569

Reviews and Notices of Books.A Treatase on Hygiene and Public Health. Edited byALBERT H. BUCK, M.D., American Editor of " Ziems-

sen’s Cyclopaedia of the Practice of Medicine," Instructorin Otology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons ofNew York. Two vols. large 8vo ; pp. 792 and 657. NewYork: Wm. Wood and Co. London : Sampson Low,Marston, and Co. NOTICE.] ]IN a prefatory note to this work Dr. Buck tells us that in

the preparation of the scheme announcing a translation of" Ziemssen’s Cyclopaedia of the Practice of Medicine " (to usethe title given to the American translation), it was thoughtadvisable to omit the first volume of the series, that whichrelates to the subject of health. This section of the work,treating the subject almost entirely from a German stand-point, failed to satisfy the materially different requirementswhich existed in the United States. It was determined,therefore, to substitute for the volume belonging to the

original series of the Cyclopaedia the present treatise writtenwith special reference to the different characters and con-ditions of soil, habitations, modes of life, and laws of theUnited States. This judgment was a sound one, and weowe to it the independent treatise now before us. It wouldbe more accurate to say series of treatises, for such the workreally is, and it has the additional interest of being entirelywritten by American writers. Although written, as alreadymentioned, with a special view to the public-health require-ments, legal and other, of the United States, this in no sensedetracts from its general interest. The work makes no

pretence of treating in other than the broadest sense of -thesanitary laws of the United States. The want of uniformityin such of the various States as have legislated on sanitarymatters would forbid this. Moreover, so far as the work dealswith different conditions of climate, soil, and habitations andspecial modes of life, this is mainly in illustration of generalprinciples. Hence the book is only in a very limited senserestricted to the peculiar requirements of the United States,and the statement of the prefatory note is somewhat mis-

leading in this respect. Indeed, we are inclined to thinkthat readers of the book on this side of the Atlantic will be

disappointed to find that American experience has con-tributed so little to the whole. But be this as it may, the

work is, in reality, a general treatise on the subjects towhich it relates, and it is executed with a general uniformityof excellence not always found in works which are the resultsof the labours of many writers. We may say, indeed, atthe outset that the work takes at once a leading place amongtext-books on hygiene and public health, and that it shouldbecome a necessary part of sanitary workers’ and sani-tary students’ libraries. In the latter regard it may be

especially noted that subjects are included not usually (ifwe mistake not, never) found in English text-books; for

example, the hygiene of the naval and merchant marine, ofcoal mines, of metal mines, syphilis, schools, quarantine(both maritime and inland), &c.

We have already said that the work is more accuratelydescribed as consisting of a series of treatises, written, as arule, by different authors. We propose briefly to glance atthe several treatises, adding such occasional comments asthe limit of our space will admit of.

The first volume opens with an "introduction," and isdivided into two parts, relating respectively to "individualhygiene" and to "habitations." The introduction is de-voted to a general examination of the causes of diseaseand the jurisprudence of hygiene, and it is simply necessaryto state that it is the work of Dr. John S. Billings to giveour readers to know that it is an admirable bit of work. It is

especially noteworthy for the clear and thoughtful mode in

which some of the most advanced and recondite questionsof intimate pathology are treated. The part on individualhygiene is divided into five sections-to wit, infant hygiene(Professor Jacobi, M.D., New York) ; food and drink (Pro.fessor James Tyson, M.D., Pennsylvania); drinking water,and public water supplies (Professor William Ripley Nicholls,Boston, Mass.); physical exercise (Dr. Brayton Hall, NewYork) ; and the care of the person (Dr. tarthur van Har-lingen, Philadelphia). The several articles are excellent, form-ing important contributions to our knowledge of the subjectsto which they relate. The one on infant hygiene, byProfessor Jacobi, is of peculiar value, especially as it con-cerns infant feeding. Here the author gives us the resultof an exceptional experience on the subject which will benovel to most English readers, and which is in the highestdegree suggestive. The article on physical exercise is a

very able one, and of considerable interest. The otherarticles rest largely upon data common to Europe and theUnited States, but their mode of treatment gives a freshnessto them which will be highly appreciated here. The second

part of the volume, relating to habitations, is divided intothree sections-to wit, soil and water (Dr. W. H. Ford, Pre-sident of the Board of Health, Philadelphia) ; the atmo-

sphere (Dr. D. F. Lincoln, Boston, Mass.); the generalprinciples of hospital construction (Dr. Francis H. Brown,Boston, Mass.). Dr. Ford’s article is a very comprehensiveone, including the pollution of the soil in relation to defile-ment of the air and the drinking-water, and the whole sub-ject of excrement removal. American experience appearsto add little to European experience on this important subject,and the impression is left on the mind that the States lagmuch behind England in readiness of adaptation to par-ticular local exigencies. Or rather it would appear as ifthe results of English experience on this subject were notas fully apprehended as they might be. Apart, however, fromthis consideration, the article is of peculiar excellence. Ofthe articles on the atmosphere and on hospital constructionit may be said generally that they are welcome additions tothe literature of the subjects.We reserve our remarks on the second volume for another

occasion.

D1t Cczneoade des L(-3,vi-es et cle soya l’raitemenl. Par le Dr.ALBERT PEILLON, Chef de Clinique Chirurgicale a laFaculte de Medecine de Lyon. J. B. Bailliere et Fils,1880.

ALTHOUGH we fail to find any new matter in the chap-ters on the etiology, pathology, symptoms and cause ofthis common cancerous affection, Dr. Peillon has certainlysucceeded in stating well and concisely all the more im-portant facts about the disease. He deals more fully with thesubject of treatment, and dismisses as worthless, sometimesharmful, and at the best only palliative, the many externalapplications that have from time to time been vaunted asspecifics for epithelioma. He especially discusses the valueof chlorate of potash, and states that its internal administra-tion is certainly useless, but that when applied externallyit has in some cases been followed by cure, and should beused where operation is out of the question. He describes

clearly and well several useful ways of removing epithelio-mata of the lips, and especially describes an operation justintroduced by M. Desgrorges of Lyons, and called cheilo-plasty. If a large part or the whole of the lower lip be re-moved by a V-shaped incision, and the flaps brought toge.ther along the middle line, it is obvious that the upper lipwill be pouted forwards and the buccal orifice much de-formed. Desgrorges remedies this by removing a triangularpiece from each end of the upper lip; he first widens theorifice by an incision outwards on each side, and the re-moval of the flaps shorten the lip sufficiently to restore the

570

appearance of the mouth very fairly. We should certainlybe inclined to try this method of operating in suitable cases.

Harvey.- La Circulation dn Sang,’ cles M01lvcmcnts du Cwnrchez L’Homme et chez les Animaeux. Traduction Franeaise.Par CHARLES RICI-IET. Paris : G. Masson. 1879.

>

ENGLISHMEN ought to be grateful to M. Richet for

being the first to render into his native language the master-piece of Harvey. It is strange that two centuries and a halfhave been allowed to elapse before our neighbours shouldhave thought it necessary to have Harvey’s writings in amore accessible form than the original Latin version. Wecongratulate M. Richet on his praiseworthy and successfuleffort, the value of which is considerably enhanced by theintroductory chapter, in which he reviews the theories of thecirculation among the ancients and the immediate pre-decessors of Harvey. He shows how the work of Fabricius,Servetus, and Caesalpinus had raised the perception of thetruth, but it was Harvey, and he alone, who demonstratedit by experiment and formularised a theory which hadalready been floating in the minds of a few learned men.M. Richet further concisely sums up the directions in whichknowledge upon the subject has been advanced since

Harvey’s day, and he has added to the value of his bookby appending some notes upon the mechanism of the cir-culation interpreted by the light of modern physiology.Altogether the book is worthy of as wide a perusal inEngland as we hope it may gain in France.

NEW TOURNIQUETS.

’VE have probably to thank the Ambulance movementfor much of the ingenuity that has lately been exhibitedin inventing simple apparatus for encountering surgicalemergencies. Among the latest results of the movementare two new tourniquets, one on the plan of the india-rubberband, and the other a modification of Petit’s well-knowninstrument.The india-rubber tourniquet is the invention of Dr. Ward

Cousins of Southsea, and is of very simple mechanism andconstruction. It consists of a movable pad, strong elastic

tubing, and a special buckle, and it can be very rapidly ad-justed to a limb so as to completely control the circulation.The buckle can also be easily opened and shut, and the

rubber tubing tightened or relaxed with OIIG hand. Thetourniquet, at once simple and powerful, is suitable toall surgical operations in which such an instrument is re-quired. It will be found particularly serviceable to

surgeons in the country, who are liable to be called upon tooperate with very limited assistance. In amputating alimb for example, the tourniquet can be opened with theleft hand, and a bleeding vessel seized with the forceps bythe right; it can then be instantly closed again, and thevessel secured by torsion or ligature. In many accidentsattended with bleeding it will be generally useful, inasmuchas it may be applied efficiently even by unskilled persons.We would suggest that a stitch or button in the leather

between the two pieces of tubing as they pass over the pad,so as to keep them apart, would add to the safety andutility of the instrument.The other tourniquet is by Mr. M’Clure, and seems, as

already hinted, to be a cheap and simple modification ofPetit’s instrument. The materials in both are similar, butMr. M’Clure has substituted for the handle in Petit’s tour.niquet a large wheel, within which the strong screw works.

The instruments are applied in a similar way, but in thenew one a hard wooden pad is attached to the screw, and ispowerfully acted upon by a very small action of the wheel.We must, however, point out that in the specimen sub.mitted to us the webbing is too narrow and the pad toosmall, thereby involving a liability to rolling of the pad onany movement of the limb to which the instrument may beapplied.

PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE SOCIETY OF ARTS.

IN consequence of the general election, it has been con.sidered advisable to fix the date for the Conference on this

subject-which has been held annually by the Society ofArts since 1876-somewhat later than was originally in.tended, or than has been the case in former years. It will,therefore, be held in the beginning of June. As at the

previous Conferences, the Right Hon. James Stansfeld,M.P., late President of the Local Government Board, willbe in the chair.A programme of subjects for discussion has been drawn

up by the Executive Committee, and will be submitted tothe Conference. The following are the subjects included:-1. The development of Local Government administration,especially by the constitution of County Boards. 2. Theextension of the powers of the local authorities of urbanand rural sanitary districts. Amendments in the PublicHealth Act. 3. Sanitary inspection and classification ofdwellings. 4. Amendments in the Rivers Pollution Pre.vention Act. 5. The advisability of strengthening the ad.ministrative organisation of the Local Government Board.Local Government Board Administration Areas. 6. Furthersuggestions by sanitary authorities.

It is announced that the detailed programme will beissued shortly, and that copies can be obtained, when ready,from the Secretary of the Society of Arts, by any personwho applies. The programme will also be issued tosanitary authorities throughout the kingdom.

It is not proposed to make any attempt to procure paperswhich may be read and discussed; but the Committeestate that they will be glad to receive any communicationscontaining fresh information, or giving accounts of progressmade since the last Conference. Such communications, ifapproved by the Committee, will be printed and circulated

’

at the Conference, but it is probable that time will not’

admit of any discussion being taken upon them.

STEVEENS’S HOSPITAL, DUBLIN.-At the termina-tion of the Winter Session, ] 879-80, the following honours

! were awarded :—Gold Medals : Senior Class, William J.l Trotter ; Middle Class, William J. Cuthbert; Junior Class,

Glascott H. Symes. Honorary Certificates : Messrs. Black-r ham, Carroll, Clarke, Cruise, Smith, and Wells.