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duration and these had happened certainly within 16

hours." From a medico-legal point of view it was to

be borne in mind that a murder might have been

committed, that the body might present such appearancesas the above, and that it would be a most serious matter fora medical man to give an opinion as to the time of death.In hot countries decomposition undoubtedly sets in quicklyafter death, but here was a case where in the middle of

winter and, as far as could be judged, from no special causethis condition did occur to an extraordinary degree. It is

stated that there was some atheroma of the arteries, but

otherwise nothing of importance could be discovered at thepost-mortem examination. It is to be regretted that no

bacteriological examination was made.

THE STOCKPORT AND DISTRICT MEDICALSOCIETY AND THE STOCKPORT CENTRE

OF THE ST. JOHN AMBULANCEASSOCIATION.

WE are informed that arbitration in connexion with thedifferences between the Stockport and District Medical

Society and the Stockport Centre of the St. John AmbulanceAssociation, which was accepted by the society in July last,has now been accepted by the chairman and honorarysecretary of the local centre. The arbitration will take

place on Monday, Oct. 30th, and the arbitrators appointedby the Central Executive Committee of the St. JohnAmbulance Association are: Colonel Bowdler, Sir JamesN. Dick, R.N., K.C.B., and Inspector-General BelgraveNinnis, M.D. St. And., R.N. We have stated very plainlyour views on the situation that has been created at

Stockport, and we learn with pleasure that there is an earlyprospect of a termination being put to it.

INFANT FOODS AND SCURVY RICKETS.

THE Journal de Clinique et de TMrapeutique Infantilesof Oct. 19th contains two short papers dealing with

certain effects produced by artificial nutrition in infancy.One of these is the report by MM. Guinon and Le

Guelland on a case of scurvy rickets. This case was a

fair example of its kind, notwithstanding that no sub-

periosteal bsematomata were observed. The usual signs ofrickets were present, the gums were spongy and tinged withblood, and the arms and legs were oedematous. The child,then two and a half years old, had been brought up frombirth on "maternised" " milk. After this diet had

been exchanged for one of ordinary boiled milk, with

potatoe, lime-juice, and even a little raw meat the scurvy

disappeared and a general improvement in health super-vened. The other paper was communicated by M.Miele to the Flemish Medical Congress held at Antwerp inSeptember. In it the writer discussed the etiology ofrickets. He referred to the connexion commonly observedto exist between this disease and artificial feeding in infancy.He noticed also the toxicity exhibited by the urine in manycases of dyspepsia and he based on these facts a belief thatthe dyspeptic basis which underlies the rachitic state reallyimplies a toxic absorption. The result of this is a blood-

dyscrasia and this again gives rise to malnutrition of tissuecells in the bones and viscera and to all the rachiticphenomena. He quoted two cases of myxoedema in children,both attributable apparently to a rachitic perversion ofgrowth in the thyroid gland. This hypothesis, whetherwe accept it in all its details or not, is by no

means an unreasonable explanation of the undoubtedassociation of rickets with an improper dietary. It isnotorious that a system of artificial feeding during infancyis becoming very general in this country and that it evenamounts in some cases to the virtual exclusion of natural

milk from the daily diet. This practice implies a departure-from the normal method which cannot but be viewed with

grave anxiety. There may be cases in which it may answerfor a time as a temporary expedient in the case of delicatechildren, but it is always needful to remember that suchmethods at best are unnatural and, if employed, must beclosely watched and discontinued in favour of a natural milkdiet as soon as this can be borne. Otherwise we shall in timeto come see more of the still uncommon disease known as-

scurvy rickets. -

THE READING PATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

DURING the past year a scheme of amalgamation has beenelaborated between the Reading Pathological Society and theReading Medico-Chirurgical Society. The Reading Patho-logical Society enjoys the distinction of being the olde&bgr;t

pathological society within the United Kingdom with the-exception of the Dublin Society, which was founded a fewyears previously. It was inaugurated at a meeting held atthe Royal Berkshire Hospital on July 13th, 1841, for " dis-cussion of medical and surgical subjects and of other matters-connected with the profession," and a descriptive catalogueof all the morbid preparations was to be kept by the curator.In 1883 the society transferred its meetings from a room inthe hospital to the new library and its morbid specimens-to the museum which had been erected by the governorsof the hospital. In the year 1844 a pathological micro-scope (then a rare instrument) was purchased by the

society at a cost of £56 in order to facilitate histologicalinvestigations. During its existence the society has done much,good work for its members and questions of great interestand benefit to the town and neighbourhood have been dis-cussed and advocated. The "Bradshaw" Lectures of the-

Royal College of Surgeons of England were instituted in.

memory of one of its members, Dr. William Woode

Bradshaw, M.A., D.C.L., F.R.C.S., who after practisingat Andover retired to Reading. The Reading Medico-

Ohirurgical Society was established in 1824 for the purposeof forming a medical library and diffusing medical literature..Since its formation it has collected a large library containingseveral rare old works and most of the newest text-books andworks of reference. It is hoped that the fusion of these two.lourishing societies may result in further good work and the1dvancement of the science of medicine.

CAMBRIDGE AS A MEDICAL SCHOOL.

THE University of Cambridge is to be congratulated on thefact that among English medical schools in point of

numbers it heads the list of entries of students for the funmedical course for 1899-1900. There may be some differenceof opinion as to the exact explanation of this fact and of theremarkable development of Cambridge as a school ofmedicine. But we shall not be far wrong in concluding thatCambridge succeeds because she deserves to succeed. Shehas had the wisdom to perceive early the immense import-ance of biology and of medicine for the future of the world,and she has set herself to the work of wedding these sciencesto each other and giving to both of them entertainment in herlecture rooms and in her laboratories. She has strained herresources in providing such entertainment. Wherever she seesa physician or a physiologist, a pathologist or an anatomist-who will represent the best and the most advanced knowledgeof his subject he is chosen irrespectively of his nationality orof his school. It is natural that men should be drawn to a

university which is so old and yet so young and which doesnot allow either mathematics or classics to absorb all her

sympathies. She may, however, be tempted to be too

partial to her own methods of teaching and examining andto exact too slavish a conformity to her tests. A corre-

spondent writes: "In the admirable Introductory Address.