400

scientific instruments will be of similar design. Here also

arrangements are being made for the display of apparatusready for work, electric supply where needed being provided.The equipment of a large dark room is under consideration,and in this projection apparatus, such as oscillographs,spectroscopes, optical lanterns, and photometers, could beshown to advantage.The organisation of the exhibits referred to has been

placed by the Exhibitions Branch of the Board of Trade inthe hands of Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, under the direction of ajoint subcommittee of the Chemical Industries Committeeand the Mathematical and Scientific Instruments Sub-committee. This joint sub-committee considers thatexhibitors could not have more favourable conditions fordemonstrating the merit of their exhibits than those whichthis new arrangement will afford, and that, at the same time,in the way of instruction by such demonstrations the visitingpublic will be greatly benefited.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,BOVERTON REDWOOD,

Chairman, Chemical Industries Committee.Board of Trade, Westminster, S.W., Feb. 2nd, 1911.

BOVERTON REDWOOD.Chairman, Chemical Industries Committee.

TUBERCULOSIS AND STATE INTER-VENTION.

To the Editor cf THE LANCET.

SiR,-Referring to further correspondence under this headin your issue of Jan. 28th will you allow us to add that thepurpose of our recent letter to THE LANCET, which was tocorrect a misleading impression which seemed current-

namely, that the Edinburgh Conference on Tuberculosisfavoured the principle of separate legislation directed espe- Icially against tuberculosis-has been achieved. A motion in IIfavour of such legislation wa2’, indeed, submitted to the

meeting, but was lost. The resolution which was passed bythe Conference was definitely limited to the question of

including tuberculosis in the proposed scheme of invalidinsurance. Your special Sanitary Commissioner clearlygrasped the distinction as shown by the report in yourcolumns.-We are, Sir, yours faithfully,

W. LESLIE LYALL, M.B. Joint HonoraryJAMES MILLER, M.D. Secretaries.

Edinburgh, Jan. 30th, 1911.

THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE SUPRA-RENAL PRINCIPLE.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SiR,-In THE LANCET of Sept. 3rd, 1910. p. 778, youprinted a short paragraph entitled " New Words." Youcommented upon the supplement of four pages to theStandard Dictionary of the English Language which you hadreceived from Messrs. Funk and Wagnalls, and you men-tioned that the word adrenalin had been included in that

supplement to the well-known dictionary. It may be

interesting to quote the full definition there given. It is asfollows -

Adrenalin. Chem. A hemostatic astringent princiole ofthe suprarenal gland : the most powerful astringent known.(Coined by Dr. Norton L. Wilson, Nov., 1900.)

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,London, J&n. 31st, 1911. INTERESTED.

TRAINED NURSES’ ANNUITY FuND.-Her MajestyQueen Alexandra has approved of the suggestion that thesurplus of .690 remaining after the purchase by the membersof the Territorial Nursing Service of a cross for the tomb ofKing Edward VII. shall form the nucleus of an additionalannuity for disabled trained nurses. The annuity will becalled the King Edward VII. Memorial Annuity and the ICouncil of the Trained Nurses’ Annuity Fund has issued anappeal for subscriptions to make the amount up to .f.900, thesum required to endow an annuity of 10s. per week. Con-tributions may be sent to the Bankers, Messrs. Coutts andCo.. 440, Strand, London, or to the honorary secretary, Dr.A. Ogier Ward, 73, Cheapside, London, E.C.

THE HOUSING PROBLEM IN SOUTHWALES.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL SANITARY COM1BlISSIONER.)(Concluded from p. 334.)

The S1Vansea Strand.THE problem at Swansea is similar in most details to that

)f Merthyr Tydfil. There is in both towns the sudden

augmentation of population due to the rapid and recentdevelopments of the mining and metallurgic industries. Butat Swansea we find further complications arising from thegrowth of the port, with its ever-increasing fleet of shipsthat bring ore and take away coal, attract poor dockers inquest of work, and land sailors in search of dissipation. Thisnecessitates such districts as the Swansea Strand, which Mr.George R. Sims, in his little book entitled " Human Wales,"describes as a district of difficulties built by "the river ofsin upon the strand of shame," where there are girls of 20who are old already. As a matter of fact, however, it is

very fortunate for the town as a whole that the more viciousand disreputable elements of the population should concen-trate in a particular district. Of this Swansea has had recent

experience. Some labour members of the borough council ofSwansea complained that too much care was taken in thechoice of tenants for the houses built by the corporation, andthat it was precisely for the poorest and the most unfortunatethat the houses were intended. The result was that several

persons gained admittance into corporation dwellings whowere poor only in manners and morals. A little experienceof this sort soon brought abcut a reaction, and now everyeffort is made to secure only respectable tenants for thecorporation houses. At the same time, preference is shownfor a tenant who comes from one of the congested districts.The Strand is a main street facing some of the docks.

There are a few common lodging-houses in this thoroughfareand many courts behind on rising ground. The common

lodging-houses are only overcrowded on Saturdays in thewinter. The tramp is then driven in by stress of weather.The cottages in the courts are often overcrowded, and hereand there the closets get out of order and require very frequentinspection so that the flushing cisterns should act properly.Naturally, I made a point of visiting these places, notablyNeptune-court, Bargeman’s-row, Jones’-court, and the neigh-bouring courts and alleys. Here I saw some houses built onterraces cut out of the hillside, so that the backs were closeto the bare earth, which rose up perpendicularly to the heightof the first floor back windows, leaving a space of only livefeet between the house and the earth. Some cottages wereso small that there was no room for a proper staircase, andtl-e steps from the living-room on the ground floor to thesleeping-room above were so precipitous that they seemedmore like ladders. Elsewhere there was a row of one-roomed

cottages so small that the wall from the earth to the eavesof the roof was not six feet high. But they gave on to anopen space and were swept on all sides by fresh air.

Increase in Trade, OL’e?’ororvding, and Distre3S.Swansea is fortunate in possessing a large quantity of land

so that the corporation can build without having to purchasebuilding sites. This is the more welcome, as there is a mostpressing demand for houses at rents varying from 6s. to7s. 6d. a week. Houses at 12s. 6d. could more easily beobtained, but this is too much for a workman, and meansthat he would have to divide the house with another familyand then there would be overcrowding. It was some 15 yearsago that a very bitter cry was raised for better housing,and after a good deal of hesitation the corporation had

! to undertake the work of housing. Its first experi-! ments were not all successful. In one case the houses’ built were too good for the neighbourhood. Those who lived

near could not pay the rent and those who lived elsewhere: would not take up their quarters in such poor surroundinge.: So there is a slight loss on this property, but all the other I schemes are self-supporting. Altogether, the town has built: 207 houses and it is inviting tenders for the construction of- 103 more. They are to be built in central parts of the townl where they will be far more useful than those in suburbs, which the workers have difficulty in reaching, especially if

they are employed in the docks. Many tenants absolutely