736 THE CLOSURE OF WELLS LIABLE TO POLLUTION.

the Wycombe councillors have but recently taken ad- vantage of the facilities offered by the Infectious I,Diseases ’Notification Act; but certainly suspicion attaches ’,itself to all authorities who are unwilling to make them-selves cognisant of the dangers in their midst, and

perhaps enteric fever may be found to be more or lessendemic in High Wycombe. The town council is said tobe at last bestirring itself in the matter of stopping theleaks in the sewers ; but the amount voted for the purposeis not regarded by all as adequate, and it has yet to beproved that the sewage can be so treated as to afford anyguarantee that pathogenic organisms arriving on the farmmay not retain their virulence until they reach the sub-soil water of Wycombe Marsh. The town councillors are

naturally angry at their affairs being discussed in public, butit is their obvious duty at once to set their house in order ;and it appears from the reports which we have read that apure water-supply for the whole of High Wycombe and forWycombe Marsh is not the least pressing question for theurban and rural district councillors to grapple with.

UNIVERSAL HYPERTRICHOSIS AND PREMATUREMENSTRUATION IN A CHILD.

THE following case, published by Lesser, appears in theJuly number of the -Revite des S‘ciences Midicales. A girl,aged six years, who was not abnormal at birth, showed forthe past two years a remarkable development of hair. The

body, especially in the lower limbs, was covered with hairsmore abundantly than in a very hairy man. The pubichairs were more developed -than in many adult females.There were whiskers on the face. The hair of the

’head was normal. Menstruation began at the age of

three ; it lasted six or seven days, and was profuse. In the

following eighteen months it reappeared eight or nine timesat almost regular intervals, and then ceased. The intel’’ligence was advanced in a corresponding degree. The child’sparents and elder brothers and sisters had normal develop-ment of hair, but two brothers, aged sixteen and twelveyears, and next in age, had precocious beards. We mayDirect attention to one point. The case shows somethingmore than precocious sexual development in the case of

the hair. There is also production of male characteristics.Now, curiously, in the adult female this event is also asso-ciated with abnormal conditions of the genital organs.

THE SPAS OF SPAIN.

, SpAlx possesses many mineral springs, but very few of

them are at all well known in other countries. Amongstthe few exceptions may be reckoned some aperient waters,the sulphurous springs of Panticosa in the Pyrenees near theFrench frontier, and also the alkaline waters of Vidago,termed the Spanish Vichy." From the official statistics

published by the Spanish Government it appears that the, total number of establishments is 169, and that they arescattered over forty-three different provinces. The total

. number of springs is 443, and those of Alhama (Zaragoz a),Alhama Nuevo (Granada), and Fitero Nuevo (Navarra)yield the most copious supply of water. Amongst the, hottest springs are those of Caldas de Montbuy in Barce-lona (122° to 158° F.) and Archena in Murcia (131° F.).The spa of Panticosa in Huesca has the loftiest position,being about 5600 English feet above sea-level and nearly

rivalling St. Moritz in altitude. Amongst strong sulphatedwaters the Spanish sources of Rubinat, Carabana, andVillacabras are tolerably well-known in other parts of Europe,

. especially in France; the aperient water of La Margarita,Loeches (Province of Madrid) is widely known in Spain, andis sold in bottles everywhere. The annual number of visitors

1 La Gaceta de Madrid, May 8th, 1897.

is nearly 2500 at Caldas-de-Oviedo and at Montemayor(Caceres) ; some other spas, as Archena, attract considerablymore. The greater proportion of the springs can be classedin either the common salt, simple thermal, or sulphurousgroups.

------

THE SPECIAL CANADIAN SUPPLEMENT TOTHE LANCET.

SOME copies of the Special Canadian Supplement to THELANCET produced, printed, and published in Montreal on

Sept. 3rd on the occasion of the meeting of the British

Medical Association in Canada have reached us by the lastmail. Such a publication is, we venture to think, a new

departure in medical journalism. The supplement appears asa journal of forty eight pages and contains the addresses ofDr. Roddick, Dr. Osler, and Mr. Mitchell Banks, a leadingarticle, and editorial notes and comments upon the pro-ceedings of the meeting, together with a (necessarilybrief) report of the proceedings in the different sections.

THE CLOSURE OF WELLS LIABLE TOPOLLUTION.

THE interpretation which the law usually places upon theprovisions of Section 70 of the Pablic Health Act is far fromsatisfactory to the medical officers of health, who, in spiteof a well being in a most dangerous environment, may beunable to effect its closure unless the water from it can bedemonstrated by analysis to be polluted. That liability topollution is a far more important point than the result ofchemical or bacteriological examination is admitted byevery epidemiologist, but, as a matter of practice, a givencase must, as a rule, stand or fall according to the finding ofthe chemist at any given time. The decisions of the law

have, however, a way of being modified in a remark-able manner, and when a legal position is obviouslyopposed to what may be called the common sense

view the law tends to place an interpretation uponwords and sentences in keeping with the spirit of the

moment. This point was illustrated in an interesting fashionby a decision arrived at recently at the St. Albans divisional

sessions, when the St. Albans rural district council soughtclosure orders against twenty-three owners of wells in theBowling-alley, Harpenden. The contention of the councilwas that the whole of the area in which the wells in

question were situated was pervaded by the enteric feverbacillus owing to the fact that the subsoil was permeatedwith infected excreta ; furthermore, it was shown bychemical analysis that the water from the wells pre-sented different degrees of organic pollution, althoughthe wells were all supplied from the same source. Itwas urged, too, that the variations in the analysesduring dry and wet weather showed the wells to beliable to intermittent pollution. For the defence it was

argued that no chemical analyses had been produced, andthat it must be proved before the Court that a well wasactually polluted, and not that it was liable to pollution.The Bench, however, after much deliberation, decided toissue orders for closure, as they considered that the wellsmight prove dangerous in the event of a fresh outbreakof enteric fever taking place. Whatever may be themerits of this decision from a strictly legal stand-

point, no epidemiologist is likely to quarrel with it.A locality where the excrement is placed in one

pervious hole, and the drinking water taken from anotherbut a short distance away, cannot be other than a dangerousone, and if the law does not enable wells which are thussituated to be closed the sooner an alteration is effected thebetter. Dr. Frank Dobbin, the deputy medical officer ofhealth of St. Albans, is to be congratulated upon the

manner in which he supplied the evidence in this case, and

737PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS.

although perhaps bacteriology will not altogether supportsome of the points taken up, there can be no doubt as to thegeneral soundness of the position.

THE SANITARY INSTITUTE.

THE twenty-fourth London course of lectures and demon-strations arranged by the Sanitary Institute for the instruc-tion of sanitary officers and students will commence on

Sept. 27th and will conclude on Nov. 27th. The various

subjects will be dealt with in a course of eighteen lectures,given by well-known authorities, and will be illustrated bydiagrams, drawings, models, and lantern slides. Thelectures will include the subjects scheduled for the exami-’ nations of the institute. In connexion with the lectares therewill be inspections and demonstrations, which will includevisits to disinfecting stations, dairy premises, municipaldepots, artisans’ dwellings, waterworks, common lodginghouses, sanitary works in progress, and refuse and sewagedisposal works. Practical demonstrations of meat inspectionand diseased meat will also be given. The fee for the course’is two guineas ; a student who enters his name for one- of the examinations of the institute at the time of

.taking his ticket for the lectures can have one guinea,carried forward towards his fee for examination. The

museum of sanitary appliances and the library will be openfree during September, October, and November to studentsattending the course. The introductory lecture on theOutcome of Sanitation, will ba delivered by Dr. Louis Parkes,medical officer of h3alth of Chelsea, on Monday, Sept. 27that 8 P.M., and the remainder of the series will be given byother lecturers on subsequent Mondays and Thursdays at thesame hour. Application should be made to Mr. E. WhiteWallis, secretary of the institute, Parkes’ Museum, Margaret-street, Regent-street, W. -

NEW YORK POST-GRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOLAND HOSPITAL.

THIS school, which is exclusively for legally qualified’practitioners, undergraduates not being admitted on anyconditions, was last year attended by 513 matriculates. ThePost-Graduate Hospital is now one of the largest in New,York City, having 183 beds. During the past winter theaverage number of beds occupied at one time was 150.The accommodation is such that practitioners may witnessseveral important operations each day without leaving thebuilding and may also see a large number of patients in thedispensary. The teaching of the school is entirely clinicalor demonstrative. In some departments-diseases of

the eye and ear, nose and throat, and diseases of

women-arrangements are made by which the class

may attend the service at other hospitals, as well

as the clinics in the Post - Graduate School itself.’The hospital is open during the entire year. The school

year is divided into two distinct but continuous terms. Theautumn and winter courses begin on Sept. 20th and end on,June lst, during which period the fees are$150 for a term oftwelve weeks, and$100 for a term of six weeks. During the’summer session, the fee for the general course is$30 amonth, or$95 for the whole term, from June lst to

Sept. 20th. The school and hospital are in the same

building, situated at the corner of Second Avenue and

Twentieth-street, New York. They are not private institu-tions, but are a chartered medical college and hospital’forming a part of the university system of the State. A

monthly journal, called The Post- Graduate, is published bythe directors of the school and hospital.’ HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN has decided that a public’ exhibition of the gifts and addresses presented in com-

memoration of her sixty years’ reign shall be held in the

Imperial Institute, probably about the middle of October.Half the proceeds is to go to the Prince of Wales’s

Hospital Fund. --

WE learn, just as we are going to press, that Mr. VictorHorsley has consented to be nominated for the vacant seatas a Direct Representative on the General Medical Council.

DR. A. E. SANSOM, President of the Medical Society ofLondon, has been elected an honorary member of the

Therapeutical Society of Moscow.

Pharmacology and Therapeutics.CELANDINE IN CANCER 0F THE FACE.

DR. KRAINSKI, writing in the Russian Ophthalmic Review,records four cases of malignant disease of the eyelids andface in which he employed the celandine treatment. In two

of the cases the neoplasms completely disappeared. In the

other two there was distinct improvement, but the casescould not be followed up and so the ultimate result cannotbe stated. The time required for the destruction of thetumour was not more than a fortnight. Several injectionswere made in the sound tissue bordering upon the neoplasm.They were composed of equal parts of extract of chelidonium,sterilised water, and glycerine, four to eight minims of themixture being introduced at a time. In addition to these a50 per cent. solution of the extract in glycerine was appliedexternally twice a day and a dressing put on. The celandinedid not affect the healthy tissues and wa well toleratedby the conjunctiva. There was some pain for a few hours,and in two cases pyrexia. There was, too, a good deal ofswelling around the tumour, and in one case suppuration atthe situation of the punctures. Dr. Krainski has also givencelandine internally in cases of cancer of internal organswhere operation was impossible. A farther paper is promisedon this subject.SALICYLATE OF METHYL IN JOINT TROUBLES OCCURRING

IN TRE COURSE OF FEVERS.

According to Dr. Roger, professor agrégé of Paris, thejoint pains which sometimes give a good deal of trouble inthe course of scarlet and other eruptive fevers may be verysuccessfully treated by the application of about half a tea-

spoonful of salicylate of methyl to the affected joint whichis then bound round with a compress and a piece of water-proof tissue. This is repeated night and morning, andusually has a rapidly beneficial effect.

WHEN IRON IS USEFUL IN ANÆMIA.

It is well known that iron, though strongly indicated, isoften not well borne by anasmic and chlorotic patients.According to Fome recent observations by Dr. Buzdygan thesuccess of iron in these cases depends upon the amount ofacid in the contents of the stomach. He found that whenthere was hyperacidity the administration of three grains ofreduced iron, subcarbonate or iodide of iron, only increased theamount of acid and aggravated the troubles usually presentin these cases-pyrosis, feeling of weight in the stomach,nausea, and vomiting. When, on the other hand, thecontents of the stomach were alkaline or less acid than usualthe administration of iron was always well borne, and,indeed, induced a more abundant secretion of hydrochloricacid. In the former class of case, then, the proper line oftreatment is evidently first of all to correct the hyperacidityand then to prescribe the ferruginous preparation decidedupon.

NAPHTHALAN.

A series of observations has been made in ProfessorFinger’s out-patient department by Dr. Pezzoli on a new pre-paration named naphthalan which appears to combine thetherapeutical properties of tar with those of naphtha. It is adark-brown unctuous substance with scarcely any smell anda melting point of about 70° C. When used as an ointmentit leaves no stain on the patient’s linen after it has beenwashed. It is very useful in various forms of eczema, sycosis,and common psoriasis, as well as in parasitic affections suchas ringworm and scabies. It should be used with a certain