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the circulation through the lungs, the other throughthe whole, or any selected part of the systemic circula-tion. This system, with its artificial heart and naturalresistances, is in some sense a counterpart of theheart-lung preparation.

3. Sir Arthur Keith will demonstrate : (a) modelsmade in 1906 to illustrate the movements of thehuman heart and to explain the negative wave in thejugular pulse; (b) Sir James Mackenzie’s originalpolygraph preserved in the Museum of the RoyalCollege of Surgeons ; and (c) will give a brief accountof the anatomical examination of hearts observed and

recorded by Sir James Mackenzie during his practicein Burnley.

4. Sir Thomas Lewis will demonstrate, with thehelp of Dr. Ronald Grant and Dr. K. E. Harris, somereactions of the human skin to stimulation, illustratingcontraction of the minute vessels and their reactionsto injury. This demonstration will be given onWednesday only at 11.30 A.M.

5. Dr. B. W. S. Mackenzie will show some ofSir James Mackenzie’s original apparatus.

There are still some tickets available for thew.demonstrations, and medical practitioners who desireto be present should apply for them at once to theRegistrar, Royal College of Physicians of London,Pall Mall East, S.W. 1.

NOTES FROM INDIA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Medical Research in India.MEDICAL research and education are receiving much

consideration in India at the present moment. Acommittee presided over by Sir Walter Fletcher,secretary to the Medical Research Council, has justdispersed after three strenuous months’ work. Thepromotion of medical research is officially under thecontrol and guidance of the Government of India.Much research work, however, is carried out inprovincial institutions, and it was felt that the timehad come when some definite scheme for the promotionof research should be formed, outlining work to becarried on by the Central Government and correlatingthe efforts now being made in existing provincialinstitutions such as the Calcutta School of TropicalMedicine. The report of the committee is confidentialand may never be made public, but it is rumouredthat the research department will be greatlystrengthened and augmented and that a new specialcentral research institute may be created. Sir WalterFletcher’s large experience was enlisted to help theGovernment of India and the Indian ResearchFund Association to organise means whereby medicalresearch will be fostered and encouraged, for at presentthe valuable material available is not being used tothe best advantage.

Sanitation in Bengal.It has usually been held that the main stream of

the Ganges used to flow southwards past Calcutta inthe Hooghly and that a sudden diversion eastwardssome centuries ago carried away the Ganges floodwater, bereft Central Bengal of its agriculturalprosperity, and turned healthy tracts into what arenow the most malarious districts in the plains ofIndia. Sir William Willcocks, the irrigation expertwho has been touring the delta of Bengal, in alecture to the British India Association, combats thisview ; he holds that the main Ganges, by reason ofits size, could never have been retained in theHooghly and other channels, but that the presentwaterways in Western and Central Bengal are oldcanals made by " Bhagirath," the legendary chieftainwho conducted the Ganges to the ocean in order toirrigate these tracts with Ganges flood water. Thepresent stagnant condition of the waterways is dueto centuries of neglect and the remedy lies in theircleaning and re-excavation. They could again beused as water channels if a barrage were made across

the Ganges at a suitable place, and the surroundingdistricts now desolate and malarious would becomeprosperous and healthy. Whether or not any practicalscheme can be devised on these lines will have to beconsidered. On other lines Bengal is striving toimprove health conditions. The province is adoptingthe " thana," covering an extent of about 80 squaremiles as the sanitary unit area. Each area is to beprovided with at least one sanitary officer, either asanitary inspector or a doctor. This officer will dealwith preventive measures in his unit guided by thesuperior health staff of the district, who may whennecessary concentrate all his forces in one part ofthe district. It is hoped that better results willensue from this rearrangement.

Maternity and Child Welfare.The more social aspects of medicine are gradually

developing in India, though but slowly. Centuries ofthe feudal and family outlook have restricted thecharitable impulses of the Indian to his own family orclass. The community as a whole is still slow to believein- movements of a general nature such as maternityand child welfare and the protection of child life.Nevertheless, the maternity and child welfare move-ment since its inception by Lady Chelmsford hasprogressed considerably and the series of health andwelfare exhibits held throughout India during thepast cold weather have inspired workers to continuetheir efforts. The Child Marriage Bill and theRemarriage of Hindu Widows Bill have been againbefore the Central Legislative Assembly and show thatthe desire of the educated classes to break through thebarriers of traditions and customs which opposeprogress are becoming more and more capable offormulation and public discussion. In the Billpresented to the legislature it is proposed to raisethe marriageable age of girls to 14 and of boys to 18.

Scavenging and Sewerage.The ’’ sweeper " or scavenger is one of the most

valuable persons in India-only one or two of thelargest cities have sewerage systems and even in thema large portion is unprovided with water-closets. Sovaluable is the sweeper that he is usually known by thehonorific title of " Maharaj." It recalls the telegramduring the war by an anxious sanitary commissioner inMesopotamia to headquarters:

" Will exchangemedical officers at the rate of two for one sweeper."Both Madras and Calcutta have lately suffered fromsweepers’ strikes, and the sanitary (or insanitary)consequences are appalling. The recommendation ofthe Royal Commission of 1840 that excreta shouldbe removed as quickly as possible from humanhabitation and preferably by means of water carriageis still unfulfilled even in large cities.

Improvement in Longevity Rate.An interesting sidelight is shown on the improve-

ment of health conditions in India by the report ofthe actuary of the Government of India on Indianinsurance companies. In the statistical study of ratesof premiums and the duration of assurance membershiphe concludes that there has been a distinct improve-ment in the longevity of the Indian population duringthe last 30 years.

BERLIN.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Experiments on Children.A PUBLIC sensation has been created here by a

report of some experiments on the cure of rickets,published by Dr. Vollmer, of the Infants Hospital.In order to prove that a proprietary preparation ofirradiated ergosterol was efficacious even under themost unfavourable general conditions, the investi-

gators kept 20 infants in dark rooms and gave thema diet poor in vitamins but supplemented by thispreparation. The report contained a somewhatunfortunate sentence in which Dr. Vollmer explained