Pineapple Wine.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-I suppose that this is out of your line, but I have a good many pineapples; could you give me a recipe or formula for making pineapple wine that will keep without fermenting? Georgiana, Fla. T. H. CHAMBERS.

[Both out of our "line" and out of our latitude, Doctor. Surely some of the southern members of the family are acquainted with such formulas. Will they not write to the Doctor direct? and after the Doctor has tried the receipts, we will be glad to publish a satisfactory formula.-ED.]

Rheumatic Cure.-Whiskey Cure.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-I write to ask you if you know of anything better than the salicylates for rheumatism? There is a doctor in Laramie City that gives his rheumatics a pink powder; the color, of course, is nothing, but I can't locate what it is; but it cures rheumatism.

Also, do you know what the "Gatlin Whiskey Cure" consists of? Their institutes, one in Denver and one in Omaha are doing a large business, with fair results. Walden, Col. W. L. SNAIR, M. D.

[The salicylates, salicylic acid, colchicum, and the various alkalies are the standard and only treatments of rheumatism. Any of these could be combined in a powder and colored pink. Much of the success of nostrums along such lines lies in the massiv doses adviseddoses which the regular practician would hesitate to give, and which frequently injure the stomach; yet the victim does not recognize the fact and likely would not hesitate if he did.

We do not know what the "Gatlin Whiskey Remedy" is, but this subject has been so thoroly discust in THE WORLD that any practician can formulate for himself a much better system of "cure" than those used successfully by the various semi-quack institutions scattered thruout the country. The whole thing summed

up in a few words is suggestion, apomorphin in whiskey allowed, and strong cinchonin and strychnin tonics. -ED.]

The Menopause.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-Will you please publish in detail in your next issue the symptoms and treatment of the sickness in women at the menopause? I am young in the profession and don't find anything very explicit on the subject in the books. I have a patient, my first of the kind, of which I am most sure this is her trouble. I admire the position you take in behalf of the medical profession. J. C. JONES, M. D. Austin, Tex.

[Doctor, see Editorial on "The Ills of the Menopause," in this issue. You do not even describe your case. If you want help on any given symptom, write to the Quiz Column Editor, and he will gladly give you help thru his column. But to "publish in detail in next issue the symptoms and treatment of the sickness in women at the menopause" is impossible; it would occupy the entire issues of many months. The large text books take up many

of their pages on this subject, and do not say half enuf. You may get any symptom known to human kind in the menopause. We are not scolding, but want to do you good. Get some good modern text book on gynecology and study it well. Read every article you can get on the menopause in the various medical journals. Only in this way can you prepare yourself to meet contingencies. But remember that we are always ready for help if your specific wants are given.—ED.]

Torticollis.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-Is there any external application that will be beneficial, applied to "contractured" cords of the neck? S. J. SMITH, M. D. Pickrell, Neb.

[You should have stated whether the affection is chronic or acute. We presume the latter. The next question is: Is it congenital or acquired? We will presume that you have a case of chronic acquired torticollis, inasmuch as you do not specify any variety.

Certain cases have yielded to a greater or less extent to application of super-heated air, electricity, massage, etc., provided the treatment has been instituted early enuf. In infants so affected, massage should be instituted as soon as a diagnosis is establisht. Later in childhood, the head may be carried to the proper angle by felt collars moulded over a plaster cast of the neck taken with the head held in the proper position, or Glisson's sling may be used. See our remarks on this subject in WORLD for last month (July), page 309.

You would better get some modern work on surgery and read up on the subject. We suggest Vol. 2 of the System of Practical Surgery, by E. von Bergmann, edited by W. T. Bull, and sold by Lea Brothers & Co., Philadelphia, Pa., at $6.00.-ED.]

[Any dry equable climate with little precipitation and devoid of extremes of temperature will be favorable for rheumatism. There is nothing in the climate of Idaho different from other western sections in this regard. Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, etc., all have sections which would be favorable for a rheumatic patient. Select the section you think most favorably of, and then write your nearest United States Weather Bureau for the addresses of weather observers in the section you purpose visiting. To the latter gentlemen state your complaint, and ask any reasonable questions regarding the climate, and you will get a prompt and courteous reply. You appreciate

the fact that climate in any section varies with every hundred miles or less of territory, and that it would be impossible for us to give you any definit information regarding so large a territory as Idaho, since there is a very wide range of variation within her confines.-ED.]

Electric Apparatus.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-I have read your editorial in the May World, "Electrical Equipment for the General Practician." I am just a country doctor and have no electrical apparatus at all, and am not able to buy a static machine but want some kind of apparatus for therapeutical purposes. We have an electric light plant here, and I could utilize that current if I had a suitable outfit. What can I get and for what amount (least possible) to be efficient? Can I have both galvanic and faradic electricity? What book would I better buy for a beginner-the "A B C's, of electrotherapeutics? I have "Electro-Therapeutical Practice," by Neiswanger. W. E. ATKINS.

Pilot Point, Tex.

[There are so many varieties of currents and such great difference in voltage that it would not be possible for us to advise you. It is not every current used for electric lighting that can be utilized in medicin. Manufacturers of electrical equipment make controlers that will admit of connection with faradic batteries and which yield in this manner a very smooth current; much superior, indeed, to cells. We advise you to get full particulars regarding the kind of current you have, and then write some of the manufacturers and state your needs. They will be glad to give you prices on whatever equipment you can afford, and will tell you all about whether or not it is practicable for you to attempt using your current for therapeutical purposes.

The book you mention will be an aid to you, as would Electricity in Medicin and Surgery, King, publisht by Boericke & Runyon Company, New York, N. Y., at $3.50.-ED.]

Nitrous Oxid Anesthesia.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-On page 216, first column, May number, you say "nitrous oxid gas is the safest general anesthetic." Is it an anesthetic at all? Lots of persons have among their ancestors those who died with their boots on and a rope round their necks, of anesthesia, if your statement is correct. Perhaps you can point out to your readers the difference between suffocation and the results of nitrous oxid gas. The looks of the subject indicate that nature does not recognize the difference. Boston.

WM. B. HIDDEN.

fractured vertebra, in a condition of anesthesia-at least so we are taught. Drowning is painless, or is a death under a condition of anesthesia, actual death occurring only after the victim has become unconscious, his sensibilities having been obtunded by lack of oxygen. Enuf whiskey will act as an anesthetic, the imprudent imbiber losing all consciousness of pain. The word merely means "without feeling," or sensation, and any drug, method, or agent which will produce absence of sensation is an anesthetic. It is merely a matter of our usage of the word that has allowed us to feel that it is wrongly applied except when referring to such drugs as chloroform or ether. A club or a sandbag, applied as the highwayman is accustomed to use it, will produce anesthesia; and the anesthesia is no less anesthesia because produced by or accompanied by unconsciousness due to traumatism. When you speak of "nature recognizing the difference," do you think struggling humanity sees any difference as it passes into the deep shadows of oblivionic portals of anesthesia, whether the agent be chloroform, drowning, or nitrous oxid gas? But of all the methods of producing anesthesia that we have felt or seen, we prefer nitrous oxid gas for promptness and agreeableness. Criticisms are always welcome, Doctor, and so are good contributions. Could you favor us with something ?-ED.]

Intravenous Therapy.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-What do you know of the intravenous infusion method for the treatment of tuberculosis? It is claimed to have been originated and introduced by Wilfred G. Fralick, M. D., of New York, and is put up and sold by the Intravenous Therapy Company, of New York.

I received the story of New Zealand and like it very much. J. A. MOORE.

Hanford, Cal.

[We do not know anything of it; it has no place in the last "year books" of various publishers. Intravenous injection of any medicament is lookt upon as a rather dangerous procedure. The intravenous injection of formaldehyde solution has been proposed, but we do not know of its having been practist. -ED.]

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-Is there any antidote for coal-oil poison? If so, what is it? Please give the formula of Mother's Friend," and Micajah's uterin wafers. TEXAS.

[There could be no true antidote for coaloil, since the oil would act until expelled. The proper treatment of poisoning would be to evacuate the stomach by stomach pump or emetics, and then treat the case as one of an irritant poison, i. e., by demulcents, stimulants, etc. There have been numerous cases

[Strychnin, pusht to physiological limits, will curb and destroy the taste for tobacco in most individuals, but is not a specific by any means in all cases. It appears to us if the young man has to curb his appetite constantly, and is never satisfied with tobacco, that he is undergoing more torture than he would if he abandoned the use of the weed entirely. There is nothing in the use of tobacco but the satisfying of an acquired taste, and if this taste is unsatisfied by moderate amounts, he is only prolonging the agony. Let him simply quit, and the way to quit is to quit. Put him on

1-40 grain strychnin phosfate four times a day, and gradually increase to the 1-16 or 1-12 unless symptoms are induced before such doses are reacht; let him use tobacco meanwhile, and he will soon find that tobacco nauseates him. Then is the time to quit, and after a few days' uneasiness he will be freed from the habit.-ED.]

water); when at boiling point, add a pint of water for each quart of juice, and boil for five minutes; then strain, and bottle and seal while hot. Our good wife makes "lots" of it nearly every fall for family and social use; but she is away now, so we get the above directions from our druggist who makes an excellent quality and sells it in our neighborhood. If you get your wife started making it she will be sure to make more and more every autumn. It is so nice, not only in sickness, but for "refreshments" when entertaining company. It is very cheap. Your wife could sell some to your less enterprising patients when needed in sickness, at a handsome profit, and thus add a little perquisit to her private purse. Mark this for reference in grape time.-ED.]

Hemorrhoids.-Webbed Fingers and Toes.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-Can any of the WORLD brethren suggest treatment for hemorrhoids where there is a daily loss of blood with each movement of the bowels? The case is that of a man over fifty who wishes no operation. Do any of the WORLD'S readers know of "Leonhardt's Hemorrhoid Tablets," or of the composition of such tablets when with each box a guarantee of cure is given?

Can any explanation be given for following peculiarity? Was present a week ago when a male child was born, whose middle and ring fingers of each hand are united up to the tip; the same peculiarity is present in third and fourth toes of each foot.

Would it be wise to separate the fingers by an operation? Ontario.

[A suppository made up with cocoa butter and containing the following ingredients may be used:

Tannic acid

Gallic acid.

Extract krameria

Direct one inserted after every

tion.

Another very good formula is:

Extract stramonium.

Tannic acid

Carbonate of lead

Liquor subacetate of lead.
Creosote ..

These may be used in the same manner. The injection of linseed (flaxseed) oil, an ounce after each defecation, is palliativ. It is not likely that your patient will recover permanently without an operation.

We do not know anything of "Leonhardt's Hemorrhoidal Tablets with a guarantee of cure with every box," but merely to read such a title and claim is to convince any thinking man that neither the "guarantee" nor the tablets are of any account.

Webbed fingers and toes are not rare. They are frequently observed in members of certain families. There is no way of assigning any cause with any certainty of arriving at a correct conclusion. In the case of the fingers being webbed, provided there is no osseous deform

ity, you should separate them and dress antiseptically until healed. It is a simple operation and devoid of danger.-ED.]

Liquozone.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-Will you kindly give the formula for "Liquozone" if it is known? It is evidently another one of those "cure-all" fakes, recommended for all diseases or complaints to which flesh is heir, and is put up by The Liquid Ozone Company of Chicago.

Your crusade against corrupt practises of all kinds in the medical profession is very much to my taste, and I greatly admire the fearless, impartial manner in which you handle all things which smack of quackery. Let the good work continue. Newport, Ark.

O. E. JONES. Vanderbilt, 1902.

Specific Gravity of Urin.

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-Some years since I examined the urin of a man and found the specific gravity to be 1,045.

One case I examined on three different occasions, at intervals of one month, and each time found it 1,030. Recently I have found it 1,030 in three cases. In all five of these cases there was not the slightest indication of sugar, and yet we are told by the books to look for sugar if the specific gravity is 1,030. All of these 1,030 cases were in their usual health. Please give us light on this subject. What is supposed to be the pathological condition, the cause, the remedies, the URINALYSIS. tests, etc.?

[There was some functional disorder of the kidneys, or else you examined the urin of a single micturition, and thus failed to get the actual specific gravity of the urin which the patient passed in the twenty-four hours. Always mix the entire twenty-four hours' urin, and from this take a specimen and make your examination from it; only in this way can the true specific gravity be ascertained.

Your questions cover the entire domain of urinary examination and of functional and organic kidney affections. We carried a series of articles on examination of the urin in the WORLD for Nov., 1902, page 404; April, 1903, page 148; May, 1903, page 196; June, 1903, page 244, and July, 1903, page 292, which see for fuller information than we can give space here. Or, better, if you can afford it, order Clinical Examination of the Urin, Ogden, pub

lisht by W. B. Saunders & Co., Philadelphia, at $3.-ED.]

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-Many of your patrons would be pleased if you would again publish the formula for the Seven Sutherland Sisters' hair restorer as it appeared in THE WORLD a year or two ago. Walker, Mo. E. J. MORRISON, M.D. SEVEN SUTHERLAND SISTERS' HAIR

GROWER.

THE LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN."

"An elegant hair dressing. A sure hair promoter. Will permanently stop hair from falling out. A preparation free from irritating matter. For preserving and beautifying the hair, and rendering it soft and glossy, it is the best." Prepared only by the Seven Sutherland Sisters, Lockport, N. Y.

The container is a square panel bottle, with name blown into the glass, and holds 34 fluid ounces of a nearly colorless liquid, having markt odor of bay rum and distilled extract of witch-hazel. Examination shows that the following formula makes a preparation substantially identical with the secret hair grower":

Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-Next to the Bible I place THE MEDICAL WORLD; and I hope so long as I shall practise medicin it may be like the poor, ever present with me. Long may it flourish to combat fraud and promulgate truth, giving to saint and sinner his portion in due season, and especially the sinner. I have under my care a lady, 49 years of age, well nourisht, 150 pounds weight, mother of five children, who has in past five years apparently passed thru all the stages of the menopause. Last summer she developt at beginning of hot weather a violent pruritus vulvae, unbearable at times, subsiding to entire absence as cold weather came on, to return again this summer. No symptoms of diabetes. Had acute Bright's disease ten years ago; no return; clear smooth skin, no eczema. Have almost exhausted the materia medica in treatment: Formaldehyde, alum, carbolic acid, boric acid solutions, oxid of zinc salve, &c., &c., with only slight relief. Tried Fowler's sol. arsenic for two months, five drop doses four times a day. Can you in your next give me light-more light on the subject? Midway, Mo. H. F. PHILLIPS, M.D.

[Pruritus vulvae, occurring after the menopause, is always an obstinate affection, but is often remedied by simple measures. You appear to have treated the case well, but have been unlucky in "hitting" on the right thing for this particular case-and that is just what it amounts to in combating this affection. If it be due to the presence of an acrid discharge, it will be cured by vaginal injections of bichlorid of mercury, in strength of about 1 to 3,000, or 1 to 4,000, employed night and morning. In other cases due to like cause it is more satisfactory to employ an agent which will dis

tend the canal and remain in contact with the tissues for a longer period; this is where the vaginal suppository finds its greatest usefulness; being made of boroglyceride, any agent may be incorporated with them, and in your case we would suggest the trial of hydrastin, or of pinus canadensis, or of ichthyol. Internally, about the most reliable of drugs. are the bromids and cannabis indica. In the way of washes and lotions, drugs innumerable have been heralded as specifics. Among them may be mentioned the following: Menthol and acetate of lead, in ointment; dilute hydrocyanic acid, two drops in ounce of water; equal parts of tinctures of opium, iodin, and aconite; a dram of chloroform to the ounce of glycerin; milk strongly impregnated with carbolic acid; equal parts of alcohol and water; corrosiv sublimate, one dram to the ounce of emulsion of bitter almonds, etc. We hope that you will be able to select one of these suggestions with happy results; but while local treatment will be insisted upon, the practician must never cease to suspect vulvar pruritus of being either a symptom of some actual disease or of being a neurosis.-ED.]

Skin on Palms of Hands Peels Off. Editor MEDICAL WORLD:-Male, 25 years of age; general health and physical condition excellent. For three years the skin on palms of both hands has constantly peeled off. The involved area is rather red, making a pronounced line of demarkation. Right palm always worse than left; has always been limited to palms of hands; worse in winter and damp weather, when painful fissures sometimes develop. Skin always harsh and dry; no itching; no burning. New skin presents a shiny, glazed appearance. ARKANSAS.

[The case is one of palmar eczema, of an aggravated type. Probably one of the most serviceable applications is salicylic acid, 20 to 80 grains to the ounce, the base being equal parts of benzoinated lard and vaselin. It should be well rubbed in, and then applied spread upon an oiled cloth or paper. In certain cases the addition of 10 to 20 percent of lanolin is advantageous. Strong ointments of calomel and white precipitate are also serviceable. Another plan is highly commended: The affected parts are first softened with borated starch poultices, applied every five or six hours, drying with a rough towel after every application (so that the softened epidermis is rubbed off), and in a few days the parts have become soft, smooth, and pliable. Applications are then made of an ointment of oxidized pyrogallo, 5 to 30 grains, 2 drams each of almond oil and distilled water, and half an ounce of lanolin; this is well rubbed in, in small quantities, frequently repeated.

If the x-rays are available, your patient will probably be benefited by them.-ED.]

CURRENT MEDICAL THOUGHT

Actual and Apparent Death from Drowning: Modes of Resuscitation.

(The following is taken from Gould & Pyle's Cyclopedia of Medicin and Surgery, publisht by P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia, and is of great importance at this time of year. It is so terse, complete, plain, and practical that we quote it entire.)

Death due directly to drowning is caused by obstruction to respiration from submersion in a liquid, but death from shock, syncope, apoplexy, etc., may have occurred at the very instant of falling into the water. The evidence of death from drowning is cumulativ. Externally, the face is pale or slightly livid, and the body is bloated if it has been for some time in water. Froth at the mouth or nose, the presence of abrasions or excoriations of the skin, retraction of the penis, the tongue swollen and congested and closely applied to, or clencht between the teeth, and the muscles of the hair bulbs rigidly contracted, causing the "cutis anserina" or "goose-skin," are usual symptoms. Internally the trachea, bronchi, and smaller air tubes are congested and filled with a mucous froth more or less tinged with blood. The lungs are edematous and pit on pressure, and pressure causes exudation of a sanguinous fluid. Sand, mud, or small weeds may be drawn deep into the air passages. Water is often found in the pleural cavity and in the stomach. The right side of the heart gives the symptoms of asphyxia, and the brain is usually congested. Complete submersion for two minutes is often sufficient to cause death.

The treatment of an apparently drowned person consists in removal from the water, freeing the mouth of froth, water and foreign bodies, loosening of clothing that binds the neck, chest or waist, squeezing the water out of the lungs with the body partly inverted, and clearing the base of the tongue from the larynx, either by pressing forward the angles of the jaw or by drawing the tongue forward out of the mouth. The body may then be laid out flat on the back, with a shawl, folded blanket, coat, or block of wood high under the shoulders so as to cause the front of the neck to be put on the stretch. Artificial respiration may now be tried, and warm blankets, hot water bottles or bricks, and necessary medicin sent for in the meantime. The simplest way to perform artificial respiration is for the operator to place himself on his knees above the head, seize the arms near the elbows, and sweep them around horizontally away from the body and over the head until they meet above it, when a steady strong pull may be made upon them, for, say three seconds. The arms may then be returned to their positions alongside the chest, and strong pressure now made against the ribs (with the elbows) for several seconds. These movements should be made at the rate of about sixteen times a minute, should be maintained for three-quarters of an hour, and abandoned only when the heart has ceast to beat. Deep pressure just below the end of the breast bone may reveal pulsations in the aorta when they cannot be found elsewhere. As natural respiration begins the artificial respiration should be timed to it. Ammonia or smelling salts may stimulate it, or hot water may be dashed on the chest. Continued rubbing of the limbs toward the heart will aid the circulation and produce warmth. Hot water, bricks, stones, or even boards will aid in giving warmth to the body. Twenty to thirty minims of ether may be given hypodermically. As soon as it can be swallowed, teaspoonful doses of brandy or whiskey in a tablespoonful of hot water may be given every minute till danger is passed. Weak tea or coffee, or beef tea should be given after consciousness has returned. The reflex sobbing will, little by little, be replaced by the natural breathing, and must be watcht for some time. Removal requires great care, the head being kept low and the respiration carefully watcht.