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a vessel by means of a plug. When we tiean artery we cannot succeed in uniting theopposite sides permanently unless we cutthrough the internal coat; that is, unless weallow the vessels to meet and thfow outtheir nutritive matter into a common cavity,when it becomes en orgaaised coagulum.

NOTTINGHAM BRANCHOF THE

BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.

WE are glad to perceive, from the follow-ing document, that the practitioners of themidland and northern counties are at lengthbecoming sensible of the real position whichthe3 should assume in order to forward theall-important object of medical reform. Wetrust that the example which has been givenby Nottingham, and some other localities,will be speedily and extensively followedthroughout the kingdom.

To Geo. Webster, Esq., Al. D., President ofthe British Medical Association.

Sir :-I have the pleasure to inform youthat at a numerous meeting of the medicalpractitioners of this town and neighbour-hood, held September 26th, 1838, in the

Assembly Rooms here, Dr. Mitchell David-son in the chair, the following resolutionswere agreed to. I am, Sir, your obedientservant,

HENRY C. ATTENBURROW, Hon. Sec.Castle-gate, Nottingham,

Oct. 11, 1838.

That the present state of the medical pro-fession requires its members to unite, inorder to defend and promote their rights,interests, and respectability, and to cherishkind and honourable feelings towards eachother.That a Branch of the British Medical

Association for Nottingham, Nottingham-shire, and the adjoining counties, be nowestablished.Thereon an amendment was proposed-That an Association of legally qualified

medical practitioners for Nottingham, Not- Itinghamshire, and the adjoining counties, to I,he designated the Midland Counties Medi-cal Association, be now formed.The original motion was carried.That a president, six vice-presidents, a

treasurer and secretary, be annually ap-pointed.That eight committee-men be chosen, four

of whom shall retire by lot at the end of thefirst year, and subsequently four others beelected along with the other officers, whotogether shall constitute a Committee of

Management,-four to be a quorum.

HENRY C. ATTENBURROW, Hon. Sec. Castle-gate, Nottingham,

Oct. 11, 1838.

That the Committee of Management forth-with draw up a code of rules, in conformitywith the laws of the Parent Association.

OFFICERS.

President.-Dr. J. M. Davidson.Vice-Presidents.

Mr. Wm.Wright, IDr. Howitt, II Mr. Cooper (Mansfield). iDr. Hutchinson,Mr. Greeves.Treasurer.-Mr. Róbert Davison.

11021. Sec1’etary.-Mr. H. C. Attenburrow.I Committee.Mr. G. Mills White, IMr. Isaac Massey,Mr. Billings,Mr. J. N. Thompson, I

I Mr. Orton (Beeston),Mr. Burrows,Mr. Valentine (Sut-I ton in Ashfield).

That this Branch Association do suggestto the Parent Association the propriety ofappropriating not less than two-thirds of thesum transmitted from each Branch Associa-tion towards the formation of the Benevo-lent Fund.

(Signed) J. MITCHELL DAVIDSON, M.D.,Chairman.

Dr. Davidson having left the chair, it wasresolved unanimously,-That the thanks ofthis meeting be given to Dr. Davidson, forhis able and impartial conduct in the chair.

J. MITCHELL DAVIDSON, M.D.,Chairman.

LATIN AT THE HALL.

(From a Correspondent.)To convey some idea of the knowledge of

Latin possessed by the Examiners at Rhu-barb Hall, the following facts may be men-tioned :-One of these sages went to thetable where sat a youthful candidate for thelicence, and said to him, ., You will begin,Sir, at iareprimis (long, instead of pronouncingthe i short), and end at (so and so)."

Presently afterwards he said, " Perhaps,Sir, you will have the kindness to parse 9line or two."

Cand. Anywhere, Sir?Ex. Of course. Here, if you like.Candidate parsed a line.Ex. What tense is sit? ?Catid. The conjunctive mood.Ex. Very well, Sir, I see yoit understand

your Latin well.To another candidate, whose schedule the

Examiner was signing, the learned apothe-cary said, "It is true, Sir, that you havegot through your examination, but you havenot done with the Latin yet, and I would,therefore, strongly recommend you to keep itacp (the dignified conversational style of theold ladies is, in the highest degree, becom-ing their office and position), for you willhave to pass another examination, wherethey will be much more stJ’ict! ! "

Cand. Of course, Sir, I intend to brushup my Latin.There are hundreds of medical students,

fresh and green from the country," who

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dread the Latin examination quite as muchas the examination for the licence,-notwith reason, from its severity, but from theignorance of the secret tribunalists beforewhom they have to appear. What a figurewould the worshipful Board cut, if theywere obliged to conduct their examinationsin public ! No wonder that they and theirscribes deprecate so strongly the importantreform which is demanded in this respect.

PUZZLING DIFFERENCES INRESULTS.

THR following fact manifests the care

which is required in conducting scientificinvestigations, and the caution with whichperemptory opinions should be pronouncedin the early stages of an inquiry, Caout-chouc, or ’’ Indian rubber," cannot be dis-solved, either in water, alcohol, any acid,or any alkali, but it is soluble in ether.Macquer, in 1767, pointed out this latterfact, which Berniard afterwards attemptedto put to the test, subsequently declaring,that Macquer had erred, for that caoutchoucwas scarcely soluble at all in sulphuricether (which Macquer had used), and thateven nitric ether did not perfectly dissolveit, This difference of announcement wassingular, each chemist being remarkablefor powers of observation and a characterfor accuracy, and his acquaintance with thesubject examined. But Mr. Cavallo disco-vered that the truth apparently belonged toboth; that Macquer was quite right, whileBerniard was not wholly wrong. He foundthat ether, when newly prepurecd, seldom ornever dissolved caoutchouc completely, butthat if the ether was first washed in water,it dissolved caoutchouc with facility. Thewashing of ether, says Dr. Thomson in his11 Chemistry of Organic Bodies," deprivesthe ether of a little alcohol, with which itis often impregnated, and adds to it a tenthof water. Alcohol will precipitate caout-chouc from this solution.

NEW TINCTURE.

TEm absence of education among manyof the dispensing chemists frequently leadsto awful mistakes. It is not of so muchconsequence when jalap is simply mistakenfor rhubarb, but when laudanum is replacedfor syrup of poppies, or stavesacre sold forjalap, and oxalic acid for Epsom salts, theerror is more momentous. Sometimes theblunder is only laughable. A 11 chemist"had lately a prescription to prepare, inwhich, after a certain infusion was ordered,there came the words, 11 Tincturw ejus-dpm." But he happened not to have amorsel of 11 Ejusdem" in the house, eitherin tincture, ponder, or infusion, though hisshop was filled with bottles and drawers,aad fitted up as fine as a gin palace. He

therefore promptly sent to Messrs. Godfreyand Cooke for a small quantity of Tinc,turae Ejusdem," not doubting that everytincture in the world was to be had there,wether 16 that same," as Pat would say, 01’

some other.

ABDOMINAL INFLAMMATION DURING PREGNANCY.-Mr. Wilkinson, of Aspatria, in.forms us, that since his recent commuuica.tion was made to THE LANCET, in which hepointed out the advantage and utility ufemploying mercury, and the safety of ad.ministering cathartics in abdominal ianam.mation occurring during pregnancy, he liaitreated a similar case in a woman not preg.nant, where the mucous membrane of thebowels was involved, and the disease yield.ed to copious depletion, fomentations, warmoily enemata, and a combination of calomel,opium, and ipecac. in small doses, fre.

quently repeated. The disease quicklysubsided as soon as the mouth becameaffected with the mercury, and the womanhas quite recovered.

WANT OF REFORM IN THE CORONER’BCOURT. - Alr. E. W. Wilkinson, surgeon,was summoned to a village distant four

miles from his residence in Aspatria, aboutnine o’clock in the morning of September22nd, to see a coal-miner, who was said tohave been severely burned by the ignitionof the inflammable gas, while in the mine,and who died on the following morningThe Coroner was accordingly sent for tohold an inquest, but he never came, and theunfortunate young man was interred withoutthe observance of that form. On the 28th ofJuly, also, he was summoned to attend amarried woman belonging to the same vii,

lage, who was said to have fallen back,wards from a horse, and to have been takenup by her husband in a state of completeinsensibility, in which she continued tillabout eight o’clock on the next morning(Sunday), when she died. The Coronerheld his inquest on the Monday, when thejury returned a verdict of " accidentaldeath," and imposed a deodand on the horseof one shilling. Although a surgeon at,tended this woman, and treated her as

labouring under severe concussion, andmore or less effusion of the brain, yet theCoroner did not request either his attend.ance or that of any other medical man atthe inquest.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

THE public are indebted to Mr. CHEERe,one of the Governors of the WestminsterHospital, for the resolution that was carriedat the meeting, reported in THE LANCET ofSaturday last, page 128. The name of themover was misprinted.