602

The last complaint I have left until the end becauseit seems to me the most serious and because it isunfair. It is serious because, if true, no work ofthis kind should be employed and those constructingit, knowing the results of its use, would be very muchto blame ; unfair because it is based upon the resultsof unskilled or hasty observation. If the wearer offixed work, however well conceived, neglects itand his mouth generally and does not permit anexpert examination to be made of it for several years,he will be lucky if something does not go wrong.It is not fair to condemn the work in such a case.Nor is it fair to cast obloquy upon the efforts of thosesincerely endeavouring to do the right thing, byclassing their work with that which has been badlyconstructed or fixed upon unsuitable foundations.

I hope that the foregoing will be of some servicein putting this matter into the right perspective,as I am continually hearing of words of condemnationof this work by those who apparently take little troubleto ascertain whether every instance justifies the stigmawhich they cast upon it. There are many cases wherea patient may be well served with a fixed applianceand it is often demanded. It is somewhat dis-concerting afterwards for the wearer and the onewho has constructed it to find that it is condemnedon sight. I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

Park-crescent, Portland-place, W.J. H. OLVER.

" MANNERS MUST ADORN KNOWLEDGE..."

To the Editor of THE LANCET

SIR,-I received to-day a circular from the BritishEmpire Cancer Campaign asking me if I would bewilling to give a lecture on cancer to the lay public.Skeleton notes for the lecture were provided. Amongstthese in large type the following sentence occurred :" A cancer cell is a cell that has gone ’ bolshie ’ andrefuses to obey the laws of the community " Thereis a second reference to bolshevism as descriptive ofcancer of the breast.

I am fully in agreement with the B.E.C.C. aboutthe need for such lectures, but it seems desirablethat the lecturers should have a more accurate

knowledge of biology and politics than these notesindicate, and should refrain from insulting remarksto doctors and scientists in the U.S.S.R. whose aimsand ambitions in this respect are the same as ours.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,R. PASSMORE.

Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge,

WHEAT-GERM OIL

To the Editor of THE LANCET C

:1

SIR,-In your issue of August 22nd you print a 1letter from the chief chemist of Glaxo Laboratories Ltd. Ion the subject of wheat-germ oil, pointing out that 1the product marketed by his firm consists not of Ithe oil but of a concentrate obtained by saponifyingthe oil. It is only fair to ourselves as another supplierof wheat-germ oil to point out that ,any vitaminpreparation, whether a concentrate or not, should =

be supplied with a guarantee of activity, since ifthe original wheat-germ oil is inactive, no amount of iconcentration would produce a valuable product. ]Wheat Germ Oil Crookes’ is guaranteed to contain 1

vitamin E to the extent of 40 units on the Pacini- .

Linn scale.-I am, Sir, yours faithfully, ,

R. T. M. HAINES,Chief Chemist, Crookes Laboratories.

Park Royal, London, August 29th.

THE LONDON CLINIC

To the Editor of THE LANCET

SIR,-In view of the recent reports in the pressof the winding up of the company known as theLondon Clinic and Nursing Home Ltd., I wouldlike to make it perfectly clear-

1. That the London Clinic was purchased in

January last by the present company.2. That the present company has no connexion

with the old company now in liquidation.3. That the present company is one limited by

guarantee and under its constitution is precludedfrom distributing among its members any part of itsprofits, the whole of which must be applied to thepromotion of its objects.At present large sums of money are being spent

on improvements in order to give to the medicalprofession and their nursing-home patients the bestpossible service. I hope that it will be clear to yourreaders, therefore, that there is no question but thatthe services of the clinic will continue to be availableto them.-I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

(For and on behalf ofTrustees of the London Clinic Ltd.),

N. W. LEWIS, Secretary.

A VIGOROUS VETERAN

To the Editor of THE LANCET

SIR,-I am all but 81 years of age and about twoweeks ago drove my motor-car (a 6-cylinder HudsonEssex) 253 miles from here to Sherborne, Dorset,and back again in 10" hours. I was quite fit at theend of the journey and could easily have done another50 miles. I was neither stiff nor sore either then ornext day. I am told this deserves a medical record.About five years ago I drove the same style of carsome 242 miles in 8t hours, stopping for nothing butpetrol. My daughter was dangerously ill so I" speeded." The journey of this year I took quitequietly, ate egg sandwiches and drank tea everythree hours or so. I motor-cycled from here toLondon and back, some 104 miles, when I was 76.I keep my body fit by punching the ball and ridinga home trainer, and try too not to let my brain

degenerate.I see you have announced the death of William

Cant; he must have been some years over 90 whenhe died. He took the fellowship of the Royal Collegeof Surgeons of England in 1874: *’ I was assistantdemonstrator of anatomy at St. George’s Hospitalwhen he was polishing up his anatomy for the finalexaminations, and so came across him, and can

appreciate why at the hospital everyone had a highopinion of him-indeed it was commonly said thathe might have been on the staff of the hospital hadhe so wished. He was not only pleasant and popularbut very able, and I feel that one who has donehonour to the school of St. George’s has gone from us,

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,G. R. TURNER.

ALL-ELECTRIC HOSPITALS AT GLASGOW.—Hawk-head Mental Hospital is to be the first all-electrichospital under the control of Glasgow corporation. Allthe heating, cooking, and lighting will be done byelectricity and there will be accommodation for 80 patientswith quarters for a staff of 110 nurses. A new infectioushospital on the same lines is shortly to be started atCowglen, and plans are already in preparation. It is tocost £ 300,000 and have 300 beds.