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with the subsequent addition of oil of aniseed and syrup ; or(2) the simpler method of dissolving the essential oils ofwormwood, anise, and coriander in rectified spirit, addingsugar and water, and colouring with chlorophyll. Absintheis seldom drunk in a hurry by a thirsty and preoccupiedindividual standing at the counter of a public-house. Ithas to be diluted by the consumer, and this may be donewith various adjuncts which give some opportunity for thedisplay of dexterity, just as in mixing a salad during dinneror peeling an orange at dessert. In connexion with this

subject we may mention that a substance indistinguishablefrom the ordinary absinthe of commerce, in respect of

colour, odour, taste, and so on, has been recently put on themarket under a totally different name.

VACCINE-THERAPY.

WE publish this week the first part ’of a lecture deliveredbefore the Harvey Society of New York by Sir A. E. Wright,which we trust will prove of service to many of our readers.It summarises the practical results achieved by his investi-gations in clinical pathology along a line of research whichhe has devised and perfected, and which promises to lay thefoundations of a new and valuable branch of therapeutics.The portion of the contribution contained in the presentissue summarises the various methods other than vaccine-

therapy which have been adopted in the treatment of bacterialdisease and proceeds to the discussion of the principles andrationale of the latter method, the machinery of immunisa-tion, the questions of the composition of vaccines, and theestimation of their immunising effects by the method ofdetermining the opsonic index. Next week we shall publishthe more detailed description of the process of which thisfirst part is an introduction ; the second part will consist ofSir A. E. Wright’s study of the Curves of Immunisation" "

obtained by vaccination and other matters connected withthe process, the therapeutic principles on which it is based,and the question of auto-inoculation with its artificial pro-duction for therapeutic purposes, and will conclude with asummary of the results that have been achieved by vaccine-therapy at the author’s hands.

THE ACCOMMODATION OF THE NAVVIES EM-PLOYED ON THE BROOKLANDS MOTOR TRACK.

Dr. Reginald A. Farrar has issued a report to the LocalGovernment Board dealing with the accommodation of thenavvies employed on the motor racing track recently con-structed at Brooklands, and he makes it the occasion of someremarks on the subject of the accommodation of navviesengaged on large constructional works in general. He

estimates the navvies of Great Britain to form a nomadic

community numbering with their women and children 100,000,and points out that they are in some sense outside the rangeof action of sanitary laws. It is an interesting sign of thetimes that a class that passed successively from the con-struction of dykes and canals to that of railways should nowfind its occupation depending on the motor industry. The

social condition of the navvy of to-day is, we hope, betterthan that of those employed on the construction of the firstgreat railways of the last century, of which those who haveread Smiles’s Life of George Stephenson " will remembera very graphic picture. Dr. Farrar’s report, however, showsthat their conditions of life are far from being satisfactoryand that in the case in point a body of 1600 men were

imported into a neighbourhood to carry out work that wouldlast over some months without any provision being made fortheir lodging and without the provision of even a trustworthywater-supply. Dr. Farrar made a personal inquiry into thestate of affairs and found that some 600 men had lodgings in theneighbourhood, but that many of these had to walk or cyclefrom four to seven miles to and from their work daily, and

that these were only accommodated by an unhealthy crowd-ing of the lodging-houses and cottages in the neighbourhood.About 500 navvies came in to work by train, many fromLondon; the fares paid by the latter reduced their weeklywage of 24s. by 4s. 6d. About 300 more were " sleepingrough," i.e., on Weybridge Common or in such straw- andstack-yards and even hen-houses (Dr. Farrar, by the way,says hen-coops) as they could enter undetected. When theweather was inclement they fortified themselves (in theirown opinion) against the night in the open air by halfstupefying themselves with beer. The men themselveshad constructed two rough shelters on the site of

the works, but these, owing to their insanitary state,were destroyed by the contractors, who, moreover, made noattempt to replace them until after Dr. Farrar’s visitation.It is only fair to state that when the facts of the injustice tothe men and the nuisance to the neighbourhood were

pointed out the contractors readily undertook the erection ofa wooden shed with bunks accommodating 50 men and laidon a good supply of drinking water from the main. The

contract was unlike many others for important works, as alarge number of men were employed working in night and dayshifts, and the work had to be completed in an exceptionallyshort space of time. There seems no doubt, however, thatthe contractors were morally responsible, before introducingover 1600 men of a rough class into the neighbourhood, forascertaining whether adequate lodging accommodationexisted and supplying any default. Dr. Farrar in his

report draws attention to some of the difficulties of the

subject, and suggests the advisability of an inquiry into theconditions of navvy life in general with a possible view tolegislation in the matter. The dissemination of infectiousdisease by this class should alone serve to direct attention toit in the interests of the community, and it is only fair toan indispensable and hard-working budy of men that thenecessities and decencies of life should be assured to them.

THE MECHANISM OF ABDOMINAL PAIN.

Professor Lennander of Upsala read an important paperon abdominal pain, especially in connexion with ileus, at therecent annual meeting of the American Medical Association,which is published in the Edi7tbvrg7i Medical Journal forAugust. His valuable researches on the subject of the

mechanism of abdominal pain are now well known. He hasfound that abdominal pain is transmitted solely by spinalnerves-the phrenic, lower six intercostal, lumbar, andsacral. No abdominal organ endowed with the sense of

pain is innervated only by the vagus or sympathetic nerves.Even a strong faradic current applied to the liver does notproduce pain. Professor Lennander has cut through the gall-bladder so far as the cystic duct without causing pain, butwhen he tilted the liver or dragged upon the common bileduct, thus stretching the spinal nerves of the abdominal wall,pain was felt. The stomach, intestines, liver, and gall-bladder are not only without the sense of pain but also withoutthe other three varieties of sensibility-the senses of pressure,cold, and heat. Professor Lennander has also found thatthe parietal peritoneum of the anterior abdominal wall

possesses only the sense of pain and is devoid of the senseof pressure, cold, and heat. His observations are in favourof the speeificity of the nerves of pain and of the view thatthe whole of the parietal peritoneum is provided only withnerves of pain-a condition previously known in the cornea.He believes that all abdominal sensations are transmitted

only by the parietal peritoneum and its subserous layer, bothof which are richly supplied with cerebro-spinal nerves. The

irritability of the nerves of pain of the parietal peritoneum ismuch increased by slight peritonitis. Hence the movementsof the stomach and intestines against the parietal peri-toneum and the stretching of their mesenteries are felt as

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severe pain. In perforation of the stomach or intestine thefirst pain is caused by contact of the contents with the parietalperitoneum. In gastric ulcer the paroxysmal pains are elicitedby movements of the stomach dragging upon the parietalperitoneum which is hyperasstbetic on account of the lym-phangitis due to the ulcer. Contraction or distension of a

segment of bowel which is attended with traction upon itsattachments to the abdominal wall is painful. The pain ofintestinal obstruction appears to be due to stretching of themesentery proximal to the obstruction. Wilms considers

that a coil of bowel when contracting upon its contents atthe proximal side of an obstruction tends to become straightin the same way as does the gut in sausage making. The

mesentery prevents this and becomes stretched. Displace-ment of the peritoneum of the abdominal wall seems also tobe a cause of pain. During laparotomies Professor Lennanderpassed into the abdomen his finger covered with a rubberglove and pressed:on the anterior abdominal wall. The patientfelt nothing, but as soon as the-serous membrane was dis-placed against the muscles a feeling of pain was experiencedwhich varied according to the degree of sensitiveness of theindividual and the amount of displacement. The patientsdescribed their sensations as " like colic," " as if the bowelis being expanded by wind," "like bad griping pains."Professor Lennander therefore thinks that a displacement ofthe peritoneum takes place and produces pain as soon as aloop of intestine contracts on its contents, hardens, rises,and presses against the parietal peritoneum. These painsappear to occur not only in ileus but in cases of temporaryirregularities of peristalsis in people not suffering fromabdominal disease. The pains in hepatic disease may beexplained as follows. The liver, gall-bladder, and the extra-hepatic bile passages are without nerves of pain. But whenthe gall-bladder contracts to expel its contents the cystic andcommon bile-ducts and sensitive retro-peritoneal tissue arestretched.

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THE BALKAN STATES EXHIBITION AT EARL’SCOURT.

THE Balkan States Exhibition at Earl’s Court is muchmore interesting and attractive than it may at first sightappear. The fact is that it is easier to organise an exhibi-tion of one or two small States. What they have to showcan be displayed within a reasonable compass, and theseDanubian principalities have the further advantage of pic-turesqueness together with a recent and romantic history ;they have only been independent nations for so short a timeand had to fight so hard for their independence. Can it be

possible that they have so soon taken rank among the

civilised peoples of Europe ? ? This question a visit to theexhibition will answer. Thus, in the Bulgarian Section thereare admirable diagrams setting forth the development of thecountry. Gilded cubes give by their size an idea of theannual general trade, then of the trade with each nation,so that at a glance the progress of the country can berealised and it is seen which are the nations that havemost contributed. The new laws of these new countriesare in many respects in advance of the old laws

of the old countries. Thus, and only considering that

which affects public health, there is Article 7 of the

Bulgarian Law on the work of women and children whichsays: ’’ Night work in all industrial establishments is for-bidden for boys under 15 years of age and for all women

and girls irrespective of their age." Then there is a clause

forbidding women to work for four weeks after child-birth.Other clauses insist that no work can continue for more thanfive hours without a rest, and the unwholesome hurry overmeals is prevented by the law which stipulates that theinterval from work shall last at least one hour. In the.Servian Section the London visitor will not fail to be some-what disconcerted when he sees photographs of the outdoor

recovery schools of Belgrade. Here in London, only withinthe last few weeks, an experiment in this direction has beenmade at Woolwich. 100 children are having their lessons,their meals, and their recreation in the open air or underverandahs in the park belonging to the Woolwich Coöpera-tive Society lent to the London County Council for that

purpose. Place has thus been found for 100 children out ofthe seething populace of this huge metropolis; and here isthe little capital of the little principality of Servia with itsoutdoor recovery schools in full working order, not as an

experiment but as a well-established institution. There are

also various exhibits of the Society for the Protectionof the Health of the Servian Nation and of schools of

cooking and domestic economy. The industries andnatural products of Servia and those of Bulgaria are

well and graphically exhibited, and on all sides evidencewill be found of young peoples eager to advance. There is

undoubtedly a great future for the Balkan peninsula with itsmineral wealth, its agricultural produce, its beautiful scenery,and its vast ranges of mountains where the most invigor-ating and pure air gives life and force to a brave and strongrace of people. In these countries also the cost of living ismuch less than in Western Europe and there are manymineral springs and beautiful places where health stationshave been established, which only require to be better knownto become very popular. Concerning all these matters fullerinformation can be obtained from the commissioner of theServian Government.

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SURRA IN THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES.

Dr. Henry Fraser, director of the Institute for MedicalResearch, Federated Malay States, and Mr. S. L. Symonds,the Government veterinary surgeon, have published in

pamphlet form an " Interim Report on Surra" in that

country. They say that trypanosomiasis in cattle and horsesis on the increase and causes a great mortality amongthese animals in various tropical and subtropical countries.In horses the disease runs a rapidly fatal course and

may quickly become epidemic ; the clinical signs are thosecharacteristic of surra ; as a rule the microscopic demonstra-tion of trypanosomes in the peripheral blood is easy. Cattle

harbouring the parasites may for a long time appear to be inperfect health ; apart from an occasional rise in temperaturethere are no clinical signs of the disease, and during thisperiod microscopical examination will almost certainly fail

’ to reveal trypanosomes. In the later stages the cattle

become emaciated, the hair is scanty and dry, the poll is’

often denuded, and the animals are unable to perform much’ work. The most trustworthy method of detecting trypano-

somiasis in cattle is by inoculation of their blood into rabbits and guinea-pigs, in the blood of which after a short period

of incubation the parasites may readily be found. Biting flies of the genus tabanus are conveyors of the disease.

HOSPITALS AND SPECTACLES.

s SOME time ago a number of philanthropic ladies initiated5 an Association for the Supply of Spectacles in London; Elementary Schools. The spectacles which they proposed3 to supply were found to be of a very inferior quality,i so that the authorities of the Royal London Ophthalmic- Hospital (Moorfields) and other eye hospitals were unable11 to accede to the request of the association to fill in thee cards issued by them. The price of spectacles supplied. at Moorfields to patients of the hospital was at the time11 under consideration with a view to revision. Investigationr showed that some reduction was posible whilst stille leaving a reasonable profit for the manufacturers. Thee revised prices were therefore adopted, , the price for!- simple spherical lenses being ls. 9d., and that for sphero-

cylinders of average strength 48. 6d. We believe that