by the tubercle bacillus. As a rule, insurance companies prefer to take a man whose weight is normal, even though he has a family history of tuberculosis, rather than one who is under normal weight without any history of tuberculosis in his family. There are other symptoms in individual patients which, while not necessitating an unfavorable prognosis, always make the outlook more grave, even in the apparently favorable cases. Prof. Burney Yeo has pointed out that the most important climatic element for the cure of consumption is a daily variation in temperature of more than twenty degrees, which, he claims, acts on the organism in a way to produce a conservative reaction against further bacterial invasion. There are some patients who can not stand such variations of temperature, however; they become so intensely uncomfortable under those conditions that their appetite suffers, and, of course, a cure, can not be expected when an abundance of food is not taken. Such patients, as well as those who have exaggerated catarrhal tendencies, so that variations of temperature cause them to have acute exacerbations of their tuberculosis and troublesome forms of bronchitis, will do best and live longest if sent to a mild, unvarying climate, such as is to be found in certain parts of the South. The most that can be hoped for from such climatic treatment, however, is a prolongation of life, not an enduring, absolutę cure. These patients may be made very comfortable by such change of residence, but, a rule, they will have to stay in their new homes the remainder of their lives, and probably the years left to them will not be many.Journal A. M. A., Jan. The Corset. The much abused but still universally used corset has just been made the subject of a "plaquette" by M. and Mme. F. Lacroix. It is richly illus trated, and a sketch of the contents pictorial and textual-has been given in the Gazette Medicale de Paris (Octo ber 8, 1904). From the remotest dates recorded in the annals of the earliest civilizations, the coquettish instincts of woman have led her to try to increase her natural attractiveness by special modifications of the outlines of her waist and adjacent parts, as well as of her face and hair. Even the voice of Galen was raised in warning against the physical dangers attendant on the use of the compressing bands and girdles with which the belles of his day were in the habit of strangling the equatorial zones of their bodies. In the fourteenth century appeared the "corset exterieur," which was was strongly laced in front. In the sixteenth cen- . tury the "corset a busc" was introduced at court by Catherine de Medicis, which has been described as a metallic cuirass, which constituted a veritable engine of torture. The great_founder of modern surgery, Ambroise Pare, endeavored to preach a crusade against it; but fashion was, as might be expected, far too strong for the physi ology and the common sense of that age as it has been for those of all the others. There are specimens of this terrible coat of mail in some of the Parisian museums. The Venetian form of the metallic corset was known as the "busto," and presented a more majestic appearance. Under the patronage of Marie de Medicis the ferric corset had its functions emphasized by the employment of the immense hip pads imported from Spain, which were known by the name of "vertugadins." In the periods of the Revolution, the Directory and the Empire, the antique type of dress was used; the ladies used mammary girdles only. girdles only. With the restoration of the Bourbons the corset was also "restored." Under the second empire the lacing was of the most suffocating type; the corset was again of the coniform outline. Physiology and common sense have since been struggling against the corset evil; but the net result has been pretty much the same as in the days of the old monarchy. After all, governments do not modify human nature so much as politicians profess to think.-American Medicine. The Pennsylvania Anatomy Law. From the records of the Anatomical Board of Pennsylvania, we have obtained through Dr. Forbes the following results of the administration of the Anatomy Act during the last twenty years. During the four years previous to the amended act of 1883, there were distributed to the medical schools in Philadelphia 1,011 subjects; yearly average 25234. After the amended act of 1883 and up to 1889, there were distributed 9,235 subjects; yearly average, 577 3-16. From 1889 to the present time, there have been distributed to the various medical schools in these five years 4,904 unclaimed bodies; yearly average, 980 4-5. There has not been the slightest friction in the working of the act during the score of years. The good the act has accomplished in distributing these unclaimed dead bodies can not be stated by any unit of measurement. It embraces the very root of everything that is accurate and useful and learned in medicine.-Am. Med., Jan. 21. (The results have been equally as good in Indiana since the passage of the anatomy law in 1903.-EDITOR.) Disease and Death in Indiana in January. The reports of the health officers of the State now tabulated in the State Board of Health show that in January influenza was the most prevalent disease. Pneumonia, which stood fifth in December, rose to second place in January, and scarlet fever and diphtheria increased. A decrease appears for smallpox as compared with the corresponding month last year. The figures are: 420 cases, with 8 deaths, in 38 counties, in January, 1904, and 218 cases, with 7 deaths, in 27 counties, in 1905. The cases of typhoid numbered 173, with 50 deaths, in 41 counties. In same month last year 182 cases, 38 deaths, in 53 counties. Tuberculosis was the cause of 396 deaths, against 361 in January, 1904. Of the deaths 177 were males and 219 females; 267, or 67.5 per cent., were in the prime of life period of 18 to 50. Of the females, 82 were mothers between the ages of 18 and 40, and they left 168 orphans under 12 years of age. Of the males, 20 were fathers in the same age period, and they left 48 children under 12. Consumption, therefore, in the one month, made 216 orphans under 12, made 20 young widows and 82 young widowers, and invaded over 300 homes. Pneumonia caused 558 deaths. In the same month last year there were 540. Males, 285; females, 273. Of the 89 were between 20 and 50 years, and total 140 were under one year of age, 156 between 50 and 80. numbered 3,309; rate, 14.7. In same Deaths from all causes in January month last year, 3,117; rate, 14.8. Deaths from certain causes were: Diphtheria, 129; scarlet fever, 17; whooping cough, 13; influenza, 114; cancer, 99; violence, 129. Disturbance of Digestion. L. Emmett Holt (Arch. of Paediatrics, Jan. 1905) sounds a warning against treating cases of constipation in bottle-fed babies by increasing the amount of fat, and closes with the aphorism: "Whenever there are marked symptoms of either gastric or intestinal indigestion the fat should be reduced much below the normal 3 or 4 per cent." Citation follows of several cases in which nemesis overtook the enthusiastic high fat percentage pædiatrist by alarming breakdowns amongst his cases of modified milk feeding, in which the patients up to a certain point had thrived exceedingly. In Lighter Vein. LOOKING FORWARD. Pure drinking water, More and better gas, -Indianapolis News. AN ANIDOTE TO IMPERTINENT CURIOSITY. Physicians often find it difficult to parry the idle questions of the curious. They might find it efficacious at times to resort to something like the following, which is said to have appeared in a newspaper a few years ago: "Pardon me, sir," began the inquisitive passenger, bending in a confidential way over the back of the seat before him, "but what'-" "Adam was the first man," replied the dyspeptic-looking man in front, in a cold gray monotone; "Moses was the meekest man, there never was any meekest woman; Columbus discovered America; John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence. In the winter of 1847 and 1848 potatoes formed almost the sole food of the Irish peasantry. We are all indeed hurrying on toward eternity. White sheep eat more than black ones, because there are more of them. A door is not a door when it's ajar. Schley's name is pronounced 'Sly,' and golf is 'goff.' It is highly improper to wear a silk hat with a sack coat. There never was any such person as the Ahkoond of Swat. The great weakness of the American people is signing petitions without reading them. Yes, it is a good morning, and I have used everybody's soap; I-" "Excuse me, but-er-er-what are you trying to-ah-get at?" interrupted the inquisitive one, much astonished at the reply his attempt had precipitated "The foregoing information," was the grim answer, in the same accentless voice, "is all I know about any thing of any name or nature-biblical, historical, statistical, biographical, geographical, conundrumical or other wise-past, present, or future, now and forever. I not only do not know any thing else, but I don't want to. "My name is William Sufferin Smith; I am forty-three years old and a widower. I have the following relations, or, rather, they have me, namely: one mother-in-law, who was born to command; three brothers-in-law, who were born to be hanged, but have thus far escaped; two maiden siters-in-law, of the vintage of 1842. Since the death of my wife these several relatives have lived on me like a pack of cannibals. My mother-in-law is sure my wife would have been alive now, if it had not been for my conduct. My brothersin-law have differed with and also from me in politics and all other questions; they have worn my clothes, spent my money, and treated me with contumely and derision. One of my sisters-in-law is stage-struck, and the other has been subject to swooning spells for years. The whole outfit has ground into me their superior wisdom, their views of life, and their preferences in everything; they have hen-pecked, flouted, and abused me world without end. Yesterday I laid my coat and hat on the bank of the river, swam across and disappeared in the woods, leaving my kith and kin to mourn me as dead. I am never going back unless I am overtaken and hypnotized. I don't know anything of interest to tell anybody, and I don't want to hear anything that anybody else has to tell. I want nothing in the world but peace. If you don't let me alone I'll throw my gripsack out of the window and jump after it. I have spoken." Thereupon the speaker withdrew into his shell, leaving the inquisitive passenger in a state closely bordering upon collapse.-New York News-Record. Billroth. in writing to a Russian surgeon regarding the fatal malady of Pirogoff, a palatal neoplasm, refused to operate or to advise an operation, saying: "I am not that bold operator whom you knew years ago in Zurich. Before deciding on the necessity for an operation I always propose to myself this question: Would you permit such an operation as you intend performing on your patient to be done on yourself?" Years and experience bring in their train a certain degree of hesitancy (Zuruckhaltung)."-Dr. C. A. Powers, Address, A. M. A. If we pass no day without a linevisit no place without the company of a book-we may with ease fill libraries or empty them of their contents. Hazlitt. The members of the profession of this State, whether subscribers or not, are especially invited to send their contributions to this journal. To insure prompt publication contributions must be mailed by the 15th of each month, and should not ordinarily exceed 1,500 words. • Short practical articles, reports of society meetings, and medical news solicited. The editor is not responsible for the opinions of contributors. The journal is mailed on the first of each month. Subscribers who fail to receive their journal should promptly notify the publishers. All letters and conmunications relating to the scientific and literary departments of the journal, and all books for review, should be addressed to the editor. All conmunications pertaining to the business interests of the journal, or remittances for either subscriptions or advertisments, should be sent to the General Manager, Willoughby Building, Indianapolis. MARCH, 1905. Dr. Osler's Collected Addressess. Though for many years, ever since he took up his residence in our country, there has never been a time when Dr. William Osler has failed to receive the ready homage of the American profession, still there is much in the old sayas they take their departure. Dr. Osler has not yet left us, but the time is close at hand when he is to exchange the present scenes of his activities for others far distant. We are to lose his presence and his personal glow, but never shall we forget his influence for good or cease to drink in the wisdom of his teaching. The quaedam selectae of such a man can never fail to keep up the genial effect of his individuality, and we are glad therefore that some of his notable addresses have been collected and printed in a volume. It is a handsome book of nearly 400 pages containing eighteen addresses. It is chiefly by indirection that these addresses deal with the actualities of medicine, the hammer of Thor does not glance in Dr. Osler's hands. There is never any ambiguity in what is said, and there is not a particle of doubt as to its application. All his teachings are wholesome, and they are all powerfully enforced. The beauty of Dr. Osler's syle is such that many will leave the volume at their bedside along with the ten great works that he himself recommends to the physician for daily reading. And it will not be the least among them or the one on which the most dust will collect. To be sure, it was not needed to cap our realization of what Dr. Osler has done, but it will be prized as a graceful collation of many of his best thoughts. When its gifted author has left usnot for all time, we hope we can study its pages and fancy that we are still in his magnetic presence.-New York Medical Journal. Max Ehrman's Prayer. Max Ehrman lives in Terre Haute, Ind. A few years ago his health failed and he spent some time at a hotel in a small town in South Carolina, hoping the milder climate and better air might benefit him. One night, after a trying siege of mental depression, during which he was on the verge of self-destruction, better thoughts came to him, and, arising from his bed of pain and worry, he wrote this prayer. A family from Indianapolis was stopping in the hotel at the time and were doing all that lay in their power to cheer and comfort Mr. Ehrman. A member of the family discovered the manuscript in the waste basket and preserved it to the world. A PRAYER. Let me do my work each day; and if the Darkened hours of despair overcome me, May I not forget the strength that comforted me In the desolation of other times. May I Still remember the bright hours that found me Walking over the silent hills of my childhood, Or dreaming on the margin of the quiet river When a light glowed within me, And I promised my early God to have · Courage amid the tempests of the changing year; Spare me from the bitterness and the sharp passion Of unguarded moments. May I not forget That poverty and riches are of the spirit. Though the world know me not, Let me not feel the glamour of the world, But walk calmly in my path. Give me A few friends who will love me for what I am; And keep ever burning before my vagrant steps The kindly light of hope; and though Age and infirmity overtake me, and I Come not within sight of the castle of my dreams, Teach me still to be thankful for life, And for time's olden memories that are Good and sweet; and may the evening twilight Find me gentle still. Medical Progress in 1904. The Interstate Medical Journal for January, 1905, devotes 165 pages to a review of the medical literature of 1904. St. Louis is happy in having a half score of excellent writers and teachers who have allied themselves with Dr. Ball as managing editor to make this helpful issue. "Internal Medicine," by Jesse S. Myer; "Surgery," by Wm. Bartlett; "Therapeutics," by Albert E. Taussig; "Gynecology and Obstetrics," by Hugo Ehrenfest; "Pediatrics," by Alfred Friedlander; "Orthopedics," by Nathaniel Allison; "Neurology," by Sidney I. Schwab; "Genito-Urinary Surgery," by H. M. Johnson; "Dermatology and Syphilology," by Martin F. Engman; "Laryngology and Otology," by Wm. E. Sauer; "Ophthalmology," by John Green, Jr. One number of this issue we have cut into sections and given to teachers and writers of the various departments, so that they might have in mind the accomplishments of the year, and a second number has been carefully read and laid aside with the excellent similar review of the progress of 1903. In internal medicine progress has tended toward more exact methods of clinical diagnosis. Much attention has been given to blood pressure, which has been made practical by the general introduction of Rivi-Rocci's sphigmomanometer, which is reasonably accurate, free from serious errors, easily applied and portable. Cook, Janeway and Martin have also devised suitable instruments. Of course we will continue to feel the pulse as we laid on the hand two-score of years ago to determine temperature. But by the sphigmomanometer we may get rid of depending on the variable muscular sense, and gain as much in diagnosis as by the introduction of the thermometer. Gaertner, Frank, Peters, Frey and Cushing have made important contributions to this subject. There has been no marked advancement in the diagnosis of cancer and ulcer of the stomach. The treatment of stomach ulcer is rapidly passing into the surgical field. The work of Mayo, Moynihan, Mikulicz, Ochsner, in gastric surgery has been little short of marvelous. The cancer problem is no nearer solution. The surgeons demand an early diagnosis; at least we need not wait till a tumor is palpable before we call the surgeon. It is better to explore in vain than to wait too long. In the diagnosis of typhoid Ficker's modification of the Widal reaction is gaining the lead. It must be tried in the so-called abortive, paratyphoid and convalescent stages. Koch regards the |