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persons affected with transmissible disease, or at least topunish those who have deceived their partners by concealingbefore marriage their taint with any malady making theproduction of degenerate children possible. Dr. Toulouse isa conjoint director of the Mental Asylum of St. Anne in Paris,and has been lately much to the front on account of hisbook upon Emile Zola. With the view of making a verycomplete and detailed inquiry into the physical characters ofmen of genius Dr. Toulouse commenced with Zola, whosepersonality is allowed to be remarkable, and published in alarge volume the most complete details of the eminentauthor’s constitution. His visual acuity, his variouspsychical re-actions, and details of his special senses allcame in for notice, as did the daily régime and mode oflife, his cardiac and respiratory tracings, and even theamount of urine be passes daily. This pipi du genie hasgreatly amused Parisians, though Zola is known to haveagreed to the inquiry in the interest of psychologicalphysiology, of which science he is a declared partisan.Dr. Toulouse’s present idea is that selection shouldbe applied to the choice of partners before marriagewith the same care that breeders apply to the choice ofanimals. To eliminate every chance of the transmission ofhereditary physiological taint, he would have epilepsy,mental weakness, cancer, recent syphilis, alcoholism, andtuberculosis regarded as obstacles to marriage. He pro-poses that every Frenchman shall be provided with a

"livret sanitaire" in which the medical attendant shouldbe compelled’to inscribe the names of ceitain diseases ifthe person in question be affected by them, the list ofthese diseases to be fixed by a committee of medical men.Dr. Toulouse considers that such declarations could be as

legitimately exacted from medical men as those notifyingepidemic or contagious disorders. The livrtt in questionwould be deposited at the prefecture, and in fifty years’ timeinstructive tables of statistics on the laws of heredity couldbe compiled from them. Until then no one, not even a legaltribunal, would have the right to consult these documents,and a system of key numbers would prevent their compre-hension by any non-initiated person. At the expiration ofthat time the conclusions of so vast an inquiry could beenforced by law. but in the meantime Dr. Toulouse considersthat we must prevent by every possible means the marriageof persons affected with diseases known to be transmissible.He would compel intending couples to declare theirmaladies on pain of divorce should concealment be after-wards discovered to have been practised. As an alternativeto divorce a fine might be paid to the non-responsiblepartner in the case of the birth of a sickly child. If adeclaration of ill health be made in the marriage contract,and the marriage is agreed to in spite of it, the law will notattempt to stop the union, for that would be an impossi-bility ; but those who wilfully conceal a morbid taint will beregarded as having committed a breach of trust and will haveto make reparation for the damage done. It is generallyconsidered that this scheme is purely Utopian, howevermuch it reflects the legitimate wishes of a learned mandesirous to prevent the degeneration of the race, and whilesuch procedure would be a violation of individual rights itwould considerably augment the number of illegitimatebirths.

The Decrease of the Birth,rate.The question of the decrease in the birth-rate has for

some time been a burning one in Paris, and a society hasbeen formed to promote the increase of the population andhas held numerous sittings. In all the’ forthcoming Bills

dealing with taxation a diminution of taxation proportionalto the number of children in a family is proposed. To do

away with the fear which parents have of seeing theirfortune divided among a numerous family (for the Frenchlaw demands an equal division), M. Javal proposes to debitevery father with three children at least, so that an onlyson would succeed to but one-third of the estate and twochildren to only two-thirds. But in spite of the movementthe Malthusian Society still has disciples, and a certaingentleman, noted for his unfortunate attempts at the educa.tion of the two sexes in common in a municipal school,has published a pamphlet dealing with methods of checkinglarge families. The I I Repopulation " Society has asked thatthis pamphlet shall be made the subject of a prosecution.

Medioal -Responsibility.A medical man of St. Nazaire has just been held respon-

&bgr;ible for an error in diagnosis. A woman was arrested on a

charge of infanticide, and an expert declared that she pre-sented all the signs of recent delivery. Two days latershe was delivered of a child which died. She therefore

prosecuted the medical man, who was fined 1000 francs,although the procureur-general a5ked the court to acquithim.

The Health of the Arviy.The War Minister has published an important report

addressed to the President of the Republic upon the Healthof the Army. It shows an eminently satisfactory state ofmatters. In 1896 the death-rate was 5 29 per lOCO, thelowest that has ever been observed. Tbi result is due tothe steady progress of hygiene. Small-pox is decreasing,and in 1896 there were ninety-seven cases and twodeaths. Diphtheria, since the employment of the serumtreatment, accounts for only twenty-two deaths perannum. Enteric fever also shows a decrease, althoughthere were 2442 cases with 441 deaths. All thebarracks are supplied with spring water filtered througha Pasteur-Chamberland filter, and those places where

enteric fever was endemic have become absolutely freesince the enforcement of this regulation. The report advisesfor the future the general use cf sterilised water, andsterilisers will be constructed for the supply cf water inlarge quantities. Every army corps will have portablesterilisers, which can be transported to the scene of an out-break of enteric fever.

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A Case of Mcrlingeriray.The War Minister, in answering a question put to him in

the Chamber relative to the death of a soldier at Marseilles,a death attributed to want of care on the part of the militarysurgeons, said that the man had brought about his illness onpurpose. To get off duty and to be sent to the infirmary heate six portions of haricot beans ; intestinal obstruction andgastro-enteritis supervened, from which he died.

A Terrible Mistake.Df. Contjean, the son of the director of the medical school

at Besançon, a young medical man well known for his workin biological chemistry, has just died at the age of thirty-twoyears under very sad circumstances. He suffered fromgastric pains, and during the night he got up and taking,as he thought, a packet of bicarbonate of soda poured thecontents into a glass of water and swallowed them. The

packet contained corrosive sublimate, and he died afterterrible suffering.March 2nd.

ROME.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Alinaentatiort of the Poor. -

’ DR. ANGELO CELLI, professor of hygiene in our Univer-l sity and director of the Gabinetto Igienico at the University! Institute, is at work on a series of researches having for theirj object the improvement of the alimentation of the labouring classes, particularly of the workers in the fields. These

latter, or about two-thirds of them, live on the meal of" granturco " (Turkish wheat). Its low nutrient power

. obliges them to consume it in large quantities, very; often bad in quality and rendered still worse by im-l perfect modes of preparation. The result is seen in; their defective physique and, at its worst, in thatL frightful scourge "pellagra," which, mainly visible in, the integument, is also evident in various other lesions,: mental alienation included. State medicine has vied withl private philanthropic effort to find a substitute for the; "granturco," but in vain. It is impossible to combine the, two conditions of lower price and superior quality. Professor Celli has set himself to work in another direction to seei L whether, taking the "granturco" " as it exists, its quality.

and digestibility can be improved without adding toits cost. This result, he thinks, he has attained, atleast in one direction-namely, in better grinding pro-

. cesses, from which the meal emerges richer in nitro-i genised substances than under the traditional system,

while at the same time poorer in husk and indigestiblecellulose, and poorer also in fat, which is the chiefcause of its rancidity. One defect, however, appeared toneutralise this improvement. Finer and more nutrient, themeal was much less adapted for baking purposes and also

703

for cooking as "polenta" (porridge). Professor Celli, in 1

consequence of this, has sought a remedy in another mode 1of manipulating the meal. With the cooperation of several fskilled members of the baking guild he has succeeded in 1

turning out a paste either from the "granturco" pure and (

simple or by the admixture of this with the meal of ordinary (grain (in the proportion of from 25 to 50 per cent.). Richer in albuminoid substances than the "polenta" of "gran- turco," richer in the same substances than paste from the Jother grain even when of the best quality, this composite (

paste, relatively to nutrient power, is actually cheaper than Jthe aforesaid "polenta." Professor Celli is anxious to have 1the results of his laboratory findings tested on a grand scale, i

and will, it is hoped, receive the countenance and support 1of the Government in the practical extension of his discovery to the alimentation of the poor. ]

Feb. 28th. _______________

VIENNA.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Professor Kaposi and the Socialists.IN the course of a lecture delivered last week Professor

Kaposi said that owing to the mildness of the winter only afew cases of phtheiriasis had recently come under hisobservation, and he added that sufferers from this diseasemay be found at the meetings which are about to be held inconnexion with the Parliamentary elections. These remarkswere repeatEd by the Arbeiterzeitung, a journal which cir-culates among the working classes, and on the evening ofthe same day some hundreds of Sociali8ts assembled infront of his house and created a disturbance. Next daythe newspapers published a statement by Professor Kaposiin which he denied that what he said was capable of anoffensive interpretation, and he moreover referred to the

gratuitous treatment which he had freely given to necessitouspatients for the last thirty years.

Vomitingand Pregnancy.Dr. Dirmoser has published in the Medicinische Tl’ochen-

schrift an account of twenty cases of hyperemesis gravidarumwhich he has observed in the course of eight years. There

are, according to Lang, three stages of this complaint. Inthe first stage the symptoms occur at short intervals varyingfrom an hour to five minutes. In the second stage the pulseis accelerated, the temperature is increased, and the urinebecomes turbid ; patients presenting these symptoms some-times recover. in the third, which is the comatose ornervous stage, the vomiting decreases, but there are gravecerebral complications, and sometimes strabismus andjaundice. In six cases in which the urine was analysed agreat quantity of urooilio was found, as well as hæmoglobin,acetone, peptone, hyalin, and granular tube ca5ts. The

presence of urobilin indicates a decomposition of hæmoglobinin the body, and the tube casts point to serious derangementof the kidneys. In three cases Dr. Dirmoser also observedindoxyl and skatoxyl, substances which are products of

decomposition in the intestine and are of great significance,indicating a general poisoning of the system and co-existingwith increase in the bulk of the liver, spleen, and kidneys.According to Dr. Dirmoser the disease is due to the enlarge-ment of the uterus irritating the motor nerves, as well as thesympathetic and the vagus, both of which when stimulatedcause contraction of the stomach. Experiments made byConteyon have shown that irritation of the vagus increasesthe secretion of the glands of the mucous membrane of thestomach, promotes the formation of mucus, which neutralisesthe acid gastric juice, and causes hyperæmia of the stomach.These effects predispose to the formation of toxins, which isfurther assisted by the atony of the intestine. Dr. Dirmoseraccordingly recommends that the stomach should be washedout with a solution of boric acid, that the gases of thestomach should be absorbed by means of powdered charcoalmade from the wood of the lime tree, and that food should begiven by the rectum. When the patient is eventually ableto take food by the mouth it should at first consist ofsomatose and rice-water.

The Pituitary Body and the Thyroid Gland.At the last meeting of the Medical Society Dr. Schiff dis-

cussed the influence of the pituitary body and the thyroidgland on the metabolism of the ti sues. The relation between

1 See THE LANCET, Feb. 2nd, 1895, p. 294.

these two organs has been studied ever since Marie provedthat the pituitary body undergoes a change in cases ofacromegaly and suggested that it exercises an influence overtissue change. Hypertrophy of the pituitary body has beenobserved after extirpation of the thyroid gland and in casesof myxcedema. Experiments made by Dr. Schiff withextract of pituitary body show that it leaves the excretion ofnitrogen unaltered, but that it increases the excretion of’

phosphorus, a result indicating the decomposition of a tissuecontaining phosphorus, which may be either the structuresforming the central nervous system, or, on the other hand,the bones. Dr. Schiff considers that it is the bony tissue-which is affected. In his investigations of the functions of-the thyroid gland Dr. Schiff made four experiments withiodothyrin, and came to the conclusion that its action is byno means identical with that of thyroid extract, a resultquite at variance with the opinions of Baumann, who con-sidered that iodothyrin represents, both quantitatively andqualitatively, the efficient part of the gland. Dr. Biedlthen referred to the experiments made by him- oncats with a view to the investigation of the symptoms-which appear after extirpation of the pituitary body. Heoperated through the mouth, first performing tracheotomy,then partly dividing the velum palati, and finally openingthe base of the cranium with a trephine. Sometimes theanimals succumbed to hæmorrhage either from a cranialsinus or from the circle of Willis. In one case the animallived for twenty-four hours, and then died with peculiarspasms similar to those occurring after extirpation of thethyroid gland, and due no doubt to an extravasation into themiddle cranial fossa. He confirmed the results obtained byOliver and Schäfer, who found that the extract of thyroidgland causes a decrease in the blood pressure, whereas theextract of pituitary body, like suprarenal extract, has theeffect of increasing the blood pressure.

A cciàental Injuries received at the Time of Death.Dr. Haberda has published in the Klinische Wochenschrift

a highly interesting case in which a lesion of a necessarilyfatal character was sustained at the moment of death. It.not unfrequently happens that dying persons receive severeinjuries through falling down as they become uncon--

scious. The results of such accidents, of course, vary inextent and severity, ranging from abrasions and bruises onthe forehead, the back of the head, the nose, and the knee tofractures of the nasal bones and the extremities, and even tofracture of the skull with extravasation into the cerebraltissue. Dr. Haberda’s patient was a woman, aged sixty-five,years, who died suddenly. Post-mortem examination showedthat the pericardium was fatty and contained about 40 c.c.of turbid blood. The right heart was soft, and on the.anterior aspect, close to the anterior longitudinal farrow,there was a longitudinal fissure of the right ventricle.The mitral valves were hard and the posterior aortic valvewas thickened; the entrance to the left coronary arterywas contracted, but that of the right was normal. Thesmall quantity of blood in the pericardium indicatedthat the rupture of the heart was not the cause ofdeath, and the absence of suffusion at the place of therupture proved that it occurred only after the heart’s actionhad ceased.

Thoracic Diagnosis by Means of the Roentgen Rays.Professor Benedikt has published an account of the

observations made by him with the Roentgen rays on a manwho suffered from dyspnosa, and who said that two yearsago he had an attack of pneumonia and haemorrhage fromthe lungs. On the right side in front there was dulnessover the apex and bronchial respiration, and there wasalso dulness of the left back. By means of the

Roentgen rays shadows of the heart and the diaphragmwere obtained which showed no change in the positionof these organs during expiration and inspiration, so

that there evidently was an adhesion between the costalpleura and the diaphragm. There was condensation of thelung tissue, and the shadows cast by the lungs were studdedwith black patches ; moreover, an abncrmal shadow extend-ing to the axilla corresponded to a situation where therewas dulness without any other symptoms, so that no doubtthe pleura was thickened and the pneumonia spoken of

by the patient had really been pleurisy. The dyspnceawas due to the interference with the action of the

diaphragm and to the diminution of the respiratory surface,

Amusing Reply to an Examination Question.Medical circles in Vienna have been much amused by an,