EDITORIAL ITEMS.

Normal Hearing. The normal ear should hear a whisper at the distance of twelve feet.

Medical Students in Berlin.-At the University of Berlin this winter there were 1,312 students of medicine.

Count Tolstoi Dangerously III.-The world renowned Count Tolstoi, the great Russian novelist, is reported to be suffering from Bright's disease.

Deafness Following Mumps.-F. W. Jollye reports a case of this kind cured by the administration of pilocarpine, subcutaneously at first and then by the mouth.

A Remedy for Snoring. The editor of the New York Medical Journal narrates the case of a middle-aged and most sonorous snorer apparently cured by suprarenal capsules.

Variola. Charles Begg (Medical Record), asserts that salol abolishes all irritation and pruritus, when given in the dose of 15 grains three times a day. Maturation is also usually prevented.

The Urine of Suppression.-In obstructive cases the urine is pale and watery, without albumin or casts. In non-obstructive suppression, the urine is concentrated or albuminous, with blood and casts.

Cancer of the Breast.--In cancer of the breast the presence of a large amount of fat renders less easy a thorough removal of the glands. Hence the prognosis of cure or prolonged survival must be more guarded in fat than in lean women.

An Appetizer in Chlorosis.-Dr. Max Kahane (quoted in New York Medical Journal), recommends equal parts of compound tincture of cinchona and tincture of orange peel. The dose of the mixture is 15 to 20 drops in half a glassful of water before meals.

Notice. R. L. Polk & Co., Detroit, Mich., Publishers of Polk's Medical & Surgical Register of the U.S. and Canada, request that all practicing physicians notify them of removals, newcomers, deaths, physicians retiring from practice, new Medical Societies, hospitals, asylums, sanitariums, and mineral springs in their vicinity. This information will materially aid in revising the Medical and Surgical Register.

Editorial Items continued on Page 548.

BOOKS.

Transactions of the American Climatological Association for
Volume XVI. Philadelphia.

the year 1900.

The annual circulars of the New York University have been converted into biweekly bulletins, each of which will contain statements of recent progress in the University. A new scientific quarterly, under the title New York University Bulletin of the Medical Sciences, has been inaugurated, with the Macmillan Company as publishers. The University, now 70 years old, is on a wide and stable foundation without any dependence, past or present, upon state aid.

Messrs. Lea Brothers & Co. have pleasure in announcing for early issue "A Practical Treatise on the Blood and its Diseases," for Practitioners, Laboratory Workers and Students, by James Ewing, M.D., Professor of Pathology in Cornell University Medical College, New York. This will be a handsome octavo volume of about 450 pages, amply illustrated with plates and engravings. In view of the recent rapid advances in the knowledge of the Pathology of the Blood, and the numerous and practical applications of this knowledge in clinical diagnosis, this book, representing authoritatively as it does the most modern discoveries and achievements, will no doubt meet with a warm welcome. The work aims to associate changes in the blood as closely as possible with lesions in the viscera, thus immensely increasing its practical value and rendering it a work for constant daily reference in the routine of every general or special practitioner.

The History of Medicine in the United States.-A Collection of Facts and Documents Relating to the History of Medical Science in this Country, from the Earliest English Colonization to the Year 1800; with a Supplemental Chapter on the Discovery of Anaesthesia. By Francis Randolph Packard, M. D., of Philadelphia. Octavo. Cloth, Gilt Top, Deckle Edges. 526 Pages. 25 Full-page Illustrations. $4.00, net. J. B. Lippincott Company, Publishers, Philadelphia.

To the philosophic mind the history of a science is next in interest to the science itself, and the beginnings of a science are the most entertaining and suggestive. The author of this handsome

volume has culled from many original sources, beginning with Jamestown and the Mayflower, and including the Revolutionary period, and the establishment of the early medical colleges, hospitals and societies. The great epidemics of yellow fever and small pox that used to sweep the pioneer continent are vividly portrayed. The work is an authoritative history of primitive American medicine and surgery and deserves an honored place in the practitioner's library.

Infant Feeding in its Relation to Health and Disease.-By Louis Fischer, M.D., Attending Physician to the Children's Service of the New York German Poliklinik; Professor of Diseases of Children in the New York School of Clinical Medicine. Twelvemo; 359 pages. Containing 52 Illustrations, with 23 Charts and Tables, Mostly Original. Philadelphia and Chicago: F. A. Davis Company, Publishers. 1901.

While this author expresses himself rather clumsily at times, the immense importance of the subject and his sincere thoroughness and the great amount of practical and original information he imparts, vastly more than counterbalance any minor literary defects. It is a good book on a great subject, and is to be heartily recommended to every general practitioner.

A Treatise on the Diseases of the Ear.-Including the Anatomy and Physiology of the Organ, Together with the Treatment of the Affections of the Nose and Pharynx which Conduce to Aural Disease. By. T. Mark Hovell, F. R. C. S., Edin.; M. R.C.S., Eng.; Aural Surgeon to the London Hospital; Consulting Surgeon to the Hospital for Diseases of the Throat, Golden Square; Lecturer on Diseases of the Throat, London Hospital Medical College; Aural Surgeon British Home for Incurables. Second Edition. Octavo; 808 pages. Price, $5.50. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 1012 Walnut Street.

ness.

1901.

This work covers the ground of aural anatomy, physiology, general and special diagnosis and treatment with satisfactory fullThe author exhibits an intimate personal acquaintance with the subjects discussed. Many additions have been made to the present edition, and some of the chapters have been almost entirely rewritten. The text is illustrated with 126 wood-cuts and plates. The book is a valuable one for practitioners who give special attention to the ear.

Medico-Surgical Aspects of the Spanish-American War.-By LieutenantColonel Dr. Nicholas Senn, Chief Surgeon U.S. Volunteers; Chief of Operating Staff with the Army in the Field; Professorial Lecturer on Military Surgery, Chicago University, Chicago: American Medical Association Press. 1900.

Dr. Senn's writings are always good, and this book is in its nature particularly interesting. It is an account of the war from the casualty point of view-not a mere dry collection of statistics, but a graphic narative of actually existing physical conditions in camp and field. Most of the book consists of letters written freshly to the Journal American Medical Association. No other book we know gives such a satisfactory view of present day military surgery. The work is handsomely illustrated with photogravures.

Famine in China.-The distress from famine in China is increasing with the severity of the weather and more than one hundred thousand persons will perish from cold and hunger. Many stations for free distribution of rice have been established, but they are pitifully insufficient.-Medical Record.

Osteopathy Condemned.-A letter to Governor Odell from J. P. Arnold and H. Walters of the Mechane-Newral-Theray School of Trenton, N. J., has aroused additional interest in Assemblyman Seymour's bill regulating and licensing the practice of osteopathy. The letter says that osteopathy is only a new way of perverting young women, and an easier way for malpractice. The letter was turned over to Assemblyman Henry, chairman of the public health committee, and he regards the matter of such seriousness that he is inclined to give another hearing on the bill, and have Messrs. Arnold and Walters come to Albany to speak on the subject.-New York Sun; Medical Record.

SELECTIONS.

New Orleans Polyclinic.-Physicians will find the Polyclinic an excellent means for posting themselves upon modern progress in all branches of medicine and surgery. The specialties are fully taught, particularly laboratory work. The fourteenth annual session opens Nov. 12, 1900. For further information address Dr. Isadore Dyer, Secretary, New Orleans Polyclinic, New Orleans, La.

For the many forms of inflammation with which the general practitioner is coming in daily contact, he usually prescribes poultices of some kind or their equivalent-something to supply heat and moisture. Any physician in practice for any length of time, has felt keenly the need of something, ever ready, that would in a satisfactory manner supply these ends. Many are, and all ought to be, familiar with Antiphlogistine and its uniqueness. Applied liberally and warm, say at 101 degrees Fahrenheit, it retains or maintains that heat, within a degree, for usually twenty-four hours, or until the moisture in it has pretty well disappeared, which fact can be verified at any time by slipping a clinical thermometer under the dressing. "Till the moisture has pretty well disappeared?" Yes, the medicinal properties of Antiphlogistine seem to enter the circulation and stimulate its activity through the process of endosmosis, and, there never was endosmosis without exosmosis, the latter process which goes on to a marked degree, tends to flush and deplete the capillaries and therefore relieve the congestion and consequently the pains in parts deeply seated. Those of our readers not familiar with this preparation would do well to investigate it, for its unique capabilities make it invaluable.

Female Neurotics - Their Treatment.-Prof. Chas. J. Vaughan, Chair of Gynaecology, Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons, writes: "Cerebro-nervous affections peculiar to women, associated with pathological disturbances of the reproductive organs, are legion, and most trying to physician and patient. Physicians are aware of the wide prevalence of these nervous disorders, for comparatively few women are entirely free from some phase of the ailment. Neurasthenia, neuralgia and other manifestations, either of an active or passive character, are common and are always peculiarly rebellious to treatment. Neuralgia constitutes the great