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meeting. Professor Struthers was appointed president ofthe institution.

The Universities Commission.The ordinance bearing upon assistants and lecturers has

been issued. The terms of the Draft Ordinance were re-ferred to at length in the pages of THE LANCET, and itis to be regretted that the Commission has made no materialalteration on the ordinance as it was in draft. It per-petuates the present anomalous state of affairs as regardsassistants, and provides for lectureships in a manner thatwill make good men hesitate to apply for them, or evenaccept them if offered to them.March 8th.

IRELAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Dublin Hospital Sunday Fund.THE eighteenth annual meeting of the subscribers to the

Fund was held on Monday last. The report of the Councilfor 1891 stated that the total amount to the credit of theFund for the year was £4159 12s. 6d., or a decrease of£196 3s. 6d. as compared with 1890. The working expensesamounted to £271 5s. 2d. The Visiting Committee reportthat many of the defects complained of in hospitals in theprevious year have been remedied, but impress upon theauthorities of the participating hospitals the necessity ofremoving the defects which still exist, and have been com-mented upon by the Visiting Committee. The Council,acting upon their advice, reduced the grants to the CoombeLying-in Hospital and Mercer’s Hospital by £10 and f20respectively, on account of the dirty condition in whichthese hospitals were found by the visitors. The AdelaideHospital received the highest grant (£819 6s. 2d.), andMercer’s Hospital the lowest-viz., £621 7s.

Censusfor County Tipperar,y.The population, according to the recent census of this

county, was 173,188, or 13-2 per cent. less than in 1881,while the number of persons returned as receiving reliefunder the Poor-law was 6215, or 1 in every 28 of the popu-lation. The births during the ten years were 40,328, beingan average annual rate of 21-6 per 1000, the average yearlyrate for the whole of Ireland during the same period being23’2. The deaths for the decade amounted to 32,951, anumber equal to an average annual rate of 17’7 per 1000,while the corresponding rate for the whole of Irelandwas 17-8.

M onkstown Hospital.A memorial ward in memory of the late Duke of Clarence

has now been named the "Albert Victor Christian Edward"in this institution. At first it was contemplated to call itthe " Clarenee Ward," but at the request of H.R.H. thePrincess of Wales it was changed. A large portrait of thelate prince, in the uniform of the 10th Royal Hussars, willshortly be placed in the ward.The death is reported of Dr. Abraham Crawford Swayne,

J.P., at, Carrick-on-Shannon, on the 6th insb., aged seventy-two. The cause of death was influenza.March 8th.

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PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Prolonged Non-reczcrrence of Cancer of the Tongue afterAblation.

SOME years ago Mr. A. E. Barker undertook researchesinto the results of removal of the tongue for epithelioma,and he found that out of 170 cases only seventeen remainedfree from recurrence one year after the operation. A

patienb of Mr. Christopher Heath actually remained wellfor ten years after a very radical operation. Any such ex-ception to the general rule is therefore worthy of record,and the following facts will be found interesting to yourreaders, emphasising as they do the importance of removingany enlarged glands that may be found in the neighbour-hood of the affected organ. On Feb. 10th M. Quenupresented a patient-a gardener-whose tongue had beenremoved by him in its entirety four years ago for epithe-lioma. No signs of any return of the disease are now

recognisable. On Feb. 17th M. Jalaguier spoke of a

patient of his, aged sixty-eight years, who, being affectedwith cancer of the tongue with adherence to the lowerjaw, underwent on Aug. 6th, 1888, the following opera.tion : Excision of half of the diseased organ, of half of the

jaw, the submaxillary gland, and of two lymphatic glands.Cicatrisation occurred in six weeks ; and the patient, whosends an annual report of his condition to M. Jalaguier, hasremained free from any return of the disease since.

Typhoid Fever in the French Army in 1891.All friends of sanitation who have followed the recent

political crisis will be pleased to learn that that very capableadministrator, M. de Freycinet, has consented to remain abhis post at the Ministry of War. A continuation of thesanitary policy followed by him would bring the number ofcases of typhoid fever occurring annually in the ranks ofthe French army down to a comparatively insignificantfigure. From the report just issued we find that whereverit has been possible to substitute pure for polluted water,or where, in default of this, such impure water has beensystematically subjected to a filtering process by theChamberlard method, enteric fever has practically dis.appeared. Thus at the garrisons of Compiegne, Le Mans,Domfront, and eighteen others, which bore an evil repu.tation in this respect, the disease no longer appears inan epidemic form, only isolated and rare cases occurring.The epidemics which have made such ravages at such placesas Montargis, Avesnes, L1sieux, Evreux, Nantes, anPerpignan were all traced to the consumption of waterfurnished by wells previously condemned as contaminated,or to accidents to municipal water-pipes necessitatingrecourse to impure drinking-water. This latter accidenthappened in Paris in January and February of last year,and the consequent consumption of Seine water broughtabout a serious outbreak of typhoid fever in the garrison ofParis. Notwithstanding these unfavourable circumstances,great progress has been made of late years towards stamp.ing out this curse of French barracks. In 1867 the casesof typhoid fever in the army reached the formidable total of6881 ; in 1889 this total had fallen to 4112 ; in 1890 to3191 ; and in 1891 to 3225. That is to say, the number ofcases of typhoid’fever occurring in the French army havedecreased since 1867 52 per cent., a most encouraging stateof things. The deaths in 1867 were 864, as against 53! in1891. It is hoped that the extension of the measures nowbeing taken to provide the men with pure drinking-waterwill in 1892 have brought down the mortality noted duringthe years 1886 and 1887 at least 50 per cent,, and thenumber of cases treated 60 per cent. Up to Dec. 31stlast,Chamberland filters had been installed in France andAlgeria in such numbers as to guarantee ample provision ofpure water to 200,000 troops (185,000 in France and 15,000in Algeria). The hygienic programme undertaken by M. deFreycinet will be complete when provision is similarly madefor 45.OCO more men. The Minister of War terminates hisreport by complimenting the Army Medical Service for themanner in which its members have seconded his efforts torender this filth disease a thing of the past in the armies ofthe Republic.

The Law and the Dieting of Infants.Patriotic law-makers are very sensitive on the question

of the decline of the population and the eventual relegatingof France to a, numerically speaking, second- or third-rateposition amongst the family of nations. Remedy afterremedy has been suggested to stem this decline, but whileit is generally felt that the control of human production isbeyond the ken of Acts of Parliament, the Code Napoleollcan at least be made to serve a purpose in safeguarding theexistence of the newly acquired additions to our population.A year ago the Prefect of the Department of Orne enjoinedthe local practitioners charged with the inspection of thenumerous infants which are nursed at the expense of theAssistance Publique, to refuse to give the necessary certi6-cate to any nurse who used in the rearing of her charge abottle with a tube or who gave the child any form ofsolid food before ib reached the age of one year, unless

, otherwise ordered by the practitioner. It was one thing,however, to thus threaten the nurses, but it was quiteanother matter to get them to carry out the order. In their

, annual report the medical inspector pointed out to the Pre-, fect the impossibility of getting strict compliance with bis

order short of a formal local Act or by-law. This has now. been enacted, and in the following terms :-It is prohibited

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(1) to give to infants under one year any form of solid foodunless auch be ordered by a written prescription signed by alegally qualified medical man ; (2) it is further prohibitedfor the nurses to use, in the rearing of infants confided totheir care, at any time or under any pretext whatsoever, abottle or bottles with tubes. Then follow the penalties whichwill overtake nurses who do not conform to the above. Inthe reforms in the law which cannot be long delayed on yourside of the Channel on the burning question of infant lifeassnrance and its terrible abuses, note might with advantagelie taken of the foregoing life-saving enactment.March 9th.

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BERLIN.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Sleeping lJfiner.THE following details have transpired regarding the state

of the German miner, Johann Latos, who slepc for fourmonths and a half. At the present time he is inexcellent health. The rapid emaciation which set in afterhis awaking has been completely remedied by suitablenourishment. His mental condition is very fatisfactory,and he is able to answer questions put to him. An attendantasked him the other day whether he could remember thebeginning of his illness, whereupon he spoke of his firstmoments of consciousness after awaking. The kidneysere not affected.

Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato. iDr. Kitasato, the well-known Japanese bacteriologisb,

who has been called to direct an institute for infectiousdiseases belonging to the University of Tokio, has lived forabout six years in Berlin. He has occupied himself all thetime, under Koch’s guidance, with bacteriological research,first at the Hygienic Institute of the University, and sincelast autumn in the Institute for Infectious Diseases. Not onlyKoch, but also L6ffl-.r (now Professor at Greifswald), has hada share in the training of this most able investigator. Someof his first researches were undertaken at Loffler’s sugges-tion, and carried out with his help. It was not until thewinter of 1890 that Kitasato became widely known by hispublication, conjointly with Behring, of studies on theproduction of diphtheria immunity and tetanus immunity.He has recently published communications on the cultiva-tion of the influenza bacillus, and important new observa-tions with reference to the cultivation and vitality of thetubercle bacillus. It is interesting to observe that Kitasatois not the only Japanese who has distinguished himself inbacteriology; his countrymen, Ogata, Kumagawa, andMiura are worthy fellow-labourers in that vineyard.

An International Clinical Interpreter.The Berlin firm of Hepner and Co. has published the

first part of a book entitled 11 Interriationaler Lazireth-SDrachfuhrer" ("International Clinical Interpreter"), byPaul Blaschke, containing not only the most necessarymedical words and expressions, but also the naturalquestions and answers between doctor and patient. Thefirst part is in German and French, and its purpose is toenable doctors and attendants who cannot speak French tounderstand French patients and make themselves in-telligible to them as far as is practicable

Professor Kussmaul.On the occasion of his seventieth birthday, on the

22nd ult., Professor Kussmaul made over the sum of10,000 marks (nearly £500) to the Louisa Hospital atHeidelberg. The fund is to bear the name ° Hedw9gKussmaul Fund," in memory of a daughter of the founderwho died as a child.

The Leuton Prize (5000 fr.) has been awarded to Dr.Theodor Landau of Berlin, assistant in Dr. LeopoldLandau’s private clinic for diseases of women.Berlin, March 8th.

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AUSTRALIA.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Medical Literaturefor 1891.IN setting out to chronicle the literature of these colonies

for the past year, one is tempted to use the laconic style ofthe historian of 11 Snakes in- Iceland," and write 11 there is

no Australian medical literature." In a measure such adescription would be true. The only work of any noteprofessing to deal with a subject peculiarly Australian isDr. Graham’s monograph on Hydatid Disease, which maywell be consulted by all interested in parasitic disorders.Truth to say, there is very little original research done inAustralia. Scientific work does not pay, and the laity donot understand it. As in all new countries, the auri sacrafames is here the guiding motive, and any work thatdoes not bring gold as a result is pushed aside. Perhapsthe most interesting work of the year has been thetesting of strychnine as an antidote to the virus of snakebite. Dr. Meuller of Tackandandah, Victoria, is, however,not propheta in patria sua, for the Victorians do not admi uhis claim to the discovery of the strychnine method oftreatment. Moreover, Dr. Bancroft of Brisbane is doubtfulof the results of the treatment. As the readers of THELANCET had recently an opportunity of studying thephysiological part of the question through an article byDr. Meuller himself, I will not touch on that subject. As

regards the treatment of snake bite by hypodermic injec.tions of strychnine, it may be said at the outset that thereis abundance of evidence that cases so treated haverecovered. There is also evidence showing that in somecases-as, for instance, in the Prince Alfred Hospital,Sydney-the strychnine remedy has failed to preventa fatal termination. With contradictory results it is

impossible to accept strychnine as the physiological anti-dote of snake poison. Dr. Bancrofb puts his finger onthe weak part of Dr. Meuller’s argument in favourof strychnine when he shows that a large number ofAustralian snakes are not at all venomous, and that personsbitten by such snakes would get well under any treatment,or without any treatment at all. Up to the present theinvestigation has been carried on in a most unscientificmanner, hence the results cannot be relied upon. Dr. Rossof Warranambool, Victoria, published during the year inthe Medical Journal various papers on the "Moulds andYeasts as Morbific Agents." I referred to Dr. Ross’ dis-covery of a mycotic form of pneumonia in a former commu-nication, and will just say here that further investigations,not yet completed, show that nephro-mycosis and mycosis ofother organs are not at all uncommon in Victoria.Strangely enough, while Dr. Ross is investigating the yeastsfrom the disease-producing point of view, M. de Bavy, aMelbourne bacteriologist, claims to have discovered thatyeast is a disease destroyer akin to the phagocyte ofMetchnikoff. How far this claim will bear investigationremains to be seen. As might have been expected in acountry which has become the dumping ground for the con-sumptives of the Old World, Koch’s method of treatmenthas been extensively tried. One of the physicians to theMelbourne Hospital (Kochior Kochio ipso) published a

string of cures-I do not remember if he had a

failure ; but bearing in mind Professor Virchow’s dictumon the matter, I shall wait for another year beforegiving details of the results attained here by Dr. Koch’smethod of treatment. The most useful and interestingpaper read at any of the societies during the year was oneon Typhlitis, by Dr. G. A. Syme, F.R.C,S. Eng., beforethe Melbourne Medical Society, which gave rise to ananimated and instructive discussion. On the whole theyear 1891 was very barren of original work.

The Increase of Medical Clubs.At the annual meeting of the Victorian Medical Society

held in Melbourne this month, Dr. Hinchcliff, the retiringpresident, adverting to the club system, stated that it wasso much on the increase that before very long the wholepopulation would belong to clubs.Jan. 24th.

BURTON-ON-TRENT GENERAL INFIRMARY.-Thetwenty-second annual report, 1891, just issued, shows amarked increase on the number of both in- and out-patieDt3over the totals of the preceding twelve months, and, withone exception, the largest number of in-patients etadmitted in any one year. The annual subscriptions havebeen fully maintained. The year’s Sunday collection wasmore by upwards of JE31, and the Saturday committee hadsuccessfully exerted themselves to keep up the amount oftheir contributions, without which, it is stated, it would bedifficult to carry on the infirmary, forming, as they do, solarge a proportion of the total receipts.