their pupilage. He justly protested against the rule which compelled teachers to stand during school hours. Blackboard exercises and chart demonstrations, when long continued, do damage by placing the abdominal muscles on a tension, thus producing downward pressure of the pelvic organs. Many teachers ruin their health by extra work outside of school hours. The doctor recommended that the course of study be arranged with reference to the physiological synthesis of the mind. The air is free, except to school children. They should be given the greatest of all mental and cerebral stimulants, oxygen. The brain work of the world is done north of the frost line, and he would take nature's hint and have the temperature of the schoolroom within normal limits-70 degrees or less. The high schoolhouse he considered in every way an evil, and should be abolished. Stated examinations and published grades he thought did more harm than good in the case of sensitive girls. Germany was down-trodden by the French. She built a gymnasium beside each schoolhouse, and at the next trial conquered her old enemy. Wellington said it was the manly sports of Eton which won the battlefield of Waterloo. If physical culture be so important in men, it is certainly far more so in women. He plead specially for legislative action for the pupils who were now dying, the victims of defective educational methods. This can be done only by imitating the example of Germany and establishing facilities for physical culture at every schoolhouse.

Cremation was discussed in a very able and convincing manner at the Ohio State Sanitary Association, by Dr. Lew. Slusser, of Canton. Canton was selected as the next place of meeting of the association, which will be in November next. The officers elected were as follows: President, G. C. Ashmun, Cleveland; Vice-Presidents, Dr. John McCurdy, of Youngstown, Prof. Orton, of Columbus, Dr. S S. Thorn, of Toledo; Secretary, Dr. R. Harvey Reed, of Mansfield; Treasurer, Dr. D. H. Beckwith, of Cleveland.

The Cincinnati Obstetrical Society met in regular monthly session on the evening of Feb. 11, at the office of G S. Mitchell. The retiring president, Dr. E G. Zinke, delivered the valedictory, his subject being Gastro-Elytrotomy and the Porro Operation vs. The Saenger Method." In his address, Dr. Zinke favored the Saenger method. He closed with a retrospective view of the work done during the past year, and a prospective of the year to come. Only one meeting has been omitted during the year just closed, and a large number of interesting topics have been brought up for discussion, and rare cases and specimens shown. The transactions are published in the representative journal of the Continent in this specialty, and selections from the transactions frequently appear in the German and French journals. He recommended greater promptness in attendance, the presentation of papers, taking part in discussions and

reporting of cases. The president-elect, Dr. G. S. Mitchell, was then inducted into office, and made his inaugural address. Dr. Mitchell laid down a programme for the coming year, the chief item in which was work. He deplored the tendency to give the cream of the papers and reports of cases of the members to larger societies instead of here where they rightly belong. The subject introduced by Dr. Zinke was discussed by Drs. W. H. Taylor, C. D. Palmer, T. A. Reamy and C. A. L. Reed. The next meeting will be held at the office of Dr. George E. Jones and paper will be presented by Dr. C. A. L. Reed. The Society has a membership of 22 and is limited to 30 members. The limitation was recently changed from 20 to 30.

At a recent meeting of the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine, Dr. Giles S. Mitchell reported an interesting case of Retensio Mensium from imperforate hymen. The case was a young lady aged 16, on whom the doctor operated successfully.

The conservative Cæsarean section of Saenger has been receiving high encomiums for a few months past. On the other side of the Atlantic, especially in Germany, the operation has been followed by wonderful success. The most flattering reports come to us from Saxony, the home of the operation. Leipsic gives us a list of seven cases done after the Saenger method, with seven recoveries of mothers and seven living children. Dresden reports fourteen cases with thirteen mothers recovering and fourteen children. The reports on operations in this country, which have been too bad to talk about, have improved considerably un 'er the Saenger method. Cæsarean section has been done three times in Cincinnati, excluding two or three postmortem ones. Once by Dr Wal on on a dwarf, done early; once by Dr. Dandridge (laparoelytrotomy, done late; and third and last, the case of Dr. Zinke, done about a year ago All of these cases resulted fatally. The case of Dr. Zinke was performed on a primipara, after 35 hours of labor. The d ameters were: Conjugate, 2.5 in.; transverse, 4.5 in.; R. oblique, 8.75 in.; oblique, 8.75. Several unsuccessful effor s had been made to deliver with the forceps. Dr. Zinke a tributed the death to long delayed and exhaustive labor, repeated unsuccessful attempts to deliver with the forceps, bad hygienic surroundings, shock, vomiting and peritonitis. He was sorry that he did not then understand Saenger's operation, and thinks very highly of it.

E S. MCKEE, M. D.

A Berlin (German) newspaper contains the following advertisement: "A medical student whose means are exhausted would like to meet with some one who would advance him the necessary sum to complete his studies, at a moderate rate of interest. If necessary, he would as a guarantee at once marry his creditor's daughter, or, if he prefers it, would give an undertaking to do so on passing his final examination."

This

14. BULKLEY'S TREATMENT OF CARBUNCLE. -Dr. A. T., Bandow, Ill., asks for Bulkley's treatment of carbuncle. Dr. Bulkley reported that carbuncle can be successfully treated without incision in the following manner: R Ex. fl. ergot, 3 ii; zinci ox. 3 i; ung. aquæ rosæ ii. dressing is spread one-third of an inch thick on linen and applied twice or thrice daily. Calcium sulphide gr. is given in capsules every two hours. If the patient be constipated the following is prescribed: B Mag. sulph. 3 vi; ferri sulph. i; acid sulph. dil. 3 ii; Syr. zingib. i; aq. q. s. ad iii. M. S. 3 i thrice daily, after eating, through a tube.

15. PNEUMONIA DEATH RATES.-Dr. Z. L. M., Chicago, asks "the relative death-rate under venesection, tartar emetic. etc., and the present death-rate under modern expectant treatment?" The death-rate of the British Collective Investigation Committee in 1883 was 19. Under the old system Louis lost (hospital patients) 28% Dietl 19%; Grisolle 151; Dasori 22; Laennec 10%. The last had better results than the British Collective Committee, who consider the 11% death-rate among total abstainers a favorable one. The modern deathrate among the same class as were treated by Louis is about as high if not higher (26.6 %) since the intemperate were excluded from enumeration (death-rate 40.5). Grisolle found his death-rate under 30 to be 7; the British death-rate was 81. Bennett found the deathrate in the army and navy to be 7; the modern death-rate was 14%. These results certainly explain the apparent tendency to the revival of venesection, editorial reference to which was made in the January MEDICAL STANDARD. 16. EDENTATE MEN.-Dr. T. A., Toledo, O., asks if "there ever have been men who never developed permanent teeth?" Such cases are exceedingly rare. Perhaps the best described series of cases is reported by Dr. S. H. Guilford of Philadelphia (“Dental Cosmos," 1882.) The patient's maternal grandmother never had either hair or teeth. His mother was normal, but a maternal uncle resembled his grandmother. Dr. Guilford's patient had axillary, facial, and cephalic hair, but the rest of the body was destitute even of down. He could not perspire. The edentulous condition had existed from birth, and his jaws resembled those of old people. The patient had reached the age of 48 years in good general health. His children were partially edentulous. This relation between defective

dentition and absent hair is far from infrequently found in the lower animals. Darwin points out that hairless dogs have imperfect teeth.

17. NERVOUS ORIGIN OF ANEURISM.Dr. M. J. M., Brooklyn, N. Y., says "a large proportion of aneurisms occur at periods of involution in both sexes. This points to a neurotic origin for them. Are there any researches which bear upon this point?" Botkin and Levascheff (Virchow's "Archiv.," 1882,) made exhaustive researches which seem to demonstrate the position taken by Dr. M. Drs. Botkin and Levascheff found by experiments on dogs that nerve irritation produced structural changes in the blood vessels of the locality supplied. New vaso vasorum were formed; sometimes with beneficial, sometimes and, as a rule, with deleterious result. The vaso-dilator nerve fibers were usually stimulated. These researches explain also both the beneficial and the untoward effects of nerve-stretching. They also explain the origin of the phenomena found by Drs. Spitzka and Koehler in the arterial trophoneurosis described in the MEDICAL STANDARD, Vol. I.

18. BROMINE IN DIPHTHERIA.-Dr. C. P. J., Chicago, asks "whether bromine has been used in diphtheria and the manner of its use?" Testi (These de Paris, 1877), has used brominized water in the treatment of diphtheria. The preparation used is a 1% distilled water solution of bromine. It is of a transparent orange color with a penetrating odor and sharp taste. The solution must be kept in dark bottle. The remedy is given in one, two or three drop doses in a teaspoonful of syrup, every fifteen minutes to an hour. The interval between the doses should be lengthened and their size decreased, as indicated, The patient should be placed on restricted diet; milk and farinaceous foods should be avoided. Metal spoons should not be used to administer bromine water. A saucer of the water should be kept in the sick room and changed twice a day. The constitutional effects of the remedy are manifested early; the local effects in about eighteen hours.

19. THE CLIMACTERIC IN MAN.-Dr. R. T., Dowagiac, Mich., asks "if there be a period in the sexual life of man similar to the menopause in woman?" There are certain changes about the age of 50, which seem to indicate that there is a period of this kind. As Arthaud has pointed out (These de Paris, 1866), testicle sclerosis begins about this period, which is often preceded

by sexual aberrations of a type similar to those found at the menopause in woman. This angiosclerotic condition is preceded by vascular disturbances, and is very frequently succeeded by similar changes in the testicles to those found in post-climacteric ovaries.

20. MALE AND FEMALE TWINS AND STERILITY. Dr. T. J. H., Trenton, Tenn., asks: "In cases of twins, one being a male, the other a female, is the female necessarily or frequently barren?" Twins occur most frequently in degenerate families, hence sterility or defective children often result in the case of the female twin, but exceptions occur owing to the tendency to revert to the lower type of multiple conceptions.

21.

WOMAN-BREASTED MEN AND ABNORMAL GENITALIA.-Dr. T. R. P., New York, asks "if there be any relation between gynæcomastia (women breasts in men) and deformities of the sexual organs ?" Gyna comastia is of two types-that due to congenital defect and that arising from disease; phthisis, struma. In the first, as Paulick and others have pointed out, defective genitalia and other signs of degeneracy are found. In the acquired conditions these are lacking. According to J. C. A. Mayer and Wenzel Gruber, castrated men have large breasts. In one instance described by Gruber, enlargement of the breasts began soon after the removal of one testicle.

22. PUS DISCHARGE IN EMPYEMA.- Dr. S. H., Chicago, asks: "What are the exceptional courses pus may take in empyema?" According to Bouveret, pus may work its way through the œsophagus, stomach, intestines, or renal pelvis, or the pus may pass into the pericardium or peritoneum. Pus may pass through the posterior cul de sac of the pleura, and make its appearance in the posterior abdominal wall. this case abscesses may occur in the groin, buttocks, or hip. The prognosis, it is said, is not more grave than when empyema ends by spontaneous evacuation through the chest-wall.

In

23. ACETPHENETEDIN.-Dr. H. M., Chicago, asks what is acetphenetedin. It is the ethylic ether of paramidophenol. It is a reddish, tasteless, odorless powder, soluble in warm alcohol and very slightly, in water. It has no effect on healthy individuals when given in 7 to 10 grain doses; in fevered persons, 41⁄2 to 6 grain doses produce antipyretic effects. The maximum antipyretic effect is produced four hours after administration and lasts two to three hours; all action disappears at the end of eight hours. It does not affect the kidneys, but darkens the urine. It is usually given in powders. Like all other antipyretics, cardiac depression, erythe

This table is a potent argument against early marriages, and indicates that before the age of 25 the ovaries are imperfectly developed, and need time to secure perfect action.

25. OCCIPITO-POSTERIOR POSITIONS.- Dr. A. L., Oak Park, Ill., asks as to the frequency of these. The latest researches-those of Queurel

of Marseilles-show that about 23% of the cases of vertex presentation are of this type. Out of his 575 cases, rotation failed in 23 cases; 3 of these requiring forceps, while 8 cases were delivered without assistance of any kind.

26. MIXED TREATMENT FOR EPILEPTICS. -Dr. J. L. Jones, Neosho Falls, Kan., wishes to know the mixed treatment mentioned by Dr. H. C. B. Alexander (The MEDICAL STANDARD, Vol. I). The mixture consists of R Ex. A. ergot, ex. fl. conium, aa M x; liq pot. arsenit. M iii; ammon. bromid., pot. bromid., sod. bromid. aa gr. X. This is given thrice daily in a convenient vehicle. The intestinal tract needs attention as well, and it may become necessary to modify the dose and time of administration accordingly.

HYPERIDROSIS. Dr. C. W. Cutler, New York (“Jour. of Cut. and Genito-Urin Dis.") concludes that hyperidrosis is usually of nervous ætiology. That the secretion of the glands, being under the control of the sympathetic system, hyperidrosis is a functional disease of these nerves. Painful and tender non-rheumatic feet are usually due to hyperidrosis. Bromidrosis is usually the result of uncleanliness. Nerve tonics are indicated in hyperidrosis. Local treatment is always indicated. Dr. Cutler seems to be unaware of recent researches on the sweat centers in the brain.

Rev. J. L. Withrow; "Rush Medical College at Home," Dr. E S Atwood, class '77; and the Future Hope," Dr. P. Trask, class '88. The graduating class numbered 130. Dr J. B. Herrick, delivered the valedictory.

AUSTIN DISTRICT (TEX.) MEDICAL SOCIETY met Dec. 8. Dr. W. M. Cunningham, Bastrop, recounted a case of an abdominal tumor, supposed to be ovarian, for which laparotomy was performed, which proved to be a case of extra-uterine pregnancy with a lithopædion.

Dr. W. A. Morris, Austin, in a practice of half a -century had never seen a similar case. He approved the operation.

Dr. McLaughlin, Austin, criticised the non-use of drainage and bichloride solution.

Dr. Daniel thought death due to hæmorrhage.

Dr. Wooten questioned the propriety of cold applications to wounds of old and feeble subjects. He reported a case where a negro woman, ailing a long time with obscure abdominal trouble, passed fœtal bones per rectum, and recovered.

Dr. Denton was surprised at the mobility of the

tumor.

Dr. Black, Round Rock, reported a case of gastrotomy for incised stomach wound in which the contents of the stomach, including a number of large fish bones, were emptied into the free peritoneal cavity. The patient's recovery, under the circumstance, was remarkable. The surgeons were so situated that they had to use what they could get. The stomach contents which had been spilled into the abdomen, were swabbed out with cotton wet in muddy creek water, held in an old tin pan. The wound was dressed without bichloride or other antiseptic applications.

Dr. Daniel said that the report of the case just after Dr. Cunningham's, was a curious coincidence An old lady, whose abdomen was opened, died, it was supposed, because drainage and strict antisepsis were not used. A young man whose stomach was cut into and emptied into the abdominal cavity, lies twenty-four hours in agony, and without medical attention, and is treated without the approved bichloride and drainage--not a drop of water used to cleanse the cavity other than that from cotton wetted with creek water-yet he recovered without a bad symptom! What estimate was to be put on the use of antiseptics?

Dr. Hadra alluded to the very extraordinary success of Tait and Bantock in abdominal surgery, notwithstanding their well-known disregard of all antiseptic precautions; using only "tap water," and enforcing the most absolute cleanliness.

Dr. L. D. Hill, Webbeyville, read a paper on "Septic Poisoning," and Dr. Morris one on "Typhoid Fever."

Dr. Tyner read a paper on "Eye Diseases and Other Reflexes due to Errors of Refraction."

Dr. Q. C. Smith called attention to the importance of studying the eyes of school children.

He

thought it the duty of the medical profession to publicly point out the nature of these defects, their frequent unsuspected existence and the manner of their relief or prevention.

Dr. Tyner had often volunteered such information, but, as a rule, nothing was done. Children were sometimes punished for indolence, when their only sin was myopia or hypermetropia.

Dr. Lott had discovered, in his oldest daughter, the existence of a visual defect which hindered her at school. He had suitable glasses adjusted, but the teacher made her take them off, saying that "glasses were for old people, and made children look ridiculous." He insisted that she should wear them-the myopia and resulting granulated lids were both cured.

Dr. Paine, Comanche, then read a paper on "Electricity," after which the society adjourned.

The

THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. local committee has issued the following: We are pleased to inform you that The American Medical Association will meet in the Music Hall in this city May 8. The meeting will be a very large one. Arrangements are made to give manufacturers and dealers in physicians' supplies ample facilities to exhibit their goods in the same building in which the meetings of the association will be held. We will be glad to receive applications for space, naming the number of square feet needed. There will be no charge for space for exhibits.

(J. C. CULBERTSON, Committee: W. H. WINNING. W. H. WILDER.

The Committee of Arrangements have done good work to make the coming meeting (May 8 to II) a success. The Music Hall, a magnificent building, has been engaged for the meetings, which will all be held under one roof. The Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements is Dr. W. W. Dawson, Third and Broadway, Cincinnati; Chairman Committee on Receptions, Dr. J. T. Whittaker; Finance, Dr S. C. Ayres; Exhibits, J. C. Culbertson; Transportation, Dr. Wm. Judkins; Invitations and Printing, Dr. G. A. Fackler; Halls, Dr. B. Stanton; Printing, Dr J. Ransohoff; Registration, Dr. J. M. French. Arrangements are made for receptions at the Art Museum in Eden Park, at the Highland House, on one of the hilltops, a banquet, and a concert by the Apollo Club. Owing to the very central location of Cincinnati, a larger attendance than usual is expected. The railroads will probably give the round trip for one and one-third fare.

DETROIT ACADEMY OF MEDICINE.--Dr Gilbert read a paper on digestion and its disorders. Dr. Gilbert said the question was complex, not merely involving chemical reactions. Digestion was modified by a great variety of influences, and controlled by nerve influence. Digestive trouble might arise from the teeth or salivary glands or stomach, pan