.

A FEW weeks ago a correspondent wrote to the Lancet giving particulars of a case of persistent hiccough which he was unable to relieve, and asking advice from other correspondents. He had