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go on increasing till a much later life-period. Another

paper of peculiar interest to army surgeons was read

by General- Secretary Ranke on the corporeal measure-ments of the Bavarian recruits and the physical deduc-tions to be drawn from these. The final contribution,that of Dr. Finke, on the "History of Westphalia,from the Earliest Times up to the Introduction of

Christianity," was in some respects the most elaborate andstriking of all, though the interest appeared at first to be ofa purely local character. It was the work of a most

accomplished anthropologist, and showed among its rich

antiquarian, sociological, and artistic details what a fieldof important and stimulating knowledge lies in theimmediate neighbourhood of every true man of science.The customary banquets and excursions varied the work ofthe Congress most agreeably, and Virchow, in a genialtoast at one of the former, proclaimed that in the interestsof science the Munster Academy should be promoted into afully equipped University. One most significant and

gratifying feature of the gathering was the large number ofmedical men who took part in the proceedings.

VALUE OF THE DIAZO REACTION.

DR. L. RuTlMEYER, who has made between two andthree thousand trials of the so-called diazo reaction ofurine from 260 patients, declares his belief that it is a veryuseful guide both in diagnosis and prognosis, being espe-cially valuable in phthisis and typhoid fever. In phthisishe regards it as denoting absorption of ca&bgr;eou!! matter, andwhen it is persistent as implying rapid mischief and anearly and fatal termination. In cases of general miliarytuberculosis it was always obtained. The number of

typhoid cases which were examined was 1130, of which87 were fatal. The presence of the reaction is very con-

stant, and it can generally be obtained early. It doesnot seem to be present in pyrexial intestinal catarrh. Ifthe reaction is not obtained during the first or secondweek the case, if one of typhoid at all, must be a very slightone. It cannot, however, be affirmed that a well-markedand constant diazo reaction is any sign of a fatal termina-tion, as with phthisis. The reaction is never givenby the urine of healthy persons, and was not observedin hysteria, myelitis, hepatitis, diabetes, cystitis,pyelonephritis, benign ovarian cysts, cholelithiasis with

jaundice, gastro-abdominql catarrh with fever, or in a

number of surgical diseases. It was occasionally present incancer of the stomach and oesophagus, chronic nephritis,caries of bone, cold abscesses, pyaemia, scarlatina, pleurisywith serous effusion, tubercular meningitis, and heartdiseases. It was more frequently obtained in croupoupneumonia, actinomycosia of the lung, and malignantdiseases of the peritoneum. The method of testingis very simple, two special solutions only being required, a

concentrated solution of sulphanilic acid in water anca solution of nitrite of sodium of the strength of 1 in 200The actual test solution is prepared immediately before USIby mixing 200 parts of the sulphanilic acid solution witl10 of pure hydrochloric acid and 6 of the nitrite of sodiunsolution. This mixture is added to an equal volume of th4urine, and sufficient ammonia added to render the whohalkaline. A bright or carmine red colouration denotes t’budiazo reaction. After from twelve to thirty-six hours Ideposit occurs, the upper part of which is green or black.

FOREIGN CHOLERA INTELLIGENCE.

CHOLERA is still maintained in Spain, and in the weekending Aug. 16th there were 344 fresh cases and 190 deaths,bringing the total since the beginning of the epidemic up to1882 cases and 952 deaths. The disease in its epidemicform is still mainly confined to the provinces of Valencia

and Alicante, the attacks in Badajoz and Toledo tending todiminish. But at Arges in Toledo, 160 cases and 92 deathshad occurred, and there had been a general flight of thepopulation from the place. The disease has also appeared atTortosa in the province of Tarragona. A few cases have oc-curred in one of the Government prisons-namely, that atSan Miguel, and at least two deaths of persons arrivingat the capital from the provinces have taken place atMadrid. On the whole the outlook as regards Spain is byno means reassuring. With respect to Arabia, it is diffi-cult to give any accurate statistical account of the progressof the epidemic, and this mainly because of the scatter-

ing of the pilgrims which is taking place. At Jeddah andMecca the mortality is said to be decreasing, the deathsat the former place averaging last week some 25 a day pand those at the latter some 35 to 40. One Ottoman steamerwith over 1000 pilgrims from Jeddah arrived at Tor onthe llth inst., there having been 17 deaths from so-calleddiarrhoea on board. Since then 48 cholera deaths have

taken place in the encampment. People are alleged to haveevaded the quarantine arrangements sufficiently to reachBoulak and Cairo, where cases of cholera were reported;but later information ascribed the attacks to ordinarysporadic choleraic diarrhoea. In view of all these cir-

cumstances it is disquieting to read of the dipute whichis going on at the Alexandria Quarantine Board as to

a suitable spot for quarantining pilgrims leaving El Tor, andwho a few days ago numbered some 15,000. In the end theTurkish and Austrian delegates, with Admiral Blomfield,were ordered to cruise in the Red Sea and make a suitableselection of a site. In the meantime quarantine restrictionsare increasing, and France, having apparently in view thedefective sanitary state of Toulon, has ordered that vesselsarriving from Indo-China and touching at Aden or otherports in Arabia shall undergo either quarantine or medicalobservation-whatever the difference may be-at eitherToulon or Algiers. Rumours were current during the weekto the effect that cholera prevailed at Nicolaieff, not farfrom the north coast of the Black Sea. Later informationreceived from the British Embassy at Constantinople failedto confirm this; but a telegram dated the 20th inst. re-

affirms it, and adds that the disease has appeared at,Tchelchlen near Kishineff.

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THE GHENT RESIDENT MEDICAL OFFICERS.

THE resident medical officers and junior assistants of theGhent hospitals, who recently resigned in a body, have-returned to their posts, having gained what they required,which was the recognition of their responsibility to the seniormedical staff alone. The time during which the posts werevacant was eighteen days, as the senior medical staff and the-whole body of students entirely sympathised with theresidents. The result could hardly be doubtful, and wassimply a question of time. According to the regulations-now proposed, the whole medical service in each hospitalwill be under the control of the director and two membersof the senior staff.

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BACTERIOLOGY IN THE SISTER ISLE.

THAT there is an increased interest taken in the study of’bacteriology in the British isles we have ample evidence in a,little pamphlet now before use It appears that the Arch-

bishop of Dublin, at the suggestion of Dr. M’Weeney, has,

devoted a portion of a special fund which he held in trust

for the benefit of the Catholic University to the fitting up.of a bacteriological department in the Catholic University

1 Address on Bacteriology. Delivered at the Mater MisericordiæHospital, May 23rd, 1890, by Edmond J. M’Weeney, M.A., M.B.,M.Ch., M.A.O.; together with a Report of the Proceedings on theoccasion of the Inauguration of the Bacteriological Laboratory at theabove Institution. Dublin : Fannin and Co., 1890.