TREATMENT OF TRACHOMA.

To the Editor of the CANADA LANCET.

SIR, I can fully endorse all you say in favor of what you call "the new treatment of trachoma." I have had five years experience of this mechanical method, and I am satisfied it reduces the length of the treatment to less than one-third that required by the usual method.

After applying cocaine solution-16%-two or three times within fifteen or twenty minutes, I evacuate the contents of the trachomatous bodies by means of the blades of the ordinary iris forceps. The process is a combination of squeezing and stripping, care being taken of course not to lacerate the infiltrated palpebral conjunctiva. I do not usually resort to scarification, but I do not doubt it would be advantageous to puncture the larger “sago grains" before submitting them to

At the August meeting of the above, Dr. Jenks announced the sad news of the death of our honored corresponding Fellow, Dr. George A. Tye, of Chatham, Ontario.

The President, Dr. Imrie, appointed a committee to draw up suitable resolutions upon the death of Dr. G. A. Tye, and at the September meeting, the following were offered and adopted:

Whereas, this Society has learned of the recent death of Dr. George A. Tye, of Chatham, Ontario, one of its distinguished corresponding Fellows, who has met with us on several occasions and has furnished valuable contributions to our transactions; we desire, not only, to pay a tribute to his memory, but also to express as far as possible our appreciation of his many sterling qualities as a man, and of the enviable distinction he had attained as a physician and surgeon.

Resolved, That we deeply deplore his loss to the profession he had so long adorned.

Resolved, That we recognize in the character of Dr. Tye, the attributes of an accomplished physician and valued friend.

Resolved, That the family and friends of our late brother, have our heartfelt sympathy in their bereave

ment.

SIR,-I am in receipt of a letter from Thomas Leeming & Co., of New York, agents in America for Nestlè's Food, objecting to a statement made by me in the article on "Infant Dietary," in last month's LANCET. The objectionable sentence is as follows: "Henri Nestlè will tell you that his food is better for the child than the mother's milk.', It was not intended to be taken literally, nor do I think that anyone would take it so. It was used in the introductory part of the paper, and was quite apart from that portion which dealt separately with the prepared food.

Some years ago a big pamphlet was distributed extensively in New York City, advertising Nestlè's food. In an address delivered to the New York

State Medical Society in 1882, Dr. Jacobi, the President, discussed the pamphlet, and spoke very The objectionable freely in reference thereto. phrase used by me was an inference drawn from statements made by Dr. Jacobi. He may have been wrong in hinting at such a possible statement by Henri Nestlè; however, I have never seen the statement made in any advertisements of Nestle's Food, and therefore desire to withdraw the statement as attributed to Henry Nestlè, to prevent any possible misunderstanding. Yours truly,

Toronto, Sept. 28th, 1891.

W. J. GREIG.

EXCISION of SYPHILITIC CHANCRE.-In a recent issue (Aug. 1891) we made a note on the Abortion of Syphilis by excision of the initial lesion. We now give the following from a paper by Julian,

L'Union Méd. on the same subject: He says that the operation should be done with just as much care as the removal of a cancer. He elevates the chancre with a tenaculum and cuts beneath it with a bistoury in preference to the scissors, and by palpation of the borders of the wound makes sure that the whole of the indurated area has been removed. For anæsthesia he employs cocaine.

He has had occasion to do the operation eighteen times in the last ten years. Three of these cases were lost sight of entirely, therefore he can only report the effects produced in fifteen cases. In four of these cases no constitutional effects were noticed, two of them marrying afterwards and are the fathers of healthy children. In six of the remaining eleven cases there was great benefit by the excision, to the extent that the disease was considerably attenuated, the secondary manifestations having been very slight. In the other five cases the incision had no effect upon the course of the disease.

SALICYLATE OF SODIUM IN GONORRHOEAL ORCHITIS OR EPIDIDYMITIS.-Pignoret, of Paris, says the Phila. Med. Times, thus concludes a paper on this subject:

1st. In gonorrhoeal orchitis, salicylate of sodium will bring about a diminution of pain in a few hours, and in a longer time it will cause its disappearance.

2nd. It acts well above all in cases that have acute epididymitis.

3rd. When the inflammation of the cord is intense, the remedy will fail.

4th. In the large number of cases treated, the resolution of the swelling commenced very much quicker than in cases submitted to other treatment, and in a week or ten days the cure was complete, leaving nothing but a slight induration.

5th. This medication, then, has the advantage of allowing the patient to get about within a day or two at most. It is simple, harmless, and appears to be superior to all other forms of treatment in this complication.

AN ANTISEPTIC MOUTH WASH.-Professor W. D. Miller, of Berlin, read a paper entitled The Human Mouth as a Focus of Infection, before the Section in Bacteriology at the recent International Congress of Hygiene and Demography. Accord

ing to an abstract of the paper published in the Lancet for August 15th (N. Y. Med. Jour.) the author thought that an examination of the results of attempts to sterilize the fluids of the mouth would soon convince one that there were very few substances at present in the dental materia medica that were available for disinfecting the human mouth. A mouth wash recommended by him years ago, which he still considers decidedly superior to the best of the many so-called antiseptic mouth washes on the market, consists of twelve parts of benzoic acid, sixty of tincture of eucalyptus, four hundred of absolute alcohol, and three of oil of peppermint. It is to be inferred that such a mixture would have to be diluted very largely, and that the alcohol employed will cease to be "absolute" at once.

ABORTIVE TREATMENT OF HERPES.-Leloir recommends a small piece of gauze soaked in one of the following solutions, to be applied : R-Resorcin,

Or,

Alcohol (90%),

R-Menthol,

Alcohol (60%),

.

100.

2.-M.

1. 100.

If there is much pain, use can be made of : B-Cocaine mur.,

Ext. cannabis indicæ, Essen. menth. pip.,

Alcoholis (90%). ·

1.

10.

10.

100.

HYDRASTIS CANADENSIS IN NIGHT SWEATS.Dr. Cruse relates in the Allg. Med. Zen Wal Zeitung (Med. Press), an observation made on the above-named drug. On giving hydrastis canadensis in a case of hæmoptysis, he observed that the The panight sweats did not come on as usual. tient was in the last stage of phthisis. In another case in which all the usual remedies had been tried for night sweats, atropine, agaricin, sulphonal, ergot, with success only on commencing each drug, slight hæmoptysis came on and led him to order hydrastis, when the sweats disappeared. These observations led him to try hydrastis for the night sweats themselves. He gave 30 minims of the liquid extract, and always with complete success, and what is more, the sweats kept off even when the hydrastis had been omitted for three weeks. He met with similar good results in a number of

PREMATURE RUPTURE OF MEMBRANES NOT FOLLOWED BY MISCARRIAGE.-Dr. Johnson (Journ. of Am. Med. Assoc.) reports two cases in which he believed that premature rupture of the membranes was not followed by miscarriage. Cases of this kind are certainly remarkable on account of the rarity of their occurrence. The question at once arises, Can such rupture take place without a miscarriage? The best authorities say that there may be an accumulation of fluid between the amnion and chorion, from chronic inflammation of the decidua, known as "Hydrorrhoea Gravidarum," or cysts may develop between the membranes and uterine wall which, upon rupture, would not necessarily bring on miscarriage. May there not have been a mistake in the diagnosis in these cases?

CONCUSSION AND COMPRESSION. Dr. Brinton gives the following (Times and Reg.) as points of difference between the above conditions :-Concussion.-1. Incomplete insensibility. 2. Partial muscular action. 3. Special senses act partially. 4. Patient can answer questions if roused. 5. Pulse quick; feeble; often intermittent. 6. Skin cold; temperature falls to 94° or 95°. 7. Respiration feeble; quiet. 8. Nausea and vomiting. 9. Pupils irregularly contracted. 10. Eyelids somewhat open. 11. Urine voided, fæces retained. Compression.-1. Complete insensibility. 2. Paralysis. 3. Special senses do not act. 4. Patient cannot answer questions if roused. 5. Pulse slow and laboring. 6. Skin hot and perspiring; temperature 102° to 104°. 7. Respiration labored, stertorous. 8. No nausea or vomiting. 9. Pupils irregularly dilated. 10. Eyelids irregularly closed. 11. Retention of urine; involuntary escape of fæces.

THE ABORTIVE TREATMENT OF ERYSIPELAS.— F. H. Pritchard (Journal of Cutaneous and Genito-Urinary Diseases) says that infection in erysipelas is not always limited to the reddened portion of the skin, but is found beyond this, in a latent state. If, from the first, there be symptoms of gravity, as high fever, headache, burning thirst and vomiting, we may suspect that the infection has overleaped the apparent limits. He applies, by means of a brush, some antiseptic solution as the following:

Solutions of carbolic acid and alcohol, carbolic acid and glycerine in equal parts, and, where these are not well borne, he employs : R-Hydrarg. chlor. corrosiv., 1 part. Glycerini, 1000 parts.

INTRA-OCULAR INJECTIONS.-Abadie speaks (Ibid.) highly of the therapeutic value of intra-ocular and sub-conjunctivic injections. He quotes a case of syphilis of the eye, which showed excellent results from the intra-ocular injection of one drop of a 1-1,000 sublimate solution.

In a case of hæmorrhagic glaucoma where neither iridectomy nor sclerotomy gave relief, and the pains were of such intensity that only enucleation was thought to give relief, Abadie succeeded in quieting the pains, and prevented enucleation by intra-ocular injection of one drop of ergotinin. Darière (Paris), uses systematically, subcutaneous

UNCONTROLLABLE VOMITING OF PREGNANCY. Drs. Henske and Gottschalk (Brit. Med. Jour.), have found menthol efficacious in stopping the uncontrollable vomiting in pregnancy. Fifteen grains are dissolved in five ounces of distilled water, to which five drachms of rectified spirits are added. A tablespoonful of this mixture is given hourly till the vomiting ceases. The editor of the Archives of Gynaecology states that he had an opportunity of trying the efficacy of this mixture. Vomiting ceased after the fourth tablespoonful. Gottschalk reports two cases with similar results.

3j. Zij.-M.

Bismuthi subnitratis, Sig.—Three times daily, a teaspoonful in a small glass of water.

With this treatment Dr. Johns claims that a certain degree of softening of the cervix occurs, followed by a serous secretion, and finally the

menses appear. The urine becomes brownishgreen, with bad smell, and diarrhoea of fetid character appears. Of thirteen cases of amenorrhoea, twelve cases were completely cured, one case proved to be pregnant. One patient took indigo for four weeks without showing any ill effect.

A TREATMENT FOR CANCER.-Professor Adam Kiewiez, of Cracow, who has for a long time been engaged in the study of the nature of carcinoma,

published in the form of a short notice, the successful treatment of three cases. The remedy does not elevate the temperature, nor does it affect the general state of the patient.

In two cases, with cancer of the lower lip under treatment by the new remedy, the lymphatic glands diminished in size and local reaction appeared. Microscopic examination of the cancerous tumor and the lymphatic glands showed that the tissue was rarified on account of the disappearance of cells. The remedy will be made public when his experiments and clinical observations are finished.

ONE WAY TO COLLECT A BILL.-A well-known dentist tried hard to collect a bill, but after many ineffectual efforts said to the debtor: "I do not intend to send you any more bills, and I don't intend to sue you; but there is one thing I want to tell you. Every time you cut off a piece of beefsteak and pass it to your wife, I want you to remember that she is not chewing that beef with her teeth, nor with your teeth, but with my teeth." In two or three days he received a check. The notion of those doubly-false teeth in his wife's mouth was too much for the husband. Med. Rec.

FOR SWEATING FEET.-Dr. Stansel, writing to the Toledo Med. Comp., says: The oil of tar (Picis liquide oleum), is the one remedy to be relied upon for the cure of this troublesome complaint. I wish to state that I have tried all the astringent remedies that have been recommended for this trouble, and have given all a thorough trial, but have never found anything equal to the above remedy. Simply bathe the feet or axilla, as the case may be, and a few applications only will be sufficient to effect a

cure.

Books and Lampklets.

THE LIFE AND CAREER OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. By G. Mercer Adam, Toronto. The Rose Publishing Co., Toronto.

This work fully proves the saying, "Whoever writes the history of Sir John A. Macdonald, must write the history of Canada during the time in which he lived."

The school days of young Macdonald-his career as a rising young barrister, his election to the Kingston City Council, and soon after to Parlia

ment, with his subsequent career of working, waiting and rising, and the last pathetic scenes in his long and active life, are described in a most interesting manner.

Although the Conservative leanings of the author are clearly shown, especially when speaking of the Hon. George Brown, and of his life, by the Hon. A. McKenzie, yet the leading political events during the past fifty years, are fully and truthfully given. The candor of the author is particularly noticeable in narrating the arbitrary and unconstitutional government of Sir Charles Metcalfe, the downfall of the "Family Compact," Toryism, and the establishment of the Liberal Conservative party.

The affecting withdrawal of Sir Allan MacNabb from political life—the active part played by Sir Francis Hincks-the noble and highly eulogized career of Robert Baldwin-the dignified administration of Sir Edmund Head-the tricky "Double Shuffle" by which the Brown-Dorion government was strangled at its birth-the accession of Macdonald and Cartier to power, with the various changes of Government and of policy down to the present time, are all told in a way that will entertain the reader, and give him a detailed acccount of the most important political events that have occurred in Canada since the union of the provinces in 1840.

The letter-press and general make-up of the book are excellent, and do credit to the publishers.

PRACTICAL PATHOLOGY AND MORBID HISTOLOGY. By Heneage Gibbes, M.D., Professor of Pathology in the University of Michigan; formerly lecturer on Normal and Morbid Histology in the Medical School of the Westminster Hospital, London, etc. Illustrated with sixty photographic re-productions. Philadelphia: Lea Bros. & Co.

In a work from the hand of one with the high reputation which Dr. Gibbes has, we naturally look for a very complete handling of the subject of pathology, and in the excellent treatise to hand there is no room for disappointment. The subject in the main is clearly and concisely dealt with. It is difficult to speak of any particular portion of the work in an exceptional manner, but the chapters which impress us most favorably are those on "Neoplasms or New Growth," and "Diseases of the Respiratory Organs." In the former the subject is exceptionally well handled, and with the illustrations furnished, leave it in favorable con

trast with the vexed manner in which the subject is often dealt with in works of the kind.

In diseases of the respiratory organs, the most recent views upon pulmonary pathology are ably recited and illustrated, and many valuable additions are made, which render the subject particularly clear.

FUNK & WAGNALLS' STANDARD DICTIONARY OF

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. New York: 18 and 20 Astor Place.

This forthcoming work promises to be the Dictionary of the times. From an examination of the tionary of the times. sample pages we should say that the plan of the work is good, and that it must meet with acceptance by English-speaking people. It seems to contain an enormous amount of information up to the latest date, and so admirably arranged as to be easily found. We are particularly pleased with the groupings of definitions, with the synonyms, and compounds. If we judge aright this will be the most useful dictionary we have seen.

A TEXT-BOOK OF PRACTICAL THERAPEUTICS, with Graphical reference to the Application of Remedial Measures to Disease, and their Employment upon a rational basis. By Hobart Amory Hare, M.D., B S.C., Professor of Therapeutics and Materia Medica in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, etc., etc. Second edition, enlarged and thoroughly revised. Philadelphia: Lea Bros. & Co.,

In this treatise the author has brought within comparatively small compass, all the valuable therapeutic agents employed in ordinary practise. It is not a pure tabulation of facts, but the broad science of therapeutics is in a measure limited to a range of practical application, and many valuable suggestions work into an intelligible and esti mable treatise. The chapters upon "Remedial measures other than drugs," and "Foods for the sick," will be found to contain many valuable and practical points.

Births, Marriages and Deaths.

NORTON ROBERTS.-On Tuesday, Sept. 1st, 1891, at the residence of the bride's father, by the Rev. William Grant, M. A., D.D., Thos. Norton, M.D., of Shelburne, Ont., to Miss Annie L., the only child of A. W. Roberts, Esq., of Port Perry.