1023

in such a book as this is intended to be, very difficult to

decide what should be included and what rejected, while thevalue to the student of an "introduction" to any branch

of medicine is greatly enhanced by brevity, so that the

volume can be carried in the pocket and consulted on a pointjust when that point turns up in the wards or is present inthe learner’s mind. Therefore we do not lay any stress on thefact that such expressions as " cathodal closing contraction,"syringomyelia, "locomotor ataxy," peripheral neuritis,"

"

lateral sclerosis," "central lesion," spastic paraplegia," "

and infantile paralysis" occur without any definition of

their meaning or any diagrammatic aid to their com-

prehension. It is clear that Dr. Campbell Thomson pre-

supposes his readers to have studied the subject in largerbooks or to have followed attentively lecturers with a largerpurview before coming to him, and that his intention hasbeen to provide them with a means of arranging in an

orderly manner what they have read or heard. This inten-tion does not quite bear out the title of "introduction,"but it is a very good and useful one and has been wellcarried out by the author. We can well understand senior

students, or men reading for a higher qualification thanthose which they possess, finding this little work of greatassistance to them.

LIBRARY TABLE.Ten Shillings a Head per Week for House Books. By Mrs.

C. S. PEEL. Westminster: Archibald Constable and Co.1899. Price 3s. 6d.-Health is dependent on, amongstother matters, a happy home, and how many homes areruined by bad and wasteful cookery. There are persons whohave sunk low enough to " do " chops in a frying-pan andothers to boil fish in cold water. Either of these iniquitiesis blameful and extravagant. Mrs. Peel’s book is a light-house for the young housekeeper who has embarked uponthe troubled sea of making both ends meet. It is, however,difficult not to sympathise with the lady whose letteris quoted in the preface: "Dear Mrs. Peel,-I wish

you would not write such nonsense. My husbandwill now be more tiresome than ever about thebills." AS’unt lacrymae rerum indeed. All the same the

book is sound except upon one or two points. House-

keeping on 10s. per head per week is certainly possible.We have worked out the menus given in Mrs. Peel’s

excellent book and find that for eight persons house-

keeping can be done on f,4 per week. But the eight personsshould have very small appetites, and the four servants

included in that number must be of a different stamp tothose to be found in ordinary middle-class households, forthey must be prepared to do without meat suppers, Mrs

Peel appearing to have compiled her lists without includingthis item. The ordinary servant will not make her supperof bread-and-cheese alone. Moreover, soap, candles, soda,house-flannel, and similar articles are ot included in the .64per week, though these things are nor. frines and should befound in the grocer’s book. Mrs. Peel makes one statement ]

. which appears to us open to the gravest objection-viz., (

that one pound of butter per week for cooking purposeswould be sufficient for the needs of eight persons. When ,

f t

it is remembered that butter may be required for vege- tables, sauces, cakes, pastry, and other things it will be seenthat the cook who could spread one pound of butter over the t

week remains yet to be born. Another matter that strikes 118 is that Mrs. Peel has omitted to point out the immense

* ‘

advantage to be gained by personally choosing such thingsas vegetables, fruit, fish, and poultry. By taking this course the young housekeeper would get far better value for her t(

money and would also gain knowledge of what is and what is sinot good. On the whole, however, Mrs. Peel’s book is the tlbest of the kind that has come under our notice and one which may strongly be recommended to housekeepers. If mthey will only take Mrs. Peel’s advice they will be astonished cr

to find how many pounds they will be able to spend upon! themselves which formerly went into the pockets of the

tradesman. There is one point with regard to which weare compelled to differ from Mrs. Peel. She recommendsthat curry should be served with a " border of rice,"v. recipes 141, 168, and 286. Now the rice with curryshould always be served on a separate dish ; if not, it getspappy and sticky. Moreover, 20 minutes is not long enoughto cook a curry (v. 158), unless the chicken be cooked

directly it is killed.

ASYLUM REPORTS.LC-

’er Glasgow Parish Govan and Lanark District Asylom,er

Kirklands (Annual Report for 1898s).-The average annual.as number of patients resident in the asylum was 202 andas consisted of 107 males and 95 females. During the year

33 patients were admitted, 19 were discharged, and 19n- died. Of those admitted 12 were suffering from incur-

," able forms of insanity. As regards physical health, twowere admitted in a very weak state and 14 in poor

physical condition. Of the 17 discharges, 16 were regardedor as "recovered," being in the proportion of 7’9 per cent.to the average resident population. Of the 19 deaths,

] three were due to general paralysis and two to senile

decay. The tabulated causes (Table V.) of death showa total absence of phthisis and only one case is assignedto " tuberculosis of the intestines." The immunity

, from phthisis is thus remarkable among the population atthis institution. " This freed6m mav be attributable to the’ fact that the dietary is very full and complete, that extra

’t foods such as malt extracts, cod-liver oil, &c., are extensivelye used ...... out-door life is indulged in, and also to the facto that any case exhibiting symptoms of any iorm of tubercu-1 loss easily communicable to other patients is treated as a

case of infectious disease by isolation and disinfection ofrooms....... During the past five years ending April 30th,

-

1899, there have been only nine deaths due to tuberculosis in1 any of its forms

" The question of milk-supply it would

, seem is the only one to be looked to with a view to preventtuberculous contamination from that source. Epidemics of

i influenza and of scarlet fever visited the institution duringthe year. Nine inmates, four of the staff, and five patientswere attacked by the latter, and with the exception of onepatient who died from malignant scarlet fever the others

! have recovered or are in process of convalescence.County and City of Worcester Asylum (Annual Report for

1898).-The average number of patients resident in the

asylum was 1096 and consisted of 479 males and 617 females.There were 206 admissions during the year, 181 of thesebeing first admissions and 25 being re-admissiocs. Of the totaladmissions 98 were males and 108 females. Of the admissions44 were in bad health and exhausted condition and 142 werein indifferent health and reduced condition. Among theadmissions were 18 cases of general paralysis of the insane.57 patients were discharged as "recovered" during the year,a ratio of 5’2 per cent. of the average number resident andthe lowest recovery rate for 10 years past. The death-rateamounted to 9-67 per cent. of the average number residentand was 2 67 per cent. more than the percentage ofthe previous year. General paralysis accounted for 17deaths and epilepsy for nine. Pneumonia with com-

plications was the cause of death in 23 cases, while

pulmonary phthisis and its complications accounted for 23deaths and tuberculosis for one death. 12 patients dieafrom senile decay. Colitis was present at intervals duringthe year and it carried off three victims, two males and onefemale. A new ward has been opened for female patients,but there is still overcrowding in this part of the building.Thus on Dec. 31st, 1898, there were 12 more female patientsthan the number for which the building had been certifiedby the Lunacy Commissioners. Mr. G. M. P. Braine-Hartnell, the medical superintendent, writes as follows :" Looking this fact in the face, it is necessary that withoutany delay the building of a second asylum should be putin hand, as long before it would be ready we should haveto find room elsewhere for our surplus population." Con-

sidering the large mortality from phthisis in this institutionthe absence of all reference to open-air treatment and theneed of isolation blocks for phthisical cases, together withthe absence of an account of measures for Pasteurising themilk-supply and of guarding against infection from tuber-culous milch-cows is noteworthy.