some atmospheric poison. A winter of unusually severe cold, with occasional rapid and great changes of temperature, may be sufficient cause for such an epidemic. While there have been some fatal cases, as a rule the disease is not severe enough to cause much alarm, and readily yields to rest and simple treatment. The bromides, in many cases, prove curative, and bismuth is an excellent adjuvant. Syr. Rhei et Potass. is highly lauded by those who have used it, and in severe cases opium seems to be required. Dioscorea has proved unreliable, also hamamelis and geranium. Bromide of ammonium is perhaps the single remedy of widest application. SOCIETY MEETINGS. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, BENNETT MEDICAL COLLEGE. At the last meeting of the Alumni, it was decided that future meetings should take place on the day of the annual college commencement. The next meeting will therefore be held at the college building on Tuesday, March 22. The Executive Committee have prepared an excellent programme, and it is hoped that there will be a large attendance of the graduates of the college. The association will meet at 10 A. M. for business, when an address of welcome to the Alumni, on behalf of the Faculty, will be delivered by Prof. A. L. Clark. The enrolling of new members, Secretary and Treasurer's reports, election of officers and miscellaneous business will occupy the remainder of the morning session. The afternoon session will be devoted to matters of professional and scientific interest. It is expected that the President, H. S. McMaster, M. D., will deliver an address, and two or three interesting papers may be expected from members of the Alumni. The evening session will be at the Central Music Hall, in connection with the commencement exercises of the college. Prof. E. F. Rush will deliver the address to the graduating class, and the valedictory address of the class will be presented by Dr. D. A. Cashman. In this connection, the Secretary takes pleasure in stating to the non-resident Alumni that, while the candidates for graduation this year are more numerous than ever before, they are also, as a class, better qualified in every way for the honorable position to which they aspire. W. K. HARRISON, Secretary. CHICAGO ECLECTIC MEDICAL AND SURGICAL SOCIETY. The Chicago Eclectic Medical and Surgical Society held its regular monthly meeting at the Grand Pacific Hotel on the 19th of January, 1881, at 8 o'clock, P. M. After the usual routine business and presentation of the half-yearly reports of the Secretary and Treasurer, the election of officers for the ensuing half-year was proceeded with, and resulted as follows: President, Prof. Henry Olin, M. D.; First Vice President, Alfred L. Willard, M. D.; Second Vice President, S. W. Ingraham, M. D.; Secretary, N. H. Paaren, M. D.; Treasurer, H. K. Stratford, M. D. The President being duly escorted to the chair, and introduced by Dr. M. G. Pingree, made an inaugural speech, eulogistic of the Eclectic medical profession and the importance of Eclectic medical societies all over the land. Inaugurals were also indulged in by the two Vice Presidents and by the Secretary. The President appointed the following members a Board of Censors: Professor W. K. Harrison, M. D.; M. G. Pingree, M. D.; A. L. Cory, M. D. It was moved and carried, that only two essayists should be appointed for each meeting of the society. After the appointment of Dr. Louise Day and Dr. W. K. Harrison as essayists for the next meeting, the society adjourned to the third Wednesday of February. For the purpose of providing special entertainment for the members of the National Eclectic Medical Association during the meeting in Chicago last summer, the Chicago Eclectic Medical Society expended the sum of $500, which was secured by liberal subscriptions of the members of this society and by Eclectic physicians in Chicago. The society is without debts. of any kind, and has a cash balance in the hands of the Treasurer, amounting to about $75. N. H. PAAREN, M. D., Secretary. BOOK NOTICES. Three volumes of Wood's Library of Standard Medical Authors for 1880 should have received notice in the January number of the MEDICAL TIMES, but were crowded out by other matter. No extended review can be given in this issue, and perhaps it would be sufficient commendation to say that these volumes, in every respect, are fully equal to those already noticed, the whole series forming an invaluable acquisition to any physician's library, besides being conclusive proof of the enterprise and liberality of the publishing house of William Wood & Co. DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF EAR DISEASES. BY ALBERT H. BUCK, M. D., Aural Surgeon to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary; Instructor in Otology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the city of New York. Cloth, 400 pp. New York: William Wood & Co., 27 Great Jones street, 1880. We have never seen the intricate mechanism of the ear explained in so clear and comprehensible a manner as in the first pages of this work. The chapter on examination and diagnosis is also a model of clearness and simplicity. The author aims to present a picture of ear diseases as they appear to him, occasionally drawing illustrations from the published experience of others. The treatment is safe and efficient. MINOR SURGICAL GYNECOLOGY. A Manual of Uterine Diagnosis and the Lesser Technicalities of Gynecological Practice, for the use of the advanced student and general practitioner. BY PAUL F, MUNDE, M. D., Professor of Gynecology in Dartmouth College, etc. With 300 illustrations. Cloth, pp. 375. New York: William Wood & Co., 27 Great Jones street, 1880. The author of this work is well known as the editor of the American Obstetrical Journal, and previous contributions from his pen are, in a measure, a guarantee of the excellence of his latest production. Careful examination will convince anyone that the book is one of great practical value. It deals largely with minor details not explained in larger and more comprehensive works, and may well be read as a supplement to such works. A TREATISE ON THERAPEUTICS. Translated by D. F. Lincoln, M. D. BY A. TROUSSEAU AND H. PIDOUX. 379. New York: William Wood & Co., 1880. We have already noticed the first volumes of this classic work. This volume discusses anæsthetics, anti-spasmodics, neurosthenic tonics, excitants, sedatives and contra-stimulants, and anthelmintics. Of the several anesthetics, the authors prefer chloroform. Respecting the use of anesthetics in midwifery, they affirm "that, in spite of the very free and almost general use-almost abuse-which has been made of anaesthetics by several accoucheurs in England and America, there does not exist in the annals of the art a single case of the death of a woman in labor caused by etherization, nor even a case in which the inhalations caused a moment's anxiety in regard to the woman's life." This, with the companion volumes, will prove a valuable addition to the physician's therapeutical library. IS CONSUMPTION CONTAGIOUS, AND CAN IT BE TRANSMITTED BY MEANS OF FOOD? BY HERBERT C. CLAPP, A. M., M. D., Lecturer in the Boston University School of Medicine, etc. Cloth, pp. 178. Boston and Providence: Otis Clapp & Son, 1881. The author makes out a strong case for the affirmative of this question, and cites many cases and experiments in proof. While it is admitted that the proof is not yet conclusive, he maintains that all possible precautions should be taken against the possibility of the transmission of this dread disease. book will well repay perusal. The THE ART OF PROLONGING LIFE. BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAM HUFELAND. Edited by Erasmus Wilson, M. D., author of "A System of Human Anatomy," etc. From the last London edition. Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston, 1880. Cloth, pp. 300. Price, $1. For sale by Jansen, McClurg & Co., Chicago. This is one of the few books that never become obsolete. The last London edition was issued in 1794, yet the reprint of 1881 has already received a degree of attention and commen dation rarely given to new works. It is interesting to read the ideas of hygiene of a century ago, and somewhat surprising to find that they were so nearly in accord with those of the present day. Says the Chicago Medical Review: "Common sense is never out of date, and this volume contains a large amount of this useful commodity." The work is adapted for popular reading, and we cordially commend it to the public. SCHOOL AND INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE. BY D. F. LINCOLN, M. D., Chairman Department of Health, Social Science Association. Cloth, pp. 150. Philadelphia: Presley Blakiston, 1012 Walnut street. 1880. Price, 50 cents. For sale by Jansen, McClurg & Co., Chicago. We welcome another volume of the series of American health primers. These popular books are adapted to the diffusion of important knowledge among the masses, to the fostering of right hygienic ideas and to the promotion of physical well-being. The present volume treats of most vital questions in a clear and interesting style, and should be in the hands of every parent and teacher in the land. OPHTHALMIC AND OTIC MEMORANDA. By D. B. ST. JOHN ROOSA, M. D., AND EDWARD T. ELY, M. D. Revised edition. New York: William Wood & Co., 1880. Practically, this little work is a sort of dictionary or index of ophthalmic and otic science. The book is well edited, well published, and meets with a ready sale. "More's the pity." If a department of medicine is worth studying at all, it is worth studying thoroughly, and we cannot resist the conviction that such works as this foster shallowness and superficiality. CUTANEOUS AND VENERAL MEMORANDA. BY HENRY G. PIFFARD, A. M., M. D., and GEORGE HENRY FOX, A. M., M. D. Second edition. New York: William Wood & Co., 1880. Our remarks concerning the preceding work will express sufficiently well our opinions concerning this one. and publishers have done their work well. The authors HAND-BOOK OF URINARY ANALYSIS (Chemical and Microscopical). For the use of Physicians, Medical Students and Clinical Assistants. BY FRANK M. DEEMS, M. D., Laboratory Instructor in the Medical Department of the University of New York; Member of the N. Y. County Medical Society: Member of the New York Microscopical Society, etc. 12 mo., Limp Cloth, 25 cents. New York: Industrial Publication Company. The manual presents a plan for the systematic examination of liquid urine, urinary deposits and calculi. It is compiled |