892

related ; in fact, that the assimiiation of dextrose by the

Itissues is the direct sequel to the digestion of the foodstuffs.I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

- - IHERBERT G. EARLE, B.A. Cantab.,

Senior Demonstrator in Physiology, MiddlesexHospital Medical School.

Physiological Department, Middlesex Hospital, W.,- -

Sept.llth,1909.

"ETHER DAY."10 the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-The writer of the annotation "Ether Day" iTHE LANCET of Sept. llth, so curtly dismisses the claims 4Dr. Crawford Williamson Long to be the discoverer of tlanaesthetic properties of ether that I ask space to put brief]forward the grounds on which his claims rest. Mortoetherised a patient for Dr. John Warren in the surgimtheatre of the Massachusetts General Hospital on Oct. 16tt1846. Now the only question that arises is, Did any otheperson suggest the use of ether vapour inhalations as

general anaesthetic prior to this date ? As an answer we havthe affidavits of four southern gentlemen of JeffersonvillEGeorgia, testifying that on March 30th, 1842, they werpresent whilst Dr. Long etherised Mr. James Venableof Jeffersonville, and during the time of his being unconscious excised a tumour from the back of his neckThe witnesses were James E. Haynes, A. T. ThurmondW. H. Thurmond, and E. S. Rawls. Mr. James Venabllhimself testified that the operation was painless. This wa!the first of a series of operations performed unde]etherisation by Dr. Long. He noted these in their sequencEin his clients’ book, and the book with the entries as made b3him is still in existence. Dr. Long recognised the importanee of his discovery, and with Ulster caution, for the Long.came from the province, he decided to make no prematureannouncement in the medical journals ; he therefore deferredpublication until he could demonstrate to his medicalbrethren that the anaesthetic effects were produced by etherand not by hypnotism or suggestion, and with a view topublication he invited his fellow practitioners to witnessetherisation and how painless operation was under itsinebriation. After he had performed a considerablenumber of operations under ether he prepared an articlefor the Southern Journal, Atlanta, Georgia, and the

proof of that contribution is now in my possession,having been sent to me by the then editor. Some delayoccurred in its appearance-both author and editor wishingthat the anaesthetic properties of the drug might be demon-strated in one or more major operations. In the meantime,the announcement of Morton’s "lethean" was published, andin this alone had Morton priority.

In considering what value is to be attached to Dr. Long’sstatements it is necessary to know the character he bore inhis native Commonwealth of Georgia. His father, JamesLong, was a successful and wealthy planter, the friend ofW. H. Crawford, American Ambassador to the French Court,and afterwards a candidate for the Vice-Presidency of theUnited States. Mr. W. H. Crawford was sponsor to Dr.

Long. When Dr. Long settled in Athens, his intimate

personal friend was A. H. Stephens, vice-president of theConfederacy. On the outbreak of the Civil War Dr. Longjoined the medical service of the Confederate States andremained in charge of the Athens Military Hospital untilGeorgia was overrun by Sherman’s troops. But so humaneand skilful had he shown himself during the four years ofwar that the Federal Government made a special requestthat he would remain in charge of the hospital, and manynorthern families wrote thanking the kind and accomplishedsurgeon to whom they were indebted for the restoration tohealth of dear relatives.

I think we may safely say that Dr. Long was not the typeof man to falsify evidence or claim honours not his by right,and we may truthfully say of him as was said of another :’’ He found the practice of ether inhalation an amusementof chemical lecture rooms ; he left it the sovereign anodyneof the human race in its moments and hours of agony."

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,Dublin, Sept. 13th, 1909. GEORGE FOY.

** Our annotation did not attempt to deal in an

exhaustive manner with the rival claims of Crawford W.Long, Charles T. Jackson, Horace Wells, and William

GEORGE FOY.

Morton, although we endorsed the view that Morton’s.demonstration on Oct. 16th, 1846, could be regarded as thefirst practical step. The controversy is detailed at some-

length in Roswell Park’s " History of Medicine."—ED. L.

AN EXPLANATION.10 the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-The reference to Tidman’s s Sea Salt in your issueof this day will, we fear, convey an impression that it is

synthetically manufactured to resemble sea salt. This is not so; Tidman’s Sea Salt is actually made from the seaitself, and therefore, when dissolved in fresh water, yields.an actual sea bath.

We remain, Sir, your obedient servants,For TIDMAN AND SON, LIMITED,

J. J. Fox, B.SC. Lond., Managing Director.Bushell-street, London, E., Sept. llth, 1909.

THE LIBRARIES OF THE ROYALCOLLEGES.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-The other day I went to the library of the RoyalCollege of Physicians of London in Trafalgar-square, in orderto look up some books of reference, and was informed thatit was closed for the whole of September for cleaning. Aday or so later I went to the library of the Royal College ofSurgeons of England in Lincoln’s Inn Fields with a similarresult. Permit me to suggest that the Colleges might arrangeamongst themselves, so that one library should be closedduring August and the other during September. In this waythe inconvenience of both libraries being closed during thesame month would be avoided.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,Sept. 10th, 1909. M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.

SUNDAY OPENING AT POST OFFICES.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-I read on page 12 of to-day’s limes, under the aboveheading, that the Postmaster-General proposes, as fromOct. 3rd, to reduce the hours of Sunday opening from 8 to10 A.M. to from 8.30 to 10 A.M., and that he believes that" this improvement can be secured without materiallyaffecting the convenience of the public." I do not agreewith him. I believe, and I am sure that the majority of myprofessional brethren will be with me, that this apparentlytrifling curtailment of the hours of opening will be mostinconvenient to the medical profession and to their patientsMy experience is that to send a telegram and get a

reply to it on a Sunday the two hours of opening is onlybarely sufficient. Prior to becoming an asylum officer I was-in general practice. As an assistant in a busy practice in alarge Midland manufacturing town I recollect we used to-

telegraph for reply messages constantly on Sunday, althoughthat district was, for that period, extremely well served bytelephones. I bought a practice for myself, a typical countryone, where two-thirds of the work was done in the saddle..Telephones were practically absent from the district, andwhat I should have done when I wanted a consultant inmedical and surgical emergencies, or assistance in midwiferycases, had not the local post-masters been elastic in theirideas as to closing time, I do not know. For it must berecollected it is not only necessary to send a telegrambut to receive an answer to it in most cases, and ifthe time of opening had been half an hour shorterit need not have existed so far as I was concerned. Since

have returned to asylum life I telephone all telegramsthe G.P.O., about a quarter of a mile distant,I have noticed that although they are telephoned

m the stroke of eight I rarely receive a reply much beforeòen, and sometimes I do not get one. Moreover, our seaside)ranch is just 100 miles from the main building, and is halfmile from the G.P.O., a fairly large one, at the other end.

Prior to our being able to get this branch upon the telephoneneither I nor my predecessor in office have ever yet been,ble to communicate with, and receive a reply from, thebranch on Sunday. As regards telegrams received by me on