suicide among school children in pressia

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accommodation as far as possible of prisoners in gaol.Notwithstanding his advice and the lessons of experience,however, the " gang system " is still adhered to, and theallotment of one cell to several prisoners is a common thing.In one prison almost all the inmates are in association,and here the result has been a marked excess in the

reported number of disgusting immoralities. Sometimes a

glaring wrong brings back the memory of past conditions-as, for instance, in the case of a man who, while confinedin one room with five others and a warder, was during a whole night literally pummelled and smashed to death, yetthe crime was not brought home to anyone. As the resultof a trial conducted, be it observed, before the prisonauthorities, a manifest and suggestive peculiarity in legalprocedure, and of several questions asked in Parliament,we only know that no one was found guilty, and that twoof the subordinate prison officials will not be again employed.A case more thoroughly unsatisfactory could hardly be imagined. What explanations of it we have are due tothe persistent efforts of the Howard Society. These facts, ]

and others which we cannot now discuss, will prove that there are still defects enough in our penal system to justify the existence of the Society. Its claims on public support ]we would once more heartily commend to our readers, along ]with its latest publication. -

SUICIDE AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN INPRUSSIA.

IN our annotation upon this subject, which appeared inTHE LANCET of Sept. 20th, p. 630, it is stated that of thewhole of the 289 suicides 240 were boys and 49 were

girls. The causes assigned were fear of punishment,insanity and mental depression, excessive ambition, andfear of the examinations. In addition to the reasonshere given, we believe that two others might fairlyhave been enumerated-viz., over-taxation of the youthfulbrain in the amount of work expected of the ahildren,and, especially in the larger towns and centres of education,insufficient out-door physical exercise. In these respects,if the educational system were ameliorated, there can belittle doubt that the large proportion of juvenile suicideswould be reduced. Innate tendencies to insanity andmental weakness ought also to be considered by the schoolauthorities We do not mean that the hereditary nature ofthe mental defects need always be traced back for this pur-pose ; but that for weaknesses that show themselves to benatural in individual children every allowance ought to bemade. A disposition to mental irritability, or weariness,or absolute depression shows itself long before the wakeful-ness, the apprehensiveness, or the dull torpidity, as thecase may be, which characterises the onset of active

insanity sets in. And it would be well if attention were

paid to the fact that it is possible to recognise theseearlier departures from the normal state of mental health,and to the obvious benefits arising from a timely relaxationof discipline and mental strain under the circumstances.

THE SUCCINIMIDE OF MERCURY IN SYPHILIS.

DR. SELENEW, who has made comparative trials of theadvantages of several mercurial salts for hypodermicuse in the skin and syphilitic clinic at Kieff, whichis under the direction of Professor Stukovenkow, has

recently obtained considerable success by using the succini-mide, a salt which was originally recommended for the

purpose by Dr. Vollert and was used in Professor Wolff’ssyphilitic clinic in Strassburg two years ago in doses ofabout one-sixth of a grain. Dr. Selenew employed largerdoses (one-quarter to one-third of a grain) in a solution ofthe strength of 1 per cent. The injections, of which nearlya thousand were given altogether, were usually made into

the cellular tissue of the back or buttocks. In some casesa daily injection for twenty-four days sufficed to cause allthe syphilitic appearances to disappear; in most of the casesthe treatment had to be carried on for about a month, andin one case for forty days. Thirty-three patients in all weretreated. In six the gums became affected. In only one wasthe pain at the seat of puncture at all severe; usually therewas no pain at all. In one case there was abdominal pain anddiarrhoea, which lasted for five days. Out of twenty-fourcases of primary syphilis which remained under observationfor seven months only three developed secondary symptoms,and one of these was that of a man addicted to drink. Com-

paring the results in preventing secondary symptoms withthose obtained by the injection of other mercurial prepara.tions, the succinimide appears to be about as efficacious asthe yellow oxide, and very much more so than the alaninate,the salicylate, or the so-called grey oil. Dr. Selenew looks

upon the succinimide as a mild and valuable preparation,which may be very useful in primary and secondary cases ofno great severity, especially in women and children, becauseof its slight tendency to cause local irritation. In severecases a more active preparation, as the yellow oxide, theperchloride, the salicylate, or the oxybenzoate, should bepreferred. -

ANATOMICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAINAND IRELAND.

1HE committee ot investigation appointed by this Societyhave issued circulars to the various teachers of anatomy,with a view to obtaining information on the followingquestions :-1. Mode of origin of the following vessels,usually described as branches of the thyroid axis,-viz.,infeiior thyroid, suprascapular, ascending cervical, andtransverse cervical arteries. 2. Mode of distribution of thelast dorsal and first lumbar nerves. 3. Observation in each

subject of the distance of the lower margin of the kidney oneach side from the iliac crest. The sex of the subject to bestated, and any naked-eye evidence of disease of the organsto be recorded. 4. The distribution of the cutaneousnerves on the dorsum of the foot and toes. 5. Notes onthe occurrence of a diverticulum ilei (Meckel’s), in each casegiving details of its position and connexions. It is particu-larly requested that the number of subjects examined berecorded, whether the diverticulum be present or not. Thecommittee express the hope that the next report issued bythem may more fully represent the various schools of

anatomy in this country. Reports on the above questions,along with a statement of the number of bodies examined,should be forwarded to the Secretary, Mr. Arthur Thomson,anatomical Department, Museum, Oxford, not later thanApril 15th, 1891.

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INDIAN WOMEN AND LADY DOCTORS.

IT has long been supposed that, whatever the considera-tion accorded to it in this or other European countries, thefemale medical element has found its proper sphere of

activity among the women of the East, notably in India,The male practitioner, excluded alike by his sex and hisreligion, had there no opportunity for the exercise of hisart. Quite recently, however, we learn that native opinionas regards this question has undergone a change. In the

hospital at Lucknow, for example, it is usually found thatnative female patients decidedly prefer to be treated bygentlemen in the civil or military medical service, and thisnotwithstanding that the women’s ward is under the care of afemale practitioner. It is worthy of remark that the casestreated by operation-most of them by the gentlemen abovementioned-have not been connected with the sexual

system. Further, we must remember that women of thisclass are likely to be of inferior caste and of low social