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Pharmacology and Therapeutics.TOXIC EFFECT OF CREOLIN VAPOUR.

A CASE of poisoning by creolin vapour is reported byDr. Stille-Ihlienworth in the Menwrabilien of July. Theauthor had to procure premature delivery in a case of con-tracted pelvis, and used as a disinfectant for his hands andinstruments an emulsion containing 1 per cent. of creolin,which from the afternoon until the next morning stood intwo open saucers in the next room. In the evening hecomplained of pain in the right temple and occiput, and hispulse rose from 70 to 100. When he moved about the lattereven rose to 120, and the carotids pulsated very perceptibly.These symptoms only ceased a few hours after he had goneinto the fresh air. All the other people who had beenpresent in the room became similarly affected, and onesuffered more severely, vomiting supervening on the othersymptoms. Returning the next afternoon to the patient’shouse, the writer felt quite well. He again prepared twosaucers of creolin, dipped his hands into the solution,examined his patient, removed the catheter, which in themorning had been inserted between the wall of the uterusand the membranes, washed his hands, and carefully dis-infected the catheter. :The same symptoms reappearing, heentertained no doubt that the creolin vapour was the causeof the seizure. The saucers with the disinfectant were thenremoved, and only brought back when they were actuallywanted, and no further abnormal symptoms appeared.

CHRYSAROBIN IN HEATORRHOIDS.

Dr. Kosobudski, writing in the Iusskaya Meditsina onUnna’s plan of treating haemorrhoids with chrysarobin, saysthat he has employed it-or a modification of it-in twenty-two cases, and has found it on the whole very satisfactory.He does not, however, employ quite such strong preparationsas Unna. His plan is to wash the hmmorrhoid with a weakcarbolic or creolin lotion and then to dry it well withcotton wool, after which he applies three or four times a dayan ointment consisting of chrysarobin 8 parts, iodoform3 parts, extract of belladonna 6 parts, and vaseline 150 parts.For internal piles suppositories are employed, which arecomposed as follows : Chrysarobin, 1 gr.; iodoform, i gr. ;extract of belladonna, gr.; cacao butter, 30 gr.; glycerinesufficient to enable the mass to be made into the form of asuppository. If there is much haemorrhage a tannin sup-pository must be used. After three or four days of this treat-ment the pain and haemorrhage disappear, and after threemonths or so the haemorrhoids are found to have almostcompletely shrivelled up.

HYDRASTIS IN MEMBRANOUS DY SMENORRH(EA.

Dr. Franz Jordán relates in a Hungarian medicaljournal an interesting case of most obstinate membranousdysmenorrhoea in which after many years had been spentin trying all manner of different methods of treatmenthydrastis canadensis rapidly effected a cure. Dr. Jordain

employed the liquid extract of hydrastis canadensis, twenty-five drops of which he ordered twice a day. This very soonbegan to produce an appreciable effect, and after a shorttime the medicine was required only at the time of men-struation or for a few days previously, the loss of bloodbecoming very slight, and the pain disappearing altogether.

IS PHENACETIN A REMEDY IN W[IOOPING-COUGI-I?

Dr. R. Heimann of Laudau answers the above questionaffirmatively, having used the drug experimentally in a

case in which antipyrin entirely failed. The success wasso surprising that he administered the drug in two othercases. It reduced the number of paroxysms, which hadbeen from ten to fifteen per diem, to three, and on somedays they entirely ceased, only reappearing at night, whenno phenacetin was given. Dr. Heimann gave a boy ofthree years six grains in four doses of one grain and a half,a girl of two years five grains in three doses, and an infantof seven months three grains in four doses, withoutobserving the slightest ill effects. One grain and a half ofphenacetin would, on the average, retain its efl’ect for threehours. The author recommends further trials of the drug.

IODIDE OF POTASSIUM A CARDIAC TONIC.

M. G. "See has recently pointed out, before the Academyof Medicine, that iodide of potassium, far from being a

depressant, is really a cardiac tonic, of almost equal valueto digitalis or strophanthus in certain cases. Indeed, hesays that iodide of potassium is the real cardiac drug (vraimédicament (11" ccc2cr), since, when prescribed in cases ofuncompensated mitral lesions or affections of the myocar-dium, it increases the cardiac power and raises vasculartension. Thus, by subsequently causing dilatation of thearterioles, it enables the heart to recover its power andaffords also better facilities for the coronary circulation,thus improving the nutrition of the heart muscle.

DRY-AIR FROZEN FRESH FISH.BY J. LAWRENCE-HAMILTON, M. R. C. S.

No. IV.

To obtain an imperishable, cheap, healthy, abundantsupply of fish food, it is necessary to bleed, gut, and cleanthe fish at once on capture, and then forthwith transfer thefish so treated to the dry cold air refrigerator chambers ofspecial steamers at the fishing grounds. Much of this harclfrozen fresh fish should be distributed to the fish markets,wharves, and stores situated on canals and rivers by dry-airrefrigerator barges or insulated covered barges for shorterdistances, whilst seaport towns could receive the fish directfrom the refrigerator steamers, as welt as towns like Londonhaving wide and deep rivers. As far as possible all rail-ways should be avoided. In the United Kingdom theirextortionate rates for the carriage of fish have for longoppressed the fish trades to the special injury of the poor.However, if frozen fish has to be sent long distances by

rail to towns unprovided with canals, rivers, or lakes, as insome of the American cities, then special refrigerator rail-way fish cars are advisable.The treatment of fish on capticre.-To preserve fresh fish,

free it from moisture and bacteria. Kill as quickly aspossible. Where practicable, all fish immediately on

capture, prior to the coagulation of the blood, should begashed under the head just behind the gills, the usualsituation of the heart in most fishes, or else above thetail, which has been the practice from time immemorialin Scandinavia and in Holland. Compared with landanimals, fish have but very little blood to lose, andhence fish on being bled become at once faint, whichrapidly passes into insensibility. Next speedily gut thefish so as to remove its entrails, including the liver androe. In big valuable fish like the salmon it should also.be pithed, by exposing and removing with a gutting knife-the comparatively diminutive brain (a characteristic of allfishes), and then push a copper wire into its spinal canalso as to break up the substance of the spinal marrow.Removing its brain abolishes sensation and volition, whilst.destroying the spinal marrow arrests all muscular move-ments. Finally, thoroughly clean each fish inside and out-side with abundant washing in clean, fresh-flowing water,sea water being for every class of fish better than springwater. Though gutted fish keep better and longer bythe addition of salt or brine into the cavity of the body, Irecommend peat moss as being cheaper and much rnoreeffective. As peat moss is universally abundant in Ireland,its fishermen should use it freely.Norwegian fishermen roughly estimate that by bleeding,.

gilling, and gutting flat fish about one-sixth of the totalweight is lost, whilst long fish by bleeding and gutting forfeit.about one-fourtli of their total weight. In spawning fish,being full of roe, these proportions would be materiallyincreased. A codfish weighing 21lb. is said to havefurnished 121b. of roe. Thus, especially for railway bornefish, this economy in freight would mean a great savingto the public-the fish consumers. Later I shall show theavoidable colossal commercial losses incurrred in the UnitedKingdom by its neglecting to judiciously work up the by-products or waste products of fish and fish refuse, which inthe United States of America amounts to upwards of 14 percent. of the total value of their fisheries.

Use of carrierpigeons and telegrams for sea fisheries.-Fishing fleets should signal by means of carrier pigeons forthe refrigerator steamers to come out from the harbours toremove the catch. These carrier pigeons would be useful tothe smacks in case of accident and distress, and could also