939FLOATING SANATORIA FOR TUBERCULOUS PATIENTS.

been expressed with regard to the amount of ground allottedfor burial purposes. An acre of land would prove an amplearea for a burial ground in perpetuity for a population often thousand persons. Such a burial ground would prove adecided benefit to the living, as supplying in the midst ofhuman habitations a breathing place which is so essential tothe general well-being. It was resolved, upon the motionof General Lowry, seconded by the Rev. Septimus Buss,B.D., to ask the Government to formulate into a Bill therecommendations of the Committee of Inquiry on DeathCertification appointed by the late Home Secretary at therequest of this association ; also to ask the Government toinstitute an inquiry into the effect upon the air above, theearth around, and the water below, of earth-to-earth burial,and other modes of interment.

FLOATING SANATORIA FOR TUBERCULOUS

PATIENTS.

IT is some years since M. 0. Motschoutkovsky first advo- 1

cated the provision of floating sanatoria for people threatenedwith tuberculous disease or suffering from incipient formsthereof, but quite lately he has returned to the subject withrenewed enthusiasm. In the opinion of this zealous

hygienist the scheme he has theoretically organised down Ito the minutest detail is certain sooner or later to provea triumphant success. According to his plan the isolationof a dangerous class can be effectively carried out with theleast possible amount of discomfort to its members ; and helikewise maintains that by a judicious timing of moves

it will be easy to afford the sufferers an excellent chanceof recovery under the very best and most favour-able climatic conditions. The various anchorages on thelist have one and all their special seasons when the

meteorological conditions are all that can be desired, andinasmuch as these seasons by no means correspond witheach other chronologically it will be practicable for a speedyvessel to transport her passengers from one to the other andthus enable them, as it were, to skim the cream of thecollection. As soon as there is any likelihood of a changeof weather at any given place the order will be given togo to whatever spot has been proved by experience to bethe most appropriate at that particular time of the year. It

goes without saying that the ships destined for this serviceshould be specially constructed in accordance with all themost approved rules. For eight or nine months in each yearthey might be in constant employment, but during threemonths at least out of the twelve they should gointo dock in order to be thoroughly cleansed anddisinfected. M. Motschoutkovsky is quite convincedthat no stationary hotel or sanatorium in the world couldpossibly surpass his floating palaces in either comfort orsalubrity; while as regards constant variety and change ofscene there can of course be no comparison. All that is

required is a company with the necessary amount of capital,and at last there seems to be a prospect that such may beforthcoming. That well-known ship-owning association theAustrian Lloyds has placed an order for the construction ofa large steamer which is to be specially adapted and fittedfor the accommodation of invalids in need of fresh air and afavourable climate. The anchorages that so far have beenselected are at Corfu, Alexandria, Palermo, Messina, Naples,Tunis, and Malta.

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DEATH CAUSED BY BROMIDE OF POTASSIUM.

THE coroner for mid-Essex held an inquest on March 26thon the body of a man whose death appears to have beendue to excessive indulgence in what is usually consideredto be a comparatively safe drug-namely, bromide of

potassium. Suffering from neuralgia, he had been in the

habit of taking this salt in doses of from two to threedrachms. The drug does not appear to have produced anyof the usual symptoms of bromism, but may have causedthe palpitation of the heart of which the deceased had

frequently complained. During the night of March 23rd hefelt very cold, gave two deep gasps, and almost immediatelyexpired. The medical practitioner who was sent forstated at the inquest that he found the deceased quitedead, his mouth wide open, the eyes half closed, and thepupils somewhat dilated. A bottle containing the drug wason the table and examination showed that it was purebromide of potassium. The witness attributed death to failureof the heart’s action caused by taking the bromide. This

case is interesting for several reasons. It proves in a markedmanner the danger of taking any drug, however harmlessit may be reputed to be, in large and repeated doses with-out the advice of a medical man. No doubt in this instancea medical attendant would have recognised the depressantaction the salt was exerting upon the heart and wouldhave discontinued its use. Even in the most modern

works on therapeutics this danger is not mentioned,: yet it is well known that all potassium salts cause

L ’’ depression, shown by diminished energy of contrac-

i tion of the cardiac muscle, with final stoppage in

l diastole" (T. Lauder Brunton). As this bromide is constantlyadministered in large and repeated doses the action of its

l basic constituent should always be borne in mind, and ifj signs of its depressant effect are observed its use should bej abandoned, the bromide of some other base being selected3 if in other respects the action is beneficial. Many secret

remedies for " fits" contain this drug in large quantities and- it is evidently desirable that the public should be warned3 that their use is not unattended with danger.

SÆVÆ NOVERCÆ.

THE traditional stepmother has not apparently becomequite extinct as a species if one may judge from two horriblecases reported this week from Hastings and Epsom respec-tively. At an inquest at the seaside town on an infantnamed Batt two witnesses alleged that the deceased’s step-mother had said she wished " the little - was dead," anda third said she saw her throw it up in the air and catch itwith the remark, " Die, you little -, and I will have yourinsurance money," a paltry forty or fifty shillings. Thecoroner said he had never seen a child with so many bruises,and the jury in the absence of direct evidence returned anopen verdict, death having been the result of an injury to thehead. They added their opinion that the woman’s conducthad been inhuman and cruel and such as demanded some

punishment which it was not in their power to give. Thetermination of the other case was a great deal more satisfac-tory. A woman named Mary Frost was charged, at the

instance of the National Society for the Prevention of Crueltyto Children, with cruelty to her two step-children-a boyand girl of eight and nine years respectively. They werebeaten severely with a stick while in bed, and after theirfather had gone to work, for "stealing" " sugar. Then thewoman put a poker in the fire, and when the poor childrencame down to breakfast they were made to stand up andput out their tongues. The woman then put the red-hotpoker so close that the children put up their hands to savethemselves and were severely burned. The woman pleadedthat this was a recipe of her own to cure lying. This readsso unpleasantly that it is a relief to turn to the remarks ofthe chairman. He characterised the punishment as ex-

cessive and the threats as atrocious. A fine the magistratesi considered would be no punishment, for her husband wouldpay it; the woman would have to go to prison for a month.f Stepmothers, he added, must be taught to treat children

properly.