311THE PRESERVATION OF CHILD LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND.

tional condition. In THE LANCET some months ago an

account was published of the early diagnosis of arterio-

sclerosis. In a recent discussion at the New York Academyof Medicine, a report of which is published in AntericanMedicine of June 25th, Professor J. M. Anders of

Philadelphia and others dealt with the no less importantmatters of the etiology and treatment of arterio-sclerosis.Professor Anders divides the causes of arterio-sclerosis intofive categories : first, toxic agencies such as syphilis,alcohol, and gout ; secondly, over-eating (excess of carbo-hydrate and nitrogenous food) ; thirdly, constant hyper-tension of the arteries produced by muscular overstrain, asin some forms of athletics ; fourthly, aortic regurgitation ;and, lastly, the oncoming of senility (senile degeneration).Prophylaxis should, he says, be begun in early life when atendency to arterio-sclerosis is detected. The diet shouldbe carefully regulated, over-eating should be avoided,and the amount of nitrogenous matter (meat) consumedshould be reduced to as little as possible. Athletics

involving much muscular exertion, such as rowing,wrestling, and weight-lifting, should not be indulgedin, a little walking and daily massage being found

sufficient to keep up the tone of the muscles. Water, saysProfessor Anders, may be freely drunk, so as to promoteperspiration and the free excretion of waste products by thekidneys. Young men should be urged to moderation in

games or feats of endurance. Arterio-sclerosis is not

arrested but may be retarded by drugs, especially the alka-line iodides, nitro-glycerine, and the nitrites, all of whichtend to lower the excessive arterial tension which marks

the oncoming of arterio-sclerosis. In the discussion whichfollowed the above communication Professor Alfred Stengel ofPhiladelphia stated that for successful treatment the diseaseshould be taken in hand before nephritis or angina pectorishas developed. He has known arterio-sclerosis to followconvalescence from infectious fevers, especially typhoidfever. He urged that in all cases of convalescence fromsevere infectious fevers the period of rest and of abstentionfrom work should be extended over several months, duringwhich a steady course of tonic treatment should be pursuedbefore the patient is permitted to engage in active or arduouswork. Dr. F. Shattuck of Boston stated that alcohol shouldbe absolutely forbidden to persons suffering from incipientarterio-sclerosis, as indulgence in it, even to the slightestdegree, aided the rapid development of the disease. Dr. C.Stockton of Buffalo said that, in addition to strict abstinencefrom alcohol, a careful and light diet, and the administra-tion of iodides and nitro-glycerine in small doses and forprolonged periods, the patient should be given vapour bathstwice weekly. Dr. A. Jacobi of New York spoke of the

danger of cardiac lesions (dilatation and cardiac ineffi-

ciency) which could be obviated by attention to details ofdiet and exercise and the administration of suitable drugs.Cases due to syphilis required careful and mild but prolongedantisyphilitic treatment.

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CANAL ANGLERS.

IT is perhaps doubtful whether the attraction of angling inthe canals with worm or other bait is as keenly felt in thesouth of England as it is in the north. There are in thenorthern towns thousands of working men who will sit

patiently hour after hour watching their floats, at the end ofwhich time they may not be able to boast that they haveeven had ‘° a glorious nibble." On the Saturday before last700 such men sat at fixed distances for a length of fourmiles on the banks of the Macclesfield canal for nearly twohours. They had time to smoke and to think, to bearout, indeed, Izaak Walton’s statement that angling isthe " contemplative man’s recreation." 500 of them are

1 THE LANCET, Jan. 30th, 1904, p. 316.

said to have caught nothing. The heaviest fish was just overeight ounces and the smallest, as the report puts it, ’’ was aponderous creature of two drams." At all events, it is a

harmless amusement and affords to its devotees the oppor--tunity of breathing comparatively pure air.

THE PRESERVATION OF CHILD LIFE IN NEWZEALAND.

THROUGH the courtesy of the Agent-General for NewZealand we have been furnished with a memorandum by the’Premier of that colony on the preservation of child life.-Briefly stated, the object of this publication is to assist theintroduction into New Zealand, by a special Act, of a wide-spread system of charitable relief in relation to the dangers,necessities, and illnesses of childhood. Under the provisionsof this Bill no midwives will be allowed to practise who arenot duly qualified and their registration will be insisted on.A certain number of these certified women will be appointedin each district to attend poor persons gratuitously,their fees being paid out of the public funds. Maternityhomes will be established and maintained throughoutthe colony. Hospitals will be erected and maintained

expressly for the children of the poor. A staff

of trained nurses will be provided for gratuitous homeattendance. Day homes or creches will be established forthe reception of young children whose mothers are obligedto go out to work. The expenses necessarily connected withthese various undertakings will be paid by the State.Further enactments resembling those in force in the mothercountry will be concerned with the prevention of cruelty tochildren. Abuses arising from the insurance of youngchildren will be controlled, if not prevented, by limiting theamount to be insured in the case of any child under

ten years of age to a sum not exceeding £5. The

maintenance of illegitimate offspring will be securedin an equally practical way by compelling the guardian,mother, or alleged father to register the child-evena single child, be it noted-and by refusing the powe-rto commute weekly or monthly payments with a capitalsum. It is impossible not to sympathise with the intentionof those who have designed this plan of charity. Certain ofits clauses will meet with universal approval. All are

worthy of notice as indications of an honest endeavour tosolve a social problem than which there is none more worthythe attention of any people-the well-being of its children.We admit the obligation in many cases to assist poor personswith medical service and nursing at the public expense. We

entirely concur in the resolution to put down cruelty afterthe methods which have proved so successful and so littleirritating in this country. We congratulate those who havegone a step further than ourselves to regulate the insuranceof young children and to save the illegitimate from thecruelest subtleties of infanticide. Having admitted so

much it seems almost ungracious to resort to adverse

criticism of details but too much help must not be

proferred to people who can help themselves. The so-

called poor in New Zealand where the working classes

are in a relatively prosperous condition, can do much

to help themselves. It would be an occasion of lastingregret and a cause of public damage if the principlesof self-help and parental responsibility-factors in the

creation of a sturdy type of character to which our raceis deeply indebted-were swamped, as there is some

prospect of their being, by the gratuitous generosity whichthe memorandum seems to contemplate. Where there isdestitution the case is different. Here necessity calls forfree service as an indispensable and for the most partas a temporary act of grace. The poor man who cancontribute somewhat towards the cost of treatment in

illness, his own or that of others dependent on him,